Ilke Bulut in the lightweight division.

Day two of the 2014 IBJJF Paris International Open on Sunday, June 29,  saw many of the fighters shed their kimonos and prepare to compete in the faster-paced world of no-gi grappling. Some had chosen to compete in both categories whilst some had saved themselves for the second event. The black belt results were as follows:

In the only match of the lightweight black belt division, France’s Julien Gaillard faced off against Switzerland’s Ilke Bulut in a rematch of their previous day’s encounter. Despite a strong effort from Gaillard the result was the same, with Bulut securing the back and applying a rear naked choke to take the victory and his first IBJJF black belt title.

In the middleweight division, Diego Vivaldo of Guigo JJ overcame Swiss-based Felipe Thiago in the semifinal and Fernando Paulon in the final to take his second gold of the weekend.

The previous day’s action had taken a toll on the competitors in the middle heavyweight division, with three of the six competitors not making it to scales. In the end, Thomas Loubersanes of Acemat claimed the championship defeating US-based Omar Sabha of Brazilian Top Team in the final match.

In the super-heavyweight division, Checkmat’s Chico Mendes continued his run of form from the previous day, taking the gold medal by finishing Ronny Carvalho with an arm triangle within a minute.

Ultra-heavyweight again saw the GFTeam duo of Igor Silva and Leandro Vilar closing out. With no option of moving down a weight class they elected to save themselves for the open class, with Silva allowing Vilar to take the gold this time around.

The absolute division was a rather underattended affair, with the long weekend of fighting draining some of the energy from the competitors. In the end, a cross-team closeout gave Filipe Bobrick of Alliance the gold, Igor Silva of GFTeam the silver, and Chico Mendes and Leandro Vilar the two bronzes.

See full results here.
A full photo album of the no-gi day can be seen here.

Braulio Estima gets the tap. Photo: Jesper Aggergaard

The second day of the IBJJF’s event in Copenhagen saw many competitors take to the mats for a second time, along with a few new faces who felt that the faster-paced no-gi event was more their speed and had saved themselves for the later competition. There was also the opportunity for some interesting matches and rematches from those who had missed the opportunity to test themselves against each other day before. The black belt results were as follows:

This time around there were only two competitors in the lightweight division, and the lightweight gi champion Robson Barbosa defeated Poland’s Arek Zienkiewicz to add the no-gi title to his collection for the weekend.

The middleweight division also consisted of a straight final, but it was a final with some history. Thomas Oyarzun of Alliance had defeated Nic Ruben Nikolaisen of Frontline Academy, Norway not just once, but twice the day before in their division. But in the no-gi, it was Nic Ruben who would come out on top, securing the back with hooks to win by 4 points to zero.

Medium-heavyweight was a three-man affair, with local Dane Nic Osei of Checkmat / Arte Suave overcoming Tito Beltran in the first round by advantages, sending Tito across the bracket to face none other than Braulio Estima. Braulio defeated Tito by rear naked choke to keep his submission streak for the weekend alive, and earn his place opposite Nic in the final. After securing a stepover triangle from the top position, Braulio forced the tap from his opponent and acquired his third gold medal of the weekend.

Sadayoshi Kurimori, champion in the gi division the day before, was unfortunately injured and unable to compete on the second day in his heavyweight division. This allowed Maksymilian Wisniewski to pass through to the final, where he would face the winner of Renato Tavares and the USA’s Alberto Crane. After ten minutes of action, Renato managed to outscore Alberto by 4 points to 2 and pass from his side of the bracket to the final. Maksymilian was able to secure an armbar and with it take the the heavyweight championship.

Alan Finfou with the kimura. Photo: Jesper Aggergaard

Finally, for the super-heavyweights there was another three-person division, placing teammates Alan ‘Finfou’ do Nascimento and Chico Mendes of Checkmat on opposite sides of the bracket. Chico faced Michal Bittner of the Czech Republic in his first fight. After a spectacular early takedown by Chico and a long period of top control, Michal was able to secure an armbar from the bottom position and take the come-from-behind victory. With Chico stepping aside for his teammate, the final for the division saw Finfou facing Michal with the aim of avenging his teammate. After an aggressive start, Finfou’s relentless passing and movement allowed him to secure a pass and a kimura lock that gave him the submission victory.

The open class was not quite as busy as the previous day’s, with the number of matches causing competitor numbers to dwindle slightly, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t full of action all the same. Braulio Estima continued his rampage through the competition, defeating Thomas Oyarzun by rear naked choke and Tito Beltran by the ‘Estima Triangle’, and booked his place on one side of the final. On the other side of the bracket, Alberto Crane defeated Karim Khalifa before in turn being defeated by Robson Barbosa by a single advantage, creating the climactic match of the black belt openweight division. After an early takedown, Braulio was able to transition directly into an arm triangle. Although Robson bravely defended for a period, eventually Braulio was able to advance to the mount, lock the submission in tightly, and acquire his final submission of the weekend and concluding his perfect streak.

