Tournament Review Tuesday: Ouano International Open
February 16, 2010
by Andrew Kuiland
Our team was looking for a good local tournament to help build some momentum for the upcoming Pan Ams. We found the Ouano Invitational online at iCompete.org. This was a fledgling inaugural tournament put on by some of the guys from the BJJ Revolution Team so we thought it would be perfect for what we wanted.
As I signed up I noticed that the Masters division only had 4 weight classes which I thought to be clever since I am happier to have more people in a bracket with me than not. I did think to myself though how sorry I felt for those in the next class up from me that was 200lbs +. After enrolling I realized that the weigh ins for this event would be taking place the day before at one of two locations. This can sometimes be nice but for me it meant I had to go a little out of my way on a Friday night, while I was so solidly in the middle of my weight class that it would be hard for me to miss weight. My teammate also had to go weigh in for the over 200lbs when he is a very comfortable 260lbs. Alternatively we were presented with the option of weighing in at the tournament before 9am, but we were not scheduled to fight until after 2pm. We did weigh in the night before and all went well.
The day of the fight was a beautiful Saturday in Southern California. It was finally back up to a nice 75 degrees and sunny after a few weeks of gloom and rain. Yes this was a going to be a good day to fight. As we pulled up to the event everybody’s faces seem to reflect the same feelings.
While checking in the brackets were posted outside on the table. I noticed that they had further combined some brackets. They put the masters cruiser and heavy weights together. This meant that the weight class was now 180lbs +. I questioned this, not because I didn’t understand it was a smaller tournament, but because I was now in the same division as my 7’ 260lb teammate. I did offer to them that had I thought this would be the case I would have happily competed in the adults light heavy as I have done many other times. The organizers were very understanding and cool about the situation but couldn’t fit me in my normal weight class. They did offer me to fight in the Adults Super Heavy as a consolation as well as leaving me in the master’s bracket with my teammate, so I accepted.
As I wound my way into the building I could see that MT SAC had an older gym, but it was going to be plenty spacious for the event. In the center of the area were slightly older tattered looking wrestling mats with improvised tape to separate the fighting areas. I wasn’t sure about the surface but the space allotted for each match was generous and the coaches were provided seats at mat side for coaching their team.
There were fixed bleachers on either side of the gym so a good view was guaranteed to all. There was also plenty of seating for the spectators to keep comfortable, which suited my wife and kids nicely. I was also told after the fact that snacks were cheap and the BBQ was good too.
We had arrived just in time to see the black belts fighting, so I sat back and took in some good matches while I waited for the blue belts to be called down to the warm up area. I thought it was great seeing the purple, brown and black belts scheduled before the white belts, I still can’t figure out though why the blue belts would be last though. I know its just not the way its normally done, but it seems like giving deference to the higher ranks in order might be a great sign of respect.
We were scheduled to fight as blue belts at 2pm and were finally called down to the bull pen at about 3pm. 1 hour behind schedule though seemed pretty tolerable to me though given that it was the end of the day. Once called to the warm up area I only had to wait about 15 minutes or so until my first match so I was quite happy about that. I also found that the wrestling mats were pretty soft and was plenty happy to fight on them over the normal tatami mats or rubber puzzle mats despite the appearance.
The fights carried on in an efficient manner and the officiating was fair and accurate. I was sad to see that a couple people did get injured and there wasn’t much proper medical attention around to tend to them. In one instance a competitor turned out to be a fire department emergency medical technician and offered his services to get the guy set. Fortunately though nobody got hurt really bad so this was not too much of an issue.
Overall I was pretty pleased with tournament and if held again next year I will happily attend again. I would hope though that the event planners grow from this first time around and fine tune the weigh ins and weight classes a little better.
Andrew Kuiland is a blue belt at Global Jiu-Jitsu in Costa Mesa and trains under Professor Marcelo Carvalho and Master Joe Moreira.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast.
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: 2010 European Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship
February 2, 2010
by Cornell Vlijter
The 6th European Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Open Championship was held in Lisbon Portugal this weekend. The tournament has become recognised as the “benchmark” Open championship for fighters wanting to prove themselves against the best that Europe has to offer. The tournament has gone from strength to strength with competitor numbers increasing not only at the junior and intermediate belt levels but at the senior levels of Brown and Black indicative of the standing the tournament has developed within the BJJ community.
The tournament began on Wednesday at the Complexo Municipal Esportivo do Casal Vistoso. The centre is a cavernous and imposing building in the North of the City. The first thing that strikes you upon arrival at the venue is the energy the venue, fighters and spectators generate. People don’t come to this championship to take part. They come to win and this permeates the building itself with virtually every person adrenalin-charged. The facilities are good with clear viewing galleries, maintained changing rooms and even various stalls selling everything from acai to replacement gis for any fighters falling foul of the stringent gi measuring requirements.
