10 Years of OpenMat
What a special weekend.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of awarding black belts to three of the kindest, most supportive, toughest men I know — Josh Acosta, Taro Kurita and Carlos Quiñonez.
These were not the first I’ve gotten to award, but they were the first for students that *started* Jiu-Jitsu with me.
OpenMat launched ten years ago on folding mats laid down and picked up every class in a small room inside a GoodLife fitness. Four or five years prior, I had started kimonogirl Jiu-Jitsu, one of the world’s first women-only Brazilian jiu-jitsu academies with my friend Steve Gilbert and with BJJ starting to grow, it only made sense to offer the same positive, welcoming vibe we had created to everyone.
I was a purple belt without my own space in a city just starting to import black belts and establish state of the art facilities.
Josh was actually already a blue belt when he joined and while he had a growing slew of BJJ school options to choose from in Toronto, he chose OpenMat. In a young gym run by a purple belt, having a blue belt there lent credibility and excitement.
Taro already had some judo experience and had already begun developing his muscle-balancing system which he used to help me recover from some pretty debilitating injuries.
Carlos emailed me to set up a private lesson which it took months to coordinate. After one, he was in.
As OpenMat grew, we attracted more and more experienced practitioners, one of whom, Kyle Norton ended up believing so much in the vibe, me and the vision that he decided to invest and help us get our own beautiful location.
Through the growth, the changes, the evolution of our culture, curriculum and community, these men have not only been pillars for me personally, but for the entire community.
Whether competing himself or not, Josh is always here pushing and helping our athletes. Without Taro and Carlos, we would not have lunch or morning programs.
Each in their own way, with their own flavour they have shared the beauty of BJJ with whole new generations of BJJ students.
The last few weeks have really underscored the value and importance of martial arts schools in the lives of their members. Particularly in today’s fast-paced, disconnected, work-focused culture, to have a physical place to come to to connect with other people who don’t want anything from you than to help you get better and vice-versa is a real gift.
In Taro’s speech, he beautifully summed up one of the amazing ways Jiu-Jitsu elevates us. “Little adversities today prepare you for big adversities tomorrow.”
Through OpenMat OG (and brand new brown belt!) Jodi Pudge, Carlos met his wife Ruth, now the mother of his two beautiful children.
Josh sweetly thanked not only me, but two other pillars of OpenMat, our first black belt, Dan Davis who continues to inspire, push and lead our competitors to incredible heights, and Ostap Manastyrski who in his three or four years at OM, left an indelible mark on the Jiu-Jitsu of everyone he taught and trained with, myself included.
Oss
If you would like to learn and really understand Jiu-Jitsu, I have created two video courses — the Beginner’s Guide to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and The BJJ Blue Belt Curriculum. You can pick them both up at BJJ101.tv.
