Updates on Jiu Jitsu Worldwide League

The Jiu Jitsu Worldwide League has been updating their site, so I would say if you are interested in possibly competing in these tournaments you should periodically check their site.

It looks like they are adding to the rules, updating the weight divisions, and some other updates: I personally would like to see where they are holding the other 11 tournaments throughout the year: again, we’ll just have to check back and see.

Anyone keeping an eye on this as well? I’m interested in seeing how this progresses. Check it out and let me know what you think. Otherwise, have a great day everyone!

All Women Card for Metamoris? What Do You Think?

Jiu-Jitsu Times wrote a post proposing an interesting idea: an all female card for the next Metamoris. The article goes on to suggest a number of potential match-ups, going the jiu jitsu vs. mma route, and quite frankly makes a number of nice pair ups that I would be interested in seeing.

As long as we adhere to a strict “no double guard pull” rule. I don’t know how that could be enforced, but it needs to be put into effect.

What do you guys think? Are you down for an all ladies Metamoris? Even if that never happens, I would still love to see at least some women’s matches in the next couple of events.

Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Braulio Estima Stripped of 2014 Worlds Title and Banned From Competition

I know, I know, I’m late to the party on this news, but according to DSTRYRsg, jiu jitsu competitor Braulio Estima stripped of his title as 2014 Worlds Champion, and has been banned from competing for 2 years, after DMAA or methylhexanamine was found in his system after said tournament.

According to the post, DMAA can be found in a number of energy drinks and pre-workout supplements, which sucks if Estima accidentally ingested the substance, but a banned substance is a banned substance: you should definitely be careful of what you are putting into your body if you know you are competing in a tournament that has a list of stuff that’s not allowed in your system. Personally I think 2 years is a bit harsh, but I do agree with the title strip and a suspension period. I think a year would have been sufficient, considering the nature of the substance, coupled with the face that jiu jitsu is really a year-round sport and a number of important tournaments can go by within that period of time.

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

Video of Finals Match Between Gabi Garcia & Mackenzie Dern

This past weekend the IBJJF held their No Gi Worlds tournament, and Jiu Jitsu Times posted a video of the finals match between black belts Mackenzie Dern and Gabi Garcia.

I have to say while Dern did lose, I was pretty impressed with her performance: I’ve watched previous matches with Garcia, and not a lot of people can do much with her and lots of people make the mistake of trying to get under her. I think Dern played as smart as she could, and tried a couple of submissions which was cool to see.

Anyway, check out the video when you have a chance and let me know what you think-otherwise have a great day everyone!

A Little Judo, Anyone? Judo Grand Slam 2014 Footage, Courtesy of DSTRYRsg

So, maybe it’s my imagination, but things are a little slow at the moment in the jiu jitsu world (trust me, I’m not complaining, just making an observation). So, while all the BJJ players are back at their academies, sharpening their skills and getting ready for the tournaments coming up, check out DSTRYRsg: they have posted Day 1 and Day 2 of the Judo Grand Slam.

If you’re not sure what that is, or have a couple of hours to kill, check out the site and the videos and sit back, relax and watch some top level guys throw the bejeezus out of one another.

Otherwise, have a great day everyone!

 

Happy Friday: Spring Edition

Happy Friday everyone! Spring has finally sprung! At this rate I’m hoping we’ll all thaw out by, oh, June maybe. Here on the East Coast we’re expected to get a sunny day tomorrow with a high temp in the mid-60’s-seriously, I can’t wait.

Actually, I was thinking about this while out in Cali: It would be great to have a tournament in CA in something like a large tent, like you would have at a fair, so we sun deprived competitors could catch a few rays in between matches. But then again we would probably all get sun burned, and that would suck…

What do you guys think? Would you be down for a technically outdoor tournament, or would you prefer to keep your grappling competitions indoors? Let me know, otherwise have a great weekend!

 

New Rules for IBJJF Worlds Black Belt Competitors

This just came out: IBJJF has imposed some new rules for eligibility in registering for Worlds. Starting in 2015, all Black belts must hit this criteria:

– Black belts with minimum of 50 points in the IBJJF black belt adult ranking

– Former Black Belt adult World champions

– 2014 Brown Belt World Champions (all weight divisions)

We all know Pans is the more popular tournament out of the big ones this time of year, but what do you guys think? I’m imagining these are an “or” situation, because that’s the only way this makes sense to me- competitors must have a minimum of 50 points in their system or be a former champion or be a former Brown Belt Champion, because really the pool of people that could hit all three requirements is so small you would be done with black belts in about an hour, maybe two.

Let me know, otherwise have a great day everyone!

 

Could Competition Eventually Kill BJJ?

Groundwork  just put up this interesting article about judo and how certain changes and attitudes are killing the sport, and how BJJ should pay attention.  It’s a pretty interesting article that a lot of BJJ people can relate to, particularly when it comes to the rules and regulations part.  I feel the BJJ community needs to learn from the judo’s actions (good or bad) to keep the sport alive and thriving, to keep it a sport and art that people want to participate in, competition or otherwise.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

NAGA and a Case for Pre-Registration

So our team went to a NAGA (North American Grappling Association) tournament this past weekend, and I’m not totally sure of the official results, but I think we did pretty well. I had a chance to coach our teammates throughout the afternoon, competed against a very nice girl from Montreal, got a shiny belt and my picture taken on the podium- all in all a long, but good day.

I do have one complaint though: NAGA has been growing in popularity, but their registration process is still behind on the times. Mainly because you can register the day of the tournament, which I understand these events can be a little hit or miss in terms of attendance, but I think you would have more people staying for the tournaments, less of a delay getting matches started and overall a smoother operation if you put pre-registration in place. NAGA does have pre-registration in place, technically, but it costs more than to just pay at the door, therefore while some people do it, it makes more sense to just pay at the door. But then you run into problems like the women’s division of the tournament.

Historically, there have been so few adult women to compete against that they typically would stick all of them at the beginning of the day, allot them one mat space and they would be done fairly quickly. I thought this would be the case for this tournament… Fast forward to 5 hours later and I was still waiting to compete, and this was even after they opened a second mat for women’s matches. And there were very few, if any lulls between matches. There were just a ton of women, particularly white belts, competing.

It is absolutely fantastic that more women are competing, I want to make that absolutely clear- but I feel tournament organizations need to accommodate for these situations, which they would be more prepared for if they pushed a little harder, and made it a little more appealing for competitors to pre-register.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts- have a great day everyone!

Jiu Jitsu Tournaments and Nutella

So, I found this interesting piece of news: Chef Mario Batali of Food network/Iron Chef fame and two other business partners have opened a Chicago location of his Italian gourmet dining experience, Eataly. There is one already in NYC, but this Chicago Eataly is said to 30% more space and a more open layout.

And there’s a Nutella bar. Like a place to get Nutella put on stuff. Or stuff  that is made with Nutella in it. Oh my goodness.

At this point in time the only reason I would have to visit the Windy City is for a tournament, and in all likelihood one run by the IBJJF…Soooo, when’s the next Chicago Open? Because this is going to have to be a stop after the tournament, on the way to the airport.

Let’s make this happen, IBJJF. 😉