Jorge Britto and his armdrag at Jiu Jitsu For Life Team.

A teacher at Jiu Jitsu For Life Team in Toronto, Canada, today Jorge Britto brings you a lesson — taught in English — on how to easily apply the armdrag from the closed guard.

The position, a specialty of his team, is employed naturally by many of his students, and this tip could end up making your guard game more dangerous.

The detail is the grip on the collar and under his opponent’s armpit to make him break the grip and create the necessary movement to land on the armdrag without wasting any force. After locking the arm, there is a wide range of moves available: Armbars, sweeps, advancing towards the mount and taking the back are just a few of the possibilities.

Watch it here:

Jorge Britto com seu armdrag da fechada na Jiu Jitsu For Life Team. Foto: Reprodução

Professor na nossa GMI Jiu Jitsu For Life Team, no Canadá, Jorge Britto mostra sua arapuca para aplicar com facilidade o armdrag na guarda fechada.

A posição, carro-chefe da sua equipe, é aplicada com naturalidade por boa parte dos seus alunos, e a dica ensinada pelo faixa-preta pode fazer seu jogo de guarda ainda mais perigoso.

O detalhe de Jorge fica para a pegada feita na gola e por baixo da axila do inimigo, para fintar o mesmo a estourar a pegada e criar o movimento necessário para cair no armdrag, sem desperdício de força. Após travar o braço, o leque de opções é extenso: armlocks, raspagens e avanço para a montada e pegada de costas são apenas algumas das possibilidades.

Confira no vídeo abaixo!

Toronto BJJ crew. Photo by Marc Bourgeois 

TorontoBJJ, representing Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu, captured another IBJJF team title in Canada, at the recent IBJJF Montreal Open.

Competing against the two big local teams, BTT Canada and Gracie Barra, the race for the first place was a thrill.

Great performances of athletes like David Krimus (double gold – purple belt), Dainis Nguyen (double gold-brown belt) and Sarah Smith (double gold – blue belt), secured important points for the overall run.

TorontoBJJ, lead by Professor Jorge Britto, finishes another great year with the two only IBJJF team titles in Canada. Know more about the team at torontobjj.com.

Toronto BJJ team at the podium

With more than 100 points ahead of the second place, TorontoBJJ, Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu association, won on October 10 the Toronto Open, the most prestigious tournament in the region.

The purple belt was one of the most stacked divisions and the standout was David Krimus.

With a very aggressive and technical style, he captured the middleweight and the absolute division, eliminating some of the best prospects athletes of Ontario.

At the brown belt division, Darson Hemmings and Dainis Nguyen closed out the absolute division for the team.

Winners on the black belt adult division, Giacomo Zanini, Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu representative in Vancouver, and Jorge Britto, head instructor at Toronto BJJ, captured gold on their respective divisions, the superheavy and medium-heavy.

GMA member Jorge Britto of Toronto BJJ is leading the way for his team to be great. Whether in competition or just training, they are improving their lives and keeping the BJJ spirit alive.

Check out this annual highlight of the team from their great year:

Learn more at www.torontobjj.com

The whole team at Toronto BJJ and other affiliates. Photo: Vernon Anthony Kee

Professor Jorge Britto and his students from Toronto BJJ, a proud Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu representative, including affiliates 905 BJJ, Stratford BJJ and MTC Windsor celebrated another year together with their 6th annual in-house tournament and belt promotions recently in Toronto, Canada.

Over 200 students of all ages and belt levels competed in the end-of-year tournament held on four mats with IBJJF rules that included special male and female no-gi divisions and a brown belt absolute division. For many it was their first time tasting competition and experiencing a real tournament. For others it was another chance to sharpen their skills in front of family and friends with familiar training partners.

To begin the event, the students from the kids and teens programs provided an impressive demonstration of traditional BJJ self-defense and modern BJJ.

The new black belts. Photo: Personal archive

Additionally, Toronto BJJ celebrated many promotions as students reached the next level in their BJJ journey. Most notably nine students, some of who are also instructors at Toronto BJJ, reached the level of black belt! The new black belts in Toronto are: Nathan Rector, Michael Zaniewski, Firdavs Sulaimonov, Mike Nomikos, Eyal Cinamon, Sandro Tucci, John Serio and Steve Ramos.

The total of 100 new belts:

Adult
7 x Green
25 x Blue
6 x Purple
16 x Brown
9 x Black

Kids / Teens
6 x Grey/white
6 x Grey
2 x Grey/black
5 x Yellow/white
7 x Yellow
5 x Orange/white
4 x Orange
1 x Green
1 x Blue

Andrea Martyn receives her award. Photo: Personal archive

Furthermore, two students, Andrea Martyn and Nicolas received the Seana Rossi Award for their display of the warrior spirit in 2014. This award honors the legacy of student Seana who passed away in 2012 after a long fight with cancer and whose memory and spirit still inspires and motivates the team to this day. Seana’s parents alongside TBJJ Director Josh Rapport presented each award.

The academy also collected food donations for The Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto with a goal of collecting 1000 kg of contributions for the holiday season.

