This past Saturday, our kid’s team competed at the 2016 Kids Cup Jiu Jitsu Tournament. 17 kids from De Boa stepped up to test their skills on the tournament scene! All of the kids did amazing, their hard work really showed.
We are so proud of these kids, not because they performed well but, because of the way they carried themselves and behaved. We witnessed several displays of great sportsmanship! We saw teammates encouraging each other, cheering each other on, high 5’s and shaking their opponents and their opponents coach’s hand (win or lose) and we saw tears being held back until off the mats.
In class last Friday, we had a “mat chat” about what we expected from the kids: “do your best, be a good sport and most importantly…HAVE FUN!!” (oh, I almost forgot… don’t poke anyone in the eye;) ) We couldn’t be more proud of them!
FYI….The kids brought home 6 Gold medals, 4 Silver & 6 Bronze, they also took GOLD overall as a team for One Jiu Jitsu!

Copa Bella 2016, followed the Kids Cup that same day. 4 De Boa Ladies competed; they showed up ready to perform! Delfina lost her 1st match but, looked awesome, she started playing her game a little too late into her match and came up short. Annie dominated her 1st match but, lost in the final landing her a Silver Medal, Easter looked great as-well losing in the final by just an advantage, also taking Silver. Our 1st timer, Kaila, killed it!! Winning her 1st match by submission after scoring 23 points and her final match 21-0 giving her the GOLD! Amazing job ladies! Way to represent!.

De Boa Jiu Jitsu had a great showing at the Grand Canyon State Open this past weekend!  We had plenty of memorable performances and had a big group there to show support.

Saturday morning our kids kicked off the day with a great showing.  Here are just a few of the stand out moments:
-Charles went out and dominated his first match, up 20-0 before finishing a submission.  Fun to watch the kid blossom.
-Tanner looked great in a very tough division, winning his first match in very impressive style.  Tanner is a sponge, you can see him working everything the coaches have of shown him.
- Deshawn captured double gold, both GI and No-Gi in his first tournament as a grey belt.
-Carson looked smooth in his GI Division earning himself another gold medal.
-Jeremy won his very first Jiu Jitsu tournament after only a couple of months of training.
-Morgan gave an experienced grappler all that she can handle.  I know that the next tournament for Morgan she is going to find lots of success.
-Payton looked awesome on her way to a bronze medal!

Saturday afternoon the adult blue belts took over the mat.  Sometimes you win, sometimes to you learn, I know this group of blue belts are going to be hungry to fix mistakes and take on the AZ State Championships in June.

Sunday morning started with a bang!  Our Purple Belts, Keli, Chris, and Andy all took home gold medals showing the way to the white belts hanging in the bullpen.

We had three stand out White Belt Performances; Blake took gold in a tough 13 man division.  Both Bruce and Phil entered their first tournaments, it was really exciting watching them both get their hands raised for the first time.

Great Job team!  

Everyone has a place in Jiu Jitsu class.....
The Higher belt: Teaches you, helps you, inspires you, pushes you and makes you realize you need to train more.
The Lower belt: YOU teach the, help them, inspire them,push them and learn by showing them the details.
No matter how much mat time you have, how well your brain retains techniques, how naturally athletic you are, there is ALWAYS someone who can help you to be better (and that isn't always someone who is better then you-or bigger or stronger)
It's great to have a training partner equal to your size and skill level but, for some of us that isn't always an option.
I train with adult men weighing over 200 lbs to kids weighing under 80 lbs, some who are new, some who have been training many years.
I try to get something from every roll, if its the big guy, I try to work on my defense, speed and trying to move ME instead of trying to move them. If it's the little guy (or girl) I try to work on my technique, maybe try some new things.
Sometimes I feel as if I am taking someones "quality training time"  but, the truth is, they could be using their time with me to focus more on technique and skill and try to keep in mind that I'm training for competition too! 
~ Leslie (your little training partner)

It is an exciting time of the year, it is Tournament Season!  From now until October, De Boa Jiu Jitsu will be ramping up training and preparing to compete. We believe that competition is a team effort, that everyone apart of the De Boa Family is crucial to the success of our competitors.  We do not have a Competition team, Non Competitor Team, or a Girls Team, we have ONE Team and it is going to be a excellent year!

Coach Andy Campa kicked off the year of competition with a tournament last week and the week prior!  Coach Andy does a phenomenal job with our Kid's Program, he also finds the time to prepare to be a great competitor.  January 16th Andy competed at the Tap Cancer Out Charity BJJ Open.   Andy was able to raise over $600 in donations for the event!  He fell short in the match but made us extremely proud in the process.  This past weekend captured the silver medal at the NABJJF All Americans!

Blue Belt Mike Chavez also competed at the All Americans, his first tournament in a long time and first as a Blue Belt.  Mike finished both his opponents by Choke and brought home a Gold Medal! 

How many look forward to January 1st?  Time to make those important changes in your life?  I am going to lose 10 pounds!  I'm going to get in better shape!  I'm going to eat clean and cut out junk food!  I'm going to stop drinking/smoking! I'm going to improve my social life!  I'm going to be happier!

These are all great goals to start the year.  The problem is come January 15th you haven't lost even two pounds, the shape is still round, you are tired of chicken and broccoli and dying for an Oreo.  The frustrations build which leads to poor weekend decisions that leads to a night at the bar followed by a weekend of being unproductive and lazy.  It is a viscous cycle I have witnessed many times.  

2016 is going to be different!  Instead of thinking up a list of resolutions we suggest investing in a tool that improves all areas of your life.  Come get your start in Jiu Jitsu; lose weight, get in shape, eat clean, stop partying, and improve your social life!  These are all just results of Jiu Jitsu.

We are offering a 10 pack of classes for Christmas for only $50!  If you haven't purchased your presents yet avoid the malls and outlet stores, De Boa is your final stop!  These are great presents for your family and friends and the best choice you will make next year for yourself.

We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

This past weekend Team De Boa participated in our 1st out of state tournament NABJJF Worlds in Long Beach. 
We started the weekend off by checking out Giva's new academy in Irvine, One Jiu Jitsu. The kids had an opportunity to take Giva's kids class and try out their skills with several tough kids from our extended BJJ family. They all performed incredibly well and pushed themselves through some tough drilling. We topped off the night with a pizza party to celebrate Giva's Birthday.
The following morning we heading off to the Pyramid bright and early to start off the day with kids no-Gi. Carson had some tough matches but looked great holding his own against the kid who took it all. Up next was Lexi with an outstanding performance securing an arm bar in less then 1 minute, landing her on the top of the podium for her 1st of 2 Gold medals she earned this weekend! Our adult crew brought home 3 Silvers, 2 Gold and 2 bronze medals in Gi (not to shabby for 5 competitors) Congrats to Logan and Coach Destiny on their Golds!!
De Boa kids did awesome on Sunday morning in Gi. Destiny, Lexi and Deshawn all took Gold in their division. The kids also earned 4 Silver medals and 5 Bronze! Coach Keli & Doc James fought No-gi in the afternoon, adding 2 more Silver medals to the Bling!
We were so impressed by the kids performances, they all had tough matches and fought their hearts out. Team De Boa should be very proud of themselves! 
Thank you so much to our kids coaching team for all the work you did getting our kids team ready! Coach Andy couldn't make it out this weekend but put in lots of time getting the kids prepared! Coach Destiny and Coach Keli put in some VERY long hours this weekend and we want to give a big thank you to you both for all of your help!
​*Lotus Club placed 2nd in adult and 3rd in kids!
Ready for 2016!! Team De Boa!