Jaco Jiu Jitsu

Casa
Costa Rica
Jacó
Jaco Jiu Jitsu

Train Jiu Jitsu in paradise with 4x Pan Am Champion and 3rd degree black belt J.P. Donahue.

22/05/2026

If you spar Jiu Jitsu to win the round, you already lost.

Caught myself doing this yesterday with another black belt I’ve had serious wars with.

We’re both super heavyweights. If either one of us gets top position, escape is brutal. Heavy pressure. Slow cooking. Occasionally one of us catches a sub but most of the battle is a positional war of attrition.

Yesterday I stayed on top for a long time with controll and pressure.

But here’s the problem:

I was only attacking with techniques I’ve mastered.

Safe attacks.

High percentage attacks.

Low risk attacks.

I wasn’t experimenting.

I wasn’t evolving.

I wasn’t taking chances.

I was training to win the round instead of training to grow my game.

The moment I realized it, I got frustrated with myself and tapped from dominant position.

Afterward, we chopped it up. My training partner admitted he does the same thing. Even as experienced black belts, ego still sneaks into training.

Funny thing, though: What’s left to prove?

Competition is where you use your best weapons.

Training is where you build new ones.

That means risking failure.

Trying new things.

Getting swept.

Getting tapped.

Looking stupid.

Growth lives there.

Lucky to have training partners who can have those conversations honestly.

Iron sharpens iron.

21/05/2026

Black belt super heavy thursday.

Unstoppable force meets unmovable object.

Gorillas in the mist.

Rumble in the jungle.

Felt those earthquakes in Jaco lately?

We smash tectonic plates and make the earth shake.

That’s what’s up.

Come get some at Jaco Jiu Jitsu.

We ain’t greedy we got enough to feed the needy.

19/05/2026

Drilling back take to armlock to slicer finish.

All areas my game needs work.

No better way to sharpen the blade than by teaching.

Nobody ever called me out for being smooth. I’m a sack of hammers in a dumptruck rolling downhill on fire with no brakes.

But this sequence is working for me, and Anna and Jeff were hitting it, too.

Super fun class.

Living the dream.

18/05/2026

Bijon from the ATL hit up Jaco Jiu Jitsu yesterday and asked if we could work on the darce. Crazy, because Cody and I were working on it all week last week.

Bijon brought his brother Dylan and the training was epic. Both had a strong wrestling base, some solid jits, but their attitude and enthusiasm blew me away. Eager to learn, always smiling, fast to pickup details, just awesome.

I love my my local crew, we have such a strong team here, but one of my favorite things about Jaco Jiu Jitsu is meeting all the people that come to Jaco for vacation and drop in for a class or to roll.

Gracias hermanos. Your stoke made my day.

07/05/2026

There’s a lie people tell themselves that stops them from even trying:

“I’m too old.”

“I’m not in shape.”

“I should have started years ago.”

“I’m intimidated.”

I’ve heard them all at Jaco Jiu Jitsu.

Most people who walk into a martial arts gym for the first time feel the same way.

Whether it’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, or MMA, starting martial arts can be intimidating.

Unfortunately, some gyms make that fear worse.

There are schools where new students get thrown into the deep end.

Gyms where ego matters more than learning.

Places where “surviving” class becomes more important than improving.

That’s not how we do things at Jaco Jiu Jitsu.

Martial Arts Is About Growth Not Destruction.

At Jaco Jiu Jitsu, we believe martial arts should build people up, not break them down.

Yes, hard training has its place.

Yes, discipline matters.

Yes, martial arts should challenge you. But challenge and danger are not the same thing.

Our coaching philosophy is simple:

We go at your pace. At your level. With your goals in mind.

Whether you’re:

22 or 62

A complete beginner

A former athlete getting back into shape

Looking for self-defense

Trying to lose weight

Building confidence

Recovering mentally or physically

Or simply looking for a healthier lifestyle in Costa Rica

You belong at Jaco Jiu Jitsu.

Question that?

Don’t.

I don’t just talk it. I live it.

I’m 58 years old.

I had open heart surgery 5 years ago.

I have every excuse in the world to park my ass on the couch with a bag of Taco Bell.

I don’t.

I train every day. I work to get better every day. It is one of the best things in my life. It is the foundation of everything.

I’m not special.

If I can do it, you can too.

DM and lets link for some mat time.

07/05/2026

You have to be willing to suck.

You have to embrace the suck.

It’s the only way get good at anything you’re not good at.

It’s also the thing that keeps most people from trying something new. They lack the humilty to suck.

My Jiu Jitsu is high level and for a long time I thought that was enough.

Then I had a converstion with about what it means to be martial artist and how a real martial artist trains where they’re uncomfortable until it feels like home.

I haven’t boxed, done Muy Thai, or trained MMA in 15 years.

Today, I suck.

But I made a commitment to become a more complete martial artist and not just do what I’m already good at.

I am embracing the suck every day, I am getting better every day, and I want to thank , .r , and (the man teaching this class) for helping me develop new skills.

I’m old.

I’m slow.

I still suck.

And IDGAF.

There are no excuses. Come train with us at Jaco Jiu Jitsu where it’s all about getting better every day.

Also also, amazing to have on the mat today. She always brings it!

Dirección

Calle Morales
Jacó
61101

Página web

http://www.jacojiujitsu.com/

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