Niji Dojo

Niji promotions 2026
Jai - Purple Belt
Edsel - 1° Black Belt (from Niji and from Denney Choi of Baem Jiu-Jitsu)
Bob - 1° Black Belt
Caren - 4° Black Belt from Professor Stanley Kendrick of Triune Jiu-Jitsu Brasileiro

Huge gratitude to Stan for presiding and for mentoring me all these years. Truly Niji would not exist without you 😭🖤

Thank you to Haruna for these gorgeous photos!

Congrats to everyone on their degrees! It’s not the team, it’s the people. 🤍💙💜🤎🖤

More pics to come….

Just staying after promotions to clean in a solo, meditative way.

Reflecting on 30 years of training: through college, grad school, starting my career, 20 years of marriage, divorce, 5 orthopedic surgeries, endometriosis, the joy of my family moving closer, and taking care of my dad.

Jiu-jitsu has kept me grounded and (mostly) sane. This fourth degree is dedicated to all my loved ones on the mat. ♥️🖤🖤🖤🖤

A diamond for each person in the color of their gi that day! Guessing it will be all filled up in a couple months or sooner. Thanks to Lauren for this brilliant gift that delights my quirky brain and celebrates our sweet community. 🥋🌺🤍
b

It’s time for stripes and new belts!
Come celebrate all of our students’ achievements on Saturday 5/2/26 11 am - 12:15 pm with an open mat and potluck celebration to follow.
Wear your gi for photos!
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

When the first 5 people to show up to class are one of each belt, you know I have to take a picture. 🤍💙💜🤎🖤😻

Five years ago today, I got the keys to the space that would become Niji Dojo!

It had been a Pilates studio that was decorated a little bit like an Olive Garden, with terra-cotta walls and lots of Tuscan sconces. First order of business was take all the hardware off the walls and paint everything white.

It would take a couple more months to figure out the schedule, build a website, set up the billing platform, install the mats, order merch, and decorate. I had planned to open in June, but the mats didn’t arrive till mid July.

So we’ll celebrate our 5th birthday in July, but today is also special to me as the anniversary of the very beginning 😸🖤

-Caren

Women/Femme BJJ Class at Niji Dojo
Wednesdays 6-7 pm
Free in the month of April 💙💜🧡
Come play!

Silly me, I forgot to take a class photo, but there were 15 of us on the mat last night at the very first women/femme BJJ class at NIJI!

Free for the month of April! Wednesdays 6-7 pm with all gender open practice afterwards 7-8 pm.

Special thanks to .maru .b for helping out the newbies with so much skill and patience 💕

We did some basic techniques and played some games with the goal of getting a feel for jiu-jitsu, getting comfortable with proximity, and just having fun connecting.

I can’t wait for next week! -Caren

Coming this spring to NIJI DOJO!

ICE BOXING

As temperatures rise, there are those days where you just don’t feel like getting off the couch and going to the gym. Combining the benefits of a cold plunge and the cardiovascular challenge of a traditional boxing workout, ice boxing is basically the opposite of hot yoga.

We crank down the AC to 52° and roll down the shades to keep the cold in. For a small fee you can store your equipment in our freezer, where we’ll keep all our loaner gloves and mitts.

Ice boxing has shown to reduce inflammation, help injuries heal faster, and increase your level of grit by a factor of 7. You’ll also burn more calories as your body struggles to function properly.

You can wear a puffy jacket your first few classes, though as you get tougher you’ll want to switch to blousy shorts and a crop top to let the brisk air swirl around you.

On the Bluetooth speakers we’ll only play cool jazz, as this genre has been scientifically demonstrated to reduce core body temperature up to 2°.

First class is free! ❄️🥊❤️‍🩹







Happy April 1st from Niji Dojo
And of course **kice

It’s happening!

Women/Femme Nonbinary
BJJ Class
Ages 13+
Wednesdays 6 - 7pm
Starts April 1st and FREE for the month of April.

Taught by Caren Camblin
3rd degree Black Belt in BJJ
Registered Yoga Teacher
UCSC Senior Lecturer
(pictured here with Lynnia Tuckfield, Brown Belt/MD)

NIJI DOJO is a body positive, LGBTQIA+ inclusive, trauma-informed space.

FEEL GOOD * HAVE FUN

Questions? DM or comment ~ I’m here!