By Derek Johnson
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
Recent visitors to Lake Arrowhead Village’s waterfront side may have noticed something different going on at Victory Tae Kwon Do. Why are there now adults in there, pinning each other to the floor and apparently trying to strangle each other? The short answer is because things fell into place in a big way for Joey Hauss after moving to the mountain in February.
Joey and Lindsay Hauss look forward to a bright future in their new location in Lake Arrowhead Village. (Photo by Derek Johnson)
For Joey and Lindsay Hauss, their move to the mountain earlier this year led to an adventure that they didn’t anticipate. Through a head-spinning chain of serendipitous events, they now find themselves working full time running a rapidly expanding Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy and loving nearly every minute of it. How did it all happen?
By profession, Joey Hauss is a certified instructor in the Wim Hof Method, a cutting-edge system of cold therapy and breathing exercises that have a number of documented wellness benefits; it is a popular concept among jiu jitsu practitioners. Its creator, Dutchman Wim Hof aka “The Iceman” has demonstrated superhuman feats – like hiking to the “death zone” of Mt. Everest at 24,300 feet in nothing but shorts and shoes or setting the world record for distance swimming under ice at over 188 feet – and he credits these abilities to his breathwork methodologies.
Prior to this year, Joey Hauss was teaching the Wim Hof Method all over the world while co-running the Los Angeles Jiu Jitsu Club, a jiu jitsu Airbnb that attracted world class talent like Gordon Ryan, widely regarded as the greatest current athlete in the sport. A former Marine Corp infantry sergeant and college wrestler, Joey is a black belt in jiu jitsu under living legend Jean Jacques Machado, the famed instructor of one of jiu jitsu’s most prominent and vocal proponents, top podcaster Joe Rogan. Joey has an extensive competition record, including participating in the Eddie Bravo Invitational, one of the top competition events in jiu jitsu.
So when Joey and Lindsay decided to move to the mountains to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and settle in for a more serene landscape, Joey knew that he unfortunately had to accept the fact that he wouldn’t be able to practice his life’s passion as frequently anymore because jiu jitsu training simply wasn’t convenient in Lake Arrowhead; training three times a day was now all but impossible. Soon after moving in, a friend came to stay with them at their new mountain home and, during the visit, he asked Joey and Lindsay to visit Sandals Church with him.
During the visit, Joey filled out an info card for the church that mentioned his passion for jiu jitsu. Pastor Jono Knepper reached out with an incredible proposition: to start a jiu jitsu program in the downstairs gym at Sandals for zero rent. Some church members were interested in training, and it was all laid out for Joey – a place to keep his mats that had been buried in the snow, a place to train and students to train with, all handed to him upon his very first visit to Sandals. Members of the church began training with incredible consistency and frequency, and the student count grew as social media posts made their way around. Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu was born, and they had nearly 20 students in very short order.
After a few months, the next piece of the puzzle fell right into place. Parents of Victory Tae Kwon Do students were informed that a change was coming to the school: Owner Master Pablo Tello was planning to relocate to Europe and the future of the school was uncertain. A parent of one of Victory’s students alerted Joey to the fact that there was a potential growth opportunity, and Joey contacted Pablo to discuss the possibilities. The result of this discussion was a deal struck: Joey would move Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu into the Victory Tae Kwon Do building while Pablo is in the lengthy process of transitioning to Europe. The convenient location in the village – a spot with high foot traffic by locals – resulted in more than doubling the student count in just a month, and the growth continues.
In the meantime, great news for the parents of the students in the very successful Tae Kwon Do program: Classes continue just as before. The kids’ instructor, Joseph, will stay on, continuing to teach the same classes on the same days. So, from a parent’s perspective, essentially nothing has changed, except there are now a wide variety of other options available to them at the school. Kids can now train in tae kwon do or jiu jitsu or both, with various scheduling options.
Students of Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu pose after class along with visitors from Forge Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy. (Contributed photo)
Charter school parents are happy to learn that Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu is charter school approved, and has partnered with Granite Mountain, Sage Oak, Sky Mountain and Springs Charter Schools, so parents have a great option for physical activity and discipline for their home schoolers.
Joey has big plans for the future of jiu jitsu on the mountain and big plans for his own academy. Just installed in the building: a cold plunge machine. Members can dip in to the icy cold bath after some hard training for muscle recovery, to improve circulation, to get immune support, to improve sleep and to undergo a great exercise for mental fortitude. Joey says he plans to offer “cold plunge only” memberships at the academy for anyone on the mountain who wants these benefits; the cold plunge is an essential part of the Wim Hof Method.
For anyone interested in getting in on the ground floor, Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu is offering early bird pricing for students joining before Oct. 1.
Lake Arrowhead Jiu Jitsu was built on a foundation of beginners who have built up solid fundamentals. One student observed, “This place is great for any skill level. Joey is great with beginners, and there are some really advanced students that have been joining recently.”
Could our mountain produce great champions of the sport some day in the future? If Joey Hauss has his way, it will. Our natural altitude advantage combined with great instruction and a world class training environment would certainly stack the odds in our favor.
For more information and to sign up for classes, visit lakearrowheadjiujitsu.com.
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