The 2010 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship is coming fast! Beginning April 8 through April 11, the competition will be held in a different spot than in recent years, as we mentioned back in October. in Irvine, California. The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation reported that the number of registrants last year blew out any previous competitor numbers, so it’s likely the same happens this time around. This event, also referred to as the Pan-Ams, is gearing up to be as amazing as it is every year.
This year will be even more special: Budo Videos will be offering a live webstream of the finals on Sunday free of charge! Last year Budo streamed the No Gi World Championships online but this is the first time the prestigious Pan-Ams will be available live all over the world. And in case you missed it: it will be free!
Last week on our twitter account I alluded to an announcement we are excited about, so here goes: Budo Videos has asked us to assist with commentating the black belt finals on Sunday on the live stream! Another first for BJJ tournament coverage and certainly a first for us. We will let you know more as we learn more details…
Chris Moriarty is an Alliance black belt under Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti. As a brown belt, Moriarty won the heavyweight division of International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s World Championship two consecutive years, as well as the Pan-Ams.
With such a fearsome record, Moriarty is a veteran of Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition, having competed in one year as many as 16 times. He has been giving advice to listeners of The FightWorks Podcast going all the way back to 2006.
Today we are going to examine balance in BJJ. Not the ability to maintain one’s balance on the mats when sparring, training, or competing against an opponent, but making sure that we do not push ourselves too hard in jiu-jitsu so that we eventually neglect other important aspects of our lives. It may seem impossible. On The FightWorks Podcast we generally endorse the idea that one can never get enough Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, like anything, too much of a good thing can be bad. We explore this in BJJ with Chris Moriarty and discuss ways to make sure we keep balance in BJJ.
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
Regis Lebre and Johnny Faria, instructors at Gracie Competition Team in San Diego.
Our weekly Brazilian jiu-jitsu internet radio show brings you a trifecta of BJJ news stories this week! Our journey begins in San Diego, where Regis Lebre and Johnny Faria have recently opened Gracie Competition Team. Both of these BJJ black belts will speak to us about their goals in opening their school, how you do not have to compete to train there (of course!), and the decision to open a school in an already crowded jiu-jitsu market in San Diego. Oh, and did we mention that Royler Gracie is often found at their academy?
Next we will speak with Mike Buckels, the technical director of events for the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. Buckels explains the details and rationale for the IBJJF’s entry into children’s jiu-jitsu competitions in the United States beginning with the Pan Kids Jiu-Jitsu Tournament which takes place on February 27th. What are the IBJJF’s goals here? Can we expect to see a kids BJJ world championship? Buckels has the answers in our conversation.
Our trip ends this week with a conversation with Jamie Hussein of the Future Champions BJJ project in London, England. Future Champions UK is a sister to a project begun in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, where under privileged children are offered Brazilian jiu-jitsu to build character and keep them out of trouble. Hussein shares the success of the program so far and the positive impact it has had on its members.
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
Braulio Estima’s hand is raised once again, this time at the 2008 BJJ World Championships.
2009 was Braulio Estima’s year. Not only did the Gracie Barra competitor win the heavyweight division of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s World Championship, but he won both his weight class and the absolute division of the biannual ADCC submission grappling competition and the IBJJF European Championship. Today on the FightWorks Podcast, Cohost Dan sits down with “Carcara” and learn about how things have changed for him since his recent accomplishments. We will also get a very inspiring perspective on his jiu-jitsu origins. (Did you know that Braulio Estima lost his first match in the first five jiu-jitsu tournaments he competed in?)
We also hear from Shawn Williams, another Gracie Barra black belt. Williams received jiu-jitsu education from Renzo Gracie himself at Renzo’s Manhattan academy. Now Williams runs Hollywood BJJ, in an attempt to recreate the vibe of Renzo’s New York school. Williams is the originator of the aptly named “Shawn Williams Guard” and also is half of the commentating crew of the annual BJJ World Championship DVDs produced by Budo Videos. FightWorks Podcast contributor Christian Simamora brings us this interview.
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation is holding its first ever Pan Kids Jiu Jitsu Championships on February 27th and they want your help. This came across my desk earlier today…
Date: Saturday February 27
Location: Cal State University Dominguez Hills
Time: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
We are looking for volunteers that can work
Full time
9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Those who volunteer all day will receive a $80.00 stipend.
Part time
1st Shift 9:00 am- 3:00 pm
2nd Shift 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Those who volunteer part time will receive a $15.00 stipend.
A free T-shirt and Lunch will be provided.
No experience is necessary.
Please contact Ibjjfstaff@gmail.com if you are interested.
We rely on volunteers like you who have helped in the past to make tournaments run smoothly. Thank you for your dedication to the sport of Jiu Jitsu. If you have friends or family who are interested in volunteering please have them contact us.
Please include the following if you are interested in volunteering.
1. First and Last name
2. Mailing Address
3. Phone
4. Full time? Part time?
5. All day? 1st shift or 2nd shift?
Could be fun to be a part of the first ever IBJJF kids tourney, and will be a nice way to get a little volunteer experience before jumping into something bigger like the Pan-Ams in April or the Mundials in June. So pitch in!
(Updated January 16 to reflect earlier error which said the tournament will take place on two days. It will only be on the 27th.)
On January 2nd, Rolles Gracie awarded Rashad Evans his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Some in the BJJ community have expressed discontent over the decision to award the black belt to Evans, primarily because many years training in the gi is traditionally required before someone is given a black belt.
In today’s episode of The FightWorks Podcast we ask Rolles about the promotion. Read what he has to say and let us know in the poll above whether you think training in the gi is necessary for a black belt in BJJ.
EXCERPT OF INTERVIEW WITH ROLLES GRACIE ON RASHAD EVANS’ BLACK BELT
The FightWorks Podcast: One of the things I wanted to ask you about Rolles, was your relationship with Rashad Evans. He had a [UFC] fight recently. You were helping him prepare his ground skills right?
Rolles Gracie: Yes, we’ve been training now for a while. He’s an outstanding guy, outstanding athlete, and soon you’re going to be seeing his jiu-jitsu kicking in a lot more every single fight.
The FightWorks Podcast: Let’s talk about that. I think one thing that surprised some people recently was – I think it was on your Twitter account (which is twitter.com/rollesgracie) there was a picture that appeared and it sounds like you gave Rashad a black belt. Talk about that.
Rolles Gracie: Yes, I see what’s going on and I get a lot of questions and that came out like a big controversy, people questioning this belt. First I want to say that I have been involved in jiu-jitsu in my family my whole life. It’s been like a lifestyle to me… And for people to ask why I give a guy like Rashad a black belt is a big disrespect in my opinion, you know? When I realize all this controversy, people saying this and that, and they were asking, I was very surprised. Not only surprised but insulted. I don’t really owe an explanation to anybody. But then I realize that not everyone is lucky to train with guys like him and in the school in New York. Maybe they don’t know me or Renzo, my brothers, and the system that we teach. We have a school like I said that has over 1,000 students and I think that speaks for itself. Some great guys train there, great talents like Matt Serra, George St. Pierre, they all go there to train. And I really shouldn’t be like, explaining. But these people want to know how Rashad’s training is going, I’ll be glad to do this.
The FightWorks Podcast: I think one of the questions that people had was that traditionally people expect some years of work in the gi to be required for a black belt. Maybe you know something that other people don’t know. Does Rashad use the gi? Or is this different?
Rolles Gracie: I never trained with the gi with Rashad. If this happened five years ago, maybe I wouldn’t have given him his black belt, you know? But the sport evolved. Today we see Worlds and Pan-Ams gi and no-gi Pan-Ams by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, which is the biggest organization out there, the most renowned. So the sport has evolved. Rashad is a black belt in no-gi jiu-jitsu. That’s why I give him his black belt. Rashad is a phenomenal athlete. He is a great wrestler. He picks things up faster than anybody else, you know? So that’s what it is. If you see his last fight, he dominated! He dominated Thiago Silva on the ground. And Thiago Silva is a well-known black belt. He passed his guard, mounted him a few times. You know there are things I hear from people like, “[Rashad] did not attempt submissions, he never triangled, he never finishes anybody.” Man that’s his personal game: he likes to use the ground to hit, to use his ground and pound. That’s how he’s comfortable there. And I’m happy. And people are still questioning him? They should come back and roll with him to see how they do.
The FightWorks Podcast: So like you said, it’s justified based on your experience with him, that he is technical and qualified.
Rolles Gracie: Yes, because like I said – in the No-Gi Worlds and No-Gi Pan-Ams if you put him to compete it wouldn’t be fair if I put him in the blue, purple, brown belt divisions. He would be competing with the black belts. Would he win? I don’t know. After everyone signs up for the tournament, you can’t really know for sure.
The FightWorks Podcast: I guess a similar example would be Josh Barnett right?
Rolles Gracie: Exactly, exactly, I agree.
The FightWorks Podcast: Somebody who knows a lot of technique and maybe they didn’t train formally in a Brazilian jiu-jitsu environment, but skill-wise in noggin submission grappling, they are there.
Rolles Gracie: Yeah. And like I said, he’s just a phenomenal athlete. He picks things up real fast and I’ve been working with him a lot this past year. I dunno if people saw me on the TUF season. I was there, working with him, helping the other guys. So in this past year we have developed a great relationship training.
The FightWorks Podcast: Sounds like you guys are pretty close. It’s nice to have people like that, friends.
Rolles Gracie: Yeah. Not only that, Rashad is my first black belt. So I wouldn’t throw that at [just] anyone.
