Take a tour through Marcelo Garcia Academy, in New York City.

The five-time world champion and four-time ADCC champion shares his thoughts on Jiu-Jitsu, training and teaching.

In this video by BJJ Hacks, discover what’s behind the school where both 2015 black belt open class world champions, Bernardo Faria and Dominyka Obelenyte, train.

The position aims to break the posture of an opponent and attack from there–a good way for MMA fighters to control an opponent and still be able to punch.

Marcelo’s technique makes sure to negate the possibility of getting caught in a triangle by positioning the arm to prevent the free leg of the opponent from closing. By standing up and placing your limbs in the right angle, you can shake off the rubber guard to escape.

To pass, you’ll have to watch the video below.

See how Marcelo shows it:

Bernardo Faria turns 28 today! The two-time black belt world champion who currently trains and teaches at Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City is one of the most recognizable Jiu-Jitsu athletes. His tried and true deep half guard and sweeps are characteristics of this guy’s game and his battles with the Buchecha and Rodolfo Vieira have most likely graced your computer screens.

Check out this interview about the champion to celebrate his birthday:

Marcos Tinoco, Dominyka Obelenyte, Marcelo Garcia, Jonathan Satava. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

When Marcelo Garcia runs his promotion nights at Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City, he makes sure to leave some level of surprise. It may be seen as a tease or even a prank like when he promoted Gianni Grippo one year ago by making him think he was being promoted to a four-stripe brown belt before whipping out the black belt from his gi.

Dominyka receiving her black belt. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

This year there were three additions to the MGA black belt team: Dominyka Obelenyte, Marcos Tinoco and Jonathan Satava. All active competitors on the team with multiple accomplishments for each, Marcelo decided it was their time. But not without inviting Marcos and Jon up for more stripes on their brown belts, letting them believe they would have to wait a little longer for their final rank.

Marcos receiving his black belt. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

Before the ceremony was over, Marcelo gave his speech and called up the three one by one to have their black belts tied around their waist. A microphone placed in their hand, they each told a speech that they may or may not have been prepared for. Dominyka talked of her ten years in the art and wanting to quit while her parents encouraged her throughout her journey. Marcos talked of his struggles in Brazil and the opportunities that both his wife and Marcelo

Jon receiving his black belt. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

gave to him that led him to this day. And Jon spoke of how he still had photos of Marcelo choking people in his bedroom at his family home that proved how much of a hero Marcelo was for him prior to even training with him.

Thanks to MGinaction, the speeches are available to see online. You can watch them below:

Watch out for Dominyka and Marcos, both entering the 2015 IBJJF European Championship to test their new belts on Jan. 22-25 in Lisbon, Portugal!

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:

MG brown belts. Photo: John “Ric” Ricard

The students of GMA Marcelo Garcia Academy are gaining ground–quite literally. Besides taking over podiums they are now traveling internationally taking up opportunities as they come.

This Saturday, Nov. 22 will prove to be a big weekend with Metamoris, Copa Podio and the Rickson Gracie Cup featuring students of MGA.

Dillon Danis traveled to Tokyo on Wednesday for the Rickson Gracie Cup. Sponsor Shoyoroll sent the brown belt world champion on his way to hopefully earn a new title in Asia. The 21-year-old says, “Competing in Japan means a lot to me because I am really into the samurai spirit. It will be a great experience for me.” On what it means for the team he explains, “It’s an effect of our hard work and unity. We all grind together every day and these opportunities are bound to come. We’re going to show the world what we’re about and how hard we train!”

Over in South America, both black belt Gianni Grippo and brown belt Jonathan Satava are settled into Rio de Janeiro as they prepare for their day at Copa Podio.

For Gianni, this will be his second time at the event. He first competed in the lightweight grand prix earlier this year but will now be facing Joao Miyao in a no time limit, submission-only no-gi match. Ready for this next challenge he writes, “I’ve been thinking about this opportunity since the last time I stepped off the Copa Podio mats this past April. I was really disappointed with my performance then. I’m excited because I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to redeem myself against an opponent who I have a lot of respect for.”

Jonathan Satava will make Copa Podio debut as part of the middleweight grand prix in the yellow group. He will face top black belts to vie for the crown. His feelings towards Saturday: “This is my first time competing at a tournament this big. It has brought a lot more attention than I’m used to but it’s been fun dealing with the challenges of it. I look forward to competing and giving my best against some of the best.”

