Ryan Beauregard is an American born jiu jitsu and judo black belt, being also one of the top competitors of his generation in the USA. A former world Brazilian jiu jitsu champion (brown belt 2008), Ryan Beauregard started his own team together with his brothers (Colin and Ian), this “Team Beauregard” has quickly become one of the strongest BJJ academies in the Arizona region. (bio from BJJ Heroes) What makes his story even more admirable is that Ryan is also a full time Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He talked to BJJ Legends reporter Monta Wiley about how he manages both careers, and deals with the stress of being exposed to death and suffering on a daily basis:
“Working as an EMT I’m exposed to a lot of situations most people couldn’t even imagine, and this is on a day-to-day basis. This EMT Profession and the 24-hour shifts that go along with it have the potential to cause high levels of stress. Unfortunately I see a lot of my co-workers unable to find constructive ways to deal with this stress. I find that training and competing in Jiu-Jitsu full time helps me escape from this extra stress.”
Where one world centers on fighting people and the other focuses on helping people, Beauregard’s case presents two conflicting job responsibilities. However although unrelated, Beauregard has been able to use his skills in each career to formulate solutions for each other in many of the circumstances he encounters on a daily basis.
On parallels between competing/training and his job:
“You have to train and compete with a clear mind, when you find yourself distracted that’s when you fall behind or even get hurt,” he said. “As in emergencies medicine you also need to think quick and think clearly or people’s lives are at risk.”
Ryan’s attitude and approach as an Emergency Medical Technician evidently found its way on to the mats at the Team Beauregard Brazilian Jiu-jitsu academy. The knowledge Beauregard possesses as an EMT along with his years of grappling experience has aided in establishing a structured, positive, and safe learning environment at his academy for anyone from children to even fellow EMT/Paramedics to train at.
“I feel as though my students and my team have a sense of comfort knowing I can deal with extreme situations. Our staff here has gone as far as now requiring all Instructors to be at least CPR certified. We all agree, students and their family’s trust us that we aren’t only going to help guide them but they trust us to protect them too.”
