AUTO-GENERATED TRANSCRIPT

Brianna Battles  00:01

Welcome to the practice brave podcast. I am the host Brianna battles, founder of pregnancy and postpartum athleticism, and CEO of everyday battles. I’m a career strength and conditioning coach, entrepreneur, mom of two wild little boys and a lifelong athlete. I believe that athleticism does not end when motherhood begins, and this podcast is dedicated to coaching you by providing meaningful conversations, insights and interview topics related to fitness, mindset, parenting and of course, all the nuances of pregnancy and postpartum, from expert interviews to engaging conversations and reflections. This podcast is your trustworthy, relatable resource for learning how to practice brave through every season in your life. Hey, everyone, welcome back to the practice brave podcast today is a little bit of a different episode than what I usually talk about on here, because I have my husband Jared with me, you may have seen already on social media, but if not, we are opening a jiu jitsu gym in Eagle, Idaho. We are recording this right now early August, and hopefully we will be getting the building sometime mid August, and anticipated opening likely October. So anyway, we thought that we would want to share a little bit about what that process has been like and just more insight into both Jared and I and our backgrounds, for those that are interested in what this process has been like and where we’re going with it. So Jared, thanks for being here, of course, thanks for me. So formal. Yeah, so Jared, tell us a little bit about your background in jiu jitsu and in general.

Jared Battles  01:51

Well, I was in law enforcement for 15 years. I worked in a small city in California and then out here in Idaho. Through that time, I worked a variety of assignments, but pretty much the whole time, I taught defensive tactics, arrest and control techniques to officers there. I started jiu jitsu in college. There was, there was a class at the college I went to, and it seemed like something that was fun. I was really interested in it, and just kind of took off from there. Did it for a few years, then real life started, moved out, got married, had kids felt like jiu jitsu had to take a little back backseat for a little while, but then fortune was able to start again when our oldest son started Jiu Jitsu. So I’ve been back at it now for almost eight years. I got my black belt about two years ago here at Idaho, and ready to look forward to the next steps of bringing this to the community.

Brianna Battles  02:50

Yeah, this wasn’t really on our life bingo card, to be honest. You know, we Jared was like, really secure in law enforcement. I obviously been running my business. Well, maybe not. Obviously, for those of you that are coming into this episode from a jiu jitsu background only, I have a business that supports female athletes through pregnancy and postpartum specifically. But I’ve been working within the strength and conditioning realm and sport performance realm for almost 20 years, which makes me sound so freaking old, but, I mean, I have been, I’ve been coaching in some capacity since I was 14 years old, if not even a little bit younger. And so, like my master’s degree is in coaching, my whole background is exercise physiology and working with a variety of athletes. And then within the last 10 ish years, really narrowed to working with who I like to refer to as athlete moms. So it’s been really fun to do that, and so much of my business was connected to my own growth as an athlete and my own experiences being both a coach and an athlete and a mom. And throughout those different experiences, I also found Jiu Jitsu, despite Jared encouraging me to join years and years and years ago, it wasn’t until after our second son had started preschool where I finally had, like, time availability, where I knew he’d be at preschool for these hours, and I could finally, like, go to a class that I joined. So I was, like, in my early 30s that I started. And again, like Jared had told me to do it for a long time, Kate had started. But jiu jitsu is one of those sports where it’s like, yeah, you can get peer pressured, but also, like, you truly, it has to be on your own terms. Like you have to be ready for that kind of sport, and like, willing to at least try. And I think I got to a point where, you know, I had sat on the sidelines a lot like watching Jared, watching Cade not that I understand, like, understood, like, a whole lot of what was going on, but like, I was familiar with the environment enough, and it’s something that intrigued me, because it was such a. A step by step process, and I knew that would be good for my brain, because I’m a big feeler. I like big picture, very visionary, and jiu jitsu forces you to slow down and think, and plus, it’s like such a different sport than anything I’d ever done. My background is like swimming, water polo, triathlon, CrossFit, that whole world. So again, very different combat sports. Very, very different. And like, moving in such dynamic ways, really, like, piqued my interest from a longevity and sport performance standpoint, like that will make me a better, better athlete. So I just became more curious. And I also think I got to a point with, like, my ego where I was willing to suck at something and be a beginner, and there was actually a lot of grace there, because I felt like, Oh, I’m actually not supposed to be good at this. Like, that felt good for me because, like, I knew the bar was so damn low I was like, I’m not this isn’t, like, lifting or or anything like that. Like I’m not supposed to be good. And so that I feel like was the thing that made me actually ready? It wasn’t anything you said, anything Cade said, despite your guys’ efforts. It just, I know you dress, I know. I just, I really felt like it had to be on my own terms. And, you know, I started out saying, I’ll just go a couple days a week, which I did, like my whole white belt year was, like, so sporadic that was also during covid So like things were shut down and some online learning. I just feel like my white belt year was so incredibly weird, and then I got my blue belt right before moving to Idaho. So that journey was all over the place, to be honest. But I

