Orange County Judo Training Center Opens at Gracie Barra-Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa,CA -- Gracie Barra-Costa Mesa is pleased to announce a new judo program at their facility. The Orange County Judo Training Center will be led by Juan Montenegro, a highly respected judo instructor who has taught judo in Orange County for two decades.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to work with Mike Buckels” said Juan Montenegro. Adding further, “I had several offers, but the opportunity to work with Mike, and his affiliation with the Gracie Barra organization offered the greatest potential to build the judo program that I envision. Mike and I share the same core values, the same ideas on training and teaching our students. Together, we will offer our students a program where they can reach their full potential whether they train in judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or cross-train in both arts.”

When asked about the new judo club, Gracie Barra-Costa Mesa owner and Head instructor Mike Buckels stated, “It’s an honor and a privilege to work with Juan. He has been my judo instructor for several years. When I first started to think about learning judo, everyone I spoke to said that Juan Montenegro was the judo instructor I should train with. They were right!  Over the years, many of my students have cross-trained with Juan, and have greatly improved their tachiwaza (standing grappling).

One of the students of Gracie Barra-Costa Mesa that cross-trained with Juan is Allison Clifford. A multiple US Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion, is currently training with the legendary San Jose State Judo team. She won her division at the National Collegiate Judo Championships this year, as a freshman.

Commenting on Allison, Juan said, “I was in Florida for the tournament, and I watched Allison throw her first opponent, a Pan American medallist in that match, and watched her submit her opponent in the finals with an arm lock. I knew that arm lock would bring a smile to Mike’s face when he found out. With Mike and I working together to train Allison, she was prepared to train judo at a very high level at SJSU, despite not having as much experience in judo as most athletes who go there.”

Gracie Barra-Costa Mesa has scheduled judo classes immediately after the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes, so that its students who want to cross-train in both arts, can do so conveniently, and with less interruption to their daily schedules. To learn more about the Gracie Barra-Costa Mesa school, please visit www.graciebarra-costamesa.com. To learn more about Orange County Judo Training Center, and their judo program, please visit  www.ocjudo.com.