Recently in BJJ News Category

Posted by Marshal Carper, lockflow.com

Marcelo Garcia's guard game, in Hall's opinion, is the correct way to use the guard.

Hall cited Marcelo Garcia's guard game as an effective use of the guard position because Garcia uses the guard in the way that a wrestler uses a shot: to get a leg and score a takedown.

"The way Marcelo Garcia plays guard, is, in my opinion, how it should be done," Hall said. "Your whole job is to pull them off of you and stand up into a single leg. I'm finding more and more that the traditional sweeps don't really work at the high level, at least not in the way that you normally think of them: you cut me over, and I fall like kaboom right on my back. That doesn't really happen. It's like a 20 point touchdown. It just doesn't usually work like that when both guys are at a truly elite level... I guess I'd say my approach to the guard has changed drastically. It isn't to pull some whacky sweep or triangle out of my ass anymore. My whole goal is to just make you off balance to the point that you can't, for a moment, stop me from standing up--and now I finish from a positional advantage. I feel that's the truly reliable way to do it. You can replicate it against a high-level opponent who knows what you're doing. That's when you know you've got something.

Posted by Marshal Carper, lockflow.com

Ryan Hall made his name in the grappling world as a Lloyd Irvin prodigy. Tournament after tournament, match after match, he pulled guard, and by rotating between traditional guard and inverted guard, often-times with monkey-like speed and agility, he would catch his opponent with any one of his 200+ triangle set-ups. It was fancy. It was flashy. And it was winning him tournaments.

"I don't believe in it anymore," Hall said.

The techniques and the strategies that were winning him NAGA tournaments and Grappler's Quest tournaments weren't effective against elite level competition. Hall said that his old approach to Jiu-Jitsu was fundamentally flawed and that he was only successful with positions like the inverted guard because he often enjoyed a significant skill and knowledge advantage over his opponents, which hid the weaknesses of his game.

Date: Relson Gracie Seminar (Tues Nov 24, 2009)
Times: (All evening classes will be canceled)
6pm-7:30pm Gi Class ($40)
7:30pm - 9:00pm No Gi ($40) Both classes ($75)

Please Call Balance Studios at 215 636 9661 to reserve your spot.

Relson's Seminars generally sell out within the first day, so Call ASAP if you want a space.

If you are a Memeber of Balance Studios, see Josh in the office to reserve your space.

LOS ANGELES, CA- November 14, 2009 - Phil Davis won the Gold Medal at the BJJ NO GI World Championships held last Saturday November 7th, outside Los Angeles, CA.

Competing in the HWT Division, Phil Davis won 3 matches to claim the Gold Medal. The first match was won by Rear Naked Choke submission in :25 seconds of the 1st Period, the second match was won by Arm Bar submission in 2:00 of the 1st round, and the Gold Medal match was won by a dominating score of 12-0.

Congrats to Phil on his success outside the octagon.

For more information please contact:

Chad Dubin
chad@lionheartfighters.com

See the Web site here.

Once a prized pupil of Lloyd Irvin, Ryan Hall set off on his own academy in Arlington, Va., Fifty/50 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He recently claimed bronze at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club world championships.

An email from Brad Souders, of Extreme Sportsplex in Martinsburg, W. Va., sent me these videos the other day with this note:

"Here are two videos i shot last night on two common bjj problems. The first deals with the popular knee cut pass and the second is one counter to the brabo choke which is becoming popular in no gi grappling.

Sorry about the boxer show and notice my gut hanging haha and for added Matt,Mark, and Grove notice the shirt lol."

This piece was recommended to me by George McGinnis of YMMAA in Red Lion and was written by Rosendo Diaz (pictured above) of Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Royler Gracie-David Adiv:
The keys to becoming better at Jiu-Jitsu don't always rest in the in the hands of your instructor or the quality of your training partners, nor does it always come from getting the most up to date techniques used in competition.

While those things are important and contribute to the overall development of your skills, what really matters is the commitment you make to the art of jiu-jitsu and your discipline and what I like to refer to as the three P's of training.

What are the three P's of training?

Practice, Persistence and Patience...

YMMAA owner/purple belt George McGinnis and Nate Grove.

Nate Grove of Red Lion receives his yellow belt last night (Oct 21 09) at the York Mixed Martial Arts Academy.

Nate was the first official youth program student to tutor under Coach McGinnis more than a year ago. At ten years old, this young man is off to a great start in a sport that has been sweeping American soil by storm since its introduction years ago.

