The Stronghold awarded top fundraising team. Photo: Tap Cancer Out

On Jan. 17 the Tap Cancer Out Winter BJJ Open was held in San Diego, CA. Unlike a regular tournament, competitors could opt for fundraising instead of simply purchasing the registration fee. There were also opportunities to donate and fundraise as an individual and as a team.

In total, the tournament raised over $16,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding childhood cancer research. The top individual fundraiser was Samuel Martinez of Moore Jiu-Jitsu and the team award for fundraising went to The Stronghold. There were 72 fundraisers and 362 donors total and because of this event’s contributions, Tap Cancer Out has now raised over $100,000 for St. Baldrick’s Foundation since 2014.

But it wasn’t only the charity who received donations–the family of Jeremy Montes Jr., a young Jiu-Jitsu competitor who recently passed away from cancer, received $500 from the event via shirt sales by DeuS Fight Co. You can still purchase the shirt here.

The team totals from the competition are as follows:

1. The Stronghold – 78 points
2. Checkmat – 52 points
3. Victory MMA – 45 points

See full list of divisions winners here.

Learn more about Tap Cancer Out and follow their tournament schedules at www.tapcancerout.org

Filip Matos and some of the gi donations. Photo: Personal archive

In Canada, a special charity project has been growing in numbers. What started as a small idea to bring gis back home to Brazil turned into a large pool of donators who have helped accomplish much more than anticipated.

Professor Filip Matos of Gracie Barra North Vancouver started the project without realizing it would become a project at all. Here is how almost 200 gis were gathered to be donated:

“It started when my boss surprised me with airfare for a flight to go home to Brazil to see my family (I hadn’t seen them for 3 years). I was touched by his generosity. I wish I can do something so generous one day.

I knew one guy in my town who teaches Jiu-Jitsu at his home for kids/teens/adults who cannot afford it. I had three old gis still in good condition that I wasn’t using, so I thought to bring them with me and give them to him for his students.

More gi donations. Photo: Personal archive

I thought to maybe text some of my friends and ask if they had any old gis to give as well. I have good friends. Kabir Bath, Jason Gagnon and Walter Buse–they all got on social media and asked all their friends and students to give gis, too. The BJJ community came through. I started going to the gyms to teach classes, take pictures and pick up gis. The first week I got over 20; I was so happy. The next week I got over 50! I was happy but worried. I didn’t know how I would get all the gis to Brazil. Me and my girlfriend were folding so many gis every night. I talked to a friend of mine and he told me: “Charity is not easy, but it’s worth it.”

Again I asked for help and the BJJ community supported me. People started to give donations for shipping, too. I’ve been to schools from Chilliwack to Squamish, and had donations from as far away as Vernon.

After just 3 weeks people have donated almost 200 gis and given over $1200 cash. Now I can send gis to Brazil and to the Philippines. This idea to take three gis has turned into being able to help students who can’t afford at many schools. This is important for me.

Even more important for me is seeing how well the BJJ community in British Columbia, Canada is growing. We can train together, compete together and support each other.

Kabir Bath of GMA Kaboom BJJ was one of the connections Filip had made to get the word out. His response to the outpouring of donations:

Donations at GMA Kaboom BJJ. Photo: Kabir Bath

“When Professor Filip first messaged me telling me about his plan for the gi drive, I thought it was a great idea. Over the past two years, I’ve been working to really unite the BJJ community in BC. It’s been a great success, and it’s very satisfying to see our BJJ community unite to help support the community at large. I knew the community would pull through again if we could spread awareness, so the first thing I did was get a video out on social media letting everyone know about the cause. Raising awareness was one thing, but I wanted to really help Professor make this a success. I followed up with more videos giving academy owners tips on how to motivate their students to contribute to the cause. A lot of the participating academies adopted some of the ideas, and it was a great success. It was beautiful to see the BJJ community unite to raise over $1000 dollars for shipping costs, as well as over 200 kimonos. I am proud of how our community has grown closer in the last two years. I’m excited about all the great work we can do in the future together!”

You can still donate. If you’re in the BC area you can donate at your gym and Filip will find a way to pick them up. If not, you can always donate funds here: http://www.gofundme.com/ijtrlo

Also, you can stay in contact with Filip for how to spread the word to your own academy: filipmatosbjj@live.com

All the professors involved. Photo: Personal archive

Tap Cancer Out, a Jiu-Jitsu based 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, in partnership with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, will host a grappling tournament to benefit the fight against pediatric cancer.

The event, Tap Cancer Out Winter Open, will be held at the University of San Diego Sports Center on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015. This will be Tap Cancer Out’s fifth Jiu-Jitsu Open since 2013 and its first event in California.

In addition to merchandise sales, sponsorships, and cash donations, Tap Cancer Out raises money and awareness by hosting grappling tournaments.

Recently, at the Tap Cancer Out Boston Summer Open, the organization announced that they will donate over $97,000, the largest gift to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation by a charity partner.

For this tournament there will be male and female divisions in both gi and no-gi. There will be no registration on the day of the tournament so you must register prior.

There are two ways to register:

If you are able to raise $250 or more in donations via the Tap Cancer Out fundraising platform then you can compete for free.

If you choose to pay the registration fee, you can register now for the early bird discount of $40 per person for one division or $56 per person for two division. After Dec. 17 the registration fee will be go up.

For anyone interested in more information about Tap Cancer Out or how to participate in future events, please visit: www.tapcancerout.org.

