Cultivating a gym environment where complete strangers can come in and feel welcomed while being introduced to high intensity martial arts that involve punching, kicking, wrestling, and even grappling and submitting one another on the mats can be a challenge, to say the least! It can get even more complicated to maintain that friendly energy and familial environment with hundreds of students that have different backgrounds, personalities, and comfort levels.
It took many years to develop the culture we now have at Renzo Gracie Los Angeles and one of the major components that allowed us to get here has been one of our main coaches, Malachy Silva. Before becoming a coach, he began his martial arts journey with us when we were known as 5 Star Martial Arts. His dedication and skill are what led to him eventually becoming coach Malachy who helped us teach both adults and children’s BJJ classes through the pandemic, assisting us in building a sense of stability and family here at RGLA. In addition, he is a seasoned and decorated competitor with many, many IBJJF medals and wins, is beloved by his loyal students, is undeniably devoted to grappling, and is a yoga student and teacher as well! His devotion and reliability made him the most obvious candidate to lead the way at our new affiliate school – Renzo Gracie East LA!
Malachy has been part of our family since the beginning – always training hard, competing frequently, and respecting his fellow students and coaches – so we know we can trust him to pass down the same values that were instrumental in making our martial arts academy the success that it is today:
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Respect – an obvious must-have for any collaborative environment, but especially in a close-contact sport like BJJ and Muay Thai. We teach all our students to be courteous to one another and always show each other respect on and off the mats.
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Discipline & Focus – skills that can be just as relevant for adults as they are in the children’s classes! It’s not easy to learn some of these advanced techniques, and mastering them can be a lifelong journey, so using discipline and focus to follow a step-by-step, systematic approach, to adjust your expectations for immediate success or gratification, and to have the self-control needed to use these skills in an appropriate manner is a critical component to any martial arts school.
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Integrity – with great power comes great responsibility, and so integrity is a fundamental component of our values at all Renzo Gracie schools.
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Perseverance – as mentioned, development in all martial arts is usually a tedious and long journey, and while we will do everything in our power to facilitate your success, having perseverance while learning these techniques is so important. You may not feel like you are making much progress day-to-day, or week-to-week, but your coaches and more experienced training partners will notice it before you do! It’s important to persevere through these times to see the gains you’ve made.
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Patience – as coaches, we will teach our students the same technique dozens of times, but we never expect anyone to get it perfectly right on their first, second, or even tenth try. We as coaches understand that learning is a personal process, and that certain moves and techniques will come more naturally to some people than others. We will work closely and patiently with you to help you discover the moves and positions that come most naturally to you! We are happy to answer questions.
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Motivation – on average, it takes about 10 years, a full decade, to earn a black belt in BJJ! Between all the ups and downs of life, it can be hard to always find the motivation to come to class, especially if you don’t feel like you are making the kind of progress you expected to make. However, our coaches will tell you that those days where you don’t feel like coming in are often the days you end up making some new connection or breakthrough.
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Teamwork – one of the best and most gratifying aspects of training in martial arts is the community and friends that you develop. BJJ and Muay Thai are certainly no exception, where we always have to be mindful of our training partners, since they are the ones that allow us to practice our techniques and improve in the sport.
If you live in the area or are just stopping by, please don’t hesitate to try out our classes. You can bet Coach Malachy, Kru Al, and their students will make you feel more than welcomed here at Renzo Gracie East Los Angeles!