De La Costa Academy Ottawa

Please note that this Saturday, February 21 our open mat will be a closed door event as we promote one of our own to Black Belt. It's a family affair, and we thank you for your understanding :)

If you're looking for your DLC open mat fix, might I suggest our Tuesday or Thursday evening open mats to tide you over?

Marc-Andre teaching some of his berimbolo stuff while I watch and grumble about how it was "In MY day"...

Had to laugh at this: Damien teaching another amazing Purple+ class and the positional sparring forces him to intervene. Excellence is a cruel mistress :D These days with the internet, (almost) anyone can teach moves. It takes someone special to teach the deeper concepts that underpin mastery. We're blessed to have instructors like Damien lending his expertise to the team. Remember, it's not just open mats that are open to everyone, but also our classes. Stalling out at purple? Looking to polish at brown as you gear up for your black belt? Feeling stale at black belt? Come in early on Saturdays for the Purple+ class and stick around for open mat. We're built on service and happy to help anyone who needs it. And your drop-in donation goes to a very good cause! Hope to see you soon!

Congratulations to for levelling up to blue in near-record time.

I don't like to rush promotions, but when someone is there every day and stays late after every class to drill, asks smart questions and then applies the answers, it's not so much quick as it is efficient.

Extra time drilling.
Seeking guidance.
Applying that guidance.

We could all learn a thing or two from how Sigurd crushed his white belt time!

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great way to make new friends.

But it's an even better way to reconnect with old friends. In this case, high school friends!

Today my (very) old friend dropped in and reminded me that bigger is always better!

On Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings the inimitable Damien Sabourin teaches our Purple+ class. Advanced grappling concepts on which to build a deep game.

We welcome drop-in for all our classes, not just our open mats. If you're purple or up and want to see how other folks are building their games, come join us.

(And then stick around for open mat right after and apply these concepts live!)

Congratulations to Gayaneh on her well-deserved promotion to blue belt.

Gayaneh has been calmly, consistently improving for a long while now. She asks for advice, puts that advice into action, and consistently works on applying her new skills to her rolls. We could all follow her example!

Congratulations, Gayaneh, proud to have you represent us at blue.

(Now if only you'd follow us on Insta so I could tag you.... :). )

In our sport, degrees on a black belt are generally a function of time served (survived). That we continue to polish our skills and explore growth is assumed to be part of what being a black belt is.

Nevertheless, it's an opportunity to reflect on the path taken so far. As such, a few mentions are in order:

Nadie llega solo -- no one gets there alone. Whether it's teammates, students, instructors, or just people we happen to share the mats with from time to time, no one gets anywhere without the help and support of others. I've learned from a list of athletes too long and disparate to ever do justice in a post. If you've shared the mat with me, I'm grateful for you.

Still, a few people must be mentioned as milestones:

Yuki Nakaii was my very first BJJ instructor, first at SuperTiger in Higashi Ōmiya, and then when he opened Paraestra. He's a Japanese national treasure and a legend in the sport.

Chris Nardi was kind enough to train me as well while I was in Tôkyo, and his early support was pivotal

Damus Fry was a blue belt in Cairns, Australia with a love for the sport who opened an academy sonata to share BJJ in an area where, at the time, there were exceptionally few options. It tooke eight months to pass his guard for the first time, at 200lbs vs what was probably 140lbs soaking wet. Really drove home the efficacy of this sport.

Dan Higgins put together a crew of savages around the time I was training with Damus, and it was he who set me up with my MMA fight through Rings. Great times!

Back in Canada, I was lucky enough to train under Waggney Fabiano and then Fabio Holanda, both of whom were brought in by Phil Gélinas, who was an OG supporter of BJJ and who should always be thought of as foundational to the growth of the sport in Montreal.

Ahmad Zahabi deserves mention as well, as he took up the reins when Waggney left until Fabio came and thereby kept the program alive and the team together. He was a purple belt at the time and I don't think I ever came close to passing his butterfly guard.

(More in the comments, as there's not enough room). Also, I'm missed a bunch of tags, as not everyone follows this account, and vice versa)