Beatriz Mesquita earns open weight gold. Photo: Dan Rod

The female black belts at the 2014 World Championship completed their matches on Sunday, June 3. The finals came with some calm moments and some completely insane moments.

Rooster

Shiho Yaginuma vs. Marcelo Lawton. Photo: Erin Herle

The roosterweight final came between Marcela Lawton of New England United BJJ and Shiho Yaginuma of Nexusense. Both came out of a round robin as there were three in the division. Marcela pulled guard and as Shiho attempted to pass, there were no advantages or points made. The referee decision went to Shiho Yaginuma.

Light-feather

Ariadne de Oliveira vs. Gezary Bandeira. Photo: Erin Herle

The light-featherweight division came down to Gezary Bandeira of American Top Team and new black belt Ariadne de Oliveira Mestre Wilson. The match was one of the most aggressive of the day as both females were dynamic and as competitors are submission-oriented. Ariadne earned two points for a takedown and Gezary worked her spider guard. Gezary swept and passed and then was able to get another two points for knee-on-belly ending the match at 7-2 in Gezary’s favor making her the world champion.

Feather

Michelle Nicolini vs. Tammi Musumeci. Photo: Erin Herle

The featherweight category ended with Michelle Nicolini of Checkmat and new black belt Tammi Musumeci of Atos. As Tammi worked the berimbolo position, she neared the backtake but Michelle recovered two times and attempted to attack Tammi’s feet and knees in the meantime. On the third attempt, Michelle recovered again but Tammi went for the omoplata. Michelle defended, sat back as Tammi swept and Michelle was able to go to her guard and attacked the arm of Tammi with a spider guard hook on the far side. Michelle pulled the far arm of Tammi who remained in a seated position and defended the armbar instead, leaving her left arm extended over her back which then dislocated the shoulder and elbow. Michelle let go and Tammi continued fighting in the match and Michelle swept, went into mount and as Tammi reversed back into Michelle’s guard, the time ran out. Michelle won 13-6 in points and the crowd stood in a standing ovation for Tammi’s heart and perseverance.

Light

Beatriz Mesquita vs. Luiza Monteiro. Photo: Erin Herle

The lightweight division came down to Luiza Monteiro of Cicero Costha and Beatriz Mesquita of Gracie Humaita. Bia earned a sweep to earn her two points and the match mostly stayed in this position. Near the end of the match Luiza was able to earn a sweep however Bia bounced back and Luiza only earned the advantage. Time ran out and Bia earned another world title with a 2-0 point lead.

Middle

Vanessa Oliveira vs. Janni Larsson. Photo: Erin Herle

The middleweight final was between Vanessa Oliveira of GFTeam and new black belt Janni Larsson of Checkmat. They both pulled guard and Vanessa came up for an advantage and the majority of the match stayed in this position. Janni was able to threaten a sweep and try for a footlock to earn the 2-0 advantage lead that gave her the first world title of her career.

Medium-heavy

Hannette Staack vs. Ana Laura Cordeiro. Photo: Erin Herle

The middleweight category was between veteran Hannette Staack of Brazil-021 and Ana Laura Cordeiro of Gracie Barra who was out of competition for years due to a serious back injury. Hannette jumped guard and Ana Laura pushed to half guard. Hannette waited patiently and was able sweep but Ana Laura reacted quickly and recovered to her feet. She then pulled and swept adn went back into top half to work the pass. Hannette swept and went into Ana Laura’s closed guard but was unable to earn the points or advantages for the win. Ana Laura remained undefeated in her career winning with a 2-2 point and 2-1 advantage lead.

Heavy

Andresa Correa vs Fernanda Mazzelli. Photo: Erin Herle

The heavyweight final was between Fernanda Mazzelli of Striker JJ and Andresa Correa of Alliance. Andresa pulled guard and was able to sweep to earn two. While she attempted a pass Fernanda Mazzelli recovered but Andresa pushed to half earning another advantage. At the end, Fernanda was able to sweep but it wasn’t enough and the final score was 2-2 points, 5-2 advantages with 2-0 penalty giving Andresa the world title.

Super-heavy

Andrea McComb Pereira vs. Venla Luukkonen. Photo: Erin Herle

The super-heavyweight final was between Andrea McComb Pereira of Gracie Humaita and Venla Luukkonen of Hilti BJJ Jykaskyla. Venla took Andrea down, passed her guard and mounted. She was able to secure the armbar for the world title.