There were 8 matted areas and although all 8 never appeared to be in use simultaneously fights progressed concurrently and efficiently with the smoothness that the IBJFF have become renowned for. The only omission the organisers appeared to have made was the provision of a warm up matted area. Fighters resorted to jogging, calisthenics or skipping to warm up for fights.
Schedules, categories and times are clearly posted upon entry to the venue and on the internet but had to be rescheduled which is a reflection of the large numbers of blue and white belts who had registered to compete on the opening two days. There are many familiar faces from the UK circuit. Most of these competitors are what you would call “amateur professionals” as they take this sport seriously training six to seven days a week once or twice a day. These are the best that the UK has to offer and I suspect this is the case for the other nations present as well. The cost and commitment required to compete means that nobody travels “for the experience”. The Championships may be Open but I expect if your were to select national teams the list and competitors present would not diverge much.
Wednesday began with the white juvenile through to adult categories. What categorised these fights was the styles of fighting that prevailed. Most of these fights were characterised by the open guard game. A familiar pattern of victory emerged with competitors pulling open guard then attempting to finish their opponent by triangle or arm bar with varying degrees of success. Very few white belts elected to fight from the top suggesting a dependence on the guard with most fights going to the individual who pulled guard first.
Day two saw the entry of the senior and master blue belt categories. There were two inspirational sights on this day the appearance of Roger Gracie as a spectator and the participation of a blind fighter who received a standing ovation from the gathered crowd upon the completion of his fight. The blue belt fights were categorised by a more rounded game. Many of the fighters appeared to have a developed takedown game with many judo and wrestling style throws and takedowns employed by fighters. Fighters at these belts employed both top and bottom games. More of these fights tended to go to the judges scorecards, a relection of a more developed defensive game but when they were finished there was no pattern to the outcome with anything from omoplata to Achilles lock employed by the winning fighter
Saturday and Sunday were all about the senior belts as the last of the purple brown and black belt fighters taking to the mat. As a blue belt I struggled to understand some of the complexities of the fights in these brackets. Fights were characterised by both fighters adopting a low crouched stand up style with a long feeling out stand up period characterised by a scramble for dominant grips with which to control their opponents before attempting to trip their opponent to establish a dominant ground position. In the event that this was unsuccessful fighters would pull guard and attempt to establish control through a constant attempt to improve position and grip before attempting submissions. These fights really did prove the old adage that position comes before submission. The winners of the black belt categories were Guillherme Mendes (Atos) light featherweight, Tarsis Humphreys (Alliance) medium and Rodrigo Cavaca (Check Mat) heavy and Gustavo Campos (Atos) Open Champion.
The IBJJF European Open was a well run adrenaline fuelled ride and I can not recommend it highly enough. The only advice I would offer to anyone wishing to take part is to come prepared as this really is the benchmark for BJJ competition in Europe.
Cornell Vlijter is a blue belt under Caesar Lima, Roger Gracie Academy London.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast.
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: Abu Dhabi Pro West Coast Qualifiers
January 26, 2010
The Santa Cruz Civic Center set up for the Abu Dhabi Pro Qualifiers. Photo courtesy Rowdy.
by Rowdy B.
Sunday the 24th I was a competitor in the West Coast Qualifier tournament in Santa Cruz. This was a tournament with much on the line. A chance to win an all expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi to compete in their World Cup. Where else does a blue belt have a chance to earn thousands of dollars for a win? Nowhere else.
Making the seven hour drive up from San Diego I expected this to be great. I was not disappointed. The tournament was held in the Civic Center in Santa Cruz and was easy to find. If you were early you could find street parking for free, other wise you had to feed a meter every two hours. After showing my passport at registration and collecting a nicely done competitor t-shirt I made my way into the auditorium.
If you have ever competed at the Pan Am or Mundial you would have had instantly felt a feeling of familiarity. The only difference was things being on a smaller scale. The mats, fencing, tables everything reminded me of other high quality events I have competed in.
The tournament was scheduled to start at 9 AM and I was pleasantly surprised when at 8:45 AM competitors were called to the warm up area. Believe it or not, matches did start at 9 AM as advertised. The ID, weight and gi checks were exactly at other tournaments I have been to run by the IBJJF, so things were efficient and there were no surprises. Unless you were over weight, as the scale I used in the warm up area gave me a 0.3 pound lighter reading than the final scale used to either qualify or disqualify you. As I was an early competitor maybe they were zeroed later, I would like to hope so.
Watching the other matches and the tournament progress I was struck by the level of competition in the white and blue belt divisions. With so much at stake everyone brought their “A” game. People had obviously been training extra hard as this was a big chance and the matches showed it. Checking scores I think I could cover 85% of the matches with a 2-0, 10-0 or submission as the final result.