Jared Battles  06:39

feel like you also started out saying you weren’t going to compete at all.

Brianna Battles  06:42

Oh yeah, no, because I was like, that will competing will make me so toxic, like, know thyself, and it’s like, I never want to compete. But also I cannot say never about anything, because that’s just I get trolled by my own words. So here we are, and I do dabble. I’d like to say in competing, I don’t like to make it my whole personality, because, again, like that, that’s not healthy for me and my life and just who I am as a human. But I do like to compete. I feel like that’s actually been a big part of that growth process as a coach and athlete. So it’s been cool to to get into that. I started competing, like, maybe midway through. Blue belt, a minute. Purple belt, a little bit more here.

Jared Battles  07:24

Yeah, it’s, it’s good. Check ins. Let’s see where I’m at compared to other people at the same level, age, weight as me. Let’s, yeah, really test,

Brianna Battles  07:35

test this belt. Yeah. And then just like, a process, like, I think for me as a coach, I get to work with a lot of different high level athletes across all different sports, right? And there’s a lot of coaches out there that basically talk about the good old days and what competing was like for them 10 years ago or 20 years ago. I think there’s a lot to be said for still getting your ass kicked in the arena, and quite literally in Jiu Jitsu, it’s like that, like you get humbled. You get checked. Your weaknesses are exposed, your strengths are exposed. There’s so much value to be learned from those experiences. So that got me again, curious in competing and also, like put to bed some of the weird body and weight issues that so many of us women struggle with, where, like, I had to know how much I weighed. I didn’t want to weigh myself. It had been years since I weighed myself, and finally getting to a place where I was, like, I’m done making this weird and being like, like, I don’t know, controlled by a certain number. So for me, jiu jitsu has actually been really positive for a lot of that baggage. Yeah, I know you’ve been part of that. I would like, have Jared look at the scale and like, don’t tell me the number like, which is actually like, now it feels so much worse that like he knew, and then I didn’t, like, Oh my God, I don’t know. But anyway, we, that’s our background in Jiu Jitsu. We, we both have been training for a while now. I’m in my purple belt era, and I actually really like it here. It feels nice. It’s just, you know, a little bit, but you still aren’t expected to know everything. I like being mid. I feel very mid and and it’s just been a cool way to like, compliment, my coaching, compliment, the other kind of sports and fitness and things that I like to do. And it’s become a big part of our family, like our whole family trains. Our boys train, and it’s been such a positive sport for them to do throughout their childhood.

Jared Battles  09:26

Yeah, it’s great. It’s great. So one of those few warrior activities that we can all do, all do it together and go to classes together, train together, go to competitions together, and kind of feed off of each other and pump each other up. Yeah, and like,

Brianna Battles  09:43

I think you know, again, coming from a sports performance world, you see so much in youth sports with, you know, with what our kids experience, what we see on the sidelines, from parents, what coaching is like in youth sports. And I think that having a sport like. Jitsu, where the whole family can be involved, truly helps guide like this next generation of little athletes, because parents us, as parents like we are also realizing what it’s like to train and to work hard and to put yourself in a vulnerable situation and to win and to lose. And like, how we navigate that and like, that’s such a great teaching tool for our kids. It’s not just us preaching once again from the sideline or in the car. It’s it’s actually experiencing it and knowing that. I always tell people like that little girl that or that competitive little boy, that person inside of us, they never die. They just sometimes like, retire, but they’re still there, and it’s fun that jiu jitsu can get, like, bring that person and that fire back to life, but in a way where there’s not as much pressure. You know, you’re not like, it’s just different. Like, we’re opting into this we’re we’re opting into this hobby. You know, most of us are not being paid. We’re not like, we’re not trying to make it to this high level. We’re doing this to just round out our overall, like, health, wellness, discipline, everything, like, overall, just our ability to protect ourselves, protect our families, and feel like, really, like, just a lot more confident there. I mean, it’s really empowering.

