Weight Loss

Jiu Jitsu Success Story!

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness · Apr 6, 2019 ·

Jeff Blaaw before starting BJJ is out of shape, 50 years old, and discouraged. Texarkana Jiu Jitsu!

Jeff Blaaw raves about training BJJ at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu under 4th degree BJJ black belt Marc Hagebusch

Should you try Jiu Jitsu?

Imagine you decide it’s time to get in shape and lose some weight at 50 years old.

You know the gym isn’t going to work for you and really it sounds kind of boring.

You suddenly have an idea… what about martial arts?

You haven’t ever trained martial arts before and really don’t know too much about it.

You don’t really see yourself running around punching and kicking the air yelling kia and calling all the little 8 year old black belts sir.

You’ve seen some UFC mixed martial arts events and heard Joe Rogan raving about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

You wonder if there’s one in Texarkana.

A quick Google search and you realize…

You have a world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym close by run by a 4th degree black belt with almost 20 years of teaching the art.

You call them up and set up a time to try a first class.

You show up, maybe a little intimidated wondering if it will be too hard or that you’ll be too out of shape.
Is the gym full of knuckleheads that are just going to try to beat you up?
Thankfully you find a group of the coolest people you’ve ever met that help you out and walk you through some of the basic techniques.
You sweat a little, learn some moves, and meet some cool people.

You can’t wait to get back for the next class.

Jeff Blaaw loses a ton of weight, feels better, and is healthier since starting Jiu Jitsu at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu!

Fast forward a year, you’ve lost a ton of weight.

You feel better.

You’re now on the mats as often as you can make it… and now you’re helping out the new men and women coming in just like others helped you.

If you’re interested in trying a first class to see if Jiu Jitsu can transform your life like it’s done for so many others…

Contact us and we’ll get it set up for you!

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu
Email us.
Call us.

Jiu Jitsu for everyone age 4 through adult men and women. No experience necessary. All fitness levels welcome!

Netflix Motivation!

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness · Dec 31, 2018 ·

Texarkana Cardiokickboxing, fitness, nutrition diet, weight loss program

Looking ahead to the New Year…

My 9 year old daughter likes to watch this show on Netflix, Nailed It.

It’s an interesting baking competition where unskilled cooks try to make different deserts under time pressure.

At the end of the time, they put their creation under a cover and bring it up to the judges.

They uncover the baked goods and proclaim, “Nailed it!.”

We’re then shown the person’s final product on a split screen with the professionally made model.

They never truly nail it.

Most often it’s not even close, although it makes for a good laugh.

The show is really a model for hitting goals.

The ‘bakers’ have directions and materials. They get to work and push it right up to the time limit.

They’re ‘in the game.’

They have some high goals set for themselves – in this case by the producers of the show who are asking them to move far outside their comfort zone.

They might not create a masterpiece, but they created something and got some experience.

They created much more than people who didn’t get started.

They made progress, even though it wasn’t perfect.

That’s what it takes to achieve your goals.

If you’re like me in 2018 – you nailed some goals and and others didn’t quite make the cut… instead maybe looking like some of the contestants final products during the time they were given.

The New Year brings with it the hope of starting anew and hitting some new targets.

Of course to do so, we’ll have to do some new things.

We will be helping lead the way this year to see what we can really accomplish…

We have some big news coming at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness that we’ll have to save for the next email, but thanks for being part of the team whether or not you’ve made it in yet!

This year will mark my 20th year of teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Texarkana. It’s amazing how fast our lives fly by.

Looking back over the years, I’m very thankful to have been able to help thousand’s of people – men, women, teens, and kids in Texarkana learn the art, get more active, develop confidence, and have fun. So many people have ‘nailed it’ and accomplished more than they believed possible.

Happy New Year!

Coach Marc Hagebusch

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for everyone age 4 through adult. No experience necessary.

All fitness levels welcome – you don’t have to be in shape to start – we’ll get you there!

903-793-1085

We can help you Nail Your Goals this year!

Hurry Up Offense 2018

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness · Oct 3, 2018 ·

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿

We have officially entered the 4th quarter of 2018.

I don’t know if you’re a football fan or not…

In football as the time ticks off the clock and the game enters the 4th quarter the teams begin to feel a sense of urgency to win.

This is especially true of the team that is behind in the game.

They hadn’t up to that point hit their targets and accomplished their goals.

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴.

75% of the year is behind us.

3/4 of 2018 has already passed and it’s easy to start looking ahead to the end of the year with the holidays and the rapidly approaching 2019.

Only 91 days to go.

Many of us started 2018 optimistically.

𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿.

We thought we’re going to lose some weight, take care of our health, eat better, exercise more, train more Jiu Jitsu.

We may have set some type of target, say we wanted to lose 25lbs because we knew it would make us feel better and improve our health.

We thought, this year I’m going to start training Jiu Jitsu or maybe put in some extra time to see what we are capable of achieving.

Unfortunately life has probably gotten in the way and threw us a few unanticipated ‘curveballs.’

You may not be on track to ‘win‘ in the 4th quarter of 2019.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵!

