On Saturday Dec. 17, The Arena held it’s first Jiu Jitsu Promotions. Although The Arena has offered an outstanding No Gi Jiu Jitsu program for years, the gym recently included Gi Jiu Jitsu into it’s program and now offers 11 Gi classes a week to compliment its 12 No Gi classes, for a total of 23 Jiu Jitsu classes weekly.
With 6 black belts supervising including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Saulo Ribieiro and Roy Harris, more than 40 people on the mat, and over a hundred spectators, the event was well-attended. Favorite female MMA photographer Tracy Lee took pictures while reporters from several MMA magazines did interviews. Arena MMA Coach Jeff Clark (2nd degree Black Belt) promoted fellow MMA and Jiu Jitsu Coach Pat Speight to Black Belt. Other Arena Coaches / Fighters promoted included Paul Stark, Joe Duarte, Vince Salvador, Jon Tuck, Johnny Billingslea, Rich Power, Kiel Reid, Chris Cope and Shane Kruchten. Many regular Arena Jiu Jitsu students were also promoted. After the promotions, The Arena hosted a BBQ prior to heading next door to the San Diego Sports Arena to watch two of its MMA fighters, KJ Noons and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, compete and win in the Strikeforce promotion held Saturday evening.
The new Gi Jiu Jitsu program is a welcome addition to The Arena’s other extremely strong San Diego offerings including No Gi Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling and of course MMA. While MMA will continue to be the core focus of the gym, The Arena’s Gi Jitsu program allows its students an additional venue for development and competition.
The new program will also feature new teaching methodologies, discarding anything non-functional, and instead concentrating on developing its practitioners at a rapid pace by exposing them to high-level instruction in a systemized format. 4 Jiu Jitsu black belts will be instructing the program including Jeff Clark, Jake Mapes, Jason Bukich and Pat Speight, with plans to bring on additional black belts to the program soon.
If you are interested in becoming involved in this new San Diego Jiu Jitsu program, please speak to one of the Coaches or come into one of the classes anytime.