Jared Battles  11:19

Yeah, I think your story is very similar to a lot where the kids actually start first, and it’s being there on the sidelines, watching it, seeing it, and trying to wrap your mind around what’s actually going on, and trying to get that understanding and always wanting to say, try to say a step ahead of your kids for As long as possible, finally wraps moms and dads into training. Yeah, I mean,

Brianna Battles  11:44

and it’s been so fun, like, again, I I just had to truly be on my own term. I had no idea what’s going on. I actually thought it was super gross. Like, I was, like, I do not want anyone’s feet near my face. Like, I don’t like my face being touched in general. And like, now I’m doing a combat sport that is all about, like, close contact. It makes no sense. So the ick that so many people have from Jiu Jitsu, I certainly had that too, so much so that, like, when I started, like, Jared and I didn’t even train at the same gym, because I wanted to go to a, like, a nicer, like, cleaner kind of environment without, like, dudes that were, like, all huge, you know, like, I just had like, more training partners at the gym I ended up starting at. So, like, I think that’s a big part of it, too. It too, is like you want to feel like you’re in a that you are going to be safe, that you’re going to be protected, that you’re in a clean environment, that like you’re going to be nurtured and supported a little bit. And so like, our YouTube journeys didn’t even start together. Yeah, we had to figure that out, and still we’ve hidden out. They do their part. They do a little bit, like even now, like we’re not training at the same gym right now, I go out and train at a gym that’s further away from our house, but it’s just been a good training environment for me. A lot of different women just great coaches. It’s just been a good it’s been good, but we’re also really excited to be under the same roof and under our own roof of battles jiu jitsu and and just bring to life like what we value so much about this sport, what our family has benefited from, again, combining like jared’s world of like self defense and his understanding and perspective coming from law enforcement, my perspective coming from sports performance, and working with a lot of kids and a lot of high level athletes, and combining our worlds, combining them in a way that is like, brings jiu jitsu for the whole family, and in a way that helps, you know, pursue this, what I like to refer to as this lifetime of athleticism that can start at a young age, and it can be restarted at any point in time. Like it is never too late to try something new. It is never too late to be a beginner. There’s always a lot of opportunity there, and it can be, you know, like jiu jitsu can be scaled to all different humans

Jared Battles  13:59

and abilities. Yeah, definitely not. There’s not an expectation that you have to compete or you have to be able to do certain things against certain people. It’s an individual journey, and everybody’s journey looks very different. Yeah. And I

Brianna Battles  14:12

think most people who start out are like, I am so intimidated, but I’m also like, I feel really empowered by this choice too. And it’s like both things are true, like they’re mutually symbiotic relationship, yeah, like it’s, it’s okay to be, like, really intimidated by it, and it’s also okay to feel like, Damn this was like, one of the I know this will be good for me. And that’s like, where I was at. I was like, damn it. I know this is going to be good for me. Unfortunately, this is another thing for me to become hyper focused and obsessed with and but you can dose it like, I think that’s the cool part too. Everybody’s journey is different. I feel like, for all of my like, washed up CrossFitters listening so similar to CrossFit in that like, you want to just drink the Kool Aid. You take it all in. It kind of becomes your whole personality. And then you start to like. Sit in a way that complements your life a little bit more that process looks different for every single person. And now I feel like Jared and I just have a really good, like relationship with how we approach Jiu Jitsu. Jared much more so than me, like I’m continually learning. And it’s funny, because I feel like my coach brain and my athlete brain sometimes, like they fight each other, like I know, like my maturity knows better. But again, that like, like annoying little girl in me is still

Jared Battles  15:28

such a toxic to be fair, I am constantly learning to there are so many, so many different things out there, so many different styles, so many different variations, things that work for me or somebody else, I especially now stepping more into a coaching role. It’s gonna be, yeah, learning more that works for masses.

