The US Open XIX is officially set for October 25-26. GMA member Claudio Franca and BJJ Tour have put together another opportunity for Jiu-Jitsu athletes to come together in the Bay Area.

The athlete list grows each year. Last year there were over 1500 athletes competing including 50 black belts.

The early registration is now open and offers a discounted price until October 6. The price per child registration is $65 and for juvenile through master the price per person is $80. The prices increase after October 6 so don’t miss this discount.

This tournament is a gi only tournament with livestream during the event to capture all the action.

It will be held at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, CA: 140 Front Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

For more information go to http://bjjtour.com/tournaments/u-s-open/

To register, go to http://www.t360reg.com/usopen/usopen.aspx

GMA member Adem Redzovic of Team Redzovic in Chicago, IL will be in the Bay for a seminar on Aug. 18.

The class from 5 to 6:30 p.m. will go over his techniques on the open guard and will break down or “translate” the many variations.

If you’d like to be more well-rounded and spice up your guard, head to this seminar.

To reserve your spot contact 45-255-8482. The cost per person is $50.

Learn more about Adem and his team at www.chicagojiujitsu.com

Milton Bastos. Photo: Erin Herle

One of the biggest tech companies in the world has taken in the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle. While the community of Jiu-Jitsu is comprised of many, many different types of people, the fact that Google has brought in an instructor for Jiu-Jitsu classes on site is something new.

Milton Bastos, a black belt training at GMA Institute of Martial Arts in San Jose, CA has become the Google Jiu-Jitsu professor. Here’s his story of how it came about:

“It’s a funny story because I had read a Facebook post asking who was available to work during lunch time, and I wasn’t doing anything at this time and it was close to my house, so I said I could do it. I sent a curriculum but I didn’t know to whom I was applying to teach. I just knew it was in a company. I have classes at T-mobile too so I thought it was inside a small office as well. Later on when they called me to go there to teach the classes they told me it was for Google… and when I got there to teach I actually found an old student from when I used to live down South and there were guys from Caio’s place too.

I teach inside of the main campus in Mountain View. They have a specific building with an academy inside and they have a lot of equipment for fitness and health. It’s a really amazing facility. The class is open to anyone from Google so I have engineers, designers, lawyers, chefs, all kinds of people and have a lot of girls, too, because it was advertised as self-defense and Jiu-Jitsu.

I kinda run two classes at the same time because the difference between the levels are huge. We have black belts, brown belts, and a lot new people in to try and learn what Jiu-Jitsu is. Plus, there are people who come in to try the self-defense as well.

It’s really different from the work at the academy because the guys over there do the classes really to relax and try to take the focus away from work; especially when they have some problems and can’t find a solution, so they don’t go there to compete. They go more to have fun, and those who know me, know my classes are fun. I’m never serious.”

Learn more about Milton Bastos and the trainings at Institute of Martial Arts at www.bjjsanjose.com

GMA member Itabora Ferreira has invited black belt world champion Lucas Lepri to host a seminar at Alliance San Francisco on Saturday, May 17. With Lucas currently preparing for the 2014 World Championship on the west coast, he has spared some time to teach his winning techniques to the Bay area.

The seminar will be held from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at GMA Alliance San Francisco: 837 Industrial Rd, San Carlos, CA 94070.

The cost is $90 for all non-Alliance members, but all teams and affiliations are welcome.

For more information you can call 415-793-2988 and to reserve your spot, please paypal the registration fee to the address: itabora@yahoo.com

Learn more about GMA Alliance San Francisco here: www.alliancebjjsf.com

For its second edition the Ultimate Slam in the Bay area is calling for competitors who want to compete in gi and/or no-gi. The event will be help on May 3 at El Camino High School in South San Francisco, CA.

Divisions are available for both kids and adults. The cost for kids registered in one division is $45 and if registered in a second division, the price is $65. For adults, the cost for one division is $55 and two divisions is $75.

The address of the venue is 1320 Mission Rd. South San Francisco, CA 94080.

The schedule of the event is as follows:

Kids:
8:30 a.m. – Registration and check-in
10:00 a.m. – Gi divisions
11:00 a.m. – No-gi divisions

Adults:
10:00 a.m. – Registration and check-in
1:00 p.m. – Gi divisions
1:30 p.m. – No-gi divisions

Registration closes on May 2! To register click here: http://www.t360reg.com/ultimateslam/ultimateslam.aspx

To learn more information go to www.teamkugtar.com

The event takes place in San Jose, CA at Independence High School: 1776 Educational Park Drive San Jose, CA 95133

There is still time to register! Go to www.bjjtour.com and reserve your spot!

Check out this trailer below:

The 120 females of the 2nd Bay Area Inspire All-Female Open Mat. Photo: Erin Herle

On Saturday, March 1 the 2nd Inspire Bay Area All-Female Open Mat brought an outstanding number of females together. The leader of such a powerful movement is brown belt Kristina Barlaan of GMA Institute of Martial Arts.

Since returning to her hometown in the Bay Area, she has strengthened the community in a saturated area of women in Jiu-Jitsu with two open mat events so far. The first Inspire was held in September and the capacity was reached at 100. The second event, less than six months later, brought regulars and new faces alike to a cap of 120 participants.