For full results of the no-gi results at the 2014 IBJJF Copenhagen Open, click here.

For full photo album of day two, click here.

Finfou / Publicity photo

Sweden will be hosting another installment of the Scandinavian Open, as reported by black belt Chico Mendes. The event will take place October 29 and 30 at Heleneholms Sporthall in Ystadvagen, Malmo.

The competition always features top black belt matchups, like the one between Alan “Finfou” do Nascimento and Felipe “Gargamel” Mota in the video below. To find out more, click here.

Finfou. Foto: Divulgação.

A Suécia sedia mais uma edição do Scandinavian Open, como informa o faixa-preta Chico Mendes. O evento acontece nos dias 29 e 30 de outubro, no Heleneholms Sporthall, em Ystadvagen, Malmo.

A competição, em todas as graduações, sempre traz boas disputas na faixa-preta, como a com Alan do Nascimento, o Finfou, e Felipe Mota “Gargamel”, no vídeo abaixo. Para saber mais, clique aqui.

Finfou e Victor Costa serão algumas das feras em ação.

A equipe CheckMat embarca para o Europeu de Jiu-Jitsu, em Lisboa, com um time que promete fazer frente. Segundo Chico Mendes, participam do evento feras como Rodrigo Cavaca, Marcus “Bochecha”, Helder “Bob Sponja”, Alan “Finfou”, Victor Costa, Maximiliano Campos, Leandro Leu e Igor Baixinho, entre outros.

“Vamos com uma galera boa para Portugal. Não temos pretensão de ganhar por equipes, mas vamos para subir no pódio”, avisa Chicão.

Além disso, o faixa-preta faz uma série de seminários. O primeiro na Suécia, antes da competição. Depois do Europeu, Chicão parte para Londres, na Inglaterra, e Sacramento, nos EUA.

“Nos EUA começamos a preparação para o Pan. O Cavaca prepara um grande camp na Flórida, com os principais faixas-pretas”, comenta.

Não perca a chance de participar do Europeu. Inscreva-se e saiba mais clicando aqui.

Fotos: Arquivo Pessoal.

No último fim de semana rolou a graduação e festa de fim de ano da CheckMat Brasília. A festa reuniu todas as filiais da equipe no cerrado. A entrega de faixas foi na parte da manha e à tarde rolou um Churrasco.

A graduação contou com a presença dos líderes do time Léo Vieira e Chico Mendes, que se juntaram aos professores locais Mayko Araujo e Cesar Kaloro. Foram graduados cerca de 30 atletas.

“Ficamos muito felizes em ver o desenvolvimento e crescimento da equipe aqui no cerrado”, comenta Chicão.

Fotos: divulgação.

Na última quinta feira rolou em Brasília a primeira Copinha Kids do projeto social EDEN. Esse é mais um projeto com apoio da equipe CheckMat. A parte do Jiu-Jitsu fica a cargo do professor Mayko Araujo, que comanda cerca de 100 crianças, divididas em quatro turmas.

Para comemorar o fim do ano e integrar ainda mais as crianças e os pais com a luta, foi feita a Copinha Kids. Todos os participantes ganharam medalhas e brindes.

“A Copinha foi um sucesso total e vários pais já saíram pedindo mais! Foi muito engraçado ver os pais chegando sem noção nenhuma do que era o Jiu-Jitsu e saindo felizes e incentivando ainda mais as crianças”, comenta um dos líderes da CheckMat, Chico Mendes.

Chicão entrega premiação.

Leon Amâncio participa do seminário. Foto: arquivo pessoal.

Nos dias 20 e 21 de novembro será realizado o seminário dos faixas-pretas da CheckMat Chico Mendes e Leon Amâncio em Maresias, São Sebastião, no litoral paulista.

O evento vai ser realizado na academia Maresias MMA (Alameda
das tartarugas, 99), às 10h. Para maiores informações, o contato pode ser feito pelo telefone 12 9728 53 66 ou email rodrigotubos@hotmail.com.

O evento é aberto a todas as equipes.

For example: the ever-stronger Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championship, in September; the art being taught in the schools of Abu Dhabi; and the massive Gordo-Evolve academy in Singapore, among other signs. The latest evidence cropped up in China in one of the fastest-growing cities on the planet, cosmopolitan Shanghai.

On the 30^th and 31^st of August, the city hosted a major martial arts exhibition at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, one of the most visited exposition fairs in the world.

“The Expo receives between 350 and 400 thousand people per day. Around seventy million people are expected to pass through the Expo over the total six months,” comments CheckMat professor Chico Mendes, who attended the exhibition. “The event was broadcast live across China.” The presentation was held by the Wrestling Judo Association Jiu-Jitsu Community (WJAJC), and featured kung fu and Jiu-Jitsu demonstrations, with images of Grandmaster Carlos Gracie on the big screen.

