SYNERGY JIU-JITSU: MMA

from: Niko Han

SYNERGY MMA SHOWDOWN RESULTS!

Fight#1: Jacky Riawan vs. Doddy Lestyanto - Jacky Riawan by Submission (Kneebar) in R2

Fight#2: Jansen Setiawan vs. Stefer Rahardian - Stefer Rahardian by TKO (punches) in R2

Fight#3: Eka Lim vs. Fariz Agustyo - Eka Lim by Submission (Americana armlock) in R1

Fight#4: Bramono Lunardi vs. Ivan Nugroho - Bramono Lunardi by TKO (punches) in R2

Fight#5: Patrick Winata vs. Frederick Martinoli - Frederick Martinoli by Submission (Americana armlock) in R1

BIG CONGRATULATIONS!!!

*note: Results are also posted on http://nikohansbjj.blogspot.com/

MMA PHUKET: ENRICO COCCO

from: Ray Elbe

Joining fellow BJJ Black Belts Marcos and David Avellan, MMA Phuket welcomes it's third black belt currently training out of the Tiger Muay Thai facility.

Enrico Cocco of the FFA family will be teaching out of MMA Phuket for the next 3 weeks.

CALLING ALL FEMALE BJJ FIGHTERS!!!

***UPDATE: Thank you to those that have already sent in their answers. It was brought to my attention that it was not clear if this questionnaire is directed to women in Asia only. This is open to all women that are currently training BJJ, regardless of geography.

Hello Ladies,

I was recently inspired to write a piece on the female BJJ experience and would like to invite all the female practitioners to help in responding to some questions. Please send all your replies to my e-mail: bjjasia@gmail.com

I will use the answers I've received to write a full article on the subject and give some more insight to what inspired this piece. All your personal information will be kept private and will not be shared publicly but it's ensure that I am receiving authentic feedback. The cut-off date to send in your answers will be March 2nd.

name:
club:
age:
belt-level:
years training bjj:
other martial arts experience:

1. Do you believe women are motivated by the same things as men when starting BJJ?

2. How have one's looks come into play at the gym-space in regards to attention from others (both men & women)? How hard do other train with you? help? give advice?

3. Have there ever been female rivalries within the same gym? Or do you find there is an instant camaraderie because there are so few women in BJJ?

4. Do you find yourself being more sensitive to how other female bjj-ers project or handle themselves at the gym/tournament because it may reflect back to you?

5. Do you believe undo credit is given to female-bjjers or even professional fighters because of their looks and marketability?

WORLD PRO JIU-JITSU CUP 2009: ASIA TRIALS

Just a heads up for those looking to represent Asia in the upcoming World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Cup 2009. -Luke

ASIAN TRIALS

MARCH 1, 2009 SAITAMA- JAPAN
www.jjfj.org

SEABJJ T-SHIRT: FLORIDA, USA

Thanks to Lili from Hong Kong for these pics of her and her younger brother Andrew. There's a story here; Andrew working hard at the family restaurant yet still finding time to train BJJ, making him the badass that he is. Thanks guys! -Luke

JOHN FRANKL PUBLICLY CHALLENGES MICKEY CHOI: UPDATE

Here's an update taken from WWW.NHBGEAR.COM/FORUM.

From the previous post, there are some comments made with translated letters between Mickey Choi & Myunghoon Choi (no relation to Mickey) HERE. -Luke

-----------------------------------------------------------
***Below is the latest entry on this thread with an update by John Frankl.

Thanks for all the kind words.

And thanks to Peach for the translations/updates. He is right about Mickey backing out. I predicted this from the beginning. He knows he is not legitimate, and he has decided to prove it in a less direct and less painful way.

As far as Peach's comments about Hagan and the legitimacy of Mickey's belt, they need some revision. Both Hagan and Mickey were purple belts in 2007. Mickey then competes at black belt in 2007. Do the math. Also, Hagan says he gave Mickey his black belt due to his performance at the USBJJF tournament. But Mickey competed at that tournament in the black belt division. Do the math.

Basically, Mickey was getting into trouble for all his lies. He wore a black belt that he claimed he got from Telles (look at the 99 in his team name at the USBJJF). Once some people in Korea contacted Telles and heard this was a lie, Mickey quickly got Hagan to throw that video together to save him. Only Hagan, despite his very intelligent appearance, messed up the chronology of Mickey's lies, which is easy to do when multiple lies are in play at the same time.

Additionally, no one is really sure who gave Hagan his belt in the first place. He used to claim Mickey gave it to him! (Holy bait and switch, Batman!). Now it is someone named "Fabio"--with no last name I suppose. So even without the lies above, getting something from Hagan means very little in my opinion.