Brianna Battles  15:49

Yeah, Jared, as you can probably tell, is much more steady and calm and just calculated. I’m a little bit more chaotic this. No one is surprised by that sentiment, even just listening to this podcast. But that’s, I think, what, what makes him a really good teacher, is he’s able to be calm and clear with his instruction. He’s able to work with a lot of different people and and help in a way that that resonates. That’s just it doesn’t have to be complicated. And there’s so many different styles of Jiu Jitsu. Jared and I both had so many different influences in our own jiu jitsu journeys, so many different ones. And you know, I think, like our effort here is to prioritize safety, health, longevity in the sport, and also, again, across this like lifetime of athleticism, like prioritizing healthy aging and healthy sport participation for our kids, keeping our kids safe, keeping them empowered, and having that translate over into adults and like, across all ages, but then doing it in a really practical way too. That’s like most people sign up for jiu jitsu hoping that they will know have a better chance to defend themselves, like, if a bad thing happens, if they have to defend themselves or their kids, like, if there’s any kind of bullying or something like knowing when and how to respond, I think that is such a gift to have that skill set. Yeah, definitely. And I think about myself like, dang, if I would have started jiu jitsu as a young girl. I feel like it would have saved me in so many ways, like so many ways. And this is, like, this is a whole separate podcast episode, but just like, what it what it does with empowering little girls in a way, and like participating in a sport that is not focused solely on perfection, like what their body looks like, or having the perfect score, or striving for the perfect whatever it might be, so many individual sports, especially for girls, are focused on perfection and attached to what her body looks like. And as a person who works with so many different female athletes across a lot of different sports, I’m like, Damn jiu jitsu would have solved so many of your problems if you had that to complement your other sports growing up. And I see that now as a mom, I see that now in my 30s, as an athlete, as a coach who’s like, talked and had so many different conversations. It is a powerful sport for our kids. Both of our boys started at four years old, and just to develop, like their motor skills, motor patterns, and become more athletic and dynamic. And God, we have seen that just translate so beautifully to

Jared Battles  18:25

all of their other sports. Oh yeah, just watching them, how they take a fall, how they take a hit, how they move, just it works. But in your experience, it would have, I mean, basically helped the water polo. It’s basically bubbling in the water, yeah.

Brianna Battles  18:41

I mean, yeah, but just even, like, yes, definitely would have helped socially, but I think would have helped, like, Just overall, in the experiences that so many girls and women have throughout their lifetime, whether it is like, different relationships or different situations that they find themselves in, it gives you an extra level of confidence, not that like a guarantees anything at all, but it does. I always say, like, jiu jitsu at least gives you a chance, whereas, if you are untrained, even if you’re fit, you probably don’t have a chance. But jiu jitsu does give you the chance if you have to protect yourself or protect your kids. And I feel like that’s what, what I really wanted to feel like I hadn’t. Like, yeah, I’m fit, I’m strong, I can run cool, but I don’t, I don’t know the basics, like I didn’t. And frankly, I It’s different when you’re like, husband showing you stuff, you know, like, I’m like, okay, Jared, you know, like, I need to learn in a different way initially, to feel like, okay, I’m understanding the basic concepts. And then that again, if that would have been given to me at a young age, damn it would have made me a much better athlete, and I think just much more confident and empowered and safer young woman. I think about that a lot. And you know, with our kids, do. It. It’s been cool to see just how much it’s translated, like Jared said, into you know, how they how they fall or maybe how they take a hit. Our kids play multiple sports. Of jiu jitsu is not their whole personality, either. It is something that is sprinkled in throughout the year to complement whatever other sports season that they’re in they currently do, football, basketball, baseball and Jiu Jitsu. Who knows what else will be added. I’d love for Kay to do some wrestling this year, but, you know, we’ll see it’s just a sport that can grow up with you. And I think that’s also what’s cool is, you know, it doesn’t have to be something you do every single day, all the time. It’s like, no like, it will ebb and flow throughout your life, because it doesn’t have an expiration date, like one day will be your last day playing water polo. One day will be your last day playing football or playing soccer or baseball or whatever. And jiu jitsu is one of the rare sports that you can always come back to that does not leave you. It stays in your brain, even if it’s Rusty, even if your body’s like, oh, okay, like that. It doesn’t feel good coming back, but it is something that can grow up with you. And I think that’s a really, like, a really special element of this sport that is unlike any other sport,