Emotions were worn on peoples’ sleeves, competitors gave it their all and when a loss was dealt, sometimes the great dissatisfaction shown through. But coaches calmed down, competitors got back up and hugged. To win here took an effort I had only seen before at the Pan Am or Mundials.
A great system to move competitors along, a clear and loud PA system unclouded by music, good mats, fierce competition, referees who answered every question of them, beautiful medals and things running on time. Can you imagine a better tournament? The organizers can, and I can’t wait to see how the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Cup turns out!
Rowdy B. trains at the Fabio Santos Jiu-Jitsu, and writes the blog Rowdy Style. He placed second in Adult Blue Belt at 139lbs in this tournament.
The t-shirts available for competitors.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast.
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu Jitsu European Qualifiers
December 15, 2009
Action in the A division. Photos courtesy Jon Broster.
By Jon Broster
This event was hosted by Zé Marcello of Brazilian Top Team and Jude Samuel of European Fight Network.
Arriving at the venue, it was clear for all to see that this was no ordinary competition. Dartford Judo Club is the Performance Institute for British Judo and is, therefore, home for a number of Olympic judo players. As might be expected, the facilities are excellent:
- Two full size Olympic judo mats.
- Cinema-style seating for around 200 spectators (ie soft chairs, not bleachers).
- Large, clean changing facilities.
Dartford is around 30 miles south east of the centre of London, and is within easy reach of all 4 of London’s airports, as well as being only a short drive from the English Channel, placing it within easy reach of European competitors and making it an excellent choice of venue for this international event. Participants had traveled from all over the United Kingdom and there were significant numbers of French and Polish competitors as well as people from Portugal, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
At the weigh in it was obvious that this was a very serious event – everyone was in great shape, there was no one who looked to be over weight or really skinny – and with good reason; up for grabs were all expenses paid tickets to the finals to be held in Abu Dhabi in April.
The event was well organized and, despite starting a few minutes late, ran smoothly all day. The officials all looked very smart, sporting black polo shirts and the venue had been suitably adorned with tournament sponsorship boards. One obvious difference from more standard events, was the relatively small number of divisions; there were no juniors, masters or seniors, simply adult divisions divided by weight for white belts, blue belts and a combined purple, brown & black belt division. The women were simply divided into 2 divisions by weight.
Right from the beginning there were some outstanding performances.
In the white belt under 83kg division, Wout Westra (Gracie Barra Netherlands) submitted all his opponents and finished one match in around 15 seconds, to land the quickest tap out of the day, with an armbar from standing.
East European judo player Vasil Panfil (RGA) smashed his way through the under 93kg blue belt division, repeatedly throwing all who stood before (some as many as 4 times) clocking up huge scores in the process, before taking both his weight division and the heavier of the two absolute divisions.
At the lighter end of the blue belt divisions Londoner Daniel Agard (BJJ School)demonstrated some beautiful sweeps and submissions on his way to winning both the under 73kg and the lighter absolute divisions.
In the women’s division, the fight of the day had to go to the white belt who held out for the full time and was only beaten on points by her brown belt opponent, showing some fantastic defense in the process.
Division A (the combined purple, brown and black belt division) was like a who’s who of European BJJ competitors; there were no fewer than 14 European gold medal winners competing, together with medalists from every major tournament across Europe and around the world.
The standard of competition was, as would be expected, outstanding.
In the under 83kg division Henrique Santana (Gracie Barra) ground out victories all his opponents, scoring well and conceding very few points indeed to his opponents.
I think for many the stand out performance of the day was by Luke Costello (Gracie Barra Birmingham) at under 92kg, who, despite being only a purple belt, showed some fantastic movement, taking the fight to and beating brown belts and coming close in the final against Nic Gregoriades (RGA) who is one of Britain’s leading black belts.
The atmosphere throughout the day was fantastic, thanks in no small part to the sizable and very vocal French contingent. Now it only remains to wait until April to see how well the European qualifiers rise to the challenge of taking on the best in the world.
As a spectacle, this was without doubt one of the best BJJ tournaments that has ever been held in Britain – congratulations to all those concerned.
The venue, Dartford Judo Club.
Jon Broster trains under Victor Estima & Dave Briggs at Gracie Barra Mansfield and under Lee Livingstone at Bushido MMA.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: Grapplers Quest World Series of Grappling
December 15, 2009
By Tren Long
I attended the “World Series of Grappling” put on by Grappler’s Quest last weekend in Las Vegas Nevada. This was my 4th GQ event and I think it maintained its high level of organization with just a few glaring problems. This event is held annually in the first week of December and always promises a lot of good competition and a well put together tournament. To add to the excitement there was a Pro Division this year with a bunch of high caliber big name BJJ and grappling guys and gals competing for a cash prize.
