Westside Jiu Jitsu Academy

"After cross training with Coach Tabatha Watkins during an all girls meetup my very first month of training in 2022, I instantly fell in love with her coaching style and her skill set in general. I was thoroughly impressed at how she could handle girls much larger than herself with little physical effort relying simply on technique and strategy. From that point I had been eyeballing this school in which she trains/teaches/manages alongside her husband/owner of Westside Jiujitsu [ Ken Short. During the last couple of months of 2024, I had been struggling to find the motivation and excitement to continue with my jiujitsu journey. I had been training for a little over two years already and I felt something was missing. My strong passion to compete had left and ultimately my willingness to come to class consistently soon followed. A much as I didn’t want to admit it then, I had hit a stale point in my training. Not to mention both of my daughters, who started training with me, didn’t want to continue with their journeys anymore. I knew then something had to change otherwise I would just be another statistic that stopped training at White Belt. In Jan of 2025, I hit some very pivotal moments in my life. One being my finally decision to switch schools in hopes to reignite my, as well as my daughters, interest in continuing our BJJ journeys. I figured a change of environment may do the trick…and I was right 100%! Not only did it spark me to want to compete again, BOTH of my daughters decided to train again. Four months later, of consistent hard work and dedication, I won my first ever IBJJF Gold Medal as a 40+ year old female White Belt. I am extremely grateful for both of my coaches Tabatha and Ken Short for taking me in with warm welcoming arms. Taking the time to learn/fine tune what I already knew, as well help close some of the holes in my BJJ basics, that ultimately resulted in me winning my first IBJJF gold medal. Key points that led to me making my final decision to become a permanent member of the Westside Jiujitsu Family: - The school has an amazing structured teaching style that I find makes it easier for lower ranking student to pick up/retain the lessons being taught. - Everyone is super friendly and welcoming. People of all walks of life train together with no judgement of any kind or for any reason. Family feel. - The gym is open 7 days a week with classes in the morning, afternoon and evening to accommodate everyone’s work/school schedule. I now find myself training more frequently than I did before because of this. - Jiujitsu is not the only martial art/self defense skill being taught there. They also teach Judo, which you can also rank up in. As well as Westling, MMA, Kick Boxing and so much more. - They have a fantastic youth and teens program, led by Tabatha herself, along with the help of many skilled students (Lily and Trisha are a couple of my favorites 💗💗) - They provide a Women’s Only Class for the ladies that prefer to roll with women only. - Super clean/disciplined training facility that accommodates the comfortability of both men and women. There are separate changing rooms and bathrooms located on opposite sides of the gym. I can go on and on for days but I am only allowed a limited amount of characters to type. I HIGHLY recommend this school to anyone who wants to learn jiujitsu. Especially for those who want to compete. Both Coaches Tabatha and Ken are active competitors themselves, who lead by example, and can prepare you with everything you need in order to succeed."

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