The 2015 NY BJJ Pro rocked the grounds in Manhattan this Saturday.

We already posted some amazing pictures of the black belt finals, but there was a lot of great matches before that.

Here are the best images of what happened leading to the finals. Click on the arrows and browse through the images.

NY Pride XX. Photo: Erin Herle

The NY Pride XX held on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Baruch College in Manhattan, NY was a day full of good memories, moments and medals. Starting with the kids, Eloy Santos hyped up the future of the sport as they encircled the entire mat for a group warm-up.

And with that, they took over the mats in large numbers. Every mat featured kids as young as four facing off and enjoying their times in the limelight. There was few crying and laughs from both the competitors and the crowd ensued. It took a good few hours for the kids to complete their brackets in the gi before the adult belts entered the bullpen.

The brown belt masters and then the brown belt adults came onto the scene. A few of the matches from both brown belt adult male and purple belt adult male showed what true technique and heart together can accomplish. The matches were exciting and often went the distance. The blue and white belts also enthralled the audience as the barriers were constantly adjusted from the pressing crowd.

By the time the no-gi divisions began, the army of kids took over once again to bring the excitement and complete back and forth nature of their skills. Adult no-gi ended the day.

You can check out the full results when they’re up soon at www.lipridebjj.com

Here is a full photo album:

Lucas Lepri at LI Pride in 2010

The NY Pride XX is already filling up its athlete list. The event scheduled for Dec. 6 will be held at Baruch College in Manhattan, the heart of New York City.

The late registration period is now open but will close on Nov. 30. The prices are as follows:

Kids / Juvenile 1 Division: $85.00
Kids / Juvenile 2 Divisions: $105.00
Adults / Masters 1 Division: $95.00
Adults / Masters 2 Divisions: $115.00

Some GMA academies that have already signed up include Renzo Gracie Academy, Alliance NYC, Marcelo Garcia Academy, Soca BJJ, Vitor Shaolin Academy, C3 Athletics, and more.

You can register here: http://t360reg.com/nypride/nypride.aspx

Learn more about the tournament at www.lipride.com

The registration period for the NY Pride XX in Manhattan is coming closer to its end. But first, the discount must expire and lucky for you the deadline for the early registration period is Oct. 26.

The NY Pride will be held on Dec. 6 at Baruch College in Manhattan, NY. There are divisions available for kids, juveniles, adults and masters.

Here are the current registration prices:

Kids / Juvenile 1 Division: $75.00
Kids / Juvenile 2 Divisions: $95.00
Adults / Masters 1 Division: $85.00
Adults / Masters 2 Divisions: $105.00

The address for the venue is One Bernard Baruch Way New York, NY 10010.

You can register here: http://t360reg.com/nypride/nypride.aspx

Whether its training in a fifth floor walk-up or lugging dirty gis to the laundromat to deal with, city life definitely plays a role.

Here are the seven most commons things that will happen to you if you train Jiu-Jitsu while living in the Big Apple:

1. You might become that sweaty, smelly guy on the subway. Maybe where you train doesn’t have a shower or the line was too long and your morning commute was already calling. Maybe you just decided to wear your soaked gi pants on the trip home to shower later. Whatever it is, you just became the guy who no one wants to rub elbows with.

2. Laundry becomes a whole nother demon. If you think dragging your clothes down the street to the laundromat is a burden, try carrying forty pounds of thick, perhaps wet cotton. It can constitute as a weekend work out between getting it there and transferring it all from washer to dryer. Oh, and the cost will be twice as much since you either pay for an hour in one or divide the gis in separate dryers just to make the process a little faster.

3. Forget the warm-up at the gym. You just ran three blocks from the F train to make it to class on time and used the stairs because the elevator, if you have one in the building, was taking too long.

4. You’ve mastered the ability to carry four bags at once. Between your work clothes, your laptop bag, your gym duffle and your gi bag, your shoulders are solid. You’re ready for anything. Except a shower because you forgot your towel at home.

5. Cutting weight for tournaments is hard. It’s especially hard when your trek to the A train every day involves passing a deli, your favorite pizza place, the best espresso bar in town, a halal cart, hot bagels, frozen yogurt and some Thai food. And that’s just the first street. Good on you for having such discipline.

6. Some of the best clothing to wear during winter doubles as your training gear. Those spats and that long sleeve rash guard you’ve packed for Monday noon training also keeps you warm on your commute to the academy. Layer it all on and no one will ever know that deep down, your true colors are showing.

7. Water bottles no longer need to be bought, thrown away or left behind. Now you can buy a permanent one or claim a plastic one with a marker because New York tap is good enough to drink. Forget the $2 jug every day and sip from the sink.

Kids competing at LI Pride XVII

New York City has yet another tournament on its agenda. This time, Long Island Pride is in charge with their next event, Pride XX to be held at Baruch College in Manhattan on Dec. 6.

The athlete list is growing and the kids divisions are sure to call out the best in the area. LI Pride boasts the best tournaments for kids on the east coast.

The regular registration ends on Sunday. Oct. 26 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

The address for the venue is 55 Lexington Ave. at 24th St. New York, NY 10010.

To register, go here: http://t360reg.com/nypride/nypride.aspx

And to learn more about the tournament go to www.lipridebjj.com

Murilo Santana was the big name of the 2013 Pan No-Gi. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Tomorrow, Sept. 27, will be the day for the 2014 IBJJF Pan No-Gi champions to be crowned. The Nat Holman Gymnasium on the City College of New York Campus in Manhattan will be full of matches to both entertain and motivate.

