Aldo “Caveirinho” Januario will teach at GB Manhattan Beach. Photo: Graciemag archive

Professor Rodrigo Freitas, head instructor of GMA Gracie Barra Manhattan Beach, is excited to announce that his very own professor will be in town.

Professor Aldo “Caveirinha” Januario will be at GB Manhattan Beach for a seminar on Oct. 31.

The seminar will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. at the academy which is located at: 5225 W. Rosecrans Ave Hawthorne, CA 90250.

For more information please go to www.gbmanhattanbeach.com

Second degree black belt and head instructor of Gracie Barra Nottingham, Victor Estima, will be at GMA Gracie Barra Manhattan on October 16 to teach a seminar.

The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and it is open to everyone, all teams and affiliations.

Gracie Barra Manhattan Beach, home to Professor Rodrigo Freitas, is located at 5225 Rosecrans Ave. Hawthorne, CA 90250.

The cost per person is $60 but GB members can receive a discount at the front desk.

Find out more about GB Manhattan Beach at www.gbmanhattanbeach.com

The belt levels grow from white belt to orange belt to all the way up to brown belt. The ages range from teenager to mother but the appreciation for Jiu-Jitsu, no matter the specific reason, is a shared thread. They all come from Gracie Barra schools in Northridge, Irvine, Dana Point and more.

Some compete, some train for the health benefits, some appreciate the confidence they gain and all of them recommend Jiu-Jitsu for everyone.

Check out the video of this women’s class at GB Manhattan Beach and see how, why, where, you can and should train Jiu-Jitsu:

Learn more about GMA Gracie Barra Manhattan Beach at www.gbmanhattanbeach.com

Kenny Johnson wrestling seminar at GB Manhattan Beach. Photo: Personal Archive

With the no-gi tournament season heating up, the training must start now. GMA Gracie Barra Manhattan Beach is on top of it with black belt competitor and professor Rodrigo Freitas in the lead.

On July 19, the academy held a wrestling seminar with one of the top coaches today, Kenny Johnson. Having trained under the legendary Dan Gable at the University of Iowa, he is now a wrestling expert for UFC fighters like Anderson Silva, Roger Gracie, Lyoto Machida, BJ Penn, Jose Aldo, Paul Daley and more. The class helped students with details of takedowns.

A new class will be added to the schedule next month, stay tuned for more details as they come by visiting the GB Manhattan Beach website: www.GBManhattanBeach.com

Check out a video of the seminar:

PROFESSOR:

Black Belt Rodrigo Freitas

ADDRESS: 5225 West Rosecrans Ave
Hawthorne, CA 90250

PHONE: 310 536 9030

WEBSITE: www.gbmanhattanbeach.com

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/graciebarramb

ABOUT:

Our School welcomes everyone and anyone who is looking to get in shape, learn self-defense, and improve the overall quality of their lives.

We are part of the legendary Gracie Barra, a worldwide Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu organization with hundreds of Schools around the globe. Our Professors and Instructors were trained under the Gracie Barra Curriculum created by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. and our Head Instructor and 3rd degree black belt Professor Marcio Feitosa supervises their work.

We strive to touch as many lives as we can through the art of Jiu-Jitsu.  We welcome anyone who is interested in learning more about the benefits of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

VIDEO:

Laercio Fernandes and Giva Santana. Photos: Deb Blyth.

In the adult light featherweight final, Caio Terra of Gracie Fighter faced Laercio Fernandes of Lotus Club BJJ. Terra, coming off his big win in the open class the day before, told GRACIEMAG.com on Saturday that he was unsure whether he wouldo compete in his division on Sunday because of a back injury he suffered in his open matches. However, he chose to compete anyway, and he and Fernandes went at it, with Fernandes pulling off the big win.

Fernandes won on points, 4-2. “It was a hard fight,” an excited Fernandes says, “He’s a world champion. I trained really hard for this tournament.” This was Fernandes’s ninth tournament of the year.

“I had a good experience,” he says, “I’m very happy I got to fight Caio Terra. Thanks to my master, Giva Santana, and to my team.” Next up for Fernandes: the No-Gi Worlds in November.

In the adult featherweight division, the final was between Wellington “Megaton” Dias of Gracie Humaita and Samir Chantre of Gracie Fighter. Chantre won with an arm bar. “I pulled guard, swept him, and then fell into mount,” Chantre says, “He tried to push me off and he extended his arm. I caught it, waited for my points, and then went to the arm bar.”

Samir Chantre

Chantre says he uses this sweep often. There is no name for it, but it seems to work for him when he applies it because he recently won another tournament with it. “I’m not totally stabilized when I do it, so everyone tries to push me off and they extend their arm,” he says.

In the semifinals, he was excited to face Baret Yoshida. Chantre and Yoshida have a personal competition going. “He beat me in the 2009 No-Gi Worlds,” Chantre says, “This was a rematch. He tapped me out last time. This time I won by an advantage.”

Chantre competed in the black belt open on Saturday, but did not medal. He lost in the last thirty seconds of his match. He tried the same sweep maneuver on a heavier competitor, but he pulled his arm back, so Chantre didn’t get the submission he was looking for, but Chantre was still happy with his performance. “Caio Terra is my training partner and roommate and he has been helping me a lot,” he says.