McGinnis said, "I think its safe to bet that majority of us in our 30's and above in some way wishes that we would have known about or been involved with BJJ / Judo in our younger days. However, that's the beauty behind BJJ. Not only is it clearly dominating and highly effective, but because of its leverage based applications and design, pioneers like Professor Helio Gracie were able to participate in BJJ and its growth well into his 90's. That's insane!"

Other youth students like Tyler and Robby good have been training at the YMMAA and are sure to shine along with Nate in the future.

Congrats, Nate, on your yellow belt. We'll be following you here on MMA Explosion!

At the Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Chalfont, PA. 52 people in attendance, 12 promotions and 3 new black belts. For more information please visit our site at graciepa.com Thanks to mmainpa.com for the head's up.

George, in the middle, with the gray T-shirt, surrounded by his friends/trainees.

From George McGinnis:
I was the only one from our particular school that attended the event. I was also the only one who traveled to the event as well so there is unfortunately no photo's or footage of the event or my matches at this time. However, one of my opponents taped a couple of my matches and mentioned that he would send me the footage to me as early as he could. I honestly don't expect to see it...

Purple Belt 165lb and under (1st place)

Purple Belt 'Absolute - open weight class' (2nd place)

No Gi 170lb. Advanced (1st place)

No Gi Advanced 'Absolute - open weight class' (3rd place)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Events coming up that I will likely be attending / competing:

CPWC Grappling Challenge - Lancaster Oct 24th 09

New Jersey BJJ Federation - November 14th 09

PABJJ (Team Tatu - Super Fights) - Nov 21 09

As always we would like to thank our sponors...

Sheetz
Miles Muffler
Red Lion Chiropractic
Flying Feet
Ricke Bros Auto Sales / Royal Motors
Imagineered Signs, Inc.

Sincerely Yours: George McGinnis
York Mixed Martial Arts Academy
Contact # (717) 650 - 0500
www.YMMAA.com

From George McGinnis, owner of York Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Red Lion:
Here is a video from my two matches at Grapplers Quest a few weeks back. I was a hair rusty and it shows but I have vastly improved over the past couple of weeks and am now back into tournament mode. Match 1 is against a Team Balance brown belt. I opted to go up in weight and experience because I got bumped out of the No Gi advanced first round and couldn't fight for third because I was first on the card which always seems to happen to me. Second match (No Gi) is against a Maxercise brown belt. Needless to say, it was a tall order for the day. It was a good experience either way and I am actually not as disappointed with the Gi match as I am with my No Gi performance that day. I will be competing next in Lancaster on the 24th of October just a day after my bro Brett is slated to take on Justin Krebs for the 170lb title...

Last week I posted details of George McGinnis' great run at the UGC recently in Mcungie, Pa. Now you can take a look. Here's George's comments from the Youtube entry: "This is a compiled video of 6 out of my 7 matches this weekend. Missed match number to because they added the match last minute. I decided to hit the tournament to tune up for several other events that I have lined up over the next couple of months. Finished the day with 2 No Gi Gold Medals and 2 Absolute Championship belts... "
Make sure to hit George up at York Mixed Martial Arts Academy.

Here's George McGinnis's U.G.C. results from "Best of the Best" held this past weekend in Macungie, Pa:

Match 1: No Gi Intermediate / Advanced Mixed (win via. points) - Gold
Match 2: No Gi Intermediate / Advanced Mixed (win via. rear naked choke) - Gold
Match 3: No Gi Absolute 200lb. and under (win via. triangle to inverted arm bar)
Match 4: No Gi Absolute 200lb. and over (win via. points)
Match 5: No Gi Absolute 200lb. and over [finals] - (win via. triangle) - Championship Belt
Match 6: No Gi Absolute 200lb. and under [semi finals] - (win via. triangle)
Match 7: No Gi Absolute 200lb. and under [finals] - (win via. triangle / descending arm bar) - Championship Belt

"Yeah, its safe to say that the triangle is working for me. I think between my recent diet adjustments and conditioning programs, that my performance is steadily increasing. Its a small sacrifice to pay when considering the results. The U.G.C president (Robson Pereira) has approached me and offered me a super fight at one of the up coming events. I'd like to take a moment to thank all of our sponsors..."

- Sheetz, Miles Muffler, Flying Feet, Rickie Brothers Auto Sales, Imagineered Signs -

George is owner/head trainer at York Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Red Lion.

Thanks to JiuJitsuMatrix.com

Got a voicemail from Bob Bitner, head trainer at Hanover Academy of MMA. He gave me the run-down on how his team did at the recent Grapplers Quest in Lancaster.

"All in all, I'm very,very, very pleased with our performance. The guys did great," he said. "For us, not being a full-time Jiu-Jitsu school, I couldn't have asked for a better performance than what the guys did."