If you’re an athlete set to compete, you can check who you’re matched up against and when your showtime is here: http://events.ibjjf.com/

Here is the schedule of divisions throughout the day, which starts at 9:30 a.m.: http://ibjjf.org/pan-gi-2014-schedule-september-27th/

The address of the venue is 160 Convent Ave. NY, NY 10031. Make sure to get there early enough for your matches, inside the bullpen to avoid being disqualified.

More information can be found at www.ibjjf.org

The 4th Big Apple BJJ Open is just around the corner on Saturday, May 17 and registration closes on May 10. The event will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr High School in Manhattan.

Special guest, Andre Galvao will hold a seminar right after the tournament on Saturday May 17 from 6 – 8 p.m.!

The cost is $80 per person but competitors are discounted to $40 per person for the first 40 that register for the seminar. The winners of all absolute divisions are able to attend for free!

Here is the full list of divisions at the tournament that can earn free admission:

Adult male white belt below 168
Adult male white belt above 168
Master male white belt below 168
Master male white belt above 168

Adult male blue belt below 168
Adult male blue belt above 168
Master male blue belt below 168
Master male blue belt above 168

Male purple belt below 168
Male purple belt above 168

Women’s white belt below 141
Women’s white belt above 141
Women’s blue belt below 141
Women’s blue belt above 141

For more information, go to www.bigapplebjjopen.com

To register, click here.

The 4th Annual Big Apple BJJ Open will be on May 17 at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in New York City. The tournament run by Vitor Shaolin of GMA VSBJJ, Jen Sung and Mario Guerrero offers the New York Jiu-Jitsu scene an opportunity to compete in a structured environment and friendly atmosphere.

Registration is still open and for a discounted price of $100 per person until April 27. After that date, the price will go up to $110 per person until registration completely closes on May 10.

Divisons are available for adults, both men and women. Please note that brown/black belt divisions are only available for males and the weight classes are 154.5 lbs, 181.5 lbs and over 181.5 lbs. Women can sign up for white, blue and purple divisions.

The location for the venue is 122 Amsterdam Avenue New York, NY 10023.

Register at this link: https://events.membersolutions.com/event_detail.asp?content_id=45915

For more information visit www.bigapplebjjopen.com

The Big Apple BJJ Open is on for its fourth edition in New York City on May 17. The organizers, GMA member Vitor Shaolin, Jen Sung and Mario Guerrero are hoping to double the amount of competitors as last year.

Helping out the BJJ community in NYC, the tournament brings together the quality competitors from all of the surrounding schools to test their skills.

Divisions are available for males and females of all belt levels.

Discounted rates for registration are now in effect until March 22 at the cost of $90 per person.

The venue of the event is in the middle of Manhattan at Martin Luther King High School: 122 Amsterdam Avenue Manhattan, NY 10023.

To find more information and reserve your spot, go to www.bigapplebjjopen.com

Blue belts at the 3rd Annual Big Apple BJJ Open. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

On Saturday May 18, New York Jiu-Jitsu athletes and even some far away visitors came together to compete at the 3rd Annual Big Apple BJJ Open. The tournament at Martin Luther King Jr. High School was a success with 322 participants from N.Y. academies and even schools that came all the way from Moscow, Russia!

Plenty of our GMA academies were present such as Vitor Shaolin Academy, Marcelo Garcia Academy, Renzo Gracie Academy, Soca BJJ, Kioto BJJ, Brooklyn Martial Arts, Gracie Barra Long Island.

The team results are as follows:

1. Vitor Shaolin BJJ 153 pts
2. Renzo Gracie 104 pts
3. Kioto BJJ 63 pts

Cash prizes were awarded to the winners of the brown/black belt divisions and the gi absolute divisions.

For the full results you can go to: http://www.bigapplebjjopen.com/results.html

Pioneers of the Big Apple Open in New York City / PhotoL Dan Rod

In less than a month, the Big Apple Open returns to its home turf on the Upper Westside of Manhattan. The tournament has been growing every year, bringing nearly 300 athletes and 65 different teams in 2012. With New York and the surrounding areas well-populated with Jiu-Jitsu academies, it’s important to create opportunities for these locals to test their skills in an organized, professional atmosphere and GMA members Vitor Shaolin, Mario Guerrero and Jen Sung are doing just that.

The first Big Apple Open started with 151 competitors and fostered a competitive day with camaraderie. With Shaolin presenting Renzo Gracie a plaque for his importance to the New York Jiu-Jitsu scene, today we can still see that type of New York pride. Be a part of your local scene, help strengthen your Jiu-Jitsu community and build your own self-confidence through competing at the Big Apple Open.

The date is set for Saturday, May 18, 2013 at Martin Luther King High School on Amsterdam and 65th street in New York City.
With even more divisions from kids to teens as well as a new seniors division, the opportunities keep extending. There will be three divisions for brown/black belt males with a monetary prize for the winner of each division of $300! Absolute division winners also get prizes.

Registration is still open, and only $100 until April 27, 2013. Use the code YOUTH to register kids.

All questions can be directed to: bigapplebjj@gmail.com or phone inquiries at 212-957-4045

For more information and to register please go here: http://www.bigapplebjjopen.com/

Hope to see you at the event!