Anyway, there are other people in Korea taking over this fight. Mickey is afraid to face me, so my direct part is done. Anyone who is the least bit objective knows, despite whatever he says, why Mickey is running away.

Best,
John

INTERVIEW W/ PROF. LEONARDO ARRUDA

Stanley Tam from SHANGHAI BJJ was recently in Australia and was kind enough to interview Prof. Leonardo Arruda for BJJ-ASIA. It's great to hear about peoples' experiences both in and out fo Asia as we're all connected by our passion for BJJ. Thanks to Stan for making this happen. -Luke

----------------------------------------------------

Hi everyone,

I’ve always enjoyed reading other people’s training reports on the internet, since I was fortunate enough to train with Professor Leonardo Arruda in Australia, I thought it might interest the readers to write a short training report and conduct an interview with Professor Leo.

During Chinese New Year, I made my annual trip to Australia from Shanghai to visit family and friends. At first I was a bit bummed out about the timing of the trip because it coincided with Tony’s arrival in Shanghai, I really wanted to stay and train with Tony but I couldn’t change my travel plans. Luckily, my best mate in Australia also trains in BJJ and I went along to his academy and trained with Professor Leo. The professor teaches out of Master Vince Palumbo’s ICMA academy (www.grandmastervincentpalumbo.com) in Adelaide and has recently arrived in Australia from Sao Paulo. I remember the first group training session there, the outside temperature was close to 40 degrees amidst the Australian summer; the training area felt like a sauna with no windows and no fan! Coming from the Shanghai winter (and I caught a cold in the plane!), the heat really kicked me in the face and I was literally in survival mode during my first training session there. And those guys train hard, which is always a positive thing to experience.

During my stay, I did many private training sessions with Professor Leo. What strikes me most about the professor is his level of professionalism and his passion for BJJ. He really wanted me to learn something from him and really cared about my progress. A lot of times our one hour training session would go on for 1.5-2 hours, but the professor wasn’t concerned about the time and only cared about whether I understood the lesson or not.

I want to thank Master Vince Palumbo and Professor Leo for having me at the academy, I had a great time! And to Cho, you can get stuffed!

Here is a short interview with Professor Leo.
Professor Leonardo can you tell us something about your training background and how you got started in BJJ?

I started martial arts with judo when I was 7 years old and at age 10 I started Aikido. When I was about 18, I began Capoeira (Afro-Brazilian Martial Art) and at 20 years old I found Jiu Jitsu through a friend’s introduction. He invited me to try one class and I became addicted, after 3 years I stopped everything to dedicate myself to training only Jiu Jitsu.

How long did it take for you to get your black belt?

I took 8 years. Usually training everyday and after a few years of training, twice a day every single day, especially before competitions.

What are some of your notable competition wins?

I have won titles in all coloured belts in a lot of different championships. The most important was in 2007, I won the World Championship from CBJJE in both my division and the open division under 79Kg.

What is your most memorable BJJ moment?

It happened in 2008 at the Pan Pacific Championship, my first competition in Australia; it was the first time without my master, far away from my friends and in front of my students. I won the competition!

Do you practice any sports aside from Jiu-jitsu? And which do you think most compliments Jiu-jitsu?

Nowadays I practice Aikido, Boxing and Cacoy Doce Pares Eskrima, but what has helped me a lot is the Aikido, because it gave me a very good idea on which strategy is better, making my game nice and relaxed.

You have traveled to the Bahrain to teach BJJ and now reside in Australia, how do you find BJJ training differ in Brazil to the other places you have traveled to?

In Brazil, Jiu Jitsu is very popular and most of the children want to start the training and participate in competitions; just for children only, the competition is held on a separated day, because of the number of enrolment. Another thing is the way Brazilians train. And we can see the lifestyle throughout the practice of BJJ, most of those people who train together in the team become a family where they help each other in any situations outside of the mats.

What advice would you give to a new student when choosing a BJJ academy or teacher?

Make sure the place that you want to stay can offer a very good environment, with discipline, respect and a very good work out.

In your opinion, what does a student need to do to progress in BJJ and reach a high level?

First of all, he needs to persist and do not stop when barriers appear, because the barriers come to ask us to jump over it. Keep the learning simple always, pay attention to the basics techniques, study Jiu Jitsu by watching dvds, try to find the best technique that can fit in your game and look after your fitness, because your fitness is your best friend.

Can you tell us what your requirements are for students to progress form white to blue belt, blue to purple belt and all the way to black belt?

