Keenan vs. Mike Fowler

The registration period for the 2016 Marianas Open is officially open.

Register now and pay less to compete in beautiful Guam, on April 16.

The event will offer $15k in prizes for the black belt open class division.

The brown belt open class champion will win a complete travel package to compete in the 2016 Pan Asian championship.

You have until Feb 16 to pay reduced prices.

Click here to sign up now.

Click here for more info.

Tokyo, Japan

If you are thinking of competing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu Tour in Tokyo, Japan, you have only four days to register.

The final deadline is August 24 and the event organized by the UAEJJF is open to all nationalities.

Click here to register.

Some pretty big names are already confirmed to compete at the first leg of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu Tour, in Tokyo, Japan.

Paulo Miyao, Erberth Santos, Mike Fowler, Roberto Satoshi, Celso Venicius, Lucio Lagarto, Clark Gracie, Gregor Gracie, Rodrigo Caporal, Faisal Alkitbe, among others will be on the mats next August 29.

If Japan is too out of your way, know that the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu Tour will also make a stop in the greater Los Angles area on October 18.

The registration period for that event is already open and the final deadline is October 12.

Click here for more info and to register now.

The event will take place at the Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa, CA.

Once again, there are some big money prizes on the line (check table below).

Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Japan

Some pretty big names are already confirmed to compete at the first leg of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu Tour, in Tokyo, Japan.

Paulo Miyao, Erberth Santos, Mike Fowler, Roberto Satoshi, Celso Venicius, Lucio Lagarto, Clark Gracie, Gregor Gracie, Rodrigo Caporal, Faisal Alkitbe, among others will be on the mats next August 29.

The event organized by the UAEJJF is open for any nationality and the registration period is open.

The final deadline is August 24.

Click here for more info and to register now.

The event will award thousands of dollars in prizes.

Check the box below for the prize for each division.

The Grand Slam will have three other legs: USA (October 18), Brazil (December 5-6), UK (March 19-20, 2016).

Watch the semifinal match between Keenan Cornelius and Lucas Leite at the black belt open class division at the 2015 Marianas Open, in Guam.

O fenômeno Keenan Cornelius foi a estrela do torneio, ao vencer o absoluto com autoridade, após passar por Marcos Souza e Lucas Leite.

Na final do aberto, Keenan girou para as costas de Mike Fowler e finalizou no bonito estrangulamento arco e flecha.

Veja como foi:

The $10,000 prize for the black belt open class title attracted renowned competitors for the beautiful island in the Pacific.

Here’s how the final battle for the prize went down between Keenan Cornelius and Mike Fowler.

That was the finishing touch of a Saturday of great Jiu-Jitsu in the beautiful island of Guam.

The 2015 Marianas Open gathered over 200 athletes for a full day of competition, including kids, teenagers and adults.

Throughout the day, great technique and a lot of passion for the gentle art was poured on the four mats set up in the Phoenix Center.

In the teams competitions, once again, Purebred Guam dominated the podium, winning both the Kids/Teens and the Adults divisions.

According to Stephen Roberto, leader of Purebred, the team has won every single edition of the Marianas Open, in the longest winning streak in southeast Asia.

The moment everyone waited for was the black belt open class division, which would grant the champion a $10k prize.

That was enough to attract some major names for the competition, like Keenan Cornelius, Lucas Leite, Michael Fowler, Marcos Souza, J0sh Hinger and others.

The event’s organizer, Steve Shimizu, was very pleased with the turn out and promised an even bigger purse for next year’s event.

For the complete coverage of the day in Guam, go to our Instagram account.

Here’s a photo gallery of the black belt open class division.

Fernando Tererê leads by example and shares his life experience of struggles and redemption.

We paid a visit to him in Rio and bring a little of his routine to our readers.

You will also find Hannette Staack, Abraham Marte, Mike Fowler and much more.

Subscribe now.

Inoue, Fowler, Roman

Former Pride FC star Enson Inoue decided to embark on a new journey some time ago.

He set the goal of walking 1,360 miles across Japan to raise awareness about the 2011 Tsunami victims that are still suffering more than two years after the disaster took place.

The walk started September 11, in Sapporo (north of Japan) and is expected to end next November 17, in Kyushu (south).

For the walk, he called on his friends: Jiu-Jitsu black belt Mike Fowler and Fokai’s owner Roman Dela Cruz.

Fowler talks about how things have been on the walk: “I wasn’t able to join untill they got to Tokyo, so I will have walked half of the distance when we finish. During the walk, we even got to train Jiu-Jitsu twice, first at Rumina Sato’s gym in Odewara, and then at Yamane Gym, in Kyoto.”

