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Wrestling for Jiu Jitsu

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to learn from former D1 Wrestler and Head Coach, Joey Boardwine. Joey Boardwine, with Boardwine Grappling, is an instructor and professional head coach who has been grappling for 40 years.

He started training Jiu Jitsu in 2015 with Team Casarez and earned his blue belt with Professor Tony in 2017. He continued his journey with gyms throughout the United States as he traveled work, and eventually moved to California where he earned his purple belt with ATOS. He is a highly skilled wrestler and a great Jiu Jitsu athlete, having earned 3 IBJJF No-Gi World Championships.

Wrestling for Jiu Jitsu Immersion Day at Team Casarez

Hosting Coach Joey Boardwine for a Wrestling Seminar at the school was an honor. Approximately 40 students, and some students from other schools in the area, showed up ready to learn. We had a morning Gi session from 9am-11am and an afternoon No-Gi session from 12pm-2pm.

Coach Joey Boardwine began each session with an extensive warm up, emphasizing the importance of warm ups and how to integrate wrestling drills into warm ups. Following the warm ups, Coach Joey showed a series of wrestling techniques. Each technique taught students either how to take down an opponent, or how to defend a takedown, with multiple variations included. Between techniques, students had the opportunity to ask questions, and Coach Joey elaborated and clarified any areas of confusion. Even more importantly, Joey shared key concepts and tools that the students can apply to all areas of their stand up game.

 

The Importance of Wrestling in Jiu Jitsu

Wrestling for Jiu Jitsu is becoming more and more popular as Jiu Jitsu evolves. Coach John Danaher, one of the most recognized Jiu Jitsu coaches in the world, posted recently about the importance of integrating wrestling into Jiu Jitsu. As the sport evolves, it is important to become familiar with the knowledge and concepts of other grappling sports (in this case, wrestling especially) so as to make Jiu Jitsu the best and most effective grappling sport that it can be.

We will be including Coach Joey’s warm up drills and wrestling techniques into our training in future weeks so that we can build off of the progress made during the Wrestling Seminar.

You can also check out our Youtube Channel for  his techniques:

 

Connect with Coach Joey Boardwine

For any students interested in working directly with Coach Joey, you can read more about his academy at boardwinegrappling.com. Joey is not only a phenomenal coach, but also an outstanding individual at heart who truly enjoys helping students in their Wrestling and Jiu Jitsu journey. He will be more than happy to speak with you about working with him to improve your wrestling game.

You can also follow him on Instagram:

Thank you again to Joey Boardwine for the amazing seminar. Thank you also to all of the students who showed up ready to learn!

We hope to have Coach Joey Boardwine back again soon.


Here are some of the upcoming events at the gym:

Keep an eye out on the blog for gym updates or follow us:

Instagram: @tonycasarez | @lepribjjraleigh
Facebook: Tony Casarez | Lepri BJJ Raleigh
Youtube Channel: Tony Casarez