Open weight

The open weight division was between two gold medalists, Beatriz Mesquita and Michelle Nicolini. The two pulled at the same time and stayed in double guard position for enough time to earn two penalties each. Michelle came up to get an advantage and Bia swept Michelle for two points. Michelle attempted a quick triangle and went straight for the arm but Bia recovered and worked a pass until the end of the match as Michelle worked constant sweep attempts. In the last thirty seconds Bia passed Michelle’s guard and almost took her back as time ended. The final score was 5-0 points, 3-2 advantages and 2-2 penalties. Bia earned her double gold.

See the full results here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000272/en-US/Results.pdf

See a full photo album here.

Outi Jarvilehto with the gold. Photo: Erin Herle

For the first time in the history of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships, the females had a roosterweight category. On the second day of the 2014 World Championship in Long Beach, CA, the blue and purple belt females of the new division entered the mat.

The purple belts had 11 while the blue belts had 20 in the roosterweight category, the fifth and fourth most populated divisions respectively. This proves that there have been many females often too light to be in the light-featherweight division, the lowest division prior to now. Don’t let the baggi gis fool you because many of these women struggled until now, where the two champions of the second day at the Worlds have earned their gold in their own division.

Blue belt

Katie Yamashita with the win. Photo: Erin Herle

Katie Yamashita of Alliance at Cobrinha BJJ was able to earn the gold in the blue belt category after previous attempts to bulk up to a stronger weight as a light-featherweight. Katie had five matches with one submission. Her toughest match came when she was put in closed guard because “I train a lot of open guard but not a lot of closed guard defense”.

She began training in Jiu-Jitsu three years ago in her boyfriend’s garage where she trained for a year before moving to Cobrinha’s where her boyfriend trains. Now she trains five times a week while working full-time and works out three times a week. Last year she lost at the Pans and the Worlds because she her spider guard was “smashed” in the light-featherweight category.

Triangle set-up in the final. Photo: Erin Herle

“I feel like having the roosterweight division is more fair. It’s supposed to be about technique and when I was in light-feather I struggled because I was smaller,: she explains. The difference in opponents came in loud and clear. In the future she plans to continue her strength and conditioning to keep training hard and keep getting stronger.

Purple belt

Outi in the final. Photo: Erin Herle

The purple belt roosterweight gold was claimed by Brasa CTA athlete Outi Järvilehto from Finland. The 27-year-old veterinarian had three matches with two submissions in the form of a choke from the back and an armbar. Her toughest match against Maria Henderson was decided in literally the last two seconds as she secured an armbar submission while down by two points.

As a full-time veterinarian she works both the morning shift and the night shift but still tries to train twice a day with strength and conditioning as well. “I don’t always get to do all the training that I plan” she says, but she makes it in as often as she can.

She has been training a total of seven years in Finland but for the last three years she and her boyfriend, Tuomas Tammelehto, have traveled to the camp under Caio Terra that is held one week prior to the Worlds tournament. Her academy, Oulun Kamppailuklubi is under Brasa and Demian Maia and led by her professor, Tomi Kaaerela and Tuomas.

You can check out the partial results so far of the 2014 World Championship here. And albums of photos on the Graciemag Facebook page here.

Both ends of the spectrum. Photo: Erin Herle

Last month the IBJJF announced that females of both adult and master divisions will have two new weight classes: rooster and super-heavy. The additions came after much noise was made for the smallest and the tallest women who wanted a category to themselves.

The female categories vary from the men categories. Their rooster is not ours. Their heaviest will never be our heaviest. But even so, we’ve been expanding our numbers so the divisions should cater to these developments.

As of now the lightest category for the females is light-feather with a weight limit of 118 lbs or 53.5 kg. For the petite, this can be frustrating when the ladies who cut down to the weight are having an easier time than those who try to gain the weight to be closer to the limit. On the other end of the spectrum, the heavyweight category as of now starts above 163.3 lbs or 74 kg and has no cap on the weight limit. So those who are above that weight must fight every other person ho could possibly outweigh them by more than the normal bracket difference, around twelve pounds at most.

The IBJJF has secured the new weight division limits and they will be in effect starting at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship May 28 – June 1. As with every tournament, weigh-ins are handled when an athlete is checked in for their first match. All weigh-ins are done with the gi on so make sure you take into account the weight of your chosen competition gi if you plan on cutting down a division.

Here are the new categories:

Rooster: 107 lbs or 48.5 kg

Super-heavy: over 175 lbs or 79.3 kg with no limit.

Female athletes in the heavyweight division can now compete against those who are more aimed towards their size and the heaviest category can narrow down those most similar in weight.

