My jiu jitsu journey started 18 years ago in Colorado, at age 11. After a few years, I had become so passionate about the sport that I knew deep down this had to become my career in some form; it was my one true passion. What I did not know was exactly where and how this would happen.
I worked several jobs that all poked at the periphery of jiu-jitsu, for the most part in the worlds of security and personal training/fitness. They were rewarding to various degrees, but they were always primarily means to an end — that end being the continuation of my jiu-jitsu journey. While working these jobs, I was able to save up enough to open my own gym in Colorado. Initially just out on our own, we eventually decided to become an affiliate school of Team Zenith. We chose it honestly not knowing too much about the team other than that at its head was Robert Drysdale, one of only three Americans at that point in time to ever have won the absolutes division of the prestigious ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship. Little did I know that this choice would plot the course for the rest of my career!
While a Zenith affiliate school, I was constantly impressed by Robert. The more I learned about the team and him as an individual, the better. He would visit our school and give inspiring, informative seminars. As soon as he walked through the door for the seminar, he shook hands and got to know every person in the room, whether or not they trained jiu jitsu; I couldn’t believe a competitor at his level took the time to do that (from comparing to past experiences with top-tier jiu jitsu athletes). I knew with his level of expertise and his character, this was who I was supposed to be training under, who my jiu jitsu journey was leading me to. I would visit the Zenith headquarters in Vegas, and I would find not only Robert himself but a large, inviting, yet challenging community of jiu-jitsu practitioners that I longed to be a part of. After a few years of these visits back and forth, we knew this was where we belonged. In December 2022, we moved to Las Vegas to make this incredible gym part of our daily existence, instead of just an occasional treat.
I now train there as much as possible, getting great rolls with top-tier grapplers on a daily bass and instruction from Robert himself, widely regarded as one of the best grapplers of all time. I have already been able to compete extensively in the vibrant Las Vegas jiu-jitsu scene and have felt fully supported by Robert and my awesome team at every turn, in a way I never had before.
I also coach in the kids’ program at headquarters, which my son has become part of. Yes as a coach I am biased towards our program, but as a parent I could not be more critical, and I can honestly say there is nowhere else I’d rather my son train. He has easily made friends in this amicable environment, where they can roll against one another at 100% intensity but also be respectful partners, understanding even at a young age that this is all just part of training, and the second the buzzer rings, the kids laugh together or excitedly share their new favorite flavor of bubblegum.
My husband, son, and I all agree that moving to Las Vegas was the best decision we could have made for our family, and it was all because of Robert and what he created at this fabulous gym. I am proud to be a part of it and would recommend it to anyone interested in pursuing jiu jitsu, from a first-day white belt to a top-tier competitor!
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Posted 3 years ago