I think the search to understand the practice of BJJ is the point. I mean, how we can control ours partners using our body to get the best movements and submissions. So it is complex, we need to start with learning the basics techniques and watch the development of the game. Jiu Jitsu is the most ‘primitive’ martial art, because everything starts in whatever stance and finish on the floor, people who do not know any type of martial arts, always will finish with grappling on the floor.

Do you think it is necessary for students to compete in order to be competent at BJJ?

Sure! But I reckon there is no need to get all of those techniques for a position if you want to compete, just specialize in those techniques that fit in your game, if we are talking about competition. Most of the best players have got few simple movements, but strong and sharp. Of course we need to train everything to develop the art of Jiu Jitsu, because the specialist also needs to understand an all round game.

Who are your favorites BJJ competitors?

Nowadays I like Marcelo Garcia’s style, he has very good skills and always going for submissions. Before I watched a lot of Nino Schembri; different skills, as well, always looking for something unexpected.

In Asia (outside of Japan ), BJJ is a young sport/art. Many people do not have a regular high level instructor to guide them in their BJJ journey. What advice would you give to people in this situation if they want to excel in BJJ?

The challenge is to always put together all of the techniques in combination during your training session, because if you can have many possibilities in your game, you can always have a counter and your contra attack. You can just practice passing the guard, whatever sweep etc. But the key is to combine your passing, sweeps with something else, like knee on the stomach, chokes, arm locks, mounts etc. So in one exercise you can develop a few techniques that will give you timing and precision.

JOHN FRANKL PUBLICLY CHALLENGES MICKEY CHOI

Today, I received an e-mail from John Frankl with the following statement to share with the SEABJJ community regarding Mickey Choi and the legitimacy of his BJJ black-black. I've included two links from Korean online press announcing this challenge. -Luke

MOOKAS*all in Korean
NAVER*all in Korean
---------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends,

This summer it will be 10 years since I introduced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to Korea. I am happy to report that it is generally healthy and growing strong. There are, however, also many charlatans who try to take advantage of BJJ’s popularity. There are fakes and liars at every belt level, often running their own academies. I have never once challenged any of them or otherwise interfered in their businesses. They never directly impacted me, and I felt that the internet (and their protruding stomachs) would be enough for most people to figure out that they were not legitimate.

A couple of days ago, however, I publicly challenged Mickey Choi to a jiu jitsu match. Let me explain what led me to this decision. I first met Mickey Choi when he visited my school several months ago as a WHITE BELT. Of course, my better blue belts and all my purple belts completely destroyed him on the mat, but they still could tell he had previous training. When they directly asked him about his background, he lied and said he had done some no-gi, but had absolutely no training/rank in gi jiu jitsu. A few months later he opened an academy and had photos of himself all over the internet wearing a gi and black belt. Unlike the liars mentioned above, I take both of these actions very personally and very seriously.

Despite all of the above, I still never once confronted Mickey Choi, directly or otherwise. He was being savaged on the internet for the phony that almost everyone knows he is, so I felt no need to make it any more personal than he already had. One brave reporter wrote a story detailing all the testimony given by all those who know Mickey Choi in America and Asia. It was quite thorough and good. But Mickey sued him, getting Dave Hagon to claim that he got a black belt from some mysterious “Fabio” (no, the genius Korean policeman did not require even a last name for Mickey to win this case), and that Dave had in turn given Mickey a black belt. The reporter then had to write a retraction.

In the midst of all of this, Mickey and his associates (the names changed but the IP addresses often did not) began writing lies about how he handled my students, and how I myself, frustrated at not being able to deal with him, hit him in the face. This was the third, and most personal, set of lies. The facts are these. He wore a white belt. As such, many of my students, as per my standing instructions, took it rather easy on him. When he was spastic and rough, they thought it was due to lack of skill and knowledge. And while they did tap him, they did so in a very gentle manner, obviously treating him like a beginner and a customer. Had he worn a black belt, things would have been very different. They would have all felt quite comfortable going much harder with him, and he would have been beaten much worse than he was.

Because of the very personal nature of Mickey’s lies and insults, and because he chose to bring the police into this matter, I simply challenged him to a special match at an upcoming tournament. He responded that he would fight me, but not at a tournament associated with my team. Of course, many “netizens” suggested he simply opt for no time limits or points, with which I agreed, but he found a way to back out, saying he needed a more neutral location. When a reporter contacted me, I simply said that location has nothing to do with jiu jitsu skill, and that I would fight Mickey in his own school. Foolishly, Mickey felt the need to impress the reporter, and said, on the record, that he would fight gi, no-gi, or MMA rules. I jumped on this and suggested 10 minutes of each in the following order: gi, no-gi, MMA. When the reporter asked why that order, I told him that I wanted Mickey to take all three beatings, and that if we began with MMA, the day would probably end a bit too soon for Mickey to fully realize the error of his ways.

