Our inaugural mission kicks off — the International Jiu-Jitsu Education Fund is Guatemala-bound!
The IJEF Guatemala Mission 2016 leaves this week to deliver uniforms and training mats to the children of Guatemala.
The goals of this trip are two-fold. First and foremost, we’re heading to western Guatemala to see our good friend Coach Oswaldo Vasquez, one our our earliest international instructors. Oswaldo has been teaching jiu-jitsu to the kids of Quetzaltenango — known also by its Mayan name, Xela — for 6 months now, and though they lack uniforms and mats, their drive to train is endless! Thankfully, this will be their last week training no-gi– our suitcases are stuffed with brand new uniforms!
Our second goal is to continue to expand our network of Guatemalan jiu-jitsu practitioners and hopefully add another international instructor to our team. We’ve got a full itinerary. Our team has plans to visit gyms across the country, teach several seminars, and meet as many jiu-jitsu students as possible. As a bonus, a generous volunteer is bringing an assortment of art supplies to teach art to the children of Oswaldo’s academy!
Check back here for updates upon our return!