For anyone interested in making a donation, please visit: https://www.classy.org/san-diego/events/tap-cancer-out-2015-winter-bjj-open/e38500

For anyone interested in volunteering, please contact: oliver@tapcancerout.org

The Claudio Franca Team. Photo: Claudio Franca BJJ

The Claudio Franca team will be presenting their favorite techniques for a good cause.

At GMA Claudio Franca Jiu-Jitsu Academy there will be a Toys for Tots seminar where everyone can learn and train while supporting a good cause.

The event will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In order to join in on the experience bring one or more unwrapped new toys to donate.

The academy is located at 1658 Soquel Dr., Suite C, Santa Cruz, California 95065.

Learn more information at www.claudiofrancabjj.com

Hannette Staack with members of Brazil-021 School of Jiu-Jitsu team.

The GMA Brazil-021 School of Jiu-Jitsu lead by 8x World Champion Hannette Staack and her husband, the black belt Andre Terencio have a social project inside the poor “Borel” community in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which sponsors children to stay in school and training Jiu-Jitsu.

On December 19th, they are planning a Christmas party and need your help to buy food and toys for the kids in the project. By making a donation of U$40, you’ll get a 2014 competition t-shirt autographed by the famous fighters, Hannette and Terencio as a gift.

Click here to donate now!

For more information, please contact:

andre.terencio@brazil021.com

Brazil-021 School of Jiu-Jitsu

Owner / Co-Founder

Phone: +1 (773)803-6428

www.brazil021.com

GMA Gilroy BJJ will be hosting an event to support Jerremy Montes Jr. who is currently battling leukemia. The now 19-year-old was diagnosed at the end of 2012. Despite months of remission, he was diagnosed once again and is now fighting for his life.

As part of the efforts to help his family with medical costs to aid Jeremy in the fight, the academy will host an open mat plus a mini seminar.

There will be a raffle with prizes. The suggested donation is $25 per person but offer what you can.

The event will run from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Gilroy BJJ is located at 7560 Monterey Street #206, Gilroy, 95020.

You can also donate at http://www.gofundme.com/JerTapsLeukemia

Tap Cancer Out leader Jon Thomas presenting the grand donation. Photo: Gabriel Richard

The non-profit Tap Cancer Out raised more funds on Saturday, Aug. 16 to beat cancer through the support of the grappling community. At the Tap Cancer Out BJJ Open in Danvers, MA the tournament gathered over $20,000.

The organization is proud to announce that they will be donating a gift of $97,500 to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in order to fund two research fellows in 2014 at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. This is the largest gift to St. Baldrick’s Foundation ever by a charity partner.

Prior to this beneficiary, Tap Cancer Out spent two years funding the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in which they raised $85,000.

Learn more about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation here: http://www.stbaldricks.org/

And learn more about how to support Tap Cancer Out here: http://www.tapcancerout.org/

Check out the photo gallery of the event courtesy of Gabriel Richard: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.691694277565947.1073741838.395910250477686

This Saturday, June 21, head instructor Kabir Bath will be holding a charity seminar at his GMA academy, Kaboom BJJ in Surrey, BC. The seminar will be a no-gi experience from 12 to 2 p.m. with Kabir who is a brown belt under Rafael Lovato Jr.

The event will be donation only and support the organization, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD.

The location is 12066 86 Ave Surrey, BC Canada V3W3H7.

For more information go to www.kaboombjj.com

Relson Gracie black belt Robin Gieseler

On Jan. 11, 2014, a super charity seminar will take place in Independence, OH to support eight different charities. Each of the eight black belts instructing at the seminar will donate to important causes such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and MS.

Two black belts from GMA Relson Gracie JJ Academy Columbus, Robin Gieseler and Mark Stefanac will be teaching at the event. Other names include: Dustin Ware, Kristopher Mcleod, Bill Jones, Jay Nance, Pablo Angel Castro III and Deon Thompson.

The seminar will have each instructor teach a session so that participants can learn from many different styles and approaches. The various lessons will include self-defense, philosophy, MMA, and sport Jiu-Jitsu and be organized by experience level/rank.

Among the attendees will be UFC Coach and Mixed Martial Arts instructor Marcus Marinelli, UFC fighters Jessica Eye and Stipe Miocic, Bellator superstar Brian Rogers, as well as many others to be later announced.

The location of the seminar is at Strong Style Mixed Martial and Training Center: 6900 Granger Road, Independence, Ohio 44131

To reserve your spot, please email nhbattorney@sbcglobal.net

Fight for Charity 2 will hold its second installment of Jiu-Jitsu super matches with all proceeds going towards The GSP Foundation for Anti-Bullying on Friday, Mar 15.

It will be held starting 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Montreal- Midtown, 420 Sherbrooke West, Montreal, Quebec CA.

Tickets are $40 for general admission.

Some of the matches:

Bruno Fernandes  vs. Jake MacKenzie – Black belt gi

Murilo Santana vs. Mark Colangelo – Black belt nogi

Ryan Kellar  vs. Oliver Aubain – Brown belt nogi

Garry Tonon vs. Lee Villeneuve – Brown belt nogi

Alex Garcia vs. Michael Tremblay – Purple belt nogi

Alison Tremblay vs. Erin Herle – Purple belt gi

Kevin Charette  vs. Maxime Poulin – Purple belt nogi

Alessandro Roman vs. Yann Debonnel – Purple belt gi

Gregg King vs. Nicolas Soucy –  Purple belt gi

Dominique Trépanier vs. Mike Bryers – Blue belt nogi

Xavier Angelic Alaoui vs. Mario Periera – Blue belt nogi

Melissa Hebert vs. Mandy Holmes – Blue belt gi

Fight for Charity 2 flyer