The Good:
The Pro division was awesome fun to watch from lightweight to heavyweight. I enjoyed watching as many of the matches that I could manage between my own matches and was in awe of the skill and competition on those Pro mats. They did a good job of announcing the finals of those pro brackets so you knew when to watch and who you were watching.
As always they put on a fast paced, well put-together event. For the most part everything kept moving. We had guys in our group that were among the last divisions to go and we left for the long drive home at about 8:30pm which is pretty typical for GQ events.
The refs I have always thought were awesome at GQ events and this year was no exception. They are all helpful with the new guys and are amazing at resetting matches in as close to the original position as possible if they went out of bounds.
The level of competition I thought was very very good. It could have been just me but it seemed like there was a whole bunch of guys from Paragon (and women for that matter) that were bringing the hammer down on the mats. I include myself as one of those whom had the hammer drop down on them.
The Bad:
The Venue – They normally have it at a very large sports complex where there are bleachers, open air, great lighting, and visibility of the mats. This time around they opted for one of the conference rooms in the Texas Station hotel in North Las Vegas. Although it was really nice staying in the same hotel as the tournament so you didn’t have to load up and drive to the event, the actual conference center was much too small for an event of this size. There were no bleachers to speak of other than a few rows of folding chars on the floor and a few rows of folding chairs on an elevated platform with seating for about 60, which lead to everyone’s favorite pass time at tournaments: crowding the mats. So from any seat you could not really see any of the mats or matches going on which made it very difficult to not only find your own mat, but to try to find your team-mates mat became nearly impossible. In order to watch the Pro Division I had to watch from about 50 feet away in the crack between a doorway and one of the tables. Otherwise it was shoulder to shoulder to get to any of the mats.
The P.A. system you could hear fine in the conference room, but the second you stepped outside the conference room to find a seat or to warm up it was impossible to hear any of the announcements.
Originally on the website the Pro brackets were going to be contested on Friday night, but a few weeks before the event it got switched to 1pm on Saturday. I think that was a mistake. It would have been a lot better as a spectator to watch on Friday night. The mats would not have been crowded, you would not have to worry about missing your own match while watching the pros, and it would have opened up a lot of room for the normal competition on Saturday.
The mats had HUGE cracks where the pieces of the mats came together by the end of the day. It made these lovely little crevasses that I am sure where just begging to break some toes. I am not sure what had happened because GQ always uses Zebra Mats and they have always been awesome but something about the way they set it up had the mats coming apart all over the place. Before every one of my matches we had to stop and try to adjust the mats back together with little success.
To sum it up as always Grappler’s Quest put on a classy show with a pretty fast paced, mostly on time tournament with one flaw- the venue. I hate to say it but if they hold it at the hotel again I will not be attending and I think most of the people I train with feel the same.
Tren Long trains under Keith Owen in Boise, Idaho.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: 2009 California State Submission Grappling Championships
December 8, 2009
by Rowdy B.
On a slightly overcast day in December Built to Fight Industries/OTM held a tournament titled the 2009 California State Submission Grappling Championships at the Peterson Gym on the San Diego State University campus.
I first became aware of this tournament through an internet forum and followed the link to www.grapplingtournaments.com where only the most basic information was given. Information concerning weight classes and online registration were not available until 3 weeks before the tournament. When the information was finally posted it was all there and preregistration and payment through Pay-Pal went smoothly for myself.
The Friday before the tournament I went to Bikram yoga in the morning to sweat off the last pound or two to make my desired weight class. Competitors were allowed to weigh in at OTM stores on Friday when I arrived just 5 minutes after opening a line had already formed for weigh in and of grapplers wanting to register. Weighing in consisted of you filling out a release, confirming your payment and stepping on the scale for results of all your hard work. If you happened to be over your desired weight you were given time and a second chance to make it. They even had a place set aside for people to roll or work out to try and loose the weight they wanted. The staff was helpful, friendly and the line moved quickly with everyone’s questions being answered that I heard.
Finding the venue was easy and I’m thankful for being able to sleep in my own bed or not having to drive 3 hours to compete. With the number of schools in San Diego it surprises me there are not more jiu jitsu or grappling tournaments held. Parking was close to the event but with just one machine issuing tickets a long line formed quickly.
Having been to a few tournaments I was not concerned as I knew things would probably be delayed a bit and I was right. My division was scheduled to be called no earlier than 10:30AM but at that time they had not even begun to have the rules meeting.