While the registrations currently open for the IBJJF city tournaments such as Boston Open, New York Open, Boca Raton Open, Las Vegas Open, Copenhagen Open and others will have the same weight classes. The rooster and super-heavy will only apply to the Worlds and after.

Registration for the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship will open soon and give female athletes a chance to join those closer to their weight if they have struggled in the past with losing or gaining the weight necessary to match their opponents.

Check out more information about IBJJF and their events at www.ibjjf.org

Sophia and the Australian Girls in Gis camp. Photo: Personal Archive

The weekend of Feb. 15-16 was a huge weekend for women in Jiu-Jitsu. Almost 95 women joined together to participate in one of the largest women’s BJJ event in the world! The event organized by purple belt Jess Fraser was a weekend camp that was open to all women of all ages and all levels from any academy.

It was a weekend where everyone could get together and learn and share experiences with no politics and no competition.  The head instructor, Australia’s first female black belt, Pan-Am and No-Gi World champion Sophia McDermott Drysdale, taught two sessions each day and gave advice about training during pregnancy. She also shared how to deal with the changes both physically and mentally of being a mother and an athlete.

Australian Girls in Gis is a huge community that provides support to all female Australian athletes and as a result, the overall standard of women in Jiu-Jitsu has increased dramatically.

“It is great to see the sport growing so rapidly where there are almost 100 women on the mat at one time,” says Sophia.

In July, Sophia is scheduled to teach a camp in Mexico alongside Mackenzie Dern.

For more information about Sophi McDermott Drysdale and her home of GMA Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas, visit www.drysdalebjj.com

The females wait for their matches at the 2013 Abu Dhabi WPJJC. Photo: Erin Herle

The trials for the Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championship are among us. The first to announce their official dates are the new Los Angeles trial on September 22 and the annual New York trial on October 20 this year.

As with every year, new changes have evolved the tournament along with the opportunities for those hoping to participate. For the women, the purple belts have been separated from the brown and black belts. Not only do they have their own division, there are two open weight divisions, below and above 140 pounds. If you place in any of the five weight divisions, you’re eligible to compete in the appropriate open weight division and earn a travel package.

Also improved is the now brown and black belt combined division. They no longer must compete with the purple belts and there are five chances to gain a travel package by just winning a weight category with no open weight division necessary.

The blue/white belt division also has two open weight categories so combined, there are nine travel packages available for the females, a huge improvement since the previous year.

It is also important to note that for the male divisions, the brown belts have officially separated from the black belts giving two opportunities in the light and heavy open weight divisions to earn a travel package. The previous year had the brown and black belts combined in the trials but at the main event, the brown belts had their own categories.

To sign up for the Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championship trials in Los Angeles and New York, visit www.americasprojiujitsu.com

Don’t miss a chance to learn from seven-time world champion Hannette Staack in Dallas, Texas. On Saturday, August 24, the GMA member and co-leader of Brazil-021 Academy will be in the lone star state for a three-hour seminar.

The cost is $50 per person or free for Fenom Kimonos customers and private lessons are available for $100 each. The time is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at RCJ Machado: 4887 Alpha Road #270, Farmers Branch, TX 75244.

The capacity is already at 60% so reserve your spot now by clicking here.

Fernanda Mazzelli emotional after defeating Hannette Staack. Photo: Erin Herle

The finals of the 2013 World Championship for the females start Sunday, June 2 at the Long Beach Walter Pyramid. Saturday began the process of narrowing down each division for the two finalists to meet the following day.

Light-feather: Gezary Metuda Kubis vs. Nyjah Easton

Nyjah had one match against Kanako Inaba whom she defeated in order to move into the finals. Gezary defeated Sofia Amarante and moved on to face current Pan American champion Miriam Cardoso who had a bye. She finished the match with an armbar and moved on to the finals.

Feather: Luiza Monteiro vs. Marina Ribeiro

Luiza had a bye then faced Ana Carolina Lebre whom she defeated by points to move to the final. Marina Ribeiro also had a bye and faced Mackenzie Dern whom she defeated by points as well to move into the final.

Light: Fabiana Borges vs. Beatriz Mesquita

Fabiana had a bye and faced Nadia Rodrigues whom she defeated by a choke from the back to secure her place in the final. Beatriz also had a bye and faced Tracey Goodell whom she defeated by points.

Middle: Luanna Alzuguir vs. Vanessa Oliveira

Luanna had a bye then defeated Shanti Abelha by points to advance to the final. Vanessa defeated Sharol de Freitas then Ida Hansson by points to move to the final.

