Lloyd Irvin on stage during the MMA Revolution 5.0 event, where teachers become students. Photo by Luca Atalla

It’s 10:45, Saturday morning. Lloyd Irvin is on stage talking about, guess what, marketing. This time on how to drive the new student to the class you want him to be placed on and the success ladder he will be subject to. The conference room at Renaissance Hotel at Sea World, Orlando is organized into three rows of chairs; the first, on the left, has 57 people seated, 129 in the middle, 56 on the right.

Hidden in the audience there’s one of the protagonists of the UFC fight of the night last week, his face still testament to how tough and bloody a fight it was. There’s also the second American ever to become Jiu-Jitsu World Champion as a black belt. One MMA veteran in a back seat has a record of over 115 matches. And another fighter, a Brazilian and IBJJF hall of famer, owns eight world titles. But they and the other 238 people, among them other prestigious martial artists, are all silent. Their position here takes them back to their first movements on the mats, as students.

We are at the beginning of the third day of the MMA Revolution 5.0 event, and most of these people have already spent serious money in products to improve theirs schools. But that was clear from day one.

“Who’s new here?” asked Irvin, during the introductory speech. Roughly forty percent of the crowd stood up. “Whoever has a $20 bill in their wallet, could you please bring it to me?” he continued. A line took shape, and for the next minute or so, he traded each $20 bill for a $100 bill. Then Irvin explained that yes, he will make money in exchange for knowledge during the next days. But he boldly claims that each dollar spent will multiply several times.

Full house to listen to Lloyd’s techniques—Photo by Ivan Trindade

So a couple days passed by and courses about sales, pay-per-click ads, children and after-school programs, social media etc. were taught, and innovations on how to implement different, crazy types of technology were shown. During a sales presentation run by Marcos Avellan, a group of 47 owners who already bought the course stood up saying the program drove over 50,000 extra dollars since their staff began to use it. A few kept standing when the mark reached $100,000. And the line of them willing to walk to the microphone to issue spontaneous testimonials was getting to the size of one of the Disney attractions at the nearby Magic Kingdom amusement park.

At this point, even after the aforementioned sales example but not being here to hear all these testimonials I’ve heard thus far, you may be asking: “Will the Jiu-Jitsu and MMA schools with representatives in attendance capitalize on all the knowledge shared over the long weekend?” I’m sure the majority will. Just like I make sure to pay for my physical conditioning classes to make sure I will actually attend them, these school owners, many of them disciplined enough to become multiple-time champions in their styles, value their money spent and I bet they are now eager to get it back. Multiple times.

World champion DJ Jackson is a black belt driver

The GRACIEMAG team spent most of last week in Camp Springs, Maryland, with Professor Lloyd Irvin and his team.

On November 29th, we followed the daily routine of one of his most accomplished Medal Chasers.

Watch the short film to follow and find out the important job world no-gi champion DJ Jackson does.

By driving kids from school to the academy, Mr. Jackson (as the kids call him) contributes not only for a brighter future for Jiu-Jitsu (and other martial arts) in America, but mainly for a better future for the kids.

Enjoy!

Worlds No-Gi at the Long Beach Pyramid in 10 days

Do you know you can still be a Jiu-Jitsu world champion in 2012?

All you have to do is register for the World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship (and then of course beat all your opponents).

It is scheduled next November 3 and 4, at the Long Beach Walter Pyramid, in California.

So you have roughly two weeks to finnish your training, but only three days to sign up.

The cost is $128 for the registration.

Hurry and sign up to compete alongside or against tough guys like Bernardo Faria, Roberto Cyborg, David Avellan, Pablo Popovitch, De Alonzio Jackson, JT Torres, Augusto Tanquinho, Lucas Lepri and many more.

For more info and to register, go to ibjjf.org.

DJ Jackson (right) came out of Atlanta with two black belt golds. Photo by Preston Smith/IBJJF

Jiu-Jitsu was not what De’Alonzio Jackson was looking for when he first entered Lloyd Irvin’s academy,in Camp Springs, Maryland, a few years ago. DJ, as he is called by his friends, went there to train wrestling, which he already did at school. Upon his request, Professor Lloyd Irvin allowed him to attend an advanced Jiu-Jitsu class and he fell in love with the gentle art. The relationship has been fruitful for the competitor, now 23 years old, recently promoted to black belt. Since the lower belts, DJ has established himself as one of the athletes with the most impressive performances. Medals piled up and now DJ has a brand new challenge, to repeat his results as a black belt, where difficulties grow considerably.