In football, the team generally doesn’t ever give up in the 4th quarter.

They do not just simply throw in the towel and leave the field.

Often people do.

The idea is let’s just make it through the holiday and then 2019 will be our year.

Paraphrasing Mark Twain who apparently made up a quote he attributed to Ben Franklin…

“𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑢𝑡 𝑂𝑓𝑓 𝑇𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑇𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝐷𝑜 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑎𝑦 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝐴𝑠 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙.”

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵.

If you want to start hitting your goals, start today as Twain suggests.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗶𝘂 𝗝𝗶𝘁𝘀𝘂?

Contact us and we’ll get you set up to try a first free class so we can start you moving towards the goal line before the end of the quarter.

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness
903-793-1085

𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘪𝘶 𝘑𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘨𝘦 4 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘈𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺!

How To Use A Magic Formula To Transform Your Life…

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness · Feb 4, 2018 ·

Small Change? How To Use Small, Consistent Change For Massive Positive Benefit In Every Area Of Your Life!

albert einstein secret of success and achievement in texarkana martial arts

How To Use A Simple Formula Einstein Called The 8th Wonder Of The World To Improve Any Area In Your Life (Or The Life Of Your Kids)… Achieve More In Every Area From Weight Loss To Fitness, Self Confidence, and More!

This is an important message, I urge you to read it.

It might take you five minutes to read.

The benefit of taking this time is that it has the power to radically improve your life.

Our society has been duped into thinking that there are painless, quick fixes and instant gratification. It seems as though virtually everyone has lost sight of the value of planned, consistent work.

How many times have you (or someone you know) quit doing something that is positive because you were impatient or maybe you hit a small obstacle?

I’ve seen some of our members at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness quit after the first week of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or the first week of Cardio kickboxing or our Ultimate Body Shaping Course.

People often quit before they even get started.

They don’t understand the simple ‘secret’ that I’m about to explain below.

This secret is something so powerful that it can allow you to achieve every goal that you currently have, whether it’s to lose 20 pounds, earn a Black Belt, give up a bad habit, make more money, or anything else.

It’s a secret that Albert Einstein said (according to folklore, at least), is said to be the greatest invention in human history.

What’s the secret?

Small steps completed consistently over time allows you to accomplish anything. It’s the secret of compounded interest.

The formula is… small smart choices + consistency + time = radical difference.

The Power Of A Penny

Here’s the scenario. Let’s say you are offered a choice.

You can either take $3 Million in cash right now OR a single penny that doubles every day for 31 days… which would you choose?

The penny!

Why… because it is worth MUCH more money in the end, BUT it does take longer to see the pay off!

Let’s say in the example above, YOU take the instant cold, hard cash AND your friend takes the penny.

On day 7, you have (about) $3 Million and your friend only has 64 cents. Of course at this point you’re thinking, “My friend is an idiot. I really need to get smarter friends.”

On day 10, Your friend has $5.12 How is your friend feeling at this point? Your spending your millions and loving life while your friend is putting in the time and waiting patiently with very little to show for it.

On day 21, your friend has only $10,486 versus your BIG money. Your friend hangs tough…sacrificing, and gaining more each day

His money continues to grow while your money is being blown on vacation homes, fast cars, fancy tropical vacations, and partying.

As the month continues to tick away, the effect of compounding starts to pay off for them.

On day 31, your friend has $10,737,418.24! This is more than 3 times your original $3 million of which you’ve spent a sizeable chunk.

Whoops!

This is exactly why consistency over time is important and why negative choices don’t keep you still, they move you BACKWARDS.

There are few things in life that are as powerful as this compounding effect, hence the Einstein quote. Amazingly, you can harness this same compounding effect in every area of your own life.

Let’s use another example to illustrate the difference that consistent, directed effort makes over time.

In a practical way, everything that you do every single day can serve to make you better or make you worse.

You may be frustrated and want to lose the extra 20 pounds you’ve been carrying around the last few years, but those chocolate cupcakes sure look good with their seductive rainbow sprinkles.

Surely, one cupcake won’t ruin you.

The problem is that the compound effect works in a negative manner just like it does in a positive one.

The delicious cupcake moves you BACKWARDS.

You gain a little more weight, you get a little more fatigued, you are drawn a little closer to obesity and it’s devastating health effects (depression, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc)… AND most people make bad choices EVERY day making it impossible to achieve their goals.

It just happens so slowly that you don’t see it happening. It’s the compound effect of bad choices.

The same thing happens in a positive way when you make good choices EVERY day… you join our martial arts class AND show up to train.

The progress is slow at first.

You wonder, am I going to be able to do it?

You know about the magic power of compounding demonstrated in the penny example, so you hang in there.

You train Jiu Jitsu a couple of times a week. You start eating a little better each day.

A month passes and you’ve lost about 10 pounds.

You’re starting to feel better… you’re less stressed out, you have more energy, you’re just starting to feel better.

You continue training because you know that it’s consistency that really pays off.

Three months into training and you’ve lost 22 pounds. You haven’t looked this good since High School. By the way a student tells me this has happened to them on almost daily basis.

Let’s continue.

A year passes, you’ve earned a belt and look back on everything you’ve accomplished over the last year.