- Jay Haas won 1st in the men's intermediate division.

- Bo Christie won 1st in the men's executive heavyweight division.

- Alex Giron, won 3rd in the teen novice division.

- Andy Smith won 4th in the men's novice division.

- And the man himself, Bob Bitner, won 2nd in the masters advanced division. It was actually Bob and Joe Martini from Philadelphia's Rocco MMA who were battling it out for first and second, Bob said. Bob called Joe "a very very strong man. He made me work. ... We went the distance, all five rounds," and in the last 20 seconds or so, Joe scored a point on Bob, making it 1-0. "I'm definitely looking forward to getting to that rematch," Bob said.

Ryan Hall, who used to train with Lloyd Irvin, now has his own school called Fifty/50 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This year, he competed in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Championships, and above is his match with the legendary Leo Vieira. Ryan's academy is located at 4238 Wilson Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Ballston Mall - Sport and Health, Arlington, VA. For other ADCC results, go to sherdog.com

I didn't notice this before, but the Grapplers Quest event that happened today at the Lancaster Convention Center had something interesting: a 5-0n-5 team tournament. I was checking Rated, a Web site that has national rankings for submission grappling, but couldn't the results for the 5-on-5, or the regular tournament.

I know Bob Bitner from Hanover Academy of MMA said he planned on having a few guys in the tournament, so we'll have to see how they did, and anyone else in York and aroudn the state.

Royler Gracie, 6th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and one of the famous Gracie brothers, will be at Steve Maxwell's Maxercise in Philadelphia next month.

From Wikipedia: Royler Gracie has competed in the black-belt ranks for 20 years. He is the only person to win the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship three consecutive years, and has won the ADCC more times than anyone else. Royler is also a four-time World Jiu Jitsu Champion in the under 67 kg Black Belt Division.

Maxwell is a world-renowned trainer and according to his Web site's bio, "He was the first American to earn a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, certified by Relson Gracie."

A message from Robson Pereira, promoter of the Ultimate Grapplers Challenge, scheduled for Oct. 11 at the Macungie Community Center in Macungie, Pa.:
HEY GUYS IS THE LAST WEEK TO PRE-REGISTERED!!! AND SAVE SOME MONE$$$BUT YOU CAN STILL REGISTERED AT THE DOOR!!!!
THAT IS WHERE ALL THE BEST GRAPPLERS AROUND WILL BE!!!
Click here to go to the Web site.

Here's an email I received from George McGinnis, head trainer at York Mixed martial Arts Academy:
This article was sent to me by one of our top students (Tom Fleming) yesterday. I personally read the article twice because I thought it was that informative. Though most of us have been instructing for some time and have likely developed our own style of teaching, this article could still benefit you (as well as the students) in more ways then one.

It reminds us of the three most common styles of learning and reception (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic). Though I feel that our facility commonly accommodates for all three types of learning behaviors, I decided to adjust last nights class out of curiosity. To be completely honest, last night was probably one of the most responsive classes that I have ever tought. Students were asking twice the amount of questions, getting more involved, changing their angles of view and complying to the outline. I am also receiving emails and text messages about how great of a class we had. Give it a read. You could too be missing one or two angles of curriculum that could benefit one or more students.

Nogi Industries presents, Glover's Travels Episode 1 Part 1. In this episode, Jeff visits Paragon Jiu Jitsu in Ventura California with Ricardo Franjinha Miller. This is the first in a series where Glover travels to different BJJ academies to experience different techniques and how the schools are run.

EVENT: 2009 Grapplers Quest
Northeast Submission Fighting Championships
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & Submission Grappling
Featuring $10,000 in Prizes
When: Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Box Office, At-The-Door Registrations, and Weigh-Ins Open at 8:00 AM
Tournament Starts at: 10:00 AM

Event Location:
Lancaster Convention Center
3 East Vine Street
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603

- 222 Divisions for Men, Women, and Children of All Ages and Skill Levels
- $3,000 5-on-5 Best Team in Northeast Challenge
- 63 Northeast Championship Belts on the line!

This Saturday, September 26th the gym will be close due to a grappling competition in Lancaster. A lot of our guys are going to compete in Grapplers Quest. If you are interested in competing or just coming along to support our team please contact me and I will give you the details. Thanks and we will see you on Monday.

Thanks,
Adam Rocco
Roccomma.com
215-778-2517

On Sept. 19th Rogerio "Tatu" Taborda and his black belt student Ronaldo are coming to my school Extreme SportsPlex in Martinsburg, WV to do a 4hr seminar. Each will teach a 2hr section. I am hoping to get Ronaldo to teach some Del La Riva guard as he train with him while living in Brazil. Seminar is from 10am-2pm for $60 a head.