Fowler also talks about the goal of the walk: “We are walking to raise awareness for the tsunami disaster in Tohoko. People there still suffer. Bringing attention to them as well as getting donations to help ease their hard time is what we are trying to do.”

During the walk, the trio rely on donations from people for food and shelter, but it’s not uncommon for them to spend nights outside.

The pictures posted on Inoue’s Facebook page show that his fans from Pride years are a great source of help, always bringing food and offering a place to rest.

The pics also show that many people have joined the walk for short (and not so short) distances.

If you want to help with donations to the cause of the tsunami victims, write Inoue at destinyforeverorders@gmail.com.

After the walk, they will contact everyone.

For more info, go to destinyforever.com.

If you want to donate for the walk itself you can do a transfer to Fowler’s Pay Pal account at  mike@mikefowlertv.com.

Here’s a photo gallery of the walk from Inoue’s Facebook page.

Gui e Rafael com as ferinhas da AOJ Academy Foto: Owen Francis

Era quase impossível falar com Rafael ou Guilherme Mendes durante o Pan Kids, no último domingo, em Carson, Califórnia. Os irmãos tricampeões mundiais na faixa-preta  e membros da GRACIE MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION (GMA) ficaram praticamente o dia todo colados nas barricadas que separavam a arquibancada do ginásio da área de luta. Dali orientaram cada um dos 34 garotos e garotas da Atos JJ que lutaram no evento. O resultado final não poderia ser melhor. Com a ajuda de alunos das academias de André Galvão e Mike Fowler, a Atos levou o primeiro lugar geral na disputa por equipes, somando 149 pontos, dois a mais do que o Team Lloyd Irvin. Na entrevista exclusiva a seguir, os irmãos falam da dedicação dos pequenos e do trabalho com as crianças que está sendo feito na academia aberta há apenas sete meses em Costa Mesa, Califórnia.

GRACIEMAG: Sete meses após abrir a academia em Costa Mesa, vocês levaram 34 garotos e garotas e conseguiram vencer o Pan Kids? Qual o segredo do sucesso?

Guilherme e Rafael Mendes: Dedicação. Quando resolvemos abrir a academia, adicionamos novas metas em nossa vidas, e como sempre fazemos, estamos trabalhando duro para alcança-las. Esta vitória não é somente nossa, é o trabalho de um time, principalmente dos atletas. Essas crianças treinam todos os dias com o objetivo de vencer os campeonatos e se tornarem faixas pretas campeões. Somos muito orgulhosos de todos eles, pela coragem de ir ao campeonato, pela disciplina nos treinos e pelo foco que eles tem mesmo sendo tão novos. A Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy levou 23 crianças, 14 foram campeões, 3 ficaram em segundo lugar e três ficaram em terceiro lugar. Também temos que citar os outros professores da Atos, que também são responsáveis pelo sucesso do time, como o André Galvão e Mike Fowler, que levaram crianças ao evento e tiveram grandes resultados também.

GRACIEMAG: Comparem as duas experiências: lutar o mundial na faixa-preta e ser coach de 34 crianças em um dia de Pan Kids. Qual é a mais desgastante e por quê?

Irmãos Mendes: Ser coach é maravilhoso, cada vitória deles é como se eu estivesse ganhando uma luta. É como se eu tivesse a chance de ganhar o Mundial varias vezes no mesmo dia.

Gui e Rafael comemoram com uma das campeãs do domingo

GRACIEMAG: Se vocês tiverem que destacar duas histórias entre os seus meninos e meninas no Pan Kids, quais seriam?

Irmãos Mendes: Cada um tem uma história diferente, cada um tem sua característica, seus medos e suas qualidades, então todos são especiais para nós. É como você ter vários irmãos, você não consegue escolher entre um ou outro mesmo eles sendo todos completamente diferentes. Mudamos para os EUA ano passado e nossos alunos são nossa família aqui. Temos um carinho enorme por eles e valorizamos demais o espirito de família que construímos em nossa academia, isso é o que faz AOJ única. Estamos dando aulas há 7 meses, e quando paramos para pensar no que temos realizado, consigo ver o quanto conseguimos evoluir a confiança dos nossos alunos, muitos que quando chegaram na academia tinham medo de competição, ficavam apavorados antes de lutar e não conseguiam ter um bom desempenho. Eles hoje estão indo para o campeonato confiantes, com a cabeça boa e os resultados estão cada vez melhores. Os treinos tem uma energia excelente, as crianças ajudam uma as outras e treinam duro ao mesmo tempo, é algo muito especial e que temos muito orgulho.

