What better way to prepare for a tournament than to train at 6000ft. I am currently in Colorado Springs for work. I have been here for a week and a half already and the altitude is still kicking my ass. The gym I am training at is called Colorado Springs Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The owner, Bill Hosken is a black belt under Rigan Machado. The first thing I noticed about the gym was the cleanliness, Bill stressed right off the bat that he makes sure he cleans the mats real well in order to avoid spreading any infections. I gotta say, this is the first time that my gi didnt smell at all after practice.
Bill is probably one of the nicest guys you will meet. From the second I walked in he was very open and made me feel as if I had been training there the whole time. Bill is a very technical instructor and shows mulitple techniques during each class. He will demonstrate the techniques mostly with no gi, but every technique translates into the gi. After the warmup and drills we go into rolling. Bill is very laid back when it comes to rolling. We basically choose our own partners and spar for about 5 minutes at a time. This has been beneficial for me because I could choose my partners and work on my weaknesses. Every class I have been getting in about one hour of rolling.
Even after a week and a half I still feel out of breath after every roll. I am starting to think that maybe its not the altitude, maybe I am out of shape. I’ll stick to the altitude excuse for now though. On a serious note though, I do feel better and better each day that I train here. I am going to have to step it up this week so I will be ready for the tournament on the 28th. Wish me luck
Colorado Springs Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 
Stopped in for some training while on a business trip. Good technique, good partners, good time all around. Stop in if you get the chance. Thank you for the hospitality!
My wife and I were on vacation and couldn’t imagine not rolling even though we are new white belts. We found csbjj on the Internet and professor Hosken called us back personally. He invited us to the adult gi class that evening and when we walked in he called me by name into his office and welcomed us like we were visiting family. The training and sparring were absolutely top-notch. And the private lesson was absolutely the highlight of our vacation. We will be back. We will plan future vacations just to visit CSBJJ. Thank you professor and God bless. Levi, Kristen and Silas
I had been considering moving back to my hometown(Colorado Springs) and was looking for schools in the area while visiting my family. Of the schools I visited, Bill’s easily had the most friendly and inviting environment. I have always been of the opinion that I want my opponents to have access to the same information that I do; I think that if a person is committed to growing and keeping up with the evolving sport of jiu jitsu that this is the best mentality to have. Some schools are more guarded with their techniques, not wanting their “secrets” to get into the hands of others. Bill shared his techniques freely and in a friendly manner, his students were equally friendly and open and I was able to exchange some useful techniques with them.
There are some schools that have a more tournament-focused mindset when it comes to jiu-jitsu rather than worrying about the self defense applicability. Rather than having the “a tap is a tap” mentality Bill approached his teaching with a mindset geared towards practicality. For example when we were going over a choke that could also serve as a neck crank, Bill made sure that we were not submitting our opponents solely with the neck crank. This is valuable because in a self defense situation the goal of a choke would be to pacify the opponent and render him unconscious rather than leaving him in a wheel chair paralyzed(though the latter option is still there should the situation require it).
If you’re reading this and you’re on the fence about doing jiu jitsu just give it a try; it’s a beautiful and empowering art and there’s so much to gain by learning it. Bill wasn’t pushy and didn’t pressure me to sign up in any way; he even invited me to a morning class he was having with another student after the free class I had taken was finished.
If I find myself back in the Springs I’ll be sure to sign up here.