A note from Robson Pereira: HEY GUYS DON'T MISS OUT !!!!
"BEST OF THE BEST"
THIS IS WHERE THE BEST GRAPPLERS AROUND WILL BE COMPETING FOR THE BEST OF THE YEAR!!! GI AND NO-GI DIVISIONS FOR MORE INFO GO TO WWW.PEREIRABJJ.COM

By George McGinnis

Hi. My name is George McGinnis. I wanted to set aside some time today to discuss how to decode various MMA programs and the vital importance in selecting a legitimate Martial Arts / MMA academy that will be handling your educational and competitive needs. First things first. The key word in that sentence was your needs. Countless schools out there (Nationwide) are so concerned with promoting themselves, that they often allow students to attend advanced training before they are ready, or their fighters to take a fight long before they actually have the arsenal to do so. How does this affect you? It's simple. In the world of MMA, first impressions are critical. When a fighter steps through that gate for the first time, they (in my opinion) have to leave a lasting impression with the promoter, fighters, other surrounding teams, as well as the crowd. You have to let people know (win or lose) that you've got game and come from a school that clearly has worked diligently with you and has your best interests in mind. Listed below are some key things that you should be looking for and considering before settling in with any one mixed martial art academy.

Click here to register.

A longtime BJJ paractitioner, Brad used to live here in York and roll with George McGinnis of York Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Red Lion. Brad's now down in West Virginia, I believe.

From the Grapplers Quest Web site: The new 90,000 square foot Lancaster County Convention Center, connected with the brand new Marriott Lancaster will play host to The 2009 Northeast Grappling Championships on Saturday, September 26th.

The venue is located at the Lancaster Convention Center, 3 East Vine Street,Lancaster, Pa.

DISCOUNT TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW, Save $5 and Experience the Greatest Grappling Show on Earth, Meet Your Favorite MMA Superstars, and Watch the World's Best Grapplers & Fighters,
CLICK HERE

COMPETITORS, Save up to $30 & Get a FREE T-Shirt, CLICK HERE

For Directions go to, LancasterConventionCenter.com

OFFICIAL Hotel
Lancaster Marriott® at Penn Square
25 South Queen Street
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17602 USA
• Phone: 1-717-239-1600 CALL 717-239-1600 FOR DISCOUNT RATE OF $139 Per Night
MUST MENTION GRAPPLERS QUEST - Save $40+ per night or BOOK ONLINE at MarriottLancaster.com (MUST use group code GRAGRAA to Get Discount Online)

For more info. go to the official Web site.

Here's an email I received from Joe Duffey, co-owner of Academy of Combative Arts in York City:

Daniel (BJJ champion Daniel Beleza) took Jimmy Chappell up to the Poconos for the WKU Warrior Challenge for a fight. Jimmy won in the first round via armbar. Also, Daniel took a team of guys(Team Beleza is the fight name) to Scranton today (6/27) for the PA Brazillian Jiu Jitsu tournament and all of our guys placed. We had 2 in the kids division, Chaz and Jordan, both winning gold, 4 in the adults white belt division(in 3 different weight classes), Tom(gold), Jaysin(bronze), Josh(gold), Tux(silver) which equated to 2 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal, and 2 in blue belt division(2 different weight classes), Jimmy(gold) and Mike(Bronze) resulting in a gold and bronze medal.
I'm very proud of them so I wanted to share the news. Joe Duffey

Daniel Beleza

Earl is from Team Balance, run by the Migliarese brothers in Philadelphia. This was at Dover's Good Fight on Jan. 24.

Phil and Ricardo Migliarese, Relson Gracie black belts.

This took place at a recent Abu Dhabi tournament - hence the Arabic crawl under the picture.The guy in the white gi is Ruben "Cobrinha" Charles, with Rafael Mendes wearing the blue. The BJJ practitioner who sent this to me noted that, "It is very rare to see Cobrinha lose at his own weight in bjj. He is considered one of if not the best p4p bjj guy right now. This event was held in Abu Dhabi and was held similiar to their famous ADCC no gi events held ever two years."

I received an email from Joe Duffey, who, along with Frank Nguyen, run the Academy of Combative Arts in York City. Joe told me that ACA's resident black belt (2nd degree in BJJ) Daniel Beleza, got third in the recent International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation's World Championships, held June 4-7 at California State University in Long Beach.

Here are the results from the IBJJF Web site:
weight class: LIGHT FEATHER

FIRST guilherme mendes Atos

THIRD carlos vieira Check Mat Bjj

THIRD Daniel Beleza Academy of Combative Arts.