You’ve lost a lot of weight, you feel better, you’re less stressed, you have more energy, you’re getting along better with your family, and you’re healthier… PLUS, you have proven to yourself that you can accomplish something!

You compare your own progress to your friend, Bob.

Over the last year, Bob has gained another 12 pounds. He’s now 30 pounds over weight.

He hates his life. He’s stressed out and working on another heart attack.

We all make choices every day.

I think the biggest problem with our society in America right now is the inability of people to delay instant gratification.

Everyone wants the cupcake and they want it now, not worrying about the consequences that will occur later.

It’s what’s happening with our kids… they’re getting less fit, playing more video games, and losing the values of hard work… then most programs cater to the lowest common denominator instead of challenging them.

No child left behind?

It’s more like put the slowest kid in the front, so no one ever develops into a good runner.

This is why you see 5 year old kids in other martial arts with black belts.

They want this instant gratification instead of working hard and earning what they get.

This sets kids up for failure in life!

It’s also why our kids at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu are taking a different path.

Kids in our classes earn every stripe and every belt.

This teaches them discipline and goal setting that will serve them the rest of their life.

You can make a decision to change right now.

If you get 1% better every day, then at the end of the year you aren’t just 365% better because you get growth compounded on itself every day.

You be amazed at what you’ve accomplished… and we’re here to help you do it!

If you have any questions please contact us at 903-793-1085 or email us here.

Claim A One Week FREE Pass for Kids or Adults! <Click Here!>

How To Achieve Like An Olympic Gold Medalist

Texarkana Jiu Jitsu and Fitness · Dec 30, 2017 ·

How To Hit Major Goals and Achieve More In Your Life!

This is taken in part from an article by ’96 Olympic Gold Medalist in Wrestling, Kendall Cross.

Wrestling is a tough sport and considered the original combat sport that pits 2 people against each other in a physical contest. It pre-dates Brazilian Jiu jitsu, Judo, and MMA.

This post is re-written to simplify Cross’ thoughts on accomplishment, so that it can help you whether you live in Texarkana or elsewhere.

You can really learn a lot from high performers in any areas.

**There is a reason that high achievers are successful, it’s not by chance.**

What’s different?

Those that achieve the most, generally have a much different mindset from those that don’t achieve at a high level.

Here Cross talks about Goal Setting…

“In considering how you should approach the upcoming season, you must develop your long-term and short-term goals.”

Now here’s the twist.

We don’t all have a wrestling season or even a competitive season. This can create some ambiguity.

We may not have a hard, specific start and end point for a particular goal.

BUT we must think about hitting a target by a hard end point.

In Jiu Jitsu, this is one of the strong values of competing.

Once you sign up to compete, you are committed.

The end point will not change, you must change in order to be ready for that day.

This is one of the main reasons we hold regular in school competitions at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu.

BUT what if you’re not competing?

This is where we must exercise some real discipline.

You have to think of achieving your goals as a competition.

You can essentially set up a competitive season for yourself with a target end point, a specific date AND what you must do in order to be ready for that specific day.

If you need to lose 20 pounds in 60 days, do it.

If you need to be able to hit a specific takedown or guard sweep against a specific opponent or a group of training partners in 60 days or 90 days, do it.

Let’s look at how to hit those targets.

Going back to Cross’ plan…

Consider what you want to achieve this year, and then set a plan for achieving.

Think about what you need to do daily, weekly, and monthly in pursuit of your dream.

Follow that plan with specific training to accomplish your goals.

“…for the serious wrestler.”

OR for those that are serious about achieving more in their life…

Here’s the plan for you to hit those high targets, your dreams.

Set very lofty written goals for yourself. “If your goals are merely average, then your accomplishments will be merely average.” Makes sense.
Set a major end goal then break it into smaller minor goals necessary to hit the end date on that major goal.
Make a plan of what you have to do to hit those minor goal targets at specific dates. Cross calls the plan to hit those minor targets ‘the blueprint’ for achievement.
Do whatever it takes. Put in the hard work. “People that work hard toward their goals tend to attain their goals.”

In the article Cross goes on to talk about the importance of keeping those goals in front of you so you’re constantly reminded about what you want to accomplish.

Write your goals down on paper.

This will give you a visual reminder that you can refer to at any time.

“While training for the Olympics, I placed my goals all over my house. By doing this, I could constantly be reminded of my daily objectives.”

“For example, on my fridge, I placed a sign that said “Eat right & you will win!”

Over my bed, I placed a sign that said “Get up & work out while your opponent sleeps!”

You do not win an Olympic Gold Medal by chance.

You also don’t hit your goals by chance… whether it’s losing weight, developing a new technique, winning a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition, OR anything else that is important to you.

What YOU need to accomplish is much more important. Your life is much more important.

As the New Year rolls in, make a solid commitment to set big goals and get serious about hitting them.

You’ll be shocked at what you can accomplish in your life.

It’s never too late.

Get started, stay the path, see what you can really do in your own life.

We’re holding a Free Workshop about how to hit health, fitness, and weight loss goals in Texarkana. Click Here to sign up for it.