One of the drills had each person jump guard on their partner. Photo: Erin Herle

The Inspire open mats work as a catalyst for females to gain new grounds both as a community and individuals. The hours spent together create lasting bonds and a network for advice, experience and news. Structure for the events include an inspiring speech from Kristina, who teaches, competes and lends a helping hand wherever, a warm-up, techniques to practice, a raffle of many prizes and time to roll with one another.

Women traveled from all ends of Northern California as well as Southern California and Texas. The youngest participant was 13 and the oldest was 68 and 62 academies were represented.

A sneaky choke set-up was taught by Kristina Barlaan with the help of black belt Stephanie Moon. Photo: Erin Herle

To start, each participant was encouraged to pair up with someone they don’t know and the higher ranks sought out the lesser experienced. Kristina situated the group with drills: jumping guard, toreando to knee-on-belly, kimura set-ups, and an ab workout that resembles a synchronized swimming routine. For technique, Kristina showed various ways to set up a choke from closed guard with the help of local black belt Stephanie Moon.

The raffle had prizes from various companies looking to support females in the Jiu-Jitsu community. Photo: Erin Herle

The raffle offered prizes from gis to DVDs to journals to clothing and supplements. Multiple companies and brands gave support to the event and patches were given to all. Black belt Lana Stefanac took over the duties of name drawing and stuck around for the girls to pick her brain during the time set for rolling. The open mat set rounds for all the belts to train with one another and the training lasted for well over an hour.

By the end of the day new friendships were established and the community of females expanded its network.

You can check out photos of the event in a full gallery here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/graciemag/sets/72157642175025124/

Catch the next event by following Inspire on facebook: www.facebook.com/InspireBJJ

To highlight some of your peers who will compete at this year’s event, here are two people who have set their eyes on the gold. One from another state, and another will travel from northern California down to the UC Irvine Brenn Event Center on March 12-16.

Nicholle placed second at the 2013 Pan Championship as a white belt. Photo: Personal Archive

Meet Nicholle Stoller, a blue belt from Nashville MMA in Nashville, Tennessee. She competes often and will be putting her blue belt rank to the test at the Pans this year. She has been training since 2012 and her dedication for Jiu-Jitsu is proof that her Asperger’s Syndrome has no bearing on her performances. The Autism Spectrum Disorder, sometimes called “high functioning Autism,” is characterized by hyper sensitivity, obsessive behaviors towards specific interests, hindered social skills, ability to recognize patterns and other various behaviors. The obsessive, pattern-finding abilities that Nicholle has actually help her in learning techniques and dedication to training. The Jiu-Jitsu community has also helped her adapt and excel tremendously in her social life as well.

We asked Nicholle some quick questions about her training and expectations for the 2014 Pans:

GRACIEMAG: How often do you compete?

NICHOLLE STOLLER: I make it a goal to compete at least once a month. We don’t have many large tournaments near Nashville, so this usually involves travel – but it’s worth it!

Have you competed at Pans before?

Last year was my first time competing at Pans as a white belt. This year I’m going as a blue belt.

How do you prepare?

I train twice a day and alternate between days focused on rolling and days focused on conditioning. If it’s a day that I’m doing conditioning, I only roll hard in one training session and drill for the other session – conditioning is first thing in the morning. If I’m not doing conditioning, I roll hard in both my morning and evening sessions.

Physical preparation is secondary to my mental preparation. It doesn’t matter how in shape, or in synch I am – if my mindset is not right, I will look like a retarded ape when the referee drops his hand. The closer I get to competition time, the more I hide myself away when I’m not training – I find a combination of meditation, and the proper soundtrack works wonders.

How often do you get to train?

I run my massage therapy business out of my school, so I usually train twice a day and see clients in between training sessions.

——

Devon and his brother. Photo: Personal Archive

Devon Martinez is a blue belt adult featherweight who trains out of the Bay Area at Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu who will also be competing at the 2014 IBJJF Pan. A twenty-four year old personal trainer, he and his family train together. His cousins have a gym, which is where he started training. These days he spends a lot of time at his academy drilling, studying tape, brain-storming ideas, and hanging out.

Here is how his weekly training routine pans out:

Monday – drill in morning, workout in afternoon, drill at night

Tuesday – drill in morning, spar at night

Wednesday – drill in morning, strength training in afternoon

Thursday – spar in morning

Friday – go to Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu headquarters with Dave Camarillo in Pleasanton, and spar in afternoon, spar again in evening.

Saturday – drill/light roll

Sunday – drill and depending on how I feel or how close to the tournament I am determines if I train rounds

——

Now that you’ve seen how a couple of your peers are preparing for the 2014 Pans along with their backgrounds, what do you say? Get motivated and confident to register in your division today.

Head over to www.ibjjf.org to register before Monday, March 3!

Past American Cup tournament. Photo: John Cooper

Early registration is still available for one of the best Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in the Bay Area. GMA member Claudio Franca’s 7th Annual American Cup BJJ Tournament will be held on April 5 & 6 in San Jose, CA.