Earlier this year, Daniel scored back-to-back first place victories at the Pan-Ams and the New York International Open.

Congratulations, Daniel, from all of us here at MMA Explosion!

Worlds promo video:

Here's an email I just received from George McGinnis, owner/head trainer at York Mixed Martial Arts Academy. He compiled a list of the major BJJ tournaments going on in the area, so check it out:

George: I am pleased to announce that the summer is looking to be packed with events, and a few of them are even local! That's right gents. This means that, even though some of you are fairly resourceful and masters of evasive proto call, you'll have to cook up some pretty extravagant stories and excuses to avoid competing this year. [Louie Voice] "Ya gonna do somethin wit dat B.J.J or what?"

Ultimate Grapplers Challenge (BJJ): June 13t 09. Site address - www.ugc-challenge.com/
Small tournament, but great for first timers, or those who are looking for decent comp in the advanced divisions...

A.D.C.C (BJJ): June 13th - 14th. Site address - www.adccusa.com
Some of the best in the world compete in this event *yikes*. There's even a pro division for you high end studs...

Coach Phoenix (Seminar): June 26th 09. Location - Elicker Kenpo
I heard this guy sucks, but hey, its only $20 a head for two plus hours...

Tatu's PABJJ Federation (BJJ): June 27th 09. Site address - http://tatubjj.com
Yes, I / we will be present...

Lancaster Family Martial Arts Center (BJJ): July 25th 09. Site address - http://www.lfmac.com/index.php
This is twenty minutes away, $50 bucks & double elimination. Excuses are futile...

Keystone Games (Judo): July 26th 09. Location - York Fair Grounds
I'll be competing as a brown belt. No pressure, lmao...

Kumite Classic (BJJ): August 21st, 22nd & 23rd. Site address - http://kumiteclassic.homestead.com/JiuJitsu.html
I think a handful of us will be at this one...

Tatu's PABJJ Federation (BJJ): August 29th 09. Site address - http://tatubjj.com/news.html
I'll be sleeping at, I mean COMPETING at this one (ha ha)...

Grapplers Quest (Grappling): September 26th 09. Site address - http://www.grapplers.com/ One of the biggest grappling venues in the country, and its only going to be half hour away!

George McGinnis, owner and head trainer at York Mixed Martial Arts Academy, is at a New Jersey Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation tournament today, competing in the gi and no-gi divisions, at either intermediate or advanced levels. George said he planned his weight to be about 163.

George has been on a furious pace of training (in York and at Rogerio "Tatu" Taborda's place in Scranton) and competing, with his last tournament being the Ultimate Grappling Challenge.

And if that's not enough, on Friday, George was at the Dallastown Elementary school for a "career day" presentation. George spoke to about 20-25 kids and put on a demonstration as a way to introduce them to BJJ.

Another great instructional video from Brad Souders, showing how to do a kneebar from the X guard at Extreme Sportsplex in Martinsburg, WV. ... BTW, I don't think I've ever seen a forest green gi.

Just received this email from LionHeart Fighters in State College:
We are proud to announce Diego Coloma as our new Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts instructor at LionHeart. Born and raised in Brazil, Diego is a BJJ Black Belt under legendary instructor Leo Vieira and brings over 20 years of BJJ experience with him. He holds a professional MMA record of 6-1 with 3 KO's and 2 submission victories.

"We are thrilled to be aligned with Robert Drysdale and his BJJ organization which is one of the best BJJ schools in the world. Through this relationship we were able to land Black Belt Diego Coloma as our head BJJ and MMA instructor. Diego is a perfect fit at LionHeart. In addition to his BJJ and MMA experience that will help elevate our fighters to the next level, he is a passionate teacher who will continue to help grow our MMA and BJJ school. I am grateful to the guys at Drysdale that worked with us over the last few months to find the right fit." -Chad Dubin, owner of LionHeart.

For details regarding class schedule, private lessons, or special programs please contact Chad Dubin at (814) 280-1982 or chad@lionheartfighters.com

LionHeart has a ton of fights coming up, including Phil Davis at Ultimate Warrior Challenge, Paul Bradley at Respect Is Earned's Brotherly Love Brawl, York County's Biff Walizer at The Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge and Brotherly Love Brawl and Dave Sachs at BLB.


Diego Coloma

Daniel Beleza, far right, in the blue rashguard, at M.A.C.E. in Red Lion.

As I said in an earlier post, Daniel "The Cobra" Beleza, second-degree black belt with York's Academy of Combative Arts, and Red Lion's M.A.C.E. academy scored a huge win at the recent Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Carson, Calif. In the black belt/master division, light featherweight, Daniel placed first.