Venue was a typical college gym and bleachers were pulled out on one side for spectating. Eight rings were in the middle and a warm up area on the far side. Things were logically laid out and things like the restrooms and such were easy to find. If you had a long wait or were bored there were very few product or food vendors to distract you. This was in not way an expo but rather all about the competition on the mats.
As soon as the rules were explained the matches and classes progressed quickly. The PA system was loud and clear so there was no questioning what was said. When no announcements were being made music was played at a very low volume and it almost totally disappeared in the background. Thankfully.
Divisions were called in the broadest sense to the warm up area, such as “all adult blue belt men” or “all masters white and blue belts” and once in the bull pen area individual classes were called out. From my observation the larger classes had about 9 classes while some, like mine, had only two. If you had a two person class they determined the winner by a two out of three format. I thought this was great as I normally am in a small class and the chance for a rematch was appreciated.
Your entire class was lead to your mat area and they worked through your bracket at that mat until it was finished and medals were awarded right there. The tournament may have been a little late in starting but once they started rolling it went smoothly and quickly for the roughly 200 people there.
Like most local tournaments the greatest number of competitors were in the white and blue belt divisions. I saw no displays of poor sportsmanship and even more amazingly I never once saw a competitor or coach arguing with a referee. I heard no complaints at all about the officiators calls.
The tournament had both gi and no-gi divisions. The gi classes went first and then the no-gi classes followed. I competed in a gi division only but it looked like many grapplers were using this opportunity to do both.
If the promoters were to take my advice for improvement I would offer the following suggestions:
- Start on time. No matter what.
- Get your internet presence up earlier.
- Make the area for competition larger. Forty percent of the matches I saw ended up being stopped and restarted due to interference from a neighboring match.
- I received and email stating I would get a rebate on my early full price registration in the form of a free spectator ticket. That never happened.
- For a tournament to be called a “State Championships” I would like to see a series or some sort of qualifier.
Things I really enjoyed and felt were done right include:
- Good choice of venue
- Easy parking
- Clear PA system with background music at a low volume. It’s a tournament, not a house party.
- Great concern for safety and overall experience in the kids classes.
- 2 out of 3 fights for small divisions
- Very nice medals, team trophies and good t-shirts
- Excellent referees
- Good crowd control in keeping the area next to the mats clear and open for good spectating.
This also happened to be my son’s first tournament with his only having trained for 4 months. He had a very positive first experience and it looked as if all the kid and juvenile competitors did also. I’m thankful for a local tournament that ran well and had no major issues. If they hold it again next year we will be there again. Thank you OTM.
Rowdy B. trains at the Fabio Santos Jiu-Jitsu, and writes the blog Rowdy Style.
The picture is of the author (the short one) and his son, with second and first place medals, respectively.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: US Grappling Submission Only VI
December 8, 2009
Elyse Goldberg (standing) and Melissa Lopes (ground) in the women’s purple belt absolute. Image courtesy Leslie Dove.
This is a two part review of Saturday’s US Grappling Submission Only event. The first review is by Jimmy Cerra and the second comes to us from Leslie Dove.
by Jimmy Cerra
US Grappling is becoming a more popular tournament circuit on the east coast lately. Just this past Saturday (Dec 5 2009), they held another submission-only tournament near Richmond, VA. “Submission Only VI” was one of their largest to date with 8 rings and around 230-250 competitors participating.
The day started with a 4-man black belt bracket. Dennis Hayes, a Pedro Sauer black belt, won it with two 20+ minute matches. It was also his 38th birthday! The nogi divisions started right afterward, then finally the gi divisions started later in the day. The tournament was well run with very little downtime on the mats. However, it still lasted until late at night due to the sheer number of competitors.
Overall BJJ Revolution Team won the most team points for first place. Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy and Leo Dalla captured second and third places respectively. There were no kid or teen divisions, but they could opt to enter the adult divisions. Some of them did very well, including a diminutive 15 yo who beat a much heavier white belt in their absolute division!
Notably Josh Gaffney won men’s absolute advanced no-gi, Wahsei Miran captured the men’s absolute brown belt title, and Gordon Emery won the men’s purple belt absolute. Melissa Lopes won both the women’s advanced no-gi and purple belt divisions. The winners of all the men’s absolute gi divisions won a Ouano gi, while the women won VJJ BJJ prize packs.
I personally participated in the 149 pound advanced division and helped out refereeing for the rest of the day. This time we got a nice little trophy instead of a medal for winning a bracket. The tables were manned by the local wrestling team. They did a good job supporting us during the matches.
