The Way

Lmao My gym is one of the most diverse places I've ever stepped foot in, and I'm so grateful for it. Shout-out to EKF Martial Arts in Chicago. We have a guy come in from Chicago MMA to teach BJJ classes and do guided sparring on Wednesdays, and he's a huge sweetheart too. I imagine the rest of the gym reflects his charismatic character, or else he wouldn't be invited to teach at my gym. I'm obviously aware that martial arts can be trepidatious territory for some people, though. Which is why I feel like it's more important than ever that I put myself out there the way I do. I hope to encoura source, 2024 ↗

neutral

I've been training with Jeff for 15 years and want to add some more flavor on the journey of our team facilities. We started at Ultimate Fitness in Evanston, which was (and I mean this in the most endearing way possible) a shithole of a boxing gym above a cleaners. It looked like it smelled and it smelled like it looked. The bathroom had a shower, though I'm pretty sure you'd walk out of it dirtier than you went in. Jeff was a brown belt at the time and the first person I met when I walked in looking to sign up for the BJJ program. He seemed like a good dude (he is!), and the BJJ-only members source, 2024 ↗

positive

What's your story, Ace? Your BJJ teacher back in Chicago had his way with you, and now you're sucking d*ck for meth. Stop by any time you like. I think beating your b*tch a*s would be a hell of a fun time. source, 2024 ↗

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I’m a brown belt in BJJ and (so I’ve been told) not a shitty judoka. I’ve had the extreme fortune of training with top level US players and olympians in the like decade I’ve been training judo, BJJ, and wrestling. US judo is in a bad spot. Nearly all recent success has been in spite of and not because of USA Judo (the “main” governing body). There are 3 major governing bodies in the US and none really get along (USJF, USJA, USA Judo). Athlete support is nearly non-existent. Most US judo clubs teach in an incredibly inefficient way and don’t have very high level instruction. There are usually source, 2024 ↗

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I got far less injuries training judo than I did in bjj and catch. You can usually find a judo school (and they are usually way cheaper than ButtscootJJ) catch can be hard to find. Unless your in SoCal, Chicago, Florida or Arizona. If you want to shoot me a dm and let me know what part of the planet you live. I'll look some up for you. source, 2024 ↗

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... but maybe you don't *want* Italian pizza. Maybe you *like* the pizza at the Chinese restaurant exactly because they do it a little differently. Like people from Chicago might prefer deep dish over "real" pizza. It's all just food in the end so there's no "right" way to do it as long as you enjoy it and it doesn't kill you. I dunno, I guess I'm saying your analogies need about as much work as the BJJ stand-up game. source, 2024 ↗

neutral

Thanks so much! Send any questions my way and I’d love to help! source, 2017 ↗

positive

I really, *really* hope one of them puts him in his place in a painful way. He thinks he's the shit now, and I hate how cocky he is. source, 2009 ↗

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