Here's an account of Daniel's success from http://diariodonordeste.globo.com/ Keep in mind I used Alta Vista Babel Fish for the translation from Portuguese to English and then also did a little editing of my own:

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Daniel Beleza won a gold medal at the Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu Championships, held at the California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Carson City, held the last weekend in March.

At the event, sanctioned by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, Daniel displayed a thrilling performance, finishing his first two opponents in less than two minutes in each match.

In the finals, Daniel faced Mauricio Villardo, a fighter from the Academy Gracie Humaitá, and won gold.

A total of 2,500 fighters representing countries including the United States, Mexico, Japan, Italy, Russia, Brazil, Portugal, Spain and France, participated in the competition. Three hundred of those athletes represented Brazil.

Daniel now has his sights set on the IBJJF's US Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship, held in April in New York City.

Following that, Daniel will enter the IBJJF's most important competition of this season, the XIV World-Wide Championship, Long Beach, California, in June.

Since August, Daniel has been living in York, Pennsylvania, where he trains and teaches at M.A.C.E. academy in Red Lion and ACA - Academy of Combative Arts.

As many of the prestigious Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments are held in the United States, Daniel decided to move here to minimize costs. Daniel's resume includes a 3rd place finishes at both the 2008 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships and the 2008 Pan-American Games.

Original story written by Moacir Felix.

Daniel Beleza

I talked with Llew Chester, co-owner of the Academy of Combative Arts, (located in downtown York), and he filled me in on a few things.

First, Daniel "The Cobra" Beleza, second-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, recently took first place at a major BJJ tournament, I believe in California.

"He cleaned up over there; it was really remarkable," Chester said. "He's really pumped up about it."

Llew added that the academy's progress is not moving along as fast as it should.

"We're having problems passing the inspection; we have to re-do the ceiling," he said. "Everything is set to go and we can't move."

Still, Llew remained positive, saying, "It's definitely going to happen, I'll tell you that."

To find out more information, call co-owner Frank Nguyen at 717-841-4077. To go to Daniel myspace page, click here.

I found this while visiting Brad Court's Paramount Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Web site, and it's definitely something we've seen a lot of lately.

One guy who definitely does not run a McDojo is Court, who is a black belt under Lloyd Irvin, has been studying BJJ for more than a decade and has competed in some of the most prestigious BJJ tournaments in the world. His academy is located at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, PA. Here's a video of Brad, winning a match by triangle:

Here's an email I received from LionHeart Fighters about an upcoming BJJ seminar featuring Tony Passos.

Passos is:
- One of the best BJJ instructors on the east coast.
- Black Belt under De La Riva
- Part of a select group of De La Riva Black Belts wich includes professional MMA champions such as Antonio Rogério "Minotoro" Nogueira and his brother Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira.

Training/Instruction Sessions
Sunday March 22nd from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Monday March 23rd from 11:30am to 1:00pm
Private Lessons are available before or after group instruction

Cost is FREE to current LionHeart Fitness members and $10/person per session for non-members
Stop in Sunday March 22nd or Monday March 23rd for some World Class BJJ Instruction!

LionHeart Management
(814) 238-4617
127 Sowers St.
State College, Pennsylvania 16801
www.lionheartfit.com

Here's an email from George McGinnis, lead instructor at York Mixed Martial Arts Academy:

This past weekend Team Tatu, Team Souders and Team Phoenix visited the Scranton area to compete at the P.A.B.J.J. The event was founded by Rogerio "Tatu" Taborda just a few short years ago. The Tatu-affiliated teams compete constantly in this tournament as a show of respect to represent the very instructor that affiliates them and legitimizes their ranks. The following people competed and or placed in the event this past weekend. Congratulations to the following teams and it members:

Team championship title for this particular event was awarded to none other than Team Tatu and its affiliations.

Purple Belt Division(s):

Paul McDonogh (Team Tatu) - 1st place
Joe Apache (Team Tatu) - 1st place
Brad Souders (Team Tatu / Souders) - 3rd place
George McGinnis (Team Tatu / Phoenix) - 3rd place

Blue Belt Division(s):

Bobby Knotts (Team Tatu / Souders) - 1st place
Brett Myers (Team Tatu / Phoenix) - 3rd place

White Belt Division(s):

(Team Tatu / Mattis) - 1st place
Steve Johnson (Team Tatu / Phoenix) - 2nd place
(Team Tatu / Mattis) - 3rd place
Charles Parker (Team Tatu / Phoenix) - 3rd place

Sincerely Yours: George McGinnis
York Mixed Martial Arts Academy
www.YMMAA.com

To register, and for more information on rules and weight classes, go to massbjjf.com

Harrisburg BJJ, located at 2214 Gettysburg Road, Camp Hill, is now offering MMA classes on Saturday mornings. Here's a blurb from Harrisburg BJJ's Web site:
"Check out our Mixed Martial Arts class on Saturdays. In class we will
focus on no-gi grappling, striking and takedowns. This is a great
opportunity for new members to find out more about MMA and to
help experienced fighters sharpen their skills."