Medium-Heavy: Michelle Nicolini vs. Fernanda Mazzelli

Michelle beat Karen Miller then submitted Talita Nogueira with and armbar to move to the final. Fernanda had a bye since Leticia chose not to fight then defeated Hannette Staack by points to move to the final.

Heavy: Gabi Garca vs. Andresa Correa

Gabi defeated Luzia do Carmo Peixao by armbar and Andresa defeated Luzia Santana to move to the finals as teammates.

Open weight: Gabi Garcia vs. Beatriz Mesquita

You can read the play-by-play of the black belt female open weight division here.

Watch the finals tomorrow on www.ibjjftv.com and follow the live coverage on our Google+ page!

[flickr set=72157633872009872]

2013 Jiu-Jitsu by the Sea Summer Invitational

The registration for the 2013 Jiu-Jitsu by the Sea Summer Invitational is now open. The tournament held by Claudio Franca will be on June 15 and early registration ends June 3 so make sure you sign up before then. The prices will go from $35 to $45 for kids and $50 to $60 for adults after the discount window closes.

The tournament will be located at GMA Claudio Franca Jiu-Jitsu Academy: 2-1507 East Cliff Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95062

There will be divisions for kids of all ages and belts, juveniles, adults, females, masters and also a senior division for belts white to purple.

With a new refund policy, you will have your registration fee refunded if you have no matches the day of the event.

Sign up now and get your summer competition in the books. For more information and to sign up please visit www.claudiofrancabjj.com

More females are gathering to compete on the mats of the 2013 World Championship. Photo: Erin Herle

For the next reason of our 18 to be part of the 2013 World Championship in honor of its 18th year, we’re coaxing the women to come out on the mats. The competitions are growing with numbers spilling over into higher ranks as the years go on and dedicated athletes remain with the art. A part of that succession involves a fraction of persistent women.

So reason #6 is:

Get the females on the mat to prove the evolution of women in Jiu-Jitsu.

If you’re a female who competes, you’ll be glad to know that we are growing in numbers. If you look at the white and blue belts, the divisions are packed. Purple belts are coming in strong by filling up brackets and the brown and black belts are inviting more to follow their footsteps.

The first female black belt world champion was Leka Vieira in 1999 when the number of women competing could be counted on one hand. In previous years, Leka was claimed champion in many tournaments but only because she was the only one registered. Today, we have multiple female black belt world champions who continue to pioneer the upcoming competitors and strengthen the leadership for those looking to follow their paths.

As of now there are over 20 competitors in some of the blue and purple belt weight divisions. Watch out for the females if you’re a spectator and compete with me at the mundials May 29 – June 2 located at the Long Beach Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA. Register now if you’re a female competitor to be a part of the evolution. Register at www.ibjjf.org

See one of Leka’s 1999 Mundial matches below:

Three females from Brazil 021 and three medals at the 2013 IBJJF NY Open. Photo: Erin Herle

GMA members Andre Terencio and Hannette Staack are active representatives of the Jiu-Jitsu community. Andre is a well-respected referee for the IBJJF who can be seen working on the mats at prestigious tournaments as well as the various opens around the country all year long. Hannette Staack is considered one of the best female black belts of all time, gaining her first world champion title in 2002, and continuing on to win six more. Still an active competitor today, she also teaches at her Chicago based Brazil 021 academy to lead women on the mats for both self-defense and competition should they choose to pursue her same path.

In the video below, Brazil 021 instructors demonstrate the type of women’s self-defense training they provide at their headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Shown in the video are three females who recently went along with Andre to the 2013 IBJJF New York Open and came out victorious with three medals.

Blue belts Kristin Martin and Kristen Mikkelson both took home gold in their divisions, light feather and light. Purple belt Sharon Gosun received a silver medal in her light feather division as well.

See how Hannette Staack and the Brazil 021 team is building their numbers of women on the mat and keeping them in the sport through proper guidance and leadership. From self defense to competition, it’s important to know it all.

Royce Gracie, a symbol of Jiu-Jitsu efficiency as an art of defense, during a visit to the Valente brothers in Miami. Photo: Disclosed

You’ve certainly heard that Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most complete self defense systems that are useful for women, senior and children.

But how does this work in practice?

The grandmasters Carlos and Helio Gracie developed a program of 36 basic lessons, involving about a hundred Jiu-Jitsu techniques. From the repetition of such movements, the student prepares his or her subconscious to react by pure reflex to a variety of attacks by angry people.

Valente brothers, professors at Gracie Miami, faithful to the method, show in this video how the techniques work and how they fit well to women.

Go to a Jiu-Jitsu gym and ask for a sample class. And don’t forget to take women you love with you.