Mickey called me four times in the next 15 minutes, obviously shaken, and kept changing the dates due to some upcoming business trip. I simply told him to choose the date. Just like the location, I do not want to give him a single excuse for the beating he will take if he shows for this fight. I honestly do not believe he will, but I will train hard anyway. We are now tentatively set for April 4, though he is to call me on March 25, when he returns from his business trip, to finalize. We will each bring one person, we will each film the entirety of the event, and the film can and will be made public. I have all this recorded in telephone conversations between Mickey and me. Learning much from my friends in the US who have dealt with Mickey, and from my own brief but distasteful brush with him here in Korea, I am not leaving any room for his excuses and lies. This has already been reported in the Korean press, so Mickey can now either fight—and be crushed 3 times on video—or he can back out, which will also settle the matter of his credentials for anyone who is objective about this matter.

Yours,

John M. Frankl

FINDING A BALANCE IN TRAINING

More so with 'how' I've been training then to do with 'what' I've been training is the topic of today's post. Sometime last week I wrote about 'what are you doing' and the differences between preparing for competition versus just regular training without any event in mind.

So I'm well past any tournament-high from the previous season and with work and travel, training is as consistent as it can be right now. I'm much happier having some time on the mat then none at all, haha. This past week was a cool experience for me as it's the first where I was teaching on a consistent basis and was able to follow up on previous lessons. Building on what had already been shown, I was able to work with the students towards a greater understanding of the concepts related to the 'guard'. I have a tendency to share a lot and for some, maybe too much, but what I tried to focus on was 'the overall message in today's lesson'. Not to let the students get caught up in the specific steps just yet but focus on what are the priorities or 'check list' of things that need to be there before you can move forward with the technique. For example, if someone has you pinned in side-control, where should your body, arms, legs and head be? Having check all these parts of your body in relation to your opponent for the optimum defense and leverage, you can then move on to execute the escape. Personally I've found that if you can get closer to understanding the concepts and mechanics of the body/jiu-jitsu, the easier it is to learn a sequence because you understand the 'rhyme & reason'. Anyways, that's just me.

Outside of having a good time teaching and learning from the students, it's given me an opportunity to tighten up my game. Revisiting the fundamentals that I have yet to master and reminding myself to do the very same things that I am teaching to them. What I've noticed is that while rolling, I feel as though I have more control over myself and my opponent. Without jumping ahead of myself I've been a lot better about keeping in mind self-defense, positioning and frame-work. So, it's been a win win situation, haha.

Perhaps things will change as we get further along into the competition season but for now, it's been great. There should be some time for transition and reflection cause we can't always be on battle-mode. I fear that if that's what I was all about, perhaps my game would be too conservative and tournament-oriented. I have no plans of being an MMA fighter and a street-fight is the last thing on my mind but to be consicous of jiu-jitsu's roots as a means of self-defense is a good thing.

-Luke

MAURICIO 'TINGUINHA' MARIANO: SEMINAR TOUR

This one took some time to put together but I'm very happy to announce BJJ-ASIA's first SEABJJ seminar tour with Mauricio 'Tinguinha' Mariano the pioneer of the spider-guard. At each location, Tinguinha will hold a 2-day seminar, 3 hours each session, showcasing the techniques and concepts that have made him famous both as a competitor and instructor. -Luke

WWW.TINGUINHA.COM

BANGKOK, TH (04.25-26)
LOCATION: Bangkok BJJ (www.bkkbjj.com)
DATE: April 25 & 26
TIME: TBA
MATERIAL: 2-day gi seminar on aspects of the spider & open-guard
FEE: 1-DAY 1500 baht / 2-DAY 2500 baht
HOTEL: For guests visiting from outside Bangkok, the Golden Palace Hotel will extend a discount to those taking part in the seminar. (www.goldenpalacehotel.com)
CONTACT: luke@bkkbjj.com


MANILA, PH (04.29-30)
LOCATION: Deftac Sucat (www.graciebarraphilippines.com)
BAMF, Gymaholics Fitness Center
Park and Shop, Dr. A Santos Avenue Corner Santa Rita Street,
Sucat, Paranaque City, PH
DATE: April 29-30
CONTACT: toffyilagan@yahoo.com


HONG KONG, HK (05.02-03)
LOCATION: Impakt HK (www.impakt.hk)
DATE: May 2 & 3
TIME: May 2 (3-6pm), May 3 (2-5pm)
MATERIAL: 3hours each session, both days gi
FEE: 600 for 2-days (pre-book & pre-pay), 800 for 2-days (walk in on the day, if space available)
CONTACT: gi@samulime.net or gear88@gmail.com
***Space is limited to 30 students. Registration will close once we've reached 30 people. Please pre-book ASAP.

