Make history at the Pan Ams like Rafael Lovato Jr.

Today, March 3, is the last day to decide whether you will be competing at the 2014 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship between March 12 – 16 in Irvine, California.

The championship is open for all belt ranks from juvenile to master 5. Located at the Brenn Event Center on the UC Irvine campus, the venue is iconic for making history.

Prior to the Irvine location, however, the Pan was held at the gymnasium of Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, CA. It was there in 2008 that American Rafael Lovato Jr. made history by accomplishing gold in the black belt adult division. He was the first American to achieve the black belt adult Pan title and he made history.

Who will be the next American champion? Who do you think will make history this Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship?

And how about making your own history by registering before 11:59 p.m. PST tonight?

Register today only at www.ibjjf.org

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!

In 2011 GRACIEMAG captured a video at the Pans during the master divisions. Some of those faces are still active competitors today and we can assure you they are enlisted in this year’s edition.

What makes the Pan-Ams so special is the level of talent shown across all belt levels and ages on the same stage. The older crowd can present its talent on the very same mats as the elite of our sport no matter the experience.

So master division competitors: will you be joining us at the 2014 Pan in Irvine, CA?

Register now until March 3 at www.ibjjf.org

Clark Gracie celebrates his Pan American Championship title after comeback final with Marcelo Mafra of Checkmat. Photo: Ivan Trindade

During the ten-minute match, Mafra had earned a sweep against Clark and maintained his base on top. As the time winded down, Clark knew he had to move so with his signature omoplata, he locked Mafra down. But he was still down by points. He grabbed the lapel of Mafra and secured a choke from the back while still in the omoplata position. Mafra tried to hold on but eventually went to sleep and with 26 seconds left in the match, Clark won with a comeback making it one of the most exciting matches of the whole 2013 event.

And for you: Registration is open for the 2014 Pan American Championship in Irvine, CA so you too can make your mark on the competition mats. Use this match as motivation and proof that a match is never completely lost until a hand is raised. There is always a way to come back and turn the victory around.

Register now for the Pan American Championship on March 12-16 at the University of California, Irvine Brenn Event Center.

Go to www.ibjjf.org to start the process for becoming a Pan-Am champ.

And watch the match between Clark Gracie and Marcelo Mafra below: