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In The Arena Blog

Boxing Coach Tries His Very First Jiu Jitsu Class

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See what happens when Boxing Coach Joe Vargas takes off the gloves and puts on the gi to try his first Jiu Jitsu class. Leaving your comfort zone and trying something new can often be intimidating, but far more rewarding.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Coach Joe Vargas:
My name is Joe Vargas. I’m one of the boxing coaches here at The Arena. I’ve been boxing since I was nine years old and I’ve been coaching for over 15 years. Today, I tried out Jiu Jitsu. I thought that with strength and being a macho guy who knows boxing very well, I thought I’d had enough knowledge just watching. I became one of those Pro versus Joes sitting on the couch kind of guy. I thought I could handle it easily. I found myself just struggling with the movements and it was a whole new thing to be a student again. It was a big challenge for me to try something new.

 

Boxing and Jiu Jitsu goes so hand in hand. Today they were telling me things that I use in boxing, like turn my hips and to use my feet to pivot off. And it was funny to hear them be used in different manner, but we communicate the same. It seems like in Jiu Jitsu, the hips are so important just like in boxing. It’s mechanics of the body. You don’t realize it’s so critical in almost all sports.

It was so cool walking into the class because almost every student there knows that I’m the boxing coach and they’re all very helpful and respectful, and it just felt good to have all that support from all the guys at the gym. So I’m going to be jumping in there. It’s an experience that I really liked and I recommend it. It’s very fun. To all my Jiu Jitsu family from The Arena, I would highly recommend that you guys come and try boxing. And I know sometimes it’s scary, but I did it and I was nervous and scared and you guys treated me good. We’ll treat you guys the same. We’re one big family and I just love, like I said, being a student again, and you guys come over and we’ll work with you guys in boxing.

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