When it comes to the team, even their feelings are mutual. Their joint statement about the importance of the MGA team’s opportunities this weekend reads: “We’re both so excited about this weekend now that Matheus is in Metamoris and Dillon is competing at the Rickson Cup in Japan. This is an extra motivation for us to give everything in our matches because we know our brothers will be doing the same. Also this really means a lot to us as a team. We’ve all been working hard together and it’s great to see that the hard work is beginning to open up opportunities for everyone. Now it’s just time to take advantage of those opportunities.”

It was only yesterday that the team secured yet another opportunity, this time in the home country in the form of a Metamoris superfight. After a tough social media contest and an executive decision by the organization, organizer Ralek Gracie chose Matheus Diniz to replace Kevin Casey in the superfight against Vinny Magalhaes and have a chance to win $10,000 should he submit the ADCC champ.

Matheus sees this opening as a way to prove the success of Marcelo’s tutelage and the hard work of his training partners who have helped him prepare for this even on late notice.

You can catch the Copa Podio event on their livestream at www.copapodio.com starting 12:30 p.m. PST

Metamoris will begin at 1 p.m. PST with their livestream at www.metamoris.com

Women’s open mat. Photo: Erin Herle

Ladies, don’t miss the chance to gather with fellow females on the east coast to train and learn from one another. This Sunday, Nov. 23, GMA Renzo Gracie Academy will be open for an all-female open mat.

Training will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The X, Y & Z open mat will feature snack bags available from chef Dana Minuta Palmer of Tembatoo Granola.

You can also donate while you’re there to Safe Horizons, an organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse.

You can roll in both gi and no-gi and the event promises surprises during the event.

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/781443081922739/

Renzo Gracie NYC is located at 224 W 30th St. NY, NY 10001.

The brown belt dream team at the 2014 No-Gi Pans. Photo: Erin Herle

At Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City, there is a team of athletes who have been sweeping tournaments. They came on the rise last year after individually winning competitions here and there. But today, they’ve discovered their unity in both training and competition so well that their tactics have succeeded in many accomplishments and titles.

The brown belt dream team as they’re called includes Marcos Silva Tinoco, Matheus Diniz, Jonathan Satava, Dillon Danis, Mansher Singh Khera and Joel Burgess. Their origins all differ as to when they exactly began training full-time with Marcelo and where they traveled from to be part of the team but now they all share a very similar lifestyle.

Some of their weight divisions overlap but from feather to sometimes heavy they have the titles covered. Their opportunities granted to them by Marcelo allow them a life of full-time training but their work ethics provide them with the results.

Marcelo Garcia himself pays close attention to the ebb and flow of their training, their interpersonal relationships and even their living situations. “I try to develop such a good environment that it encourages everyone to train. No fights, no chance to complain about small things, never lose the focus from what is the big goal: get better at Jiu-Jitsu and be able to live from Jiu-Jitsu later on. Everyone will enjoy it no matter if they are hurt or they’re upset, they come here and they’re going to have a good place and always enjoy training.”

Marcos, right. Photo: Erin Herle

Marcos’ arrival came in 2012 when he met Marcelo through his wife after moving from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The two were living in Memphis, TN and working at an affiliate school but Marcos often traveled back to New York to train under the legend. It was early this year when Marcos became part of the team in New York full-time. Since then he has competed in the major tournaments on both coasts and internationally. In 2013 he came up short as a brown belt at the gi Worlds, earning second in the middleweight division. By the following year the gold was his after closing out with teammate Dillon. In no-gi he closed out the medium-heavy division with another teammate Matheus twice at the Pans in NYC in 2013 and 2014.

Matheus after winning his second No-Gi Worlds title. Photo: Erin Herle

Matheus Diniz came from the same hometown as Marcelo in Brazil. When Matheus began training, Marcelo would come by to train and it was then that he made the connection. By the time he was a purple belt in 2011 he began training full-time as much as he could with Marcelo in the states before he’d travel back to his hometown. In 2013 he began his trek of collecting titles by closing out the 2013 No-Gi Pans with teammate Marcos and winning the 2013 No-Gi Worlds medium-heavy title. He came up with a bronze at the gi Worlds in 2014 but accomplished the same exact no-gi feat at Pans and Worlds as the previous year. He currently lives in a house with other serious athletes who are focused on the same goals from the academy.