For more info., you can contact Gregg Anderson at 717-586-1890.

Royler Gracie

Email from George McGinnis, about an upcoming Royler Gracie seminar:

To all:
Hello. This is coach George from the YMMAA. Below is information sent to me by our good friend Mike Weisensee of the Lancaster Family Martial Arts Center. It is in regard to his upcoming seminar that will feature none other then the great Royler Gracie who will be accompanied by some of his instructional team. I have personally attended Proffesr Royler's last seminar at coach Mike's school and it was outstanding. I hope many of you can attend the seminar to support Mike's continuing efforts to bring solid seminars and events to the area. Coach Mike's contact information is listed below along with all the information concerning the seminar. Get on it before all the spots are gone!!!

Here's Mike Weisensee's email:
The Royler seminar is on! Saturday, April 4 Noon - 2pm. $85, $65 RGDA members ($10 cheaper than last year). Sign-up ASAP.

Michael J. Weisensee can be contacted at 717-898-6120, or at mjweisensee@comcast.net

Robson Pereira just sent me this email about Ultimate Grapplers Challenge VIII: Clash of the Titans. There will be more than 100 divisions, in both gi and no-gi for men, women, teens and children. For more information, go to the UGC Web site.

At the start of my shift today, I went to see George McGinnis' BJJ seminar at Elicker Kenpo Karate Academy, located at the West Manchester Mall.

George, who owns York Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Red Lion, said it was the first seminar he had done by himself, but it sure didn't seem like it. George was a pro all the way -- his instructions were clear and concise and he kept the mood light, cracking jokes all the while.

I got there about half-way through the seminar, so I missed the gi jiu-jitsu and judo, but was able to see some of the muay Thai instruction and some no-gi grappling.

At the end, George sat down on a mat and invited anyone who wanted to roll with him. He had a few takers, some from his school and some from Elicker's. Pretty much everybody tapped out to George, also known as "Phoenix." His brother Brett "Night Crawler" Myers, who has some crazy fast and long legs, gave George a good roll.

Elicker's owner, Donna Elicker, has a great studio there and said she hopes to have more cross-promotional events with George in the future.

Stay tuned, I'll have some photos up in the next few days.

George McGinnis, owner and head instructor at York Mixed Martial Arts Academy, is holding a free seminar in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fundamentals on Saturday, Feb. 14.

Time: 12:00 - 3:00 PM
Location: Elicker's Kenpo Karate Academy
1800 Loucks Rd. Suite 812
West Manchester Mall (Next to Macy's entrance)
York, Pa. 17408
Phone numbers: 717-767-2087 or 717-683-5708

A list of George's accomplishments:
2 x PABJJ Federation Blue Belt Silver Medalist
Keystone Games Judo Bronze Medalist 2008
USA Wrestling Advanced Gold Medalist
Red Rose Rumble (Gi - Blue Belt Division) Silver Medalist
Garden State Championships Intermediate No Gi Silver Medalist
US Grappling Gi Division Gold Medalist
US Grappling No Gi Silver Medalist
PABJJ Federation Blue Belt Bronze Medalist finish
I.S.W.A No Gi Bronze Medalist
Battle at the Valley Gi Champion
Battle at the Valley No Gi 'absolute' 4th place finalist
2 x Keystone Games Silver Medalist
A.J.A Nationals Champion
Kumite Classic Gi Division runner up
Landisville Karate Invitational Champion
York City (Shotokan Open) Champion
3 x North American Grapplers Association Veteran
Grapplers Quest Veteran

Just watched the weigh-ins for UFC 94 - St-Pierre vs. Penn 2. Everybody made weight, so all the fights are on, baby!

The first weigh-in I saw was Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono. Gono took the stage sporting a gigantic 'fro. Just as he and Fitch squared off, Gono took off the 'fro and gave it Fitch, who, with a broad smile, slapped it on. Nice show of sportsmanship and humor there.

Stephan Bonnar and Jon Jones had a pretty intense staredown. Jones, who has to be one of the tallest LHWs at 6'4", found himself looking straight into the eyes of Bonnar, who is also 6'4". In this fight we have the cagey veteran versus the hungry newcomer (this is Jones' second UFC fight, although he's only 21 and he's been training MMA for less than 2 years).

