Kid's Class

The EMWJJA team is made up of a pretty special bunch of people, who are all very loyal, passionate and dedicated to BJJ. This loyalty and dedication is not solely shown by the adults of the club, it is also very evident in the Kids Class. Every Thursday between 4 and 5pm Paul Sayers, the club's resident black belt in Hobart, takes the kids through warm ups, drills and techniques, followed by one-on-one rolling. This week, EMWJJA's head instructor Minol visited Hobart for the first time since he, Esther and the kids moved to Melbourne in January, and conducted a grading session for the kids class's most dedicated students. A big congratulations to Emma, Max and Arthur who undertook their Grey Belt exam - congratulations on your new belts guys! Jacoba also did a belt exam and was awarded her Yellow & Black Belt - congratulations Jacoba! Kaea, Ezra, Caleb and Jesse were also awarded a stripe each on their Yellow Belts. Well done everyone!

Back - Emma, Jacoba, Jesse, Kaea, Caleb, Ezra, Josh Front - Paul, Max, Jackie, Izzie, Luca, Arthur, Minol The next generation of BJJ Girls coming up through the ranks:

Kaea, Emma and Jacoba Keep up the good work kids!!

Update from Tas

This update has been a little while coming sorry, but the fabulous Tassie girls well and truly deserve a bit of recognition for the hard work they've been putting in at training this year.

Back in March, blue belt Jacinta received her second stripe, while Rachel, the current girl's trainer, received her first stripe on her blue belt. Fiona received her third stripe on her white belt, and is powering away on the path to blue belt.

Sam, another of our amazing Tassie girls, took a trip to Melbourne the weekend these stripes were given - but she didn't miss out, she received a second stripe on her blue belt during her visit with Esther and Minol!

The girls are planning a trip to Melbourne to train with Esther again - we can't wait!

March.

It has been an exciting month that's for sure.  I will get to the big GIG weekend later but the first excitement for the month was having Sam (and Jake) visit for the weekend (9th-11th), so Sam was able to come along to our girls class, whoo!  This is a before pic but Sam received another stripe on her belt so that must mean a lot of hard training in Tas!  (We'll hear soon about the rest of the Tassie lot hey Nic...)  Bec also received a stripe on her belt a couple of weeks ago.  Keep up the good work ladies!  

 Ally, Bec, Esther, Sam and Vela

TRIBOS

Time for a gi review... cos I have a new GI!  I'm always a bit sceptical of trying new gis.  Once you have been training for a while you get a bit picky about how a gi fits and feels when you are training, especially being a woman it's great to find a gi that fits your body (and is not baggy in the crotch).  I've been wearing mostly BULL TERRIER gis because they fit me well and are good quality.  But now I am excited to present to you TRIBOS FIGHT.  It's a relatively new brand and I am VERY happy with this gi.  Apart from the fact that it is a cool design (I am particularly liking the blue stripe up the pants), it fits good- and it's really light.  AND, the mens and kids gis are just as awesome (I really want one of the kids gis in my size!!)  I'm impressed with the quality so far too, no stitching coming apart after the first wash!  So, cool, cool, coolio.  I have a new gi.

Count down...

The TASSIE GANG!

This was our last photo shoot!  But surely not our last for real because I will see these girls again and no doubt when I do we will be posing away again for more pics.  We had a fun girls night before I left for Melbourne where Sam presented me with a very cool and thoughtful picture frame with a collage of photos from my time teaching the girls class in Tasmania.  A lot of cool memories and a lot of fun had with these girls.  I'm very lucky as they have become such good friends to me and have been so supportive especially with Estella's surgery last year.  Amazing individuals we make a pretty awesome team!  Looking forward to having them come stay for a girlie weekend getaway in Melbourne in the not too distant future.  

(left-right) Rach, Nicolle, Sam, Esther, Jacinta & Fiona

Esther's First Melbourne Class

First I was nervous that no one would show up... and then I was a little nervous that people WOULD show up... and then I was just excited to teach my first BJJ girls only class in Melbourne at EVOLVE MMA!  Thanks to these awesome ladies (and little ladies) for coming along to train!  It was a fun night and exciting to meet other women on their own BJJ journeys and particularly great to have Mary along for her first lesson and I hope this is just the beginning of a long journey for her!  The beginning is always exciting for me.  I look at how far the girls have come since my first girls only class in Tassie and I am so proud of where their training and hard work have got them.  Now that I'm here in Melbourne I'm looking forward to meeting more ladies and helping them (as much as I can) to learn, grow and progress in their training.