Featured affiliated academy: Playa Coronado BJJ, Panama
Where is the gym located?
Our gym is located in Nueva Gorgona, a small coastal town approximately one hour away from Panama City.
How many people train in Playa Coronado BJJ, Panama?
We are a small group of about 12 to 15 kids depending on the day.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We have been slowly growing after the lockdowns. We get one or two new kids every month.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
My son and I are the only blue belts left. The kids are white, gray, and yellow belts. We did have three brown belts and three blue belts before, but Covid lockdowns, change in migrations laws in Panama, injuries, and a promotion to blue belt brought about the perfect storm that decimated our club.
When did Playa Coronado BJJ, Panama open?
Our gym originally opened four years ago.
Some facts about you:
Name: Leonardo Espinoza
Age: 43
Belt: Blue
Profession: Teacher
Years in BJJ: 3
Other martial arts: None
Currently living in: Panama
Originally from: Venuzuela
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
Three years ago, my kids and I started training under coach Thiago Silva, a purple belt from Brazil. It was a nice little academy
with children and adult classes. We fell in love with Jiu Jitsu and we were training 4 or 5 times a week. A couple of months after I got my blue belt, Covid hit, and the coach had to close the academy and move away.
Nik Long from New Jersey stepped up and bought the mats from coach Thiago so we could keep training. We moved our mats to a friend’s watermelon factory where we trained during lockdowns, without getting any new members of course. Six months ago, we rented a new place where we have been trying to grow our club. One month ago, coach Nik Long moved to Mexico and it was my turn to step up and buy the mats from him and keep the gym going.
The first week that I’m running classes by myself, we get two visitors, and I tell everyone that we were going to do something new that I thought it was very important to add to our game and I start showing them the Panda, Running Man, Turtle, Hawking, and Baby Bridge. One of the visitors was kind of laughing at me and I was thinking to myself this guy is going to tell me that I’m exposing my back, but what he said was “It’s so funny you’re showing that, I was going through those last week with my coach Chris Paines, who is a black belt under Priit.” The visitor was Andy Gerrard. (Hi Andy, hope you’re doing well).
We rolled and we talked and when Andy found out that I was sponsoring 5 kids from the community to take Jiu Jitsu classes he even made a donation to the club. On top of that, I ended up meeting Chris on a Zoom meeting and he showed me a little bit more about those positions from his living room. I loved BJJ Globetrotters before, but after that I love them even more.
Tell us about the people that train in Playa Coronado BJJ, Panama – who are they?
Our younger students are two girls that are both 8: Amber and Mitchel. Then we have crazy Joe and his brother Jose. Then we have even crazier Ian, Tyler, and Evan. We have siblings Louis and Marion, and the older students are Jordan, Luis, and Darley. My kids Sebastian and Ivana help me teach. Approximately half the kids are foreign and the other half are local kids.
Why do they train?
These kids train because they like it and they have fun training.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Covid still worries a lot of people. As those fears fade away I think more people will show up to our gym.
Playa Coronado BJJ, Panama
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
I hope it grows. I hope it grows the way BJJ Globetrotters are proposing – where BJJ practitioners don’t impose restrictions on themselves about where or with whom to train.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
Great atmosphere! It’s always fun. Nobody fears or worries about rolling with each other. It’s a great option for training except if you want to be a world champion.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
The beaches nearby are not super pretty but the surfing is good.
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