2013 Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships

Bea Mesquita vs Gabi Garcia in the Absolute Semi-Finals

Gabi Garcia is larger than many women and has an incredible base of strength which makes her a force in the absolute division. It can lead to fights of strength vs technique. And in most instances Gabi comes out on the winning side. Bea Mesquita, 2012 Pan Champion in the the lightweight division is fighting out of her weight class against Gabi Garcia in the 2013 Pan absolute finals tomorrow. They have fought several times and Bea keeps changing her game to adapt to the strength and size of her opponents in the open division. Tomorrow she needs to get through Gabi, to win the Absolute Division title. Kris, from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Legends Magazine, talks with Bea about Gabi and her strategy tomorrow.

Kris: Many women will not fight in the absolute division if they think they are going to meet Gabi in the brackets. What is going through your mind when you put your name on the paper to fight in the Absolute Division?

Bea: I'm not afraid of her, I think she is fine. Black belt girls fight like it's their job. These girls are always training for the fight. If they are not rolling hard they are training for position. My fight against her is as difficult as it is against anyone else. I put my name in there, and I have to fight her, just as anyone else will. Everybody has a chance to win.

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Its time. There's a fervor in the air. The first major tournament of the year, the Pans. Before you leave home take a read and see if you may have forgotten anything.

Gi
Link to IBJJF rules regarding gis Scroll down to section 8.1 or page 28.
Belt – You cannot wear a tattered worn out belt. They will not let you compete.
Pockets – Gis may not have pockets. Including the inside pocket for your mouth guard.
Patches- You can’t have any patches on your pants below 15 inches above the cuff.
Cups – Athletic cups are not allowed in IBJJF competition.
White, Blue and Black gis are permitted. Other colors are not. Black belts must bring both white and black gis.
Backup gi – Bring a backup gi. Your gi may not pass inspection or it may tear in competition.

Gym bag -> My bag is always packed. I don’t even think about these things.
Tape, Baby wipes, Tooth brush, Hair brush, Nail clippers

Electronics
Phone charger
Camera
Video Camera
Stop watch or timer (this is for your corner, not you)

ID
Driver’s License
Birth Certificate (Under 16)
IBFFJ Federation Card (Brown & Black)

Entertainment Pans is a long day or couple of days. Be prepared to wait. Some people listen to music. Some play on their phone. Some read. Some study.

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Bret Perchaluk was born in 1984, He stands 5'7 and fights at 165lbs. He started his path in martial arts when he was 6 years old. His mom enrolled him in Kung Fu classes 3 times a week. From there he wrestled in high school and went on to wrestle Division 1 varsity at Rider University in New Jersey. He received his Judo black belt  January 2012 from Rodrigo Artilheiro, who is a coach on TUF Brazil, and Judo/MMA coach at Xtreme Cotoure out in Las Vegas. He got his belt issued by USA Judo thanks to Olympic Legend and Coach of the 2012 Olympic Team, Jimmy Pedro. In 2012, he placed 3rd at the IBJJF NoGi Pans. He also has MMA experience.

He still remembers when he saw the first UFC with Royce Gracie in 1993. He thought that learning Jiu-Jitsu would be good for self-defense and a fun new sport to compete in. In 2001, he enrolled at the progressive fighting systems academy. Currently, he's back at a Traven gym, Combat Sports Center, training under David Oliviera. Bret received his brown belt June 9th 2012 after competed at the Mundials in California as a purple belt. “David and Traven gave me my Brown belt, and it was a huge honor and something I had worked hard towards.”

Bret can’t really say what he does for the government, just that he’s done it for a while now. He teaches and works in the field. Says Bret, “I have been all over the world for work and not to anywhere nice yet. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them to send me to Brazil.”

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Inverted pass to Armbar

and btw Sean, I nailed that 50/50 armbar -- Sanks!

I had the fortune to attend the Gracie Nationals on Saturday, Gi Day. Thanks Rose Gracie for hooking BJJ Legends Magazine up with press passes to the event. Rose smart, woman that she is, ran the matches in belt order so the black belts were in and done first thing in the morning and the white belts were the last to go later that evening.

The longest match in Gracie Nationals history went to Adult Men 146-155 pound purple belts Adrian Montemayor and Michael Ledesma who rolled for 80 minutes. Ledesma victorious. Montemayors wife also had a long match, read here.

Gracie National 2013 sponsors included One Coconut water (http://www.onedrinks.com/) and Undergi (http://undergi.com/). Through generous contributions, Gracie Nationals was able to donate $300 to Child Hope International (http://childhope.org/). Child Hope International is an organization to help orphaned children in Haiti.

Tim Freeman and his podcast InsideBJJ was in the house. (http://www.facebook.com/InsideBJJPodcast) I saw Matt Baker (http://www.mattbakerbjj.com/) and Rose chiming in on the tournament-side podcast.

Congratulations to Melissa Davis on her women’s blue belt win after a long 30 minute match against Stephany Pulido. Although, it would be her last competition as blue belt, she was promoted to purple last Saturday.

Novel and well thought out was the kids “mats.” This area was two cordoned off mats where the kids could either run around (area 1) or do crafts (area 2).

Fame, fortune and celebrity in attendance included January 12 Strikeforce winner Josh Barnett, world champion Ranato Laranja, and Pat "Hawk" Hardy.

Now on to the LA FitExpo. If you don’t know already the Gracie Nationals takes place inside of the Los Angeles Fitness Expo at the LA Convention Center downtown. The FitExpo is attended by tens of thousands of people into all of types of fitness. Walking around never fails to entertain.