From what I experienced and observed, the submission-only format is very fun. It can be much more relaxing than point-sparring competitions. Competing feels much more like rolling. Most matches were around 7-10 minutes too. However, this time there seemed to be more long matches than usual. Some competitors played defensive games, which drew out the mat lengths. Other times, both competitors tired themselves out to exhaustion. They could not muster the strength to submit each other. The best competitors seemed to conserve their energy and stalk their opponents, waiting for the opportune time to attack.
by Leslie Dove
US Grappling’s Submission Only VI was this weekend at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, VA, just north of Richmond. As the tournament name implies, the only way to win is by submission. There are no points and no time limits.
Absolute Divisions were offered within all skill and belt levels. All men’s gi absolute winners received an Ouano gi; all women’s nogi and gi absolute winners received a VJJBJJ prize pack. Divisions were called top-down, starting with black belts/advanced and working down to white belt/novice.
The last event at this location, Sub Only IV, in July, was a 2-day event, while this weekend’s was a 1-day. The biggest immediate difference was the greater number of people, both competitors and spectators. Also, this Sub Only featured a 149.9 Black Belt division to lead off the day.
Eric Burdo (BJJ Revolution/Richmond BJJ) and Rudy Fischmann (Wander Braga) took the mat first after the referee and Rules meetings. Eric finally won, and Dennis Hayes (Pedro Sauer/Hybrid Martial Arts Academy) and Steve Bowers (Lloyd Irvin/BJJ United) started next. Dennis eventually won this match. During both black belt matches, matside was crowded and quiet except for an eruption of cheers and clapping after a sweep or escape. It was a great treat for all in attendance to see this level of jiu-jitsu on the mat.
Some time during the second black belt match, a loudspeaker announcement proclaimed the start of regular divisions at 11:20, or the end of the black belt match, whichever came first. 11:20 came first, and brackets started around the black belt match until all 8 mats were running. Later in the day, when longer matches had put the projected schedule behind, a 9th mat was started on the short side between mats 1 and 8.
The loudspeaker called competitors to bracketing or sent them to their mat if they were running late; it was also used to make the very important “Pizza is here” announcements. Large signs behind the bracketing table listed which mat a division was assigned to, and Chrissy Linzy and company kept those signs up-to-date. They also churned out brackets as mat space became available or as exhausted competitors withdrew, and they kept the action going even when the longer matches threatened to keep us there through the night.
At Sub Only IV in July, the longest match was just over 30 minutes; this weekend, everyone seemed to have gotten into the spirit of No Time Limits — there were several 30-min+ and even 1-hr+ matches, and one in nogi Intermediate absolute that went 1 hr 53 minutes! These longer matches stretched the day out, and a few matches were still going on after 9 p.m.
Somewhere during the day, Steve Bowers and Rudy Fischmann met for the 3rd-place black belt match, which Steve won. Eric and Dennis met for the 1st- and 2nd-place match, which ended in 26.5 minutes via armbar, with the win going to Dennis.
Even though there were more people than at the last event, the event was still close-knit. I had a 50-minute match early in the day; by the time we finally finished, there was a crowd around our mat cheering, and most of them weren’t from our schools and didn’t know us. And throughout the rest of the day, even people who hadn’t seen the match were coming up to us and congratulating us on such a long and hard-fought match.
There were 21 girls competing, from white to purple belt. The atmosphere around the women’s mat was friendly all day, with girls offering advice and encouragement to each other. I noticed a similar feeling around the rest of the mats, too, as competitors hung out on the sidelines before stepping on the mats.
A special congrats goes out to Lo Menzies who won the women’s nogi intermediate (115 – 144.5), nogi intermediate absolute, white belt beginner (115 – 129.9), and white belt absolute. After at least 10 matches to win all 4 divisions, she was awarded her blue belt on the mat.
After my matches, I relieved some of the table workers. We were kept well-supplied with brackets so that we never had an idle mat. The Patrick Henry High School wrestlers helped out at the tables, too, and seemed excited by the action. The kid at my table admitted that he freaked out every time someone pulled guard and deliberately put their back on the mat, but he was also proud of himself for picking up jiu-jitsu terminology during the day.
With US Grappling’s submission only format, there’s no worry about points, holding a position for 3 seconds, stalling, time limits, or advantages. It’s just jiu-jitsu until someone taps. And it makes for a fun and rewarding tournament experience.
Jimmy “Frodo” Cerra is a purple belt under Phil Miglarese. He teaches BJJ at Team Balance Pittsburgh. Leslie Dove is a blue belt and trains under Tim Mannon in Christiansburg, VA. She writes the blog bjjgrrl.wordpress.com.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: NAGA North American Grappling Championship
November 17, 2009
by Frank Garrett
I had decided to compete in the NAGA North American Grappling Championships in Newark, NJ, along with two of my teammates. I had packed food, water, my video camera, and a pillow. I felt reasonably prepared, despite having slept poorly the night before. The women’s no-gi was scheduled to begin at 10:30, and we had about a two and a half hour ride to get up there, forcing me to wake up far earlier than I would like to on a Saturday.
