Solarte’s Summer review…it was busy, especially in July!
Solarte Summer Potluck
On Friday July 10th, we gathered and enjoyed the day together despite the wind. Delicious food, fun games (everyone likes mumbly peg) and the best crew you’d ever want to spend time with.❤️
Click to watch video of the day: 260710potluck
The Revolution Tournament
July 18 & 19th was a great weekend for our Competition Team! Kyle’s focused work paid off with all submission finishes to win gold in his gi purple belt and advanced nogi divisions! Chris was very evenly matched in his blue belt division. His rounds were so close that they were determined by referee decisions and a narrow points win for silver.
Solarte’s first ever youth competitors had a blast at the tournament! Aspen defended well in a tough gray belt division. Most importantly she had a lot of fun in a brand new experience. Wes placed third overall in a big white belt bracket, winning his bronze medal match with an arm bar in 17 seconds.
I’m so incredibly proud of our competitors—they and their teammates have put in a lot of hard work in the last few weeks! The support of their families and friends has been a beautiful thing to see.
Grappling Industries: 4th Out of Over 40 teams!
At Grappling Industries on July 29th, our tiny club had one our biggest groups yet–three youth and five adults. A lot of the clubs that participated are several times larger than Solarte, but we still had outsized results!
The kids are getting into the groove of competing: Aspen gave her all in the grey & white gi division, getting better and better with each match. Her attitude and spirit are incredible! Alfred competed for the first time and won his white belt bronze medal match with his favorite sub: arm bar. Wes had another quick submission win by key lock and earned that silver medal. Landed a sweet takedown against the division winner, too! It’s exciting to see their progress and I’m looking forward to seeing their continued growth in this sport.
The adult team…well they rocked. Coach Acosta won bronze in Adult No Gi Absolute and gold in his Adult Advanced No Gi div, all with submission wins. Chris got silver at the Rev last weekend and decided to earn a gold medal this weekend in his no gi Intermediate Senior bracket. He’s been working on being patient with his set ups and it paid off with all sub wins. Mike did awesome in his first-ever jiu jitsu competition. Landed a nice takedown and defended well for silver in Beginner No Gi Senior. Coach Curtis returned to competition for the first time in about a decade. Fending off a vicious knee bar attempt, he got the points wins for gold in his Senior No Gi Intermediate division. Brady’s matches were a fun watch as he racked up points and submissions to win gold in Adult no gi Intermediate -155lbs.
Out of 45 participating academies, our adult team ranked #4. I agree with Coach Alex…not bad for a little team in the middle of nowhere. If there’s heart (and the support of family and friends), it’s amazing what you can do. All of us on the competition team are grateful to everyone who supports us. Couldn’t do it without you.🙏❤️
Monthly Intro to Women’s Self-Defense
In August, the Women-Only Self-Defense classes became monthly. On August 15th, head instructor Jenn Lozada lead a group of women and teen girls through the three-hour introduction to women’s self-defense. This is our most foundational course. It’s suitable for women and teen girls with NO previous martial arts experience AND any level of physical fitness. You DO NOT have to be in any athletic shape for the Intro. This workshop (representing the first two lessons of our nine-class series) focuses on the underlying principles for recognizing and preventing violence. The women who take this class find it eye-opening because it brings to conscious awareness many experiences women have, but may not have had the words for. The content of the class respects the real-life concerns and physicality of women. As Jenn says, “It’s everything I wish I’d known as a young woman.” For more information, visit: Women’s Self-Defense.