CROSS-GUARD VIDEO


SWEEP FROM QUARTER-GUARD VIDEO

ROLLING WITH GAMERA

Here's a pic of our friend Lee during his recent trip to Japan. Rocking the SEABJJ shirt and challenging Gamera to a sumo match. -Luke

LAST MINUTE SEMINAR ALERT: OSCAR DE SOUZA NETO

Some news from the guys at VPF. -Luke

2/15/2009, Sunday, 3-5pm - BJJ workshop class with Mestre Oscar de Souza Neto (Asle BJJ Black Belt) @ 2/f Judo Dojo, Blue Eagle Gym, ADMU, Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Asle BJJ is the same team as the famous Ronaldo "Jacare" de Souza! Everyone is invited regardless of affiliation to train and roll. Cost is 500 per head only. Please bring Gi and No Gi attire.

WWW.ROLLAPALOOZA.TV

NEW VIDEO RESOURCE: WWW.CAGEFILM.COM

Wanted to share with everyone a new site that is solely dedicated to video footage of MMA/BJJ/Grappling/Muay Thai and other martial arts. WWW.CAGEFILM.COM. The guys that manage the site are also known for traveling to capture their own footage of events. Most recently, they went to Portugal to cover the Europeans a few weeks back and will be heading to the NAFA (the US ADCC trials) at the end of the month. Check it out and help add with your own videos. -Luke

sample vid: Kron & Rickson warming-up

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

It's a question that I have been asking myself these past few weeks. With no plans for competing just yet, I wonder if I've lost some sense of direction regarding my training. These days I've been more focused on teaching/monitoring but that's not to say I don't benefit from the experience. Having to articulate concepts and techniques to newer students is a fun challenge for me and ultimately a rewarding one at that. It affords me the time to return to the fundamentals, taking a closer look at my own game and its many holes. The best part of the experience is the questions that I get asked by the students on the how/why. Perhaps in the frenzy to prepare ourselves for competition we revert to our 'A' game which for the most part I bet is pretty conservative. Nothing against it but sometimes it can put us in a mode where we look to mask our weaknesses and push to play only our strengths. Even after the tournament is over I still have a week of wanting to tear things up on the mat but that fades away after a week or so. It's too much to keep the energy level where you need it to be for competition.

So what am I doing?

I believe what I am aiming to do right now is open-up and address my shortcomings on the mat. I'm not in competition mode nor am I on cruise-control. I think it's that in between of putting in the time and being focused about technique and where I'm at mentally. Being 'king of the hill' doesn't really interest me right now but I'll roll hard when I have to.

We've got a new year ahead of us and events have already passed. I'm sure this year will bring even more activity and we all have to take a moment and prepare ourselves for what we want to do. Is this another year of back to back competitions? Whatever it is, lets be focused and enjoy what we do.

-Luke

ROLLAPALOOZA 2: QUICK RESULTS

Be sure to check out ROLLAPALOOZA.TV for the results from this past weekend's grappling event. -Luke

CHICO MENDES

NAME: Chico Mendes
INSTRUCTOR: Leonardo Vieira "Leozinho"
ORIGINAL TEAM: Checkmat BJJ
SCHOOL IN SEA: Alavanka BJJ (Shanghai)
WEBSITE: www.leovieirabjj.com
CONTACT INFO: chicobjj@gmail.com
HOMETOWN: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
PERSONAL HISTORY: I started the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) in 1993 with Master Romero Cavalcante "Jacaré" and Leonardo Vieira "Leozinho". In 2004, I got my Black Belt from Leo Vieira. Today I'm black belt 1st degree by CBJJ.
TIME OF STAY: 4 Dec 2008 - 15 March 2009
SPONSORS: Koral Kimonos

MOTORONE BJJ OPEN: SEOUL, KOREA

You'll have to excuse this one but it was written in Korean and then translated with some online software. New/updated info should be on its way but thought why wait. -Luke

Host : John Frankl Jiu Jitsu

Venue : Yonsei Universty Gymnasium

Sponsors : MOTORONE, O-M.CO.KR , JIUJITSU.CO.KR

Date : Feb. 22, 2009 (9:00 a.m.)