We met at our academy, and began the trek up the NJ turnpike, making good time despite the poor weather. We arrived at the venue at about 10:00 in the morning, to find convenient parking near the gymnasium. Although I hadn’t pre-registered I only had a brief wait in line to get signed in. Also people who registered at the door paid the same as those who pre-registered, which was nice for me. Weigh-ins were equally smooth, although I could see a longer line begin to form behind me. We had missed the rules meeting, and some matches had already begun, which surprised me. The event seemed to start more or less on time.
The venue was probably the largest I had been to for a grappling competition. There were 12 rings that were in use the entire time we were there. Scoreboards were electronic and easy to read. The PA system was loud and clear. There were the typical vendors and concessions.
According to the announcer there were about 1,200 registered competitors, and the high volume did seem to bog down the progress of the divisions somewhat. In particular the one ring devoted to the lady’s divisions seemed to be going slowly. NAGA did seem to be doing their best to keep things running as scheduled, deducting two points from you if they had to call your name over the loudspeaker. They also made a point of keeping coaches a safe distance to the side of the mat, a pet peeve of mine.
I wasn’t crazy about the strange rules that NAGA uses for no-gi, but I don’t do no-gi so it wasn’t an issue for me. I do thing that allowing leg locks in beginner’s divisions is inadvisable however. The only rule issue I had personally was that blue belt matches were only five minutes long, and I had trained for six. Others in my division were not so fortunate however. There appeared to be some heated debates as to what constituted “reaping the knee”. The ref in my ring (ring 2), did a good job explaining his decisions in a calm manner, and even used a spectator’s video to replay and review his decision. One competitor who went for a straight ankle lock let his foot cross the line of the hip and was immediately disqualified. Overall I was very impressed with my ref. He appeared attentive and calm the entire time.
It was a long and grueling day, but overall this NAGA was run much more smoothly than any tournament of this size I have been to. The large number of rings, professionalism of the staff, and the fact that they split the kids and teens division into a separate day allowed us to get on our way by about 6:30. I think all tournaments should move the kids and teens to a separate day. Hopefully this trend of quality tournaments will continue.
Frank Garrett is a blue belt currently training at Maxercise in beautiful Philadelphia, PA.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: The UK's Kent BJJ Open 2009
November 17, 2009
Dominique Vitry (bottom) fends off judo olympian Samantha Lowe in the womens blue belt absolute.
by Seymour Yang
The very first Kent BJJ Open in 2008 was a roaring success. Competitors and spectators spoke highly of last year’s tournament – so anticipation for this year’s event was sky high. And the organisors did not disappoint. One week before the actual event, competitor names and divisions were already posted on the internet, and three days prior, all fight times and mat placements were already announced. With just under 400 competitors attending, it was a superb testament to the level of organisation that went on behind the scenes.
The Kent BJJ Open was originated by the UK’s Carlson Gracie BJJ Revolution Team. The organisors were keen to establish the event as a competition created by fighters, for fighters. Simon Hayes, one of the organisors, told me that he felt some competitions in the UK were poorly run and his team wanted to give a good example to the outside world, and to BJJ participants, of how to run a tournament professionally, and he credited co-instructor Dickie Martin as the ‘brains’ behind the event.
The event was divided over two days (Saturday for white belts, Sunday for all other belts). Considering the extra financial burden that two-days worth of hall hire would encompass, entry fees were kept as low as possible and the weekend spread meant everything ran on time and finished at a decent hour.
More importantly, the organisors felt that everyone should be allowed to have at least two fights on the day, hence the introduction of the repechage system to win bronze. In a system borrowed from judo tournaments, the BJJ reperchage was trialled last year to much acclaim – all non-finalists in their division were able to fight for the bronze medal, adding genuine value to a podium placement.
The Dartford judo club is an Olympic standard judo training facility designed to host the 2012 British Olympic judo team. It was an honour to compete within this up-to-date sports stadium. The facilities are of international standard and for a few hours, everyone felt like they were Olympic superstars.
Saturday hosted all the white belt matches. I did not attend this day so can only comment that with around 200 participants, it was clearly a popular tournament for first-timers and more experienced novices alike. Sometimes tournaments can seem an intimidating experience for newcomers to the sport, and a day just for white belts is a nice touch.
The following day hosted all the coloured belt matches. It was a packed schedule with four mats in constant action. The table staff, ushers, referees and all the team who had roles to play running the event, did their job brilliantly. There was no ‘dead’ time as one fight ended, another began immediately. The tight time-table meant that if you missed your call-out, you got dq’ed. The PA announcements was loud and very clear.
