Dear Legion,
The last letter of the year is going out a couple of days early so that everyone can be aware of the holiday schedule and make the most of it. Legion doesn't really close and we will have plenty of training available for you.
We'll also be looking at the conquests of Sloan and Paige in the cage and on the mats of the World No-Gi Championship.
We have several events coming your way to kick off 2025 and I go over what they hold in store. I'm particularly excited about the Yoga for AJJ workshop, hopefully it can undo a couple of years of neglecting mobility and flexibility work. Fingers crossed.
But first, let's have a look at Legion Wrapped, to see how much work we've all put in on the mats!
Coach Sloan Wins His MMA Fight, Has To Say "You Should See The Other Guy" 100x
A couple of weeks ago coach Sloan competed in his third professional MMA fight. Bobby Winther and I made the trip up to Long Beach to corner him and were joined by a good group of Legionnaires there to show support.
Sloan won the fight via his signature guillotine in the second round, gaining a lot of valuable experience.
Having competed in (amateur) MMA myself, I can tell you that stepping in the cage is a whole different animal, compared to grappling, which is plenty violent and dangerous. Sloan's MMA conquests are great news for everyone taking the no-gi classes because they leave no doubt (if there ever was any) that you're getting techniques that work in a fight.
Coach Paige Makes Black-Belt Worlds Debut, Immediately Wins Medal
Not to be outdone, Sloan's better half made her black belt debut at No-Gi Worlds. Paige has won double gold at purple belt before, she took home gold as a brown belt, then suffered a setback. She had ACL surgery, rehabbed it, suffered a meniscus injury and had to have another surgery to fix it.
Last week she followed up her Pan Ams silver medal, making it to the finals where she lost by a single advantage in a closely contested match. That could even be a good thing because we wouldn't want her to lose motivation by instantly winning every World Championship she enters.
Our member Ben Hou also took home silver in the brown belt Masters division. Congratulations to him as well!
Holiday Schedule
You may have noticed that we generally try to keep the schedule as intact as possible for holidays throughout the year. We have been open for 365 days per year for three years straight, hosting at least an open mat.
The reason for that is that we understand your jiu-jitsu training often competes with obligations to make it onto the schedule for the day. So we make sure to stay open on the days when most of you don't have to go to work. In addition to having two classes on Christmas and New Year's Eve, we are adding four classes to the schedule for January 1st.
New Year's resolutions only work when they are attached to good habits. That's why we're giving you the opportunity, on the very first day of the year, to get a class and some rounds in, to set the tone for 2025.
Upcoming Events
Rolling at the New Year Open Mat
If you want to take the 2025 jiu-jitsu commitment to the extreme and literally await the new year on the mats... then you'll want to know that we're hosting an event at 10 pm on December 31st.
A New Year's open mat, organized by coach Mike, who's been going all out on the preparations to make it an unparalleled New Year's jiu-jitsu event.
Yoga for Jiu-Jitsu Workshop with Jason Crandell, Saturday 1/4 at 2 pm
On the first Saturday of the year, we'll be treated to a yoga workshop from Jason Crandell, a long-time member, purple belt, who happens to be one of the best yoga teachers in the world.
Yoga is a great complement to jiu-jitsu, but a lot of us never try it because it's hard to determine what kind of class to go to and if you're going to be required to chant in Sanskrit while breaking your spine in half. Jason's workshop should make you feel better than you've ever felt when stepping off the mats. No previous experience or equipment is necessary.
In-House Tournament, Saturday 1/11
The second weekend of January will be all about the in-house tournament. Both kids and adult divisions are happening on the 11th, with the kids starting at 9 am and adults at 12 pm.
Registrations are still open and you can find all of the details on the Smoothcomp page. This is an amazing opportunity to have a fun first competition experience, without sacrificing $200 and a whole Saturday.
P.S. Thanks for being a part of Legion's 2024, we have some exciting stuff planned for 2025 in our quest for American Jiu-Jitsu domination.