Rodrigo Simoes and his GB Team

In the adult lightweight division finals, Rodrigo Simões from Gracie Barra Manhattan Beach competed against Zak Maxwell of Gracie Humaitá and won on points. “I pulled to guard,” a happy Simões says, “I swept him, then he swept me, and then I swept him again.” After all the back-and-forthing, it became a bit of a “dog fight” at the end as Maxwell fought to pick up points before time ran out. Simões ended up winning 4-2 to pick up the gold in his division.

Simões competed in the open class the day before, but did not medal. He won his first match by an advantage, but got caught in an arm triangle to Caio Terra in his second match.

“I trained really hard for this tournament,” Simões said, “I’ve been taking a special conditioning class with Kayron Gracie, Fabiana Borges, and Mikey Gomez. It’s really been helping.” Simões’s next stop will be the New York No-Gi Pan.

In the adult medium weight class, the division ended with Ryan Beauregard and Clark Gracie, both of BJJ Revolution, in the finals. They tried to come up with a gentleman’s agreement, but were unable to come to terms, so they decided to compete for the gold, with Gracie tapping Beauregard out to win it.

Clark Gracie

Gracie says that he and Beauregard couldn’t agree on who should take the gold and all that talk got him out of his zone. “I came out not in tune for the fight,” he says, “It was hard to go 100% against a friend, but as soon as I felt his intensity, it woke me up, and I knew I had to match it.”

Beauregard was winning 4-0 when he ended up in Gracie’s guard. “I finished the match with an omoplata,” Gracie says, “I choked him from that position.” Gracie later informed GRACIEMAG.com that the referee told him the score should have been 4-2 because he hadn’t counted Gracie’s takedown. Regardless, the points were not a factor because of Gracie’s submission.

Gracie’s first divisional match was against Marcelo Mafra. “It was a good fight,” he says, “I had never competed against him before, so I didn’t know his game. I played it safe.”

This is Gracie’s fourth time winning a gold at the American Nationals in other belts. “This is my first medal as a black belt,” Gracie says. He received his coveted belt on May 29, 2010 from his father Carley Gracie. “I’m really excited to be stepping up as a black belt,” Gracie says, “I’m getting ready to face the best guys in the world.”

Gracie is now back training and teaching at his academy, Gracie La Jolla, in San Diego, but he will be back facing all the best guys in the world at the 2010 No-Gi Worlds, which he won last year as a brown belt.

At adult medium heavyweight, Marco “Sharpei” Machado from Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu and Bruno Antunes from Gracie Barra found themselves in the final together again. They met in the same position at the Las Vegas Open, with the same results. Machado took gold again.

Machado’s first match was DQ’d, so Antunes was Machado’s first and final fight. Machado won by five advantage points. “I went to take him down, and he tried to fight on top. After a couple of minutes, I pulled to guard. I laid a lot of pressure.” Machado almost passed his guard twice and almost took his back twice.

“I had a lot of fun,” he says, “I like this tournament.” Machado is proud of his Drysdale team. “Our team is growing a lot. Everybody fights really well.” Machado will be at the Miami Open in October and then the No-Gi Worlds in November.

In the super heavy adult division, Bruno Bastos of Nova União, not fully recovered from his loss to Caio Terra in the absolute on Saturday, won his first and final match against Alberto Silva Vilanova from Gracie Barra and took home the gold for his academy.

“I swept him, then passed his guard,” Bastos says, “We both got penalties in the match because we weren’t moving. I passed his guard again and won by points.” Bastos says at one point Vilanova almost got him in a guillotine. “I almost tapped,” he says, “Then I heard Gustavo (Dantas) say ‘there’s only one minute thirty seconds left,’ so I tried to control my breathing and I was able to escape. He was a really tough guy.”

Bastos says he was still tired from the open and he refereed all day, so that had an impact on his performance, but he carried on anyway. “I have to support the sport to keep it growing,” he says, “It’s a pleasure to help grow it in the U.S.”

This was Bastos’s first time at the American Nationals. “I really liked it,” he says, “Gustavo Dantas brought lots of students and I brought some, too, but I hope to bring more next year to get a trophy. Thanks to Nova União and Octagon in Dallas for their support.”

Leandro Santos and Stephen Hall

In the adult ultra heavy weight class, Leandro Santos of Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu fought Stephen Hall of Alliance and won the gold medal for his efforts. Santos was coming off a third place win in the absolute.

Santos hadn’t competed in over a year because of a triceps injury. “I felt more confident today than yesterday,” Santos says, “Everything was clearer today. I was able to move better and think clearer. I pulled guard to feel him out and ended up in his guard. I was able to pass. I felt loose by the end of the fight.”

Santos wasn’t feeling 100% at the tournament. “I was more confident in my grip exchanging, but I can’t grip well. I missed so many competitions. I was only performing at about 40% this weekend.”

Santos says during the open class on Saturday, he felt foggy and was late getting into positions. “Competing is way different than in the gym,” he says, “Split-second decisions count and I definitely paid for my mistakes. Thanks to Saulo and Xande for being my masters, and Cory Miller, Gazze and Mica for all their support inside and outside the mats.”