Of course a good stadium is nothing without some good fights, and the competitors who attended this weekend did not disappoint. I saw some fantastic tussles from the super feathers all the way to the heavy brown belts. It seems the combatants were inspired by the surroundings and by the huge Carlson Gracie fighting ethic (whether you were a Carlson team member or not!).
If I had to pick one division that generated a lot of attention, I would say the womens blue absolute was interesting to watch. Notably for the inclusion of British judo gold medallist Samantha Lowe. Standing head a shoulders above all the other ladies, the Carlson Gracie BJJ fighter used solid, basic jiu-jitsu to nullify her opponents to win gold in her weight and in the absolute.
A shout out should also go to the mens blue under 76kg division as I witnessed some oustandingly athletic and technically adept matches, especially the young Ross Nicholls, representing Pedro Bessa BJJ, who won this division.
After its second successful year in existence, the Kent Open has firmly established itself as one of the major ‘must-do’ tournaments in the UK. Judging from the post-tournament buzz and chatter, participants, myself included, are eagerly anticipating next year’s event.
Seymour Yang trains at the Mill Hill Combat and Conditioning Academy, part of the Roger Gracie Academy network and writes the Meekatsu BJJ blog. He won a gold medal at the Kent BJJ Open this year.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
- Caleb
Tournament Review Tuesday: Ohio Grappling Challenge
November 10, 2009
by Jason Trott
The story starts 2 1/2 yrs ago in Columbus, Ohio. One of my friends said to me at the gym, “Hey why don’t you try jiu jitsu with me?” He was a blue belt under Relson Gracie South Columbus School! I said I would try it, one thing led to another, and the next night I bought a $150 dollar gi from Koral, I was going 2-3 times a week!
Three months later I did my first tournament. It was a NAGA BJJ tournament and I lost my first match on points! I kept training for an additional 2 months then I got a pretty bad ankle injury playing football. I quit going to heal the ankle and to focus on college. I pick the story back up 8 months ago. I went to the Arnold Fitness expo, and I saw the BJJ tournament and the next day I was back training like a mad man, but still only going 2-3 days a week! I asked one of the higher ranking belts what I was doing wrong, why was my progression not going as fast as I wanted. He said, “Jason you’re not rolling enough.” After that I started going 5-6 days a week! I was ready to do a tournament now, but oh no, I hurt my stupid foot again playing that stupid football! I already payed 50 dollars for the tournament too, and to top it off, Relson Gracie was coming to town to do a seminar. I thought, “This sucks!”
I told my instructor Tracy Hopkins that I would be there but I would not participate! He said “no, no, I need you on the mat Jason.” At that moment I had a sneaky feeling something good was going to happen! The day of the seminar, I am getting text messages from my class mates saying that they think I am getting promoted to blue belt! Well it happened! At that time I was a month and a half out from my tournament!
Fast forward that a month and a half, and I am at the 1ST Ohio Brazilian Jiu jitsu and Submission Grappling Championships, in Pickerington, Ohio! The tournament was run well; the turnout was pretty good as well! If I had to guess, I would guess about 75 competitors, ranging from white belt, to brown belt, it was a very nice turn out of belt diversity. I felt the rules were communicated well, and I did not see anyone intentionally break any of the rules! I was rolling in the light weight division of 150-164 pound division; I weighed in at about 163.4 pounds! All the tables were moving fast, well all except mine. We had the purple belt and up division at our table, and I swear there were like 15-20 competitors in that one alone! I thought we would be there all day, but the ring announcer called us to another table, so we would not have to wait any longer. We were waiting for 2 ½ hours to roll! So I was in the 3rd pairing in my division, we had a good amount of position changes, most of them good for him, but I am used to that! Then it happened he mounted me, but I reversed it real quick into his guard, he tried to choke me, but I thwarted that attempt! I got stuck in his guard, and he won on points! I was not nervous the entire time waiting to roll, but as soon as he touched my gi, I got a little nervous, and then the adrenaline kicked in, and about a minute or two into it I felt winded, but I knew I was in good shape. I would roll for about 2 hours on Saturdays and Sundays! After the roll, I felt great to just do it, I have really bad anxiety too, so this was a huge accomplishment for myself! I will be doing another tournament soon too, so when I do it I will write you again.
All in all, I would recommend this tournament for everyone, it was small enough for a beginner to get their feet wet, but big enough for the higher belt classes to get tested!
p.s. I lost to the guy who won my weight division! That made me feel a little better.
Jason Trott is a blue belt and trains under Tracy Hopkins.
This is an installment in our Tournament Review Tuesdays column, where FightWorks Podcast listeners submit reports about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions that happened the weekend prior. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of The FightWorks Podcast. Through the rest of 2009, if you submit a Tournament Review Tuesday piece, you might win an Isami gi!
- Caleb
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