How Jiu Jitsu Changed My Life: A Grand Junction Firefighter's Story

What My Job Looked Like Before Jiu Jitsu

Before jiu jitsu entered his life, Coach Shawn’s job was showing up for people on their worst day. First, he was a combat medic in Kosovo and Iraq. Then firefighter and paramedic back home in Grand Junction. He thought he was doing exactly what he loved. What he didn't realize was that all of it was adding up underneath.

Learning to manage stress in a high-stress job

Shawn believes that every person you touch in a crisis takes a piece of you with them, and they leave a piece of themselves behind with you too. That's true in a combat zone, and it's true answering emergency calls in Mesa County. But nobody tells you there's a limit to how many of those touches you can carry before the bucket starts overflowing. Shawn was beginning to notice that his bucket was full.

He had always been health-conscious, so when the tension was rising, he went to the VA to talk to somebody. He tried medication and their other recommendations, and while that process helps plenty of people, it just wasn't doing the job for him.

So he hit the gym and started lifting heavy, pushing hard. He got strong, and it helped some, but he still walked out of that gym alone most nights. Shawn recalled that while lifting puts you next to a hundred people, it doesn't put you with any of them.

And then Jiu Jitsu Changed
His Life

A buddy told Shawn that he had to see and try this jiu jitsu thing. Shawn went in thinking he was signing up for a fighting style. What he found was a way to work with somebody, trusting a training partner enough to learn side by side, and he hadn't expected that. Even better, when he walked off the mat after training that first time, he realized the stress he walked in with was gone. From that moment, he was hooked.

Shawn has found community all over the world in jiu jitsu gyms, improved his physical fitness, and even gone on to compete in BJJ. It wasn’t long before he wanted to create a space in Grand Junction for others to experience the benefits that he had come to love: fitness, community, self-improvement, and genuine camaraderie.

Jiu Jitsu as a tool for first responders and veterans

If you've served in the military or answered calls as a firefighter, officer, medic, or emergency responder, chances are you’ve carried more than you've said out loud. As a veteran and first-responder-owned business, we get it, and we’re here to tell you that being a part of a jiu jitsu community can offer a piece of what you need to cope with a high-stress career.

We invite you to come roll with us. No pressure, no cost. Just a mat and a room full of people who get it.