Article on Takedown Battles

Good morning everyone- BJJ Heroes has an article highlighting takedown battles during gi and no gi matches. Personally, I highly prefer takedowns over guard pulls: from a competitor’s viewpoint, there’s a much better chance of putting yourself in a better position- and if it fails, hey, at least you tried. Also, from a spectator’s perspective it’s much more interesting to watch someone taken down than to have someone sit.

Check it out, and have a great day everyone!

Article on Competition at Walking Weight

Happy Monday everyone!

Dr. AnnMarie has an interesting article on competing at walking weight. She makes some excellent points- personally, I’ve been on both sides of the fence: I’ve loss a substantial amount of weight for competition, and there have been tournaments where I have literally just said “screw it, I’m going in as-is”. It’s really up to the individual and where you feel comfortable.

Check it out and let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Master Worlds, and Escape from the Pope

So it’s been the talk of this entire area, but the pope is coming, and it’s throwing everyone into a tizzy. Streets are shutting down, security is on high alert, droves of the undead…er, Catholics, will be roaming the streets of Philadelphia this weekend.

Fortunately, this is also the weekend of Master Worlds. So while all the residents of the City of Brotherly Love are freaking out about the Pope-ageddon, I’ll be on a plane headed Las Vegas and Master Worlds. So thanks, IBJJF! I fully anticipate coming home and hearing about the Papal Riots.

How’s everyone else’s week going? Are you in the area, and preparing to the Papal lockdown, or are you in some other part of the country/world, wondering what all the hullabaloo is about? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Complete Results from ADCC 2015

So the ADCC tournament did actually happen this past weekend- unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the matches, but from what I hear there were some pretty exciting matches.

You can check out the full results on BJJHeroes.com, and if you did watch any of the matches, let me know which ones you found to be the most interesting.

Have a great day everyone!

Interesting Article on the Top Finishers in BJJ

All the major adult tournaments are over (Master Worlds in September: can I get a hell yeah) and Bjj Heroes has an interesting article on the top finishers for the year.

There are a number of names that I’m not surprised to find on there, such as Faria, Galvao- but I was actually surprised by some of the other names on the list: particularly Cornelius, the Miyao brothers and Caio Terra.

I also appreciate that the site explained why women’s stats were excluded. It sucks, but at least there was some method to the madness.

Check it out, let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

New York Open Results

Good morning everyone! This past weekend I competed in the summer NY Open: I don’t talk a lot about the tournaments I compete in (other than Pans) but it was kind of important, mainly because it’s the first time I’ve competed since I injured myself during, and right after Pans. It was a long, unbearably hot day (like no joke, apparently one competitor passed out from the heat) but it went pretty quickly.

Well, anyway, my teammates fought hard, had some awesome sweeps and great takedowns, and a number of us received medals. I had one competitor in my weight division, lost on points, registered for the open (since I was still able to qualify) fought one other girl and the girl from my division, won both fights and received gold for the absolute. Hooray!

If they gave awards for being the shortest competitor, I totally would have won that as well.

Overall it was a hot, but pretty great day. Anyone else compete this weekend? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Article From Dominyka Obelenyte on Equality in BJJ

I’m sure everyone has read the article from black belt, Worlds Double Gold champ Dominyka Obelenyte on Equality in BJJ. It’s an article I believe everyone should read and serious think about. In the article she makes several excellent points regarding the current situation of jiu jitsu competitions and females, the frustrations many women feel, and the call to action for some sort of resolution or compromise.

Do I think the attitude towards women’s jiu jitsu will change overnight, and we will suddenly have equal prize money, etc? Unfortunately, no. True change rarely comes in like a rushing wave, but rather a slow moving river that eventually transforms the landscape. But I think drawing attention to issues like these is a good start: it opens the door to conversation, negotiations (if both sides are willing) and an eventual resolution that everyone can be satisfied with.

Check it out, let me know what you think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Article on Jiu Jitsu Outgrowing the IBJJF

Bloody Elbow published an interesting article about how (professional) jiu jitsu is outgrowing tournaments run by the IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu JItsu Federation, for anyone who isn’t sure). As the sport grows, as jiu jitsu players turn professional and more events offer super fights and a cash prize, the IBJJF will become more irrelevant.

I agree with the author- while I think a number of higher competitors will continue to register for these events, these events will no longer be a high priority. As discussed in the article, we’re already seeing this trend with some of the bigger names in jiu jitsu: if there is a tournament to prepare for that will pay cash, competitors will opt out of the IBJJF tournaments.

I think there is still value in the IBJJF “brand” (for lack of a better term). There is still the impression of prestige to these events, but the organization is going to have to step up their game and offer more financial incentives if they want to keep star power at the larger tournaments. I think they have taken a step in the right direction with the BJJ Pro tournaments, in which winners are given a cash prize-  I just hope it’s only the beginning to something more, and not the only action the IBJJF is willing to take.

What do you guys think? Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

2015 Worlds: The Dark Horse Competitors

Hey everyone, BJJ Heroes has a list of the “Dark Horse” Competitors for IBJJF Worlds this year.

Check it out, and have a great day everyone!