Registration Deadline : Feb. 12, 2009 (11:59 p.m.)

Greetings to all those helping with the development of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Korea, Asia, and throughout the world!

We are pleased to announce the second MOTORONE Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Open. The tournaments will be hosted by John Frankl Jiu Jitsu and sponsored by MOTORONE , O-M.CO.KR , and JIUJITSU.CO.KR.

This is truly an open tournament. The rules will be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but all styles are welcome to attend this competition that transcends specific groups or party lines. There will be both gi and no-gi divisions, and our friends from Judo, Wrestling, Hapkido, Catch Wrestling, Sambo, and all other forms of grappling are encouraged to join us.

General Information

Competition

GI : We will follow the Mundial Rules. (You can check these rules on our site: http://cafe.daum.net/motorone. )

NO GI : We will follow the ADCC Rules. And NO GI event will be adopted just as Demonstrative item. (You can check this rules in the site. http://cafe.daum.net/motorone)

Weight Divisions and Level Regulations

We will divide into 5 weight classes in adult division, 4weight classes in teenagers division and Absolute class.(We will divide weight class with considering average Koran figures.) We will divide into whitebelt, bluebelt and purplebelt In adult divison GI event. But we will not in teenagers division and Adult division NO GI event.

Each game could go on over minum 2 participants. We will repay the competition fee in case that there would be under 2 Participants.

Only the men who participated in GI or NO GI Event can volunteer in Absolute class.

Female participants could join the teenagers division competition with 2weight classes below your weight class in case that there would be under 2 Participants.

Adult division weight class (GI, NO GI)

(1) Light : - 63.0kg

(2) Welter : - 70.0kg

(3) Middle : - 77.0kg

(4) Light Heavy : - 84.0kg

(5) Heavy : + 84.0kg

(6) Absolute : Absolute Class

*Adult division requirements :

Participants should be over 18 and participants are enable to compete with Korean certificate of residence or Visa or the Aliens Registration Certificate. Age division will be determined by participant`s age as of February 22, 2009

Tennagers division and Women(GI)

(1) Light : -50kg

(2) Welter : -60kg

(3) Middle : -70kg

(4) Heavy : +70kg

(5) Absolute : Absolute Class

*Adult division requirements :Participants should be over 18 and participants are enable to compete with Korean certificate of residence or Visa or the Aliens Registration Certificate. Age division will be determined by participant`s age as of February 22, 2009

Weigh-ins

Weigh-ins of the participants shall be completed at 9:00 a.m. on the day of competition.

During weigh-ins, the participants shall be off the Kimonos but rash-guard and t-shirt are allowed.

An acceptable overweight range is +100g.

Medical Control

We will check the your body condition with doctor and sphygmomanometer.

The participants who could not pass the Medical Check are not allowed to competition and all competition fees are not returnable.

Competition Fees

Team must be composed over 3 men and use same team name.

GI : Participant with Team - \30,000 Individual participant -\40,000

GI+GI Absolute Class : Participant with team - \40,000 Individual participant -\50,000

NO GI : Participant with Team - \30,000 Individual participant -\40,000

NO GI + NO GI Absolute Class : Participant with team - \40,000 Individual participant -\50,000

GI + NO GI (at one time) : Participant with team - \50,000 Individual participant -\60,000

GI + NO GI + Absolute Class : Participant with team - \60,000 Individual participant -\70,000

Competition Fees, Registration Deadline and Payment information

Registraion Deadline : Received by February 19, 2009 24:00

If you send money as team, you should write team name or team leader. And if you send money as indivisual, you should write participant's real name.

Competition Fees are non-refundable.

Bank Account : 443102-01-093679 국민 박진우 (443102-01-093679 Park-Jin-Woo KOOKMIN BANK)

Tel : 011-390-8052

e-mail: le23165@hanmail.net

Community Site : http://cafe.daum.net/motorone

CHICO MENDES

Check out SAMULIME for the latest at KLN BJJ where BJJ black-belt, Chico Mendes made a recent visit promoting the JJFCN. -Luke

JYAJAU CHALLENGE: SHANGHAI

Just an update on the event coming up in Shanghai. The registration has been extended to the end of February for those coming in late. -Luke

MING WU 4: TAIWAN MMA

This is probably the largest poster but its got all the details. 3 fighters from TAIWAN BJJ will be competing in this event so lets cheer them on! -Luke


Date: Sunday, March 1, 2009
Time: 14:00-18:00
Place: B1, Hsinchu Municipal Stadium, Gong Yuan Rd., Hsinchu

For more information, please visit www.mingwu.com.tw (warning: loud music loads when viewing site!).