Jared Battles  21:17

yeah, and it’s also never too late to start for the first time. Yeah. That’s the other thing. Like, you may not have ever done any sports before or anything else, but it adapts to all kinds. There’s something, something there for everybody, yeah, and it’s gonna

Brianna Battles  21:31

be like, that’s what we’re really excited to do with this gym, is to bring that to families, you know, in a really, like, practical and relatable way, like we again, just combining our backgrounds and our worlds and showing it’s not just what we can preach about. It’s also just so in alignment with our life, like it is authentic. This is, you know, whenever we tell people like, well, we’re opening jutsu gym, I’m like, Oh, that makes sense. You know, like, that checks out, but it’s true, because I think it’s something that our family already embodies. We love this sport, but also like we value having an active lifestyle. We value like longevity. We value like versatile sports and athleticism and health. And you know, I think that sharing that with other families is going to allow us to help coach other people and coach other families into this kind of, like healthy lifestyle and value system, yeah, for sure. So battle jiu jitsu is going to be opening, hopefully early October. We bought a building, which, that was the thing that that opportunity really changed the game for us, because we always said we did not I, my business is all mine. And I was like, I do not want a landlord. I don’t want anybody in control of me. Blah, blah, blah, especially in business, right? And then we had this opportunity to buy a building, and that changed everything, because now it’s, it’s a great investment, and something that, you know, we feel we can really scale in impactful ways. And is a safer bet for our family and a safer bet for opening a gym that attracts a community. So we bought the building. We should be assuming ownership of it sometime mid August, if all things, if all things, go well, but obviously these processes are you just never know what to expect. But so far, things have been moving really well, and we’ll do the interior build out come September, and then we will hopefully be opening early October and get rolling on that, and again, just kind of lean into our combined world and bring Jiu to local families. Yeah, super excited. Glad to do this with you. I know we’re gonna have a fun time. And if you have more questions like and you want to learn more about Jared, about the gin, about what our what our plans are, anything like that, we’re, of course, open to sharing that. So do not hesitate to ask if you have not already filled out an interest form on our website and you are interested, either for yourself or your family, or you got like all of the above, you can do that. It’s battles jujitsu.com and also, how perfect is our last name? We welcome, yeah, like that. That worked out really well, especially for this kind of business. So, so we’re excited early, excited that all you know, perfect kind of branding situation here. So yes, go to battles jujitsu.com and you can fill out the interest form, either for yourself or your kid or a combination of that, and then make sure you’re following us on Instagram. That’s also at battles Jiu Jitsu, and you can just follow along the process. We’re trying to share some behind the scenes of, you know, starting a brick and mortar business, what that has been like, and just what this what this process is about. So we will do more combo episodes, just, you know, to like, talk a little bit. Or Jiu Jitsu, talk more about the gym and what we’re building here and what we want for for families and just what that process is like. Yeah. Thank you so much for listening. Jared. Thanks for coming on. Thank you.

Brianna Battles  25:17

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the practice brave podcast. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review and help us spread the work we are doing to improve the overall information and messaging in the fitness industry and beyond. Now, if you are pregnant and you are looking for a trustworthy exercise program to follow, I have you covered. The pregnant athlete training program is a well rounded program for pregnancy with workouts for each week that are appropriate for your changing body. That’s 36 weeks of workouts, three to four workouts each week, and tons of guidance on exercise strategy. We also have an at home version of that program. If you are postpartum and you’re looking for an exercise program to follow. The eight week postpartum athlete training program would be a really great way to help bridge the gap between rehab and the fitness you actually want to do. From there, we have the practice brave fitness program, which is an ongoing strength conditioning program where you get new workouts each week and have a lot of guidance for myself and my co coach, Heather Ozzy, this is the only way that I’m really offering ongoing coaching at this point in time. If you have ever considered becoming a certified pregnancy and postpartum athleticism coach, I would love to have you join us. Pregnancy and postpartum athleticism is a self paced online certification course that will up level your coaching skills and help connect the dots between pelvic health and long term athletic performance, especially during pregnancy and postpartum, become who you needed and become who your online and local community needs by becoming a certified pregnancy and postpartum athleticism Coach, thank you again for listening to the practice brave Podcast. I appreciate you, and please help me continue spreading this messaging, this information and this work.