Professor Jorge Britto surprised with a birthday cake. Photo: Personal archive

To finish the day the team surprised Professor Britto with a cake to combine the day’s celebration with his birthday. Keeping up with tradition, the group picture was captured and the party came to a close after another successful event was in the history books.

Congratulations to everyone at Toronto BJJ and we look forward to hearing of more success in 2015!

Learn more about Toronto BJJ at www.torontobjj.com

James Puopolo wins double gold. Photo: Martin Nguyen/Toronto BJJ Scene

The 2013 IBJJF Toronto Open was held this past weekend on Aug. 2 at Ryerson University.

Overall, the local teams had a great time testing their skills against one another. By the end of the day, however, the Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu team outscored the other teams by more than doubling the second place.

Here is how the team trophies were distributed:

1 – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu – 192
2 – Action & Reaction Mixed Martial Arts Toronto – 93
3 – Gracie Barra – 50

The teams receiving their team trophies. Photo: Martin Nguyen/Toronto BJJ Scene

This is the third year in a row that Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu has won first place as a team at the Toronto Open.

For the black belts, Rafael Lovato Jr.’s black belt form Oregon was able to claim the double gold in adult divisions. James Puopolo won gold in the super-heavyweight division and the absolute.

GMA member Daniel Alvarez of Alvarez BJJ brought home gold in his black belt master 2 featherweight division and Jorge Britto of GMA Toronto BJJ won his black belt adult heavyweight division.

Check out the full results here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000297/en-US/Results.pdf

And see a full photo album by Martin Nguyen of Toronto BJJ Scene here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.929764380372228.1073742030.192240324124641

Professor Jorge Britto promoted one of his long-time students Thomas Beach to black belt with the help of Xande. In this video you can see just how emotional the promotion was for everyone involved.

Watch the special moment and try not to leak from your eyes!

Check out more about Professor Jorge Britto and GMA Toronto BJJ at www.torontobjj.com

The legendary Xande Ribeiro will be in Toronto later this month. GMA Toronto BJJ will host two seminars on July 26 & 27 for any student who would like to learn from this icon.

There will be seminars for both beginners and advanced students. Advanced students are determined by blue belt and up.

If you would like to attend both seminars, the cost is $175 and the cost is $125 if you can only make it to one.

Toronto BJJ is located at 813 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON

To reserve your spot call 416-744-6868 and to learn more about Toronto BJJ visit www.torontobjj.com

Learn more about Toronto BJJ at www.torontobjj.com

Traveling from Canada, they have prepared for their chance to be world champions:

Catch their results at the World Championship which will be held from May 29 – June 1. Learn more about GMA Toronto BJJ at www.torontobjj.com

Kids at the Spartanos Complex Project in Brazil. Photo: Personal Archive

GMA member Jorge Britto supports a a new project called the “Spartanos Complex Project” to provide a way for at-risk children to develop through learning Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil by his friend Anderson Ribeiro.

Here is what he has to say about it:

My name is Jorge Britto; I am a 2nd degree black belt under Saulo Ribeiro and head instructor at Toronto BJJ Mixed Martial Arts academy. What is more important than all of my accomplishments and positions though, are that I am also a father, a brother, a son, and a human being.

Jiu-Jitsu has been an incredible, life changing force for me. It has tested and will always test me, making me a better person. It has sharpened my will power and improved my character. These improvements in turn made life off of the mats better… I can see more clearly, and I can overcome more obstacles with the tools that Jiu-Jitsu has provided me. The best way for me to show my gratitude for these wonderful gifts, is by helping to spread the benefits to those who need it most.

There are sons, daughters, brothers and sisters out there who have only known the most violent environment. Many of them don’t know where their next meal will come from, and in some cases will have to do terrible things to get that meal. Right now there are people doing what they can to help them get out of the darkness; and I would like to humbly ask that you give back through the sport that has given to you.

My friend and Gracie Humaita black belt Anderson Ribeiro has started an incredible project to aid these troubled youths; and he needs your help.

The “Spartanos Complex Project” is providing Jiu-Jitsu instruction, medical attention, nutrition, and most importantly –a place to go where the values of honesty, courage, loyalty, family, and hard work can be instilled. Its beginnings are humble but through donations and support they are looking to give better help and to more people who need it.

Right now the project is in its infancy and Anderson Ribeiro is helping as many as he can, with a few old mats and rooftop training area. But to provide a better environment for these children he needs to make improvements to the training area, protect the mats from the elements, provide counseling and medical assistance to the children, as well as nutrition and opportunities that they would otherwise never have access to.

This is the most important aspect of this project, to provide a better starting point and life skills so that they can grow as human beings and escape the life they were born into. Arte Suave – “The Gentle Art” isn’t about building fighters, it’s about building better people. The “Spartanos Complex Project” is about allowing other human beings the opportunity to grow and develop themselves, provide greater social integration, and give a chance to someone who wasn’t given any chances to start with.

To support this worthy endeavor you can make financial donations (to cover medical, counseling, facility improvement, and building maintenance costs) as well as donations of gis, supplements, and training equipment. If you are a business owner and would like to sponsor or otherwise support this project, that would also be greatly appreciated.

For more information on the project and what you can do, please visit the following website: http://spartanoscomplexproject.com/