CHOKEFEST 2: THE QUICKENING

Just got this from BJJ black-belt, Andy Wang, who is now stationed in San Diego but can still be found in Taiwan from time to time. -Luke

Greetings,

My name is Andy Wang and I am writing in regards to the grappling event being held in scenic San Diego, CA, at Undisputed Downtown (www.undisputedusa.com) on Sunday, February 22nd. This NO-GI submission wrestling event, "ChokeFest 2: The Quickening", will bring together no-gi grappling competitors representing some of the finest schools in the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego regions; we are hoping you will be able to come support our event as well and add to the already impressive list of athletes, coaches and supporters and make your mark on the San Diego grappling scene.

We realize in difficult economic times such as these, athletes have to pick and choose which events to support carefully. We feel that your experience will be a good one and while we cannot promise who the winners will be, we can promise that you and your team will compete in a well-organized, competitive event featuring standardized rules that will be conducted in a professional and unbiased manner. The event will feature adult divisions only, for men and women, with various weight and experience categories so the action should be fast and exciting.

ChokeFest2: The Quickening was originally intended to be a USA Wrestling sanctioned event, but with rising costs for competitors in this tough economy we have decided to promote the event ourselves and therefore the event will only cost $20 per competitor and $5 per adult spectator, making it one of the most affordable grappling tournaments around. The athlete may choose the option to weigh in the day before the event at select UNDISPUTED gym locations or the morning of the event from 8:00-10:00 am, with the tournament beginning promptly at 10:30 am. Food and merchandise vendors will also be on hand so please come and enjoy a day of good competition and camaraderie.

Attached is the flier with the tournament information and again, please disregard the USA Wrestling card fees. Feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions or concerns about rules, weigh-in times and locations, schedule, etc. and I can forward that information to you. Good luck this year in your training and competing and we look forward to seeing you on the mats soon!

Sincerely,
Andy Wang
wangbjj@gmail.com
310-529-9153

NAKSU: MMA TOURNAMENT REPORT

NAKSU, Thailand's premiere MMA organization held it's 2nd tournament this past weekend. Below is a report from our friend, Plai, with links to a number of the fights. Thanks to Plai and hope to see more as MMA develops further in Thailand and Southeast Asia. -Luke

report by: Plai

The tournament was pretty packed by competitors and observers alike, to my surprise considering the location of the event. Of noteworthy was that a lot of Muaythai Boran guys showed up, apparently Kru Lek and Kru Prang - the two schools of Muaythai Boran that have been at the center of bitter politics and online wars over the past several years (apparently their students really dislike each other...) brought their students to compete (some people speculate that due to many prominent BJJ guys not competing gave them the confidence to enter the tournament (if you have been following the muaythai boran & martial arts internet forums, you may already know the heated discussion regarding the muaythai boran grappling techniques that are claimed to be just as effective as BJJ, etc...); whether that is the truth or just rumor, we may never know. Another interesting that I personally found rather hillarious, was that the medals they gave to winners were all inscribed with Bhuddist sutras and apparently blessed by some renown monk aswell! I guess they really tried to appeal to the lower market local Muaythai fanbase that they are familiar with (you know? ones that are usally obsessed with gamblings and talismans, etc.).

Anyhow the guys from our group or ones that train with us, that I can remember have mostly done really well, only one lost by decision and he was a muaythai guy with some added grappling skill trained by Amps, went up against a judo and ground specialist

Anyway here are some of the vids I have uploaded
Note: alot of the competitors use internet alias so don't be surprised with weird and silly names!

Under 18 division:

Hut from 3monkeeez vs. PueFuekTon (Muaythai)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7049-Naksu_2009_Hut_BJJ_vs_1.php - round 1
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7050-Naksu_2009_Hut_BJJ_vs_2.php - round 2

Siladej (Muay Chaiya) vs Avena (MMA)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7048-Naksu_2009_vs_Avena.php

Adult Divisions:

Last year's champ: SamingVayu (Muay Chaiya) vs Devil Bat (Wrestling)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7052-Naksu_2009_vs_Devil_Bat_.php

X-Man (he trained with Amps at 3Monkeeez) vs Yu (Freestyle)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7083-Naksu_2009_X_Man_vs_1.php - round 1
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7085-Naksu_2009_X_Man_vs_2.php - round 2
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7084-Naksu_2009_X_Man_vs_3.php - round 3