The well-run tournament boasts categories for kids, juveniles, adults and masters.

The venue for the event is at Independence High School: 707 North Jackson Ave. San Jose, CA 95133.

Saturday April 5 will be reserved for kids born between 1999 and 2010 as well as all purple belts. Sunday, April 6, will bring the white, blue, brown and black belts to the competition mats. For specific times, wait for the official schedule to be released on April 2.

The early registration cost is available until March 17. You can reserve your spot with the discounted rate here: http://www.t360reg.com/americancup/americancup.aspx

For more information about the 7th Annual American Cup Tournament visit: http://americancupbjj.com/

100 females on the mat. Photo: Erin Herle

In September, GRACIEMAG headed to San Jose, CA for the first edition of Inspire in the Bay area held by its founder Kristina Barlaan. The event brought together 100 women at GMA Institute of Martial Arts with no males allowed on the mat. Lana Stefanac was present to teach a technique along with other brown and black females who shared the teaching duties. By the end of the session there were raffle prizes and giveaways with each participant leaving with a piece of merchandise.

On Feb. 28, the second edition of Inspire will be held at Evolve Training Center in South San Francisco. Kristina, a brown belt under Caio Terra who competes at the highest level, promotes women to not only get to know the existing women in the martial art community but also to bring in new girls as well.

The cost is free but registration is mandatory and now open until 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, Feb. 28 or until capacity reaches 100 participants.

To learn more about the event and to register, please go to http://strongvon.com/inspirebayarea2

The sign at the front of GMA Institute of Martial Arts says it all. Photo: Erin Herle

The first edition of Inspire All Female Open Mats in the Bay Area gave Jiu-Jitsu women an opportunity to come together and build bonds within the community. Kristina Barlaan brought the event back home with her to Northern California where she now trains at GMA Institute of Martial Arts in San Jose, CA and put together more than just a training session. In her own words, “Inspire is about uplifting others by just simply being who we are.”

Caio Terra was not present on Saturday, September 14 and neither were the other black belt instructors, Samir Chantre and Osvaldo Queixinho. As the sign on the door read, “Ladies on the mat; No men allowed.”

The women flooded into the large academy for the start time at 1 p.m. and changed into their gis which sported patches from different academies and various colors of belts. Four black belts were present along with white belts, yellow, green and orange belts, plenty of blues and purple and browns. One woman borrowed a gi and had her very first Jiu-Jitsu experience which she loved as evident by the huge smile on her face throughout the afternoon.

100 females on the mat. Photo: Erin Herle

The warm-up started off the event and then partners were chosen for drills and technique. Everyone was encouraged to choose a partner from a different academy and different belt level. Kristina explained what she likes to use as the “adopt-a-white-belt” program that helps both new and experienced to learn and grow together. Lana Stefanac took over to teach two variations of her favorite choke from closed guard and the training took a break for a speech.

While the open mat allows for females to train together, the “Inspire” portion of the name comes from Kristina’s own personal story. The speech she gave was a story that she hadn’t shared with many people but felt that needed to be heard as a lesson to always be who you are. From a toxic relationship to personal tragedy, her touching testimony gave insight into a tough and driven female who learned to be confident, independent and strong. Jiu-Jitsu gave her the opportunity, much like many of those on the mat listening to her open up, to become all of those things and more.

Enough supportive companies meant prizes for all to choose from. Photo: Erin Herle

Give-aways and prizes were plenty and each who attended received a gift of their choice among the shirts, supplements, lip balms, stickers, patches, DVDs, bags, hoodies and more splayed out on the mat. A fundraiser for the Susan G Komen 3-day in Arizona raised $200 for the Girls Gone Miles group.

An hour of rolling ensued before the day was over. Kristina’s parents held down the fort in front of the academy for handmade, fresh Brazilian pastries called pastel that were for sale. By the end of the day there were connections made, friendships created, techniques learned and plenty of future plans for more female Jiu-Jitsu get-togethers.

The message of the day was well-received. Vonique Stricklen said, “Thank you Kristina Barlaan for the amazing event you put on today. I definitely felt the Jiu-Jitsu vibe today it shook me.”

To learn about the next Inspire event, like the facebook page and stay informed!

Check out the photos below:

[flickr set=72157635550269445]

Manuel ‘Beats’ Diaz holds seminar for his road to Copa Podio. Photo: Babette Romero

On August 15, the brown belt under GMA member Caio Terra who will be on his way to Brazil soon held his first seminar.

Manuel Diaz is set to participate in the Copa Podio Middleweight GP in the green group alongside Renato Cardoso, Travis Stevens, Paulo Miyao and Jaime Canuto.

In order to gain financial support for his endeavor to Rio de Janeiro, Manny held a seminar at a Caio Terra affiliate academy in Hayward,CA. Caio Terra himself was present for the event as well as Osvaldo Queixinho and Samir Chantre who recently returned from the IBJJF Las Vegas Open with gold medals.

The road to Copa Podio is one paved with support and hard work for Manuel Diaz who we will see in action on Sunday, September 8. More information at www.copapodio.com

Manny teaches guard work at his seminar on August 15. Photo: Babette Romero