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“Join the Enclave”… What Does That Mean?
Lately you may have seen posts on the Enclave Jiu-Jitsu social media accounts inviting people to apply to “join the Enclave.” Since making those posts, I’ve had a few people reach out with questions. In this post, I’m going to explain what “joining the Enclave” means, with a little bit of pertinent background.
By early 2019, for a variety of reasons, I’d come to feel that my time as the head instructor of a commercial gym was at an end. To put it briefly, there were a number of factors—structural, cultural, and personal—that I felt were corrosive to my enjoyment and continued practice of the martial arts, and I’d come to feel that remaining in that role would lead to these negative aspects eventually overrunning and ruining the positive aspects that remained.
“The Enclave,” the “Enclave Barn,” and “Enclave Jiu-Jitsu” in general were an attempt to create a space and a community around the positive elements I’d felt I was in danger of losing: a space and a community that would serve my needs as a student while in turn offering community, training, access to knowledge, and opportunity for rank advancement to my training partners. Nearly five years in, that remains the vision.
The Enclave Barn, located approximately 30 minutes E/SE of Cleveland, is not a commercial gym, and the regular training that happens there is not open to the general public. Instead, the Enclave is a private community of martial arts students collaborating in a shared effort toward collective advancement: a “community of fellow travelers” “dedicated to the work.” As there is no school to join, there is no need for attendees to leave a former or concurrent school, or otherwise change affiliations; some members of the Enclave train at the Barn exclusively, while others split their time between their regular schools and the Enclave, or between home gyms and the Enclave. There are no membership fees, just a suggested donation for attendance. There is no set schedule of classes: members coordinate and meet at their own convenience. In fact, there are no classes: while knowledge is freely shared, the type of person who becomes a member of the Enclave is self-motivated and seeking to discover, focus on, and explore his or her own deficiencies. This often means that the student who attends training at the Enclave Barn is already of higher rank; this is not, however, a requirement. It is required, however, that whatever your level—whatever you have to offer—you enter the Enclave with the intention to share it.
My Jiu-Jitsu practice, education, and lineage are through Steve Maxwell (Relson Gracie) and Master Rickson Gracie; accordingly the Jiu-Jitsu we practice at the Enclave is fundamental, fight-aware, and includes all phases of engagement, from standing at a distance to submission. The practice is also couched inside an overall philosophy of human functionality, and a premium is placed on sustainable training practices: nearly all past and current members of the Enclave were or are over the age of 35, and design(ed) their training with a view to staying on the mats for decades to come.
If all of this appeals to you and you feel that you would be a good fit with the Enclave community, I invite you to fill out the contact form available here. Someone will get back to you ASAP.
I look forward to hearing from you.
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Westward (and Eastward) Ho!
At the end of the month (Jan 25-31, 2024) I’ll once again be hitting the road, heading for sunny Southern California. Along the way I’ll be teaching in Indianapolis, Brazil (IN), Chicago, Omaha, Tulsa, and Chandler, AZ. I’m very excited to see some old friends and meet some new ones! If you’re in or near any of those cities and want to train, reach out and let’s get together!
Eastward trip is coming together as well. Schedule is currently a little bit loose, but it’s looking like I’ll be teaching in San Diego on Feb. 6, 2024, and then heading east from there to gigs in Tulsa and Northeast Arkansas, before turning north for a final gig in Columbus, Ohio, before I head for home. If you’re along that route and want to get together, reach out and let’s make it happen!
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Seminar at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Reynoldsburg
I’m very excited to be teaching a special 2-hour seminar at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Reynoldsburg in Reynoldsburg, Ohio on June 28, 2023 from 7:00-9:00PM. As always, the seminar will be a conversation between myself and the students about their particular struggles and the small details that will give them more success on the mat. Better still, host James Guynn has agreed to sponsor the event, so it is free to all currently-enrolled students! Contact notoriousgjj@gmail.com to reserve your spot! See the graphic for details!
Note that I’ll have some time set aside for private lessons prior to the event; contact James at the email address above or the phone number listed in the graphic to schedule yours!
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Superhero Simplified: Collected, Selected, Revised and Expanded
Hello All,
I’m working on developing a lot of new content for this blog, touching on everything from self-defense to self-care to breathwork to the mindset shifts that can help you break through to the next level in your training. In the meantime, however, I wanted to let anyone who’s unaware of the fact know that this blog is actually the second iteration of an ongoing process: my original blog, Superhero Simplified, where I discussed many of these same topics, is still live over at http://www.SuperheroSimplified.blogspot.com, and has been collected, curated, and added to in the volume Superhero Simplified: Collected, Selected, Revised and Expanded, available in paperback and Kindle eBook. CLICK HERE to visit the collection’s Amazon page, learn more, read customer reviews, and order your copy. And thanks!
