A Visit to Friends: Renzo Gracie Snoqualmie

On Friday, March 27, Professor Markus stepped through Renzo Gracie Snoqualmie’s two sets of doors to teach a NoGi shoulder crunch masterclass.

The exterior of the gym was graciously framed by the beauty of nature — trees with white blossoms surrounded the block. The gym, which used to be an old bank, was perfectly situated in the little neighborhood.

Young students filled the blue mats, laughing and having fun with their end-of-class game. Large, outdoor lights were strung throughout the gym providing a soft, inviting atmosphere. To the side of the mats were a couple of tables with bowls of fruit. Before the bathrooms, a small living room of sorts with bean bags and a rug created a hang-out space for the youth as they waited for their parents to pick them up.

The rug is needed as the floor gets cold — even in the summertime. The base of the gym is made of three feet of concrete which was designed to prevent robbers from tunneling into what used-to-be the bank.

Near the back of the gym was a small gear shop which had items ranging from hoodies to spats and rashguards to shirts. Directly across from the gear shop was the fridge fully stocked with coconut water, Gatorade, and other thirst-quenching drinks.

“Make yourself at home!” Professor Casey Stentz repeatedly said.

Renzo Gracie Snoqualmie is owned by Professors Casey and Lindsay Stentz. Casey, a third degree black belt and Lindsay, a first degree black belt under Professor Carlos Sievers, started RG Snoqualmie in 2017.

“We wanted to give back to our community, and specifically, our kid,” Professor Casey said. “We wanted to raise him in a community and environment that we had both found through Jiu Jitsu.”

When we re-affiliated to Renzo Gracie, Professor Casey was incredibly helpful with ideas for how to make the most of our affiliation.

“I’m super excited to help grow the Renzo Gracie Association in the northwest,” Professor Casey said.

As a gesture of camaraderie, Professor Casey opened his gym to Professor Markus to teach a NoGi class the night before the NAGA Washington Grappling Championships.

With much content to get through, Professor Markus jumped right in to a quick butterfly guard drill to warm up.

The ten students quickly picked up the warmup, which made the following techniques easier.

Professor Markus worked on a shoulder-crunch sweep first, followed up by what happens when the opponent counters by standing up. There were several different options Professor Markus showed from there: entries into x-guard and the “throwing away the trash” sweep were just two options.

After a quick break for water, the class came back together for specific training from the butterfly guard.

After two back-and-forth rounds of specific training, the last fifteen minutes were spent with three 5-minute rounds starting from the shoulder crunch.

“The students were very respectful, welcoming, and they were all able to implement the technique in sparring,” Professor Markus said.

Time ended too quickly, and before long, class was over.

As students trickled out, sadness creeped in. One hour with RG Snoqualmie did not seem nearly enough.

Thankfully, we’ll be bringing RG Snoqualmie to us as Professors Casey and Lindsay will be in Spokane for our belt promotions this June.

“I’m looking forward to meeting all of our new team members (at Renzo Gracie Spokane Valley),” Professor Casey said. “I'm really excited to come over and show some techniques for you guys, do some sparring, and enjoy my time.”

Professors Casey and Lindsay Stentz will teach a seminar at RGSV on Saturday, June 13 starting at 10 a.m. The first 45 minute seminar will be for our youth students taught by Professor Casey and Lindsay, followed by our youth and adult belt promotions, and ending with an adult seminar taught by Professor Casey.

If you are interested in joining the Renzo Gracie family and becoming part of a network of high level Jiu Jitsu schools across the world, click here to schedule your trial class with us!