Member of the Month: Amanda Balay
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 Amanda Balay this month! As member of the month, Amanda 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 Amanda and her 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.
Challenge Yourself in BJJ
A challenge, no matter how big or small, changes us. When we set up challenges for ourselves, those challenges can change us in a positive way; they can force us to grow. Any time you intentionally leave your comfort zone, you expand it.
Member of the Month: Jordan McCloud
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 Jordan McCloud this month! As member of the month, Jordan 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 Jordan below:
Are You Productive with Your Training, or do You Just Look Busy?
Maybe you spend most of your time at a gym where you aren’t truly being challenged because you’re the best person there. Maybe you don’t roll with people because you know they are going to make you put effort in when you don’t want to.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Benefits of Jiu-Jitsu for the Neurodivergent
I sit in my classroom on this warm spring morning, half-finished energy drink on my desk, the sounds of my students arriving echoing down the halls and reverberating off of the lockers. I look at the schedule I’ve made for my students, but my brain doesn’t even register that my eyes have fallen on that sheet of paper. Instead, I’m thinking about Jiu-Jitsu.