Liberation with Lez Roll Radio
Over the weekend, Academic Grappling and KruFit hosted the 2nd annual Lez Roll Radio Queer Grappling Camp. The host of Lez Roll Radio and the organizers of the event, Kelly and Andrea, truly outdid themselves this year. With last year’s inaugural camp going over so smoothly, there was a lot of hype to live up to this time around.
Member of the Month: Wesley Stevens
Welcome to our newest member of the month interview! When selecting a member of the month for Academic Grappling, we look for effort, empathy, personal improvement, and someone who inspires others through their authentic interactions. We are thrilled to have Wesley Stevens this month! As member of the month, Wesley was allowed to wear the much-coveted AG Belt, sign the back of it, and have a polaroid printed and hung on the wall of the gym. Learn more about our friend Wesley and their BJJ journey below:
Academic Grappling Year-End Recap
As 2023 winds to a close, people are beginning to rethink their goals and make resolutions. For many of us in BJJ, the new year is a time of self-reflection and realigning ourselves. We can take time to sit back and think of the things we have accomplished in the year and what we want to achieve in the upcoming trip around the sun.
Member of the Month: Kri
Welcome to our third member of the month interview! When selecting a member of the month for Academic Grappling, we look for effort, empathy, personal improvement, and someone who inspires others through their authentic interactions. We are thrilled to have Kri this month! As member of the month, Kri was allowed to wear the much-coveted AG Belt, sign the back of it, and have a polaroid printed and hung on the wall of the gym. Learn more about our friend Kri below:
Age, Injuries, and Adjusting our Expectations
Learning Jiu-Jitsu is a never-ending process. No matter how much a person thinks they know about BJJ, there is always something more to be learned. While in many aspects of life, such an insurmountable activity would feel daunting and not worth even starting; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can give us the opposite effect, if we let it.
Member of the Month: Logan Clevenger
Welcome to our second member of the month interview! When selecting a member of the month for Academic Grappling, we look for effort, empathy, personal improvement, and someone who inspires others through their authentic interactions. We are thrilled to have Logan Clevenger this month! As member of the month, Logan was allowed to wear the much-coveted AG Belt, sign the back of it, and have a polaroid printed and hung on the wall of the gym. Learn more about our friend Logan below:
Member of the Month: Dan Walzer
Welcome to our first member of the month interview! When selecting a member of the month for Academic Grappling, we look for effort, empathy, personal improvement, and someone who inspires others through their authentic interactions. We are thrilled to have Dan Walzer be the first member of the month! As member of the month, Dan was allowed to wear the much-sought-after AG Belt, sign the back of it, and have a polaroid printed and hung on the wall of the gym. Learn more about our friend Dan below:
Meeting Students Where They Are
I was recently asked to write a blog about mindful instruction and how to appropriately coach/teach those who don’t wish to compete or have other limitations. With more than a decade of experience in the classroom as a school teacher, I can offer a few insights into how and why we run things the way we do at Academic Grappling. Simply put, the key is to meet each student where they are.
Lez Roll Radio Queer Grappling Camp: Why it Matters
Last weekend, April 14-16th, we at Academic Grappling and KruFit hosted the inaugural Lez Roll Radio Queer BJJ Camp. Simply put, it was wonderful.
The camp began with a check-in and open mat on Friday evening with coaches Andrea and Kelly Schoenegge. While there, we were able to meet a range of individuals from all over the country; from right down the road all the way to Seattle.
We Will Not Comply: Indiana's Anti-Trans Legislation
Yesterday, I made my way to the Indiana Statehouse to stand in opposition to legislation put forward by lawmakers in the House of Representatives. Indiana ACLU organized the event and hundreds of individuals came out to demand the bill be voted down. Unfortunately, despite the bill’s extreme unpopularity, the highly conservative makeup of the House guaranteed its passage, and will likely guarantee its passage in the state Senate.
Why I Won't Train Cops and You Shouldn't Either
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Memphis, Tennessee to join in on the protests against police brutality for the murder of Tyre Nichols. While I did not get to participate in the kind of direct actions that I was able to as part of the Good Trouble 65 or the Filibuster 42, but I was able to meet local activists and organizers and see how they worked and what they were doing to push the work forward.
De-escalation in the Face of Gun Violence
I recently had a run-in with someone experiencing a mental health crisis who was also armed and intended to carry out an act of violence. I do not believe that everyone who reads this blog should go out and attempt the same thing if a situation were to arise, but I wish to illustrate how important de-escalation is and why it should be one of the main focuses of any sort of self-defense curriculum. Self-defense should be about more than meting out violence when we feel threatened.
From Pancakes to Provisions: How We Became Mutual Aid Over Everything
Last November, we began volunteering with a local mutual aid organization, Because of Adam in order to provide food to our unhoused neighbors here in Indianapolis. The service we provide has since grown and expanded and shifted and I felt it would be good to update everyone on what we do and how we have changed our goals over the last year, and how we went from calling ourselves Indy Pancake Popup to Mutual Aid Over Everything.
Let Trans Women Compete
In the recent months, we have seen a number of anti-trans laws come into play in various states and imposing various restrictions and humiliations on our trans friends. From not allowing name changes, to actual genital inspections in order to participate in sports, things have become increasingly dark and dangerous for members of the trans community.
How Being Arrested Created Academic Grappling
We’ve developed a space in BJJ where we can stand up and be vocal about issues that matter and feel supported in it. We can collectively work to keep our communities safe and healthy through sharing our time, resources, and talents to causes that matter to us. I am grateful for what we have at Academic Grappling and KruFit. I am grateful I didn’t quit.
Why We’re Sucker Free
2020 was a year that changed everything for so many of us, especially within the martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community. Between the rise of COVID-19 and the George Floyd protests for police accountability that took place across the nation, we began to learn that our friends, family, and even our training partners were not the people we thought they were.
Mental Illness and Homelessness via #submitthestigma
I initally wrote this piece for #submitthestigma but have made minor additions and updated it here for Academic Grappling.
My Surgery and What it Means to Me
For the last few months, I have been discussing having surgery. Everyone has assumed it was for my spine, which is in fact, a huge mess that hinders me. But to say that I had surgery for my back is only half of the truth. I haven’t exactly been honest about what I’m having done, which is bariatric surgery.