He started out great. At the recent Atlanta International Open, DJ conquered two gold medals. The medium-heavy win demanded only one fight, against Ian McPherson. In the open class, the final match put Jackson face to face with world champion Lucas Lepri. In a very studied duel, DJ got his first open class gold as a black belt. In this exclusive chat with GRACIEMAG.com, he talks about the feeling of accomplishment, addresses the difference between fighting in the lower belts and at black belt and plans his future, which includes bold goals in the octagon.

GRACIEMAG.com: How did you first come in contact with BJJ?

DJ Jackson: I first started training Jiu-Jitsu when I was in the offseason for wrestling. I came to Lloyd Irvin Mixed Martial arts academy because they had a very good wrestling program ran by Jim Kelly and Mike Denny. Master Lloyd Irvin allowed me to do an advanced class one night and I loved it. Didn’t know what I was doing but everyone at the gym helped me a lot and I never stopped coming.

GRACIEMAG.com: How important is Jiu-Jitsu for you?

DJ: Jiu-Jitsu is the most important thing to me right now. I want to be the champion of the UFC but without Jiu-Jitsu I would have no job and no direction. Master Lloyd Irvin helped give me direction in life through Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts.

GRACIEMAG.com: You were promoted to the black belt less than three months ago. What was the feeling of achieving that rank like? Was it something you dreamed about?

DJ: It is a surreal feeling. When you put your all into achieving a goal and then you finally achieve it it’s an extraordinary feeling.

DJ on “I want that gold medal” mode in Atlanta. Phto by Preston Smith/IBJJF

GRACIEMAG.com: You had a lot of success in competitions in the lower belts. What do you have to improve to keep that level of achievement as a black belt?

DJ: Everything. At team Lloyd Irvin we are constantly trying to improve all aspects of our Jiu-jitsu. Whether we win the tournament or lose first round there are always things to work on and improve on.

GRACIEMAG.com: What is the main difficulty for a newcomer to the black belt division?

DJ: The main difficulty for me so far has been the experience. I am fighting very good black belts and there is nothing they haven’t seen. But it excites me for things to come. I want to and can’t wait to go to war with the best fighters in the world.

GRACIEMAG.com: In Atlanta, you won the medium heavy and the open Class, when you defeated Lucas Lepri (a black belt world champion) in the final. Did it matter to you who he was? Did it affect your game plan and performance at all?

DJ: It did matter because he is one of the grapplers I have watched a lot to try and learn from. But once you step on the mat past accomplishments don’t matter. It is just you versus your opponent and who is better in that 10 minutes.

DJ Jackson (right) came out of Atlanta with two black belt golds. Photo by Preston Smith/IBJJF

Recently promoted, Lloyd Irvin’s talent De’ Alonzio Jackson conquered this Saturday his first black belt open class IBJJF gold medal.

In the final, he defeated world champion Lucas Lepri in a very strategical fight.

The first six minutes were entirely of standing game, with Lepri managing to open the score 2-0.

Soon after, DJ tied the score with a takedown and started working the guard pass.

Lepri defended well and Jackson was unable to get the pass.

When time ran out, the fight went to referees decision and the side refs gave a 2-1 win for the American.

In the black belt weight classes, Lepri was the lightweight champion, Jackson was the medium-heavyweigh champion, Wesley Davi was the featherweight champion, Daniel Ray O’Brien was the heavyweight champion. Guybson Sá (super-heavy) and Jonathan Warren Tooker (ultraheavy) got their medals without having to fight.

Team Lloyd Irvin also conquered the male open class adult divisions of the blue belt (Devon Delbrugge), purple belt (Timothy-Michael Spriggs) and brown belt (Keenan Cornelius).

In the team’s competition, a fierce battle between Atlanta rivals Alliance and Roberto Traven BJJ.

Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti’s team came out on top with 552 pts over 533 pts for Traven. Team Lloyd Irvin came third with 153.

The absolute purple belt matches did a fine job of raising the thermostat in Lisbon.

Besides big wins from Mackenzie Dern and De’ Alonzio Jackson, the day stored further excitement.

As always, GRACIEMAG’s lenses honed in on all the action going on, bringing 15 instants from the party that is the European Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

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Stay tuned to the GRACIEMAG at the European Open Blog for all the latest from the championship.

This Saturday, the black belts take to the mats.

Photos: Ivan Trindade and Ane Nunes

As disputas dos absolutos da faixa-roxa fizeram a temperatura subir em Lisboa.

Além das vitórias de Mackenzie Dern e De’ Alonzio Jackson, o dia também reservou outras pequenas emoções.

Mais uma vez, as lentes de GRACIEMAG estavam atentas e trazem 15 instantâneos da festa européia do Jiu-Jitsu.

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Siga ligado no Blog Graciemag no Europeu de Jiu-Jitsu para saber das últimas novidades do campeonato.

Neste sábado, os faixas-pretas entram em ação.

Fotos: Ivan Trindade e Ane Nunes