Scott
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An Open Letter to Blue, Purple, and Brown Belt School Owners and Club Runners
Hello,
I’m writing to you today to introduce myself. My name is Scott Burr. I’m a second-degree black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, a second-degree black belt in Kodokan Judo, and a first-degree black belt in Kuk Sul Do. A more complete CV is included below.
I first started teaching BJJ in 2006… as a white belt in BJJ. The closest BJJ school was half an hour away, and I’d drive out there a few nights a week to train and learn as much as I could to bring back to the handful of students at the MMA gym we’d opened up in my hometown. Was I any good? Of course not. But I was up front about what I knew, and what I didn’t know. I was up front about the fact that I was giving these guys the best information I had, to the best of my abilities. As I continued to progress, I promised them, they would, too.
When I’d been training for about two and a half years, I met Steve Maxwell. Steve was a second-degree black belt at that time, and he was traveling through our area on what would turn out to be a perpetual, decade-long seminar tour. At the end of the seminar he taught at our gym, he promoted me and a few of my training partners to blue belt. As I’m sure you can understand, I was ecstatic. I felt like my two and a half years of hard work had finally been recognized and rewarded. I was over the moon.
Throughout the years that followed, Steve made regular visits to our gym. Eventually, I began to join Steve for stints on the road, assisting at seminars and appearing in his instructional videos. He awarded me my purple belt in 2010 and my brown belt in 2012; in 2014, I was proud to earn my black belt from Steve.
BJJ has spread incredibly since 2006. In traveling across the country, I’ve been surprised to discover black belts running schools in the most seemingly obscure places. This is all for the good: I believe that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be a powerful catalyst for positive change in people’s lives, and the farther it spreads and the more people it reaches, the better. I also know that, despite this growth, and despite the wealth of quality instructional materials available online, there are still places where blue and purple and brown belts are in the same position I was in back in 2008 and 2010 and 2012: that there are blue and purple and brown belts running programs and clubs and schools and to whom I might offer the same kind of resource and opportunity for advancement that Steve offered me.
I’m not a BJJ or MMA world champion. Though I’ve trained and shared the mats with some high-level competitors, I am not one myself. What I am, however, is a student who has spent the better part of his life working to develop not only the skills of his chosen pursuit but also the skills of clear and effective communication. I am someone who has worked hard to build a skillset and a knowledge base, and who is interested in sharing those skills and that knowledge base with those who are looking for it and for whom it might provide some value and benefit. In short, if you’re so inclined, I’m interested in sharing those skills and that knowledge base with you.
If you’d like to discuss any of this further, please feel free to reach out to me through Facebook or Instagram (@enclavejiujitsu), through the contact forms available at http://www.EnclaveJiuJitsu.com, or directly via email at either Connect@EnclaveJiuJitsu.com or EnclaveJiuJitsu@gmail.com.
Wishing you good health and good training.
Scott Burr
Enclave Jiu-Jitsu LLC
http://www.EnclaveJiuJitsu.com
// Gracie Jiu-Jitsu second degree black belt professor
// Kodokan Judo second degree black belt
// Kuk Sul Do first degree black belt
// Private student of Rickson Gracie
// Steve Maxwell / MaxwellSC-certified pro trainer, kettlebell instructor (L 1 & 2), and bodyweight training instructor (L 1 & 2)
// Appeared in numerous MaxwellSC instructional videos (MaxwellSC.com)
// Appeared in numerous Rickson Gracie instructional videos (Rickson.Academy)
// Co-author of Richard Bresler’s Worth Defending: How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life
// Co-author of Chris Haueter’s forthcoming memoir
// Editor of Robert Drysdale’s Opening Closed Guard: The Origins of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil
// Author of the training manuals Get a Grip and Suspend Your Disbelief
// Author of the martial arts, health and fitness, and mindset essay collection Superhero Simplified
// Breathology fundamentals and advance course certified
// Ginastical Natural certified instructor (L 1)
// Experienced MMA fighter (3-2-0, amateur) and coach
// Experienced Muay Thai fighter (1-0-0, amateur)
// Over 15 years’ professional experience as a martial arts instructor and fitness trainer
Visit http://www.ENCLAVEJIUJITSU.com for more information, including class and seminar booking information.
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Welcome.
Welcome to the new Enclave Jiu-Jitsu blog. This blog is a place for me to collect and share some of my thoughts about martial arts, health and fitness, strength and conditioning, personal growth, and life in general. For more information about me, you can visit http://www.EnclaveJiuJitsu.com. There you’ll find my bio, credentials, seminar and class booking information, as well as links to previous writing, podcast appearances, and (free) video instructionals. Thanks for stopping by, and if you have any questions feel free to reach out through any of the contact information you’ll find at http://www.EnclaveJiuJitsu.com.
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