Clay Guida bounded to the dais and continued jumping up and down, Energizer Bunny style. Then came the intense Nate Diaz. Put the two of them together, now that was a heavy stare-down. You could definitely see the height difference between the two - Diaz has Guida by maybe four or five inches.

We saw another height difference when Karo Parisyan and Dong Hyun Kim squared off, Kim, like Diaz, having a good 4 or 5 inches on his opponent. Good to see Karo weigh-in as he missed his last fight due to injury, and was rumored to be close to pulling out of this one for medical reasons.

Lyoto Machida walked onto the stage bearing gifts - hats he threw into the crowd - although a decisive win against Thiago Silva would probably court fans far easier. Machida's "elusive" style has endeared some fans and alienated others, but as the competition gets tougher, he's probably going to find himself engaging more. Silva is a piranha, who's going to go right after Machida. We'll see what "The Dragon" can do under that kind of pressure. Silva, for the second time I've seen, did not raise his fists to Machida when they squared off. He also kept his sunglasses on. Strange.

BJ Penn's weight for the main event - a doughy 168. Georges St-Pierre's? A tight 170. Expect St-Pierre's weight to increase at least 10 pounds by bell time, and his body-fat percentage will still be under Penn's. But, it may not matter - this is MMA, anything can happen. Announcer Joe Rogan billed the fight as "The biggest fight in UFC history" ... wait, wasn't that Couture vs. Lesnar??? Oh, nevermind. St-Pierre was clearly the fan favorite, although from all that I've heard Penn revels in being the bad guy, so everyone's happy, right? They squared off, and St-Pierre semed to back off a bit, then get back in Penn's face again. I wouldn't read too much into that, everytime I try to interpret the outcome of a fight from the stare-down, I'm wrong.

Penn didn't have much to say, something short like, the training's done, let's fight. St-Pierre was a bit more eloquent, saying he'd never looked forward to a fight as much as this one.

"Tomorrow, don't blink, it's gonna be a great fight," he said.

Phil is a Relson Gracie BJJ black belt and runs his school, Balance Studios, in Philadelphia.

Don't forget to visit the myspace of BJJ, jiujitsushare.com

George McGinnis, owner of York Academy of Mixed Martial Arts, recently attended a seminar at the academy of his instructor, Rogerio "Tatu" Taborda, in Scranton. There, Tatu received a stripe to add to his black belt from instructor Paulo Guimaraes, a black belt who hails from Australia.

So, the lineage would go like this Rickson Gracie -- Jorge Pereira -- Paulo Guimaraes -- Rogerio Taborda -- George McGinnis.

Now that's amazing.

Brad Souders received a stripe to his purple belt, George received his purple belt, and George's brother, Brett Myers, received his blue belt.

Congrats to all you guys from MMA Explosion.

Biff, a LionHeart student, Phil Davis, Ricardo de la Riva, Jeff Rockwell and Lou Armezzani.

Local lightweight pro Biff Walizer has been soaking up the MMA like a sponge in preparation for upcoming fights in Kentucky next Saturday and one on Sept. 12 in Atlantic City.

Biff gets wrapped.

Last week, Biff and some of the other fighters at LionHeart Fighters in State College attended a seminar led by Ricardo de la Riva and Tony Passos. De la Riva is a BJJ blackbelt who holds wins in BJJ tournments over three Gracies.Passos is a black belt under de la Riva.

Biff and some of the LionHeart Fighters also drove to Pittsburgh to train striking with K-1 fighter Mark "The Shark" Miller:

George "Phoenix" McGinnis of York Mixed Martial Arts Academy sent me an email about a new site called jiujitsushare, which touts itself as the "myspace of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu." From a quick look around, it seems to live up to the nickname.

The site was set up by Phil Migliarese of Balance Studios in Philadelphia, a Relson Gracie-affiliated school.

Here's a quote from George:
"The site seems pretty cool and I think it will produce a lot of good ties between other schools as well as information sharing. The site has clips, photo's, club information and communication tools. If you have the chance, sign your club up. If you are a student and or friend of the YMMAA, sign up as a student or solo practitioner under our school or an affiliated club."

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We're back with a vengeance ... not really, just always wanted to say that. Anyway, Tom Joyce and I give you our opinions on the latest goings-on in the wild-and-wooly world of MMA. Enjoy, dammit!

Jiu-jitsu wizard Maciel will hold a 3-hour seminar at Tatu BJJ in Scranton on August 17. The academy is located at 731 Cedar Ave. in Scranton. The phone number is 570-963-5854.

Cobrinha highlight video: