Invictus Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai Academy

The biggest enemy to your progress is one simple phrase:

"ill do it tomorrow"

life will always be busy...

anything put off til tomorrow will almost never happen.

you have to prioritize your goals

Set a goal and commit to yourself.

Your progress toward your goal starts today!

See you tonight on the mats

When most people start training, often the goal is to get a black belt...

But, when you get it you realize it's just a belt... the real accomplishment is the experiences, people, and physical growth you see in yourself.

when you look back at your life and all you were able to do, the belt will be collecting dust but the memories and relationships will live on.

Some of the best people I have ever met came from this art,

Some of the toughest battles I was able to overcome came from this art.

My physical health was built and maintained by this art.

My mental health was healed and stabilized by this art.

And while I don't ever discount the accomplishment of obtaining the black belt around my waist, I do know that when I'm older and look back at the journey, the belt itself will be secondary to who I met, and all of my experiences in this art.
I wish that for all of you too.

Join us tonight on the mats!

Our mats open in 2 hours!

let's get in tonight for some Muay-Thai and Jiu-Jitsu.

working some dutch holds in Muay Thai tonight, which is always a good opportunity to practice skills on a partner.

later tonight, Join Professor Jeff for some NoGi submission grappling escapes and attacks.

See you on the mats!

We just opened for this evening's classes!!

Let's get in and get some work done in Muay Thai and BJJ.

Can't make the 5:30 PM Muay Thai class tonight????

You can still burn off the day's stress with some Gi BJJ at 7:00 pm!

Don't have a Gi??

We got you covered with an entire rack of loaner Gis to get you started!

so let's get in and get moving.

See you soon!

loving this cool October air in the gym!

One thing that has always been the case with our team is that we know how to heat up the gym.

We have two refrigerated A/C units rated for our space... but the manufacturer never counted on having big groups of hard working people hitting pads and grappling...

Luckily, mother nature has been helping us out!

training in the nice crisp air has been amazing, and now that it's Monday we get to do it some more!!

So join us tonight and have some fun with us!

Kid's BJJ - 5:30 PM

Muay-Thai Kickboxing - 5:30 PM

Gi BJJ at 7:00 PM

see you on the mats!!

it's 5:00pm and we just opened for another night of classes!

We have Muay-Thai kickboxing starting in 30 minutes!

BJJ fundamentals in an hour and NoGi grappling/MMA in two hours (7PM)

Join us on the mats and start achieving your goals!

Consistency not complexity breeds success.

it's simple; the more you show up the more you'll improve.

throughout the many years of fighting and competing the one factor that ive seen create more champions or get more people to their goals has been consistency.

It's pretty hard to do something every day and be unable to be proficient.

so make showing up and being consistent a habit in whatever your goals are.

See you tonight on the mats!!

One of the most powerful tools in your grappling arsenal:

All jiu-jitsu, fights or self-defense situations typically start on the feet,

BJJ may be know as a ground fighting system, but your ability to control how or when you go to the ground is HUGELY important.

working on your takedowns and throws will go a long way in setting yourself up for success after you hit the ground.

if you want to land on top or in a specific position,

if you want to prevent someone bigger from landing on top of you,

if you want to avoid objects or hard surfaces in a self-defense situation..

all of these require the knowledge and capability to control an individual on your feet.

make this skill a priority in your training.

See you on the mats!

The support of a good team will exponentially help you grow and improve.

Fighting and/or martial arts training is often considered an individual endeavor...

you step into a cage or ring alone,

you face an opponent alone ( unless you're part of one of those crazy Russian leagues)

Win or lose, you feel like you're on your own.

But that couldn't be further from the truth.

With you in that ring/cage is all of the encouragement of your teammates,

wisdom and training your coaches shared with you.

and, the experience you gained from the mats or in sparring.

Remember, when you're on a good team, You're not alone... you have an army of support at your back.

Thats how a team and gym should be.

See you tonight on the mats!

Rolling is one of the best things for you to make progress... IF DONE THE RIGHT WAY.

The mistake many people make when rolling is just focusing on getting a submission or winning.

in truth, this is the best way to plateau.

when you focus on just winning you'll only ever use the techniques or methods you currently have in your toolbox.

ask yourself: "are the skills I have now the limit of what I can accomplish?"

because if you're only rolling to win then that will in fact be the case.

So how do you fix this?

roll with a purpose of learning or working on something specific,

a weakness you have,

a submission you would like to improve.

or something you drilled in class.

When you focus on specific elements to improve upon you will only grow in your skill.

See you on the mats tonight!

One of the worst things you can do in sparring:

We all start sparring with the idea that we are fighting.

Fighting a teammate, yes but fighting nonetheless.

This is a huge mistake that will cost you a lot time and progress (as well as the trust of your training partners)

Sparring isn't fighting, if it were it would be called "fighting"

Sparring is experimentation.

It's giving you and your partner the ability to try something new and build skills.

It gives you the opportunity to fail with minimal consequences.

If you treat it like a fight, you take those opportunities away from not only you but also your teammate.

See you tonight on the mats!

Going to Jiu-jitsu means different things for different people.

For some it means "going to relieve the day's stress"

For some it's "going to get a workout in and feel good"

For other's it's "going to see my people and be social"

And even some who go to Jiu-jitsu as a therapy for mental turmoil, confidence and empowerment.

For me it's literally been ALL of those reasons and more.

But more importantly, the reason you have for why you show up is what will make sure you improve.

It's when we have no reason for our actions that we make no progress.

Have a reason, have a goal. Even if it's just "to get out of the house"
After you fulfill your goal you'll feel better about your accomplishment.

Have a great day and we'll see you on the mats tonight!!

"Iron sharpens Iron"

is always bringing out the best in those he chooses to share the mats with.

Lately it seems like all of the photos have him on the receiving end of something violent 🤣.

But, I can say with full certainty that he wouldn't want it any other way, as most days he gives more than he gets.

It's great to have teammates like him on the mats pushing us all (even coaches) to improve.

Note: he has been requesting this photo of him and be shared.

We appreciate you both for constantly helping build the best out of this team.

"Iron sharpens Iron"

See you all on the mats tonight!

"The problem when finding success for most people is they prioritize complexity over consistency" - Alex

You hear our coaches. ay it all the time...

If you want to improve...

Simply show up regularly and practice hard!

It's funny; If you ask a native English speaker what it takes to learn Spanish (even if they don't speak it) they will tell you it takes consistent practice and immersion to see progress.

Yet, most people when we go to the gym to get in shape, start dieting, try a new skill like BJJ or Kickboxing. They require immediate results in order to stay motivated and not quit.

When you step on the mats you have to remember, you're learning a new language... the language of combat... and it requires consistency and immersion to learn.

Hope you all have a great day, ill see you on the mats!

When you're not very big...but you've secretly gene spliced your DNA with a house cat.

got some hops trying to hit

This was a fun sequence, and always fun watching students spar and improve.

Join us tonight for more awesome classes!

On the menu:

5:00 PM - Advanced kids/teens bjj

5:30 PM - Muay-Thai Kickboxing

6:00 PM - Wrestling for Bjj

7:00 PM NoGi BJJ

See you on the mats!

Congratulations to all of the individuals who earned new belts last night.

And thank you everyone who came out for the diaper roll and supported testers.

Proud of you all and proud of our strong team.

Great work everyone!

Diaper roll and belts tonight at 7pm Adult bjj class

Make sure to make it in and please bring diapers, wipes etc if you can!

Hope to see everyone on the mats!

Took me a while to post this for multiple reasons...

Took me a while to pick all the photos I wanted to share... photos throughout the many years of knowing ... (didn't have room for all of them)

This post may sound like I'm writing an obituary for Eric, but in truth if you've ever been to Ohio it basically is like dying 😂

Eric was with our team since essentially the beginning...

(As seen in the photos...)
In my time with Eric he kicked my ass, made me bleed, instructed me in Thai techniques, co-certified me in Muay-Thai Kickboxing as an instructor and helped me to be a better fighter and coach.

I got the opportunity to witness him fight.

we cornered fighters together.

He helped me get ready and supported me for the U.S. Open Olympic qualifiers and some of my fights

He coached our team and created many amazing talents throughout the years.

He's been a teacher, a coach, a mentor, an accomplice and a friend. Someone who's contributions to me and our team I will be forever grateful for.

It is sad to lose an Invictus founder, but I am grateful for the time we got to spend on the mats together.

Cheers 🍻 to your new adventures brother, thanks for all you gave to me and our team.
Always family!