GRACIEMAG: Os pais ficam muito ansiosos quando seus filhos ou filhas estão competindo. Como vocês agem para que essa ansiedade não passe para as crianças antes das lutas?

Irmãos Mendes: Confiança no trabalho do professor, é isso que pedimos aos pais. Sabemos que os pais sempre querem ver o filho vencendo e felizes, mas autocontrole é fundamental para que eles não prejudiquem os filhos. Aconselhamos os pais a não gritarem, pois isso prejudica muito o desempenho do filho. Nosso papel como coach é tranquilizar o aluno para que ele consiga realizar as técnicas do treinamento durante a luta, pois competição em si já coloca uma pressão enorme neles, então quanto mais pessoas do lado de fora gritando desesperadamente para que o atleta faça algo, menos ele conseguirá fazer. Muitas vezes os pais também podem gritar algo errado e colocar o filho em uma situação ainda pior. Pais devem ir a competição e apenas assistir, demonstrando sempre calma e confiança no filho, e respeito ao coach. Devem dar suporte aos filhos na vitória ou derrota, sempre elogiando a coragem em estar competindo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-tqDtbvg8U

Gui and Rafael with their students at AOJ Academy (photo by Owen Francis)

Getting in a word with Rafael or Guilherme Mendes was pretty much impossible last Sunday at the Pan Kids in Carson, Calif. The three-time World Championship-winning brothers and  GRACIE MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION (GMA) members spent nearly the entire day pressed up against the dividers separating the gymnasium grandstand from the match areas. From there they oriented each of the 34 boys and girls representing Atos JJ at the event. The final result couldn’t have been better. With the help of André Galvao and Mike Fowler’s academies, Atos took top spot in the overall team contest, scoring 149 points, two more than second placed Team Lloyd Irvin.

In the following exclusive interview, the brothers address their dedication to the little ones coming up the ranks at the academy they opened seven months ago in Costa Mesa, Calif.

GRACIEMAG: Seven months after opening your academy in Costa Mesa, you took 34 boys and girls and won the Pan Kids. What’s the secret of your success?

Guilherme and Rafael Mendes: Dedication. When we decided to open the academy, we added new goals to our lives, and as we always do. We’re working hard to achieve them. This victory isn’t just ours; it was a team effort, especially on the athletes’ part. These kids train every day with the aim of winning championships and becoming champion black belts. We’re really proud of them all for their courage in going to a tournament, their discipline in training and the focus they have despite being so young. Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy took 23 kids and 14 won. Three took second place and three took third place. We should also mention the other instructors at Atos academy, who share the responsibility for the team’s success, like Andre Gavlao and Mike Fowler, who took kids to the event and had great results themselves.

GRACIEMAG: Compare these two experiences: competing at a World Championship as a black belt and coaching 34 kids in one day at the Pan Kids. What was more draining and why?

Mendes brothers: Being a coach is marvelous. Each time they won it was like I’d won a match. It’s like getting to win the Worlds several times on the same day.

Gui and Rafael celebrate with one of the champions on Sunday.

GRACIEMAG: If you had to highlight two stories about your boys and girls at the Pan Kids, what would they be?

Mendes brothers: Each of them has a different story. Each has their own characteristics, their own fears and qualities, so all of them are special to us. It’s like having a bunch of brothers and sisters, you can’t pick between one or the other even if they’re completely different. We moved to the USA last year, and our students are our family here. They are very dear to us, and we value them and the family spirit we built at our academy a great deal. That’s what makes AOJ unique. We’ve been teaching for seven months, and when we stop to think about what we’ve accomplished, we can see how much we gained the confidence of our students. A lot of them were afraid of competing when they first arrived at the academy. They were terrified before going to compete and didn’t perform well. Now they’re confident when they go to a championship, with their heads on straight and getting better results every time. There’s great energy at training. The kids help one another and train hard the whole time. It’s something special we’re really proud of.

GRACIEMAG: Parents get really anxious when their sons or daughters are competing. What do you do to not pass that anxiousness on to the kids before their matches?

Mendes brothers: Faith in the instructor, that’s what we ask of the parents. We know the parents want to see their kids winning and happy, but it’s essential that they have the self-control to not set their kids back. We recommend the parents not yell, as that’s a real hindrance to the kids. Our role as coaches is to calm the students down so they can carry out the techniques during the match, since competing itself is enormous pressure on them, so the greater the number of people screaming desperately at them to do something, the less they manage to do. A lot of parents might also shout to do the wrong thing, which just makes matters worse. Parents should go to a competition only to watch, demonstrating collectedness and confidence in their kids, and respect for the coach. They should support their kids in victory and defeat, always praising them for their courage in competing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-tqDtbvg8U