The gentle art presentations were performed by fifteen teachers from Emirates Team and three CheckMat stalwart competitors, Leonardo Vieira, Chico Mendes and Marcelo Andreoli.

From the Arab Emirates, Michel Maia Marcelo “Guardinha” Motta, Oscar Junior, Maiky Reiter, Bruno Lopes, among others, were there.

Check out the photos taken by our GMA in Japan, Hashimoto Kinya:

[flickr set=72157624873224910]

“We spent four days at the event and it was great to see the interaction between the people from Brazil, China, the Middle East and Japan. I don’t know what to say about the Brazilians, they even started up playing pagode music on the bus after the Expo. Then the Middle Easterners joined the fun and sang, too,” recounts Chico Mendes. “There was one day where we went to a Brazilian barbecue house to show some of our culture to our new friends…”

Por exemplo, o cada vez mais forte Asiático de Jiu-Jitsu, em setembro; o ensino da arte nas escolas de Abu Dhabi; e a academia gigante da Gordo-Evolve em Cingapura, entre outros sinais. O indício mais recente aconteceu na China, numa das cidades que mais crescem no planeta, a cosmopolita Xangai.

Nos dias 30 e 31 de agosto, a cidade sediou uma grande apresentação de artes marciais, dentro da Expo Shanghai 2010, uma das mais visitadas feiras de exposições do mundo.

“Por dia a Expo recebe entre 350 a 400 mil pessoas, a expectativa é que passem pela Expo por volta de 70 milhões de pessoas nos 6 meses totais”, comenta o professor da CheckMat Chico Mendes, um dos presentes na exibição. “O evento foi transmitido ao vivo para toda a China”.

 A apresentação foi realizada pela Wrestling Judo Association Jiu-Jitsu Community (WJAJC), e contou com demonstrações de kung fu e Jiu-Jitsu, com direito a imagens de grande mestre Carlos Gracie no telão da festa.

As apresentações da arte suave foram feitas por 15 professores do Emirates Team e por três feras da CheckMat, Leonardo Vieira, Chico Mendes e Marcelo Andreoli.

Dos Emirados Árabes, estavam lá Michel Maia, Marcelo “Guardinha” Motta, Oscar Junior, Maiky Reiter, Bruno Lopes, entre outros.

Confira as fotos de nosso GMA no Japão Hashimoto Kinya:

[flickr set=72157624873224910]

“Ficamos quatro dias em função do evento e foi muito maneiro a interação entre brasileiros, chineses, árabes e japoneses. Nem tenho o que falar dos brasileiros, a galera até pagode puxou no ônibus após a Expo. Aí os árabes entraram na brincadeira e cantaram também”, conta Chico Mendes. “Teve um dia que fomos a uma churrascaria brasileira para matar a saudade e mostrar um pouco da nossa cultura para os novos amigos…”

Chicão at one of his social-benefit projects in Brasília

After stopping through Brazil’s federal district, at the academies of professor Cesar Calouro and Maycom Araujo, who also run social-benefit projects in Brasilia, two of CheckMat’s masters get ready for seminars in China.

“Next Saturday Léo Vieira and I are heading to China. We will appear at Shanghai Expo (the largest expo in the world). We’ll put on a super presentation where we’ll join up with Professor Marcelo Andreoli, who teaches the gentle art at Alavanca BJJ Academy in China,” says Professor Chico Mendes.

After that they will conduct seminars at Shanghai BJJ Academy, with Chico, and at Kowloo BJJ Academy in Hong Kong, with Léo Vieira.

On the trip to Brasília, Chico was happy with the growth of the team and the social-benefit work done in those parts.

“I was impressed by the determination and tenacity of the folks there. We’re putting together a strong team over there,” he says in closing.

Chicão num dos projetos sociais em Brasília

Depois de uma passagem pelo Distrito Federal, nas academias dos professores Cesar Calouro e Maycom Araújo, que também contam com projetos sociais em Brasília, dois dos mestres da CheckMat se preparam para seminários na China.

“No próximo sábado, eu e o Léo Vieira vamos para China. Nos apresentarmos na Shanghai Expo (a maior expo do mundo). Faremos uma super apresentação, em que nos juntaremos ao professor Marcelo Andreoli, que ensina a arte suave na Academia Alavanca BJJ, na China”, conta o professor Chico Mendes.

Depois disso, serão ministrados seminários na Academia Shanghai BJJ, com Chicão, e, em Hong Kong, na Kowloon BJJ, com Léo Vieira.

Sobre a passagem por Brasília, Chicão ficou contente com o crescimento do time e com o trabalho social feito por lá.

“Fiquei impressionado com a força de vontade e a raça do pessoal. Estamos montando um time forte no cerrado”, encerra.