Leticia Ribeiro, a 3rd degree Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Royler Gracie, will be teaching a women-only seminar at Rocha Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Oakland , California on Sunday, September 19, 2010, noon-3pm. Early registration is $60, $70 at the door. For those interested in a private lesson with Leticia, she’s available Saturday, September 8th and Sunday, September 9th.

3645 Grand Avenue
Piedmont CA 94610
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More information on the official site.

Time: 10:00am to 1:00pm
Cost: $85

Come and train with Royler Gracie, a living legend of Jiu-Jitsu (7-Time Jiu JItsu World champion) and one of the world’s leading submission wrestling experts. He is the only person to win the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championship for three consecutive years, and has won the ADCC more times than anyone else.

Waynesville Recreation Center
550 Vance Street
Waynesville, NC 28786
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More information on the official site.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (May 21, 2010) — A long-awaited match-up between two of the most exciting and best-known fighters from South Texas—Aaron Rosa and Robert Villegas—has been announced as the Local Main Event for Bellator 20 at San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre.

Promoters have attempted for years to convince Rosa (12-3), a 26-year-old from San Antonio and Villegas (7-2), a 34-year-old from Corpus Christi, to face off in the cage, but Bellator 20 on May 27th marks their first-ever meeting.

Tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

“Promoters from across Texas have been trying to get Aaron Rosa and Robert Villegas to fight each other for years, so it’s a great coup for Bellator that we’ve been able to finally make it happen,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Aaron and Robert are two of the best local fighters in Texas and both are looking to make their mark on the big stage. It’s going to be a great fight.”

The fight is one of four Local Feature Fights scheduled for the evening. Others include:

· Cedric Marks (27-20) of Killeen vs. Andrew Chappelle (7-6) of San Antonio;
· Brian Melancon (3-0) of Houston vs. Adam Schindler (6-1) of San Antonio;
· Humberto DeLeon (5-2) of Houston vs. Jimmy Flick (7-0) of Corpus Christi.

The Rosa-Villegas fight, however, is easily generating the most buzz.

“They’ve been trying to get us to fight for a long time,” Rosa said. “Now that it’s finally going to happen, I can tell you this much: We’re both gonna come out swinging and somebody’s gonna go down. It’s gonna be a great fight in front of my hometown crowd … I want everyone to show up.”

Rosa, a former football standout at Angelo State University in San Angelo, discovered MMA when a teammate showed him Renzo and Royler Gracie’s book, “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Theory Technique.” Since turning pro 4 ½ years ago, he has compiled an overall record of 12-3, with five of those wins coming via TKO.

“I’m a striker,” Rosa said. “I’m gonna go in there and punch him in the face and look for a knockout. That’s what I’m all about.”

Villaegas, for his part, says that he figures on taking Rosa to the ground, using the judo and jiu-jitsu skills that he’s honed over the last nine years at the MMA gym he owns and operates, Xtreme MMA in Corpus Christi. He holds black belts in both disciplines.

“I’m very picky about the fights that I take,” Villegas said. “I have to be inspired by a fight. I’ve had my ups and downs in MMA but this fight and being a part of the Bellator organization is a highlight. It’s gonna be a great show.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

Beatriz Mesquita and Leticia Ribeiro, two cornerstones of Gracie Humaita’s womens competition team.

Do not let the smiles fool you! Four stripe brown belt Beatriz Mesquita and her black belt instructor Leticia Ribeiro are some of the toughest female grapplers on the planet. Mesquita, aka “Bia” has hit the competition scene like a tsunami, winning world championship after world championship as she has progressed through the belt rankings. She also recently came in second place in the World Pro championship in Abu Dhabi. Did we mention that she is not yet twenty years old? Many consider her the top talent among new women’s jiu-jitsu athletes.

Leticia Ribeiro is a black belt under Royler Gracie and is the heart of the Gracie Humaita female team. World champion Penny Thomas has nothing but high praise for Letty, who organizes the competition preparation for Gracie Humaita’s womens team, which earned first place among female competitors for the last three years. And did you ever watch the episode of MTV’s Wildboyz where Steve-O was choked out by a woman? Yes, that was Leticia.

Also in this episode, we will discuss some listener email, a listener voicemail (who called us at (877) 247-4662), and of course we’ll also discuss the most recent BJJ Poll!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show

Royler at Gracie Competition Team.

Four and a half years ago, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu internet radio show called The FightWorks Podcast began. The show began as a project at FightWorks in Northern Virginia, and here we are at our 200th episode!

We celebrate this occasion with an interview from Royler Gracie, Helio Gracie’s fifth son and renowned competitor for Gracie Humaita. Royler has relocated to San Diego, California and when he is not travelling, he can be found at Gracie Competition Team where he sometimes teaches and sometimes just comes to train.

Thank you for the questions you sent in to us to our twitter page! In addition the questions you asked about competition, training, what’s going on at Gracie Humaita in Rio, we will also learn about his eventual promotion to red and black belt and much more.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show

Students observe Royler showing guard tactics.

Royler Gracie wraps up class at Gracie Competition Team in San Diego, California.

As you know our next episode will be our 200th episode of The FightWorks Podcast. Looking back, it is crazy to think that since beginning this work in September 2005 that we would still be doing this today!

As I mentioned the other day on twitter I was able to speak with Royler Gracie for an interview on Monday. The interview went very well and I got was able to present most, if not all, of your questions to him.

We will hear about Royler’s mission now in the United States after relocating to San Diego a year ago and what it means for Gracie Humaita, and a bunch of other great information from Helio Gracie’s fifth son. Make sure you tune in!

Royler Gracie will be offering a seminar each day of the first weekend in March.

March 5
Jiu-Jitsu Performance Center
100 Eureka Square Center
Pacifica, CA
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March 6
Rocha Jiu-Jitsu
3645 Grand Ave
Oakland, CA
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March 7
Practical Martial Arts
655 Del Ganado Road
San Rafael, CA
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More information here.

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

Gracie Competition Team Headquarters in San Diego.

By now you know that San Diego, California is one of the hotbeds of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the United States. A map of BJJ schools in San Diego suggests that there are more schools in San Diego than any area of similar size. And with instructors in the area like Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, Rodrigo Medeiros, Fabio Santos, and others, there is plenty of talent to go around. So why would someone open a new BJJ school in San Diego? Are there enough students to support another BJJ academy?

On Sunday’s episode of The FightWorks Podcast we will speak with Regis Lebre and Johnny Faria, the instructors at the recently-opened Gracie Competition Team. We’ll learn about their decision to open their doors in a place so dense with jiu-jitsu and what it’s like to have Royler Gracie himself frequently train there. Make sure you tune in!

Royler Gracie will be offering a jiu-jitsu seminar at the grand opening of Mario Aiello’s BJJ school. The seminar will be 3 hours long, begins at 11am and will be covering gi and no-gi techniques.

27935 Smyth Drive
Valencia, CA 91355
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For more information contact Aiello at his official site.