DejChote (Muaythai - also one of Amps' students) vs .... I won't even try to write his name but it means something along the line of: "you won't find another badass like this on Earth"....
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7063-Naksu_2009_vs_.php

Komrit (one of Phil's student I believe, and the last years champ that beat Niti in the first round) vs Thuchgorn (Muaythai with some added grappling techniques)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7059-Naksu_2009_MMA_vs_.php

This one is my fight, I went up against the last years champ (what a lucky draw...) - a muaythai guy who could hit like a rock (he won all his MMA fights by KO in less that a minute) a pretty tough SOB who just didn't know how to tap out or give up. I pretty much drained all my energy trying to break the guy's leg and arm.... Good thing he didn't have much of a ground game so I was able to take the win by ref stoppage.

Plai vs Gamera (round 1)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7054-Naksu_2009_MMA_vs_Gamera_1.php

Plai vs Gamera (round 2)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7056-Naksu_2009_MMA_vs_Gamera_2.php

This one is a match of a local Thai movie star celeb "Tae" who is also a Muay Chaiya star pupil of Kru Lek (he starred in the movie "Chaiya" and appeared in a local muaythai related program on UBC a couple years back, he fought "Yo" a local judoka who competed in SeaGrappling a few years ago.
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7053-Naksu_2009_vs_MMA_.php

This one has a farang Muay Chaiya guy competing against a smaller Thai MMA kid who has that "Genki Sudo" vibe in him. I must say this is one of the few entertaining matches to watch

Claude Cazes (MuayChaiya) vs Iron Rat (MMA)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7057-Naksu_2009_Claude_Cazes_vs_Iron_Rat_MMA_1.php - round 1

http://www.manytv.com/videos/7058-Naksu_2009_Claude_Cazes_vs_Iron_Rat_MMA_2.php - round 2

This one has the best leg-lock attempt of the whole tournament, a classic "Imanari" rolling leg lock, pretty smooth I have to say, too bad this one also ended prematurely due to another shoulder injury!

http://www.manytv.com/videos/7061-Naksu_2009_vs_Cherry_Boy_1.php - round 1
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7062-Naksu_2009_vs_Cherry_Boy_2.php - round 2

This kid competed with a not fully-healed twisted ankle and had to do some extreme weight-cutting in the morning to make the weight class (pretty tough for an amateur level tournament I have to say), he ended up shedding 3 kilos in a couple of hours and still managed to fight and pull out a quick win!

SkyDragon (Vovinam - in blue shorts) vs Hitman (Muay Chaiya)
http://www.manytv.com/videos/7060-Naksu_2009_vs_Hitman_.php

THE REAL GEEZA: NEW VIDS

from: The Geeza

It has been quite some time since I sent videos from TheRealGeeza YouTube channel. In fact, there have been more than 100 submission videos uploaded since BJJ-ASIA last featured a clip from the channel. Therefore, I want to highlight five videos that have been posted recently that are impressive matches to watch – each for a different reason.

1. Michael Russell vs Andy Roberts.

This is a great match because it is an extraordinary display of high level technique. It is easy for a brown belt to do anything he likes to a white belt of the same weight, but it is a rare when a brown belt can make another brown belt look like a beginner. Andy Roberts is an excellent grappler and was promoted to brown belt by Roger Gracie from whom a belt is as difficult to achieve as any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach. Therefore, to see Michael do the things he does to Andy highlights just how extraordinary a grappler Russell is. This final match of the Brown belt lightweight division was filmed at the Kent Open and both players reached the finals by submitting all opponents.

2.

Some BJJ instructors give belts following a grading that assesses a player’s technical knowledge, some focus on competition success, some weigh up a combination of the two, and others have unfathomable criteria. Marc Laimon gives belts most readily following a great performance in competition. In this next match, Jerry Shapiro puts on a Blue Belt performance in the finals of his division that earned him a purple belt from Laimon at Grapplers Quest in Las Vegas.

3.

Jumping up before slamming someone to escape a triangle will result in a head-butt; that fact reflects simple mechanics. The referee ruled the head butt in this match an accidental clash of heads, but note that the referee was from the same club as the head-butter. Neil Spiring was totally cool about the incident. Was malice a forethought? Was the referee correct to rule this an accidental clash of heads? Should slamming be allowed in amateur submission grappling tournaments? Harman Degun vs Neil Spiring SAS trials. Finals match under 77kg division.

4. Seetha Udin (yellow belt) vs Chun-Yee


5. This match has one of the more inspired counters to a straight foot lock - the rear naked choke!!