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January 19th 2013 at the Gracie Nationals, Adrian Montemayor placed second in an epic 80-minute match. Adrian is a purple belt under Dartanian. Also that Saturday Stephany Pulido placed second in the women’s blue belt division after a 30-minute match. Stephany also trains under Dartanian.

And… They’re married! Adrian Montemayor and Stephany Pulido are a husband and wife Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team. Curious because Saturday, gi day, the longest men’s match, and in fact the longest match in Gracie Nationals history and the longest woman’s match of the day went to a husband and wife team.

After a little Q&A I found out that not only do the couple train Jiu-Jitsu with Dartanian but they are also avid Crossfiters. Coaching Crossfit, not so coincidentally, is Dartanian’s second job at Crossfit Waza in North Hollywood.

Adrian and Stephany I am humbled by your great accomplishment.

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January 10th 2012 Matthew Maldonado, 26, and Nicholas Schultz, 21, were charged with sexually assaulting a woman New Year’s Eve in a church parking garage. The event was recorded on surveillance video. Both the men and the victim are students of Lloyd Irvin. Those involved are people first and that they are BJJ practitioners is irrelevant. That the woman was a victim of her teammates is truly sickening. As when a person taps from a choke, they trust the other person to let go, she trusted her teammates to get her home safely.

All of the talk of blood lust, retribution and punishment is disheartening. We are not vigilantes. Instead, we should talk and educate. Talk to anyone who will listen.  Most importantly support the victim and support creating an environment of trust and equality. The accused will be handled by the courts of law and their instructor has, quite frankly, exploited this situation to the point were I don’t want to type his name anymore.  If you’ve felt bullied or shunned, talk about you’re school. Talk to everybody especially people outside of BJJ. Silence is deadly.

This is a hobby for almost all of us. You are paying to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Treat your dojo the same you would your health club. If something doesn’t jive, move. It’s your money. The term ‘creonte’ is someone who cheats on their team. It is an out of date concept and often is taken out of concept of the original situation to which it was first applied.  BJJ is a long journey and it is worth the extra time to find a good fit, a family.  It is our responsibility to find out who is teaching us. As you get higher in rank you have a responsibility for those new to the school.

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Andre is a second-degree black belt under Cia Paulista and a referee for the IBJJF. I met him at the 2012 No-Gi Pans after watching him compete and win. Later while we were standing around the podium, I asked him a few questions mostly about his wrestling shoed right foot.

BJJL: What is wrong with your foot?
Andre Glodzinski: My right leg is slightly shorter and has less muscle mass than my left. And I lost all mobility of my right foot.

BJJL: Does it cause you any pain / discomfort?
AG: Yes, my right leg has permanent nerve injury. I have hypersensitivity on the sole of my right foot. I've been learning how to deal with daily pain and discomfort for the past 17 years.

BJJL: How did you hurt your foot?
AG: When I was 17, I was in a severe motorcycle accident in Brazil. The motorcycle accident almost severed my right leg below the knee from my body. I was hit at a high speed by an oncoming car two blocks from my house in the early evening. I was not speeding.

BJJL: Are you still undergoing treatment?
AG: I am no longer receiving treatment for my foot. I would hope that as medical science advances, there will be some treatment available to me. The main problem with my injury is nerve damage as my leg was smashed; the nerves could not be reconnected. At this time, as far as I know, there is still nothing in science that can help. My hope is that in the future there will be some chance for genetic reconstruction.

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Go Here -> www.gracietournaments.com

Sign up

2013

GI Tournament
Saturday, January 19th
10am - 12pm - Kids
1pm - 6pm - Adults

NO-GI Tournament
Sunday January 20th
10am - 12pm - Kids
1pm - 5pm - Adults

Location
Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015

IMPORTANT INFO

The LA Convention Center parking - $12 a day (no in/out).

Food will be available from LA Convention Center vendors. We highly recommend bringing your own food and plenty of drinks.

Competitors will have free access to the LA Fitness Expo. Please check out

TheFitExpo.com for spectator tickets for friends and family and general event info.

Everyone must have an ID at the time of weigh-ins.

All competitors must have the medical release form filled out.

http://www.thefitexpo.com/tickets.asp

Have any questions? 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

or call 909.941.3861

For Immediate Release

The Gracie US Nationals Return to

TheFitExpo™, January 19-20

 At the Los Angeles Convention Center

(Los Angeles, Calif…November 29, 2012) Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling tournaments will be front and center as The Gracie US Nationals return for their sixth year to the West Coast’s largest fitness event, TheFitExpo Los Angeles, Saturday and Sunday, January 19-20, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street, West Halls A & B.

As always, Rose Gracie will work in conjunction with the TheFitExpo to create the ideal environment and venue for a top-notch competition. TheFitExpo is bringing industry leaders together for a weekend of Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, fitness challenges and much more.  On Saturday, January 19 at 12 noon, Rose Gracie will present their annual Achievement Award to the recipient who best represents the standards of the sport set forth by Grandmaster Helio Gracie.

“We’re honored to once again be working with Rose Gracie from the legendary Gracie family on hosting The Gracie US Nationals at our 10^th Anniversary event,” said TheFitExpo Executive Director, Erin Ferries.  “She always brings a classic competition that unites participants and attendees.”

In January 2012, Gracie made significant changes to the rules of both adult and children's competitions at The Gracie US Nationals, as her desire was to bring back the original Jiu-Jitsu that her grandfather, Grandmaster Helio Gracie, envisioned from the beginning.  Gracie switched the point system to a submission-only event. This prevents several issues that were previously faced in competition and it gives the competitor 100% power over the outcome of the match.  Also, in an effort to keep the sport pure, random testing of competitors for performance enhancing drugs will be done again this year. 

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