Jon Satava winning his Pan ttile. Photo: Erin Herle

Jonathan Satava, a Long Island native spends his time teaching and training in the city during the week but travels home to family on the weekends. Considered to have the most replicated game of Marcelo’s, he moved to the academy as a blue belt. His breakthrough came in 2012 when he won No-Gi Pans absolute as a purple belt then followed up with a No-Gi Worlds title and a silver in the absolute. After being promoted to brown belt in 2013, he went on to win the No-Gi Pans. By 2014 he earned the gi Pans title with Dillon and earned third in the absolute. More recently he repeated the No-Gi Pans title but this time with an absolute title as well. No-Gi Worlds this year was another win for him as he closed the middleweight division.

Dillon after winning at the 2014 Pans. Photo: Erin Herle

Dillon Danis was the last to enter the dream team. He trained four years in both wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu as a teenager in New Jersey before moving next door to the Marcelo Garcia Academy in NYC at the age of 19 in 2013. Prior to the major move he traveled from NJ to train twice a week. He first made his appearance at the 2013 gi Worlds, which was his first tournament as a new brown belt, when he got to the quarter-finals of the middleweight division submitting all three of his opponents up to that point. But by the end of the year at No-Gi Pans he had put it all together to close out the middleweight division with teammate Jon Satava and third in the open. The gi Pans in 2014 gave him the win after again closing out with Jon. But at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship he and Jon fought in the finals instead of closing out, a move that is considered controversial by most. He earned the win and a month later closed out the middle division at gi Worlds with teammate Marcos. Most recently he closed middleweight and the absolute at 2014 No-Gi Pans  with Jon and closed middleweight with Jon again at 2014 No-Gi Worlds and then closed out with Munchi in the absolute.

Munchi won the double gold at 2013 No-Gi Worlds. Photo: Erin Herle

Mansher Singh Khera, known as Munch or Munchi, started training with Marcelo in 2010 as a white belt. He transferred over to the gym from a Queens academy less than a year after his Jiu-Jitsu journey began. All of his promotions have been earned under Marcelo making him the first of the homegrown. He made some strides in tournaments every once in awhile even placing second at gi worlds in 2013 as a purple belt losing to Michael Liera Jr. Later that year after being promoted to brown belt alongside teammate Jon Satava, he went on to win the 2013 No-Gi Pans lightweight division and accomplished double gold at the No-Gi Worlds. He again came up short against Liera Jr. at the gi Worlds of 2014 placing third in the lightweight division. However, he accomplished the same titles in no-gi as the previous year but instead of winning the absolute at No-Gi Worlds he closed it out with teammate Dillon.

Joel securing a crucifix, his most successful technique. Photo: Erin Herle

Joel Burgess moved from upstate New York to the Big Apple Feb. of 2012 as a purple belt after a short career in MMA. He visited the academy almost every month for two years before making the official move. Today he works as an assistant instructor, he’s the forum admin of MGinaction and oversees the daily operations and production of Estimainaction. He carries the weight of the feather division at most tournaments, earning his first major win at the 2013 No-Gi Pans closing out the weight division with German Salas. Moving on the No-Gi Worlds, he earned the silver medal in the feather division out in California. At the beginning of this year he was promoted to brown belt, his first promotion under Marcelo. Later in the year he won No-Gi Pans again, this time on his own accord. At No-Gi Worlds he secured the bronze.

In a video by John”Ric” Ricard, five of the dream team members discuss their tournaments and training in a casual setting. As an added plus, each of the athletes choose a technique they use well and break it down for viewers. You can watch the documentary here:

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

Leandro Lo celebrates his win. Photo: Erin Herle

The 2014 IBJJF NY BJJ Pro is the first of its kind. Held in the traditional NYC location of the Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York, it offered cash prizes to the winners of particular categories.

The black belts came in from the top levels of the sport and aimed to cash in. The divisions for the male adult black belts were combined as follows:

Feather was rooster, light-feather and feather mixed into one.

Middle was light and middle mixed into one.

Heavyweight was medium-heavy and heavy mixed into one.

Ultra-heavy was super-heavy and ultra-heavy mixed into one.

Here is how the divisions played out:

Feather

Joao Miyao vs. Gianni Grippo Photo: Erin Herle

Joao Miyao took the back of Mark Ramos and secured the choke to win his first match.

Gianni Grippo faced Jonathan Thomas and the match was a battle of sweeps. By the end of the match the score was 4-4 points, 1-1 advantages and the referee decision went to Gianni.

Joao Miyao had his second match against Paulo Roberto Santana and although he suffered a sweep, he was able to make it to the back and finish the match with a bow and arrow choke.

Osvaldo “Queixinho” had a bye and stepped into his first match with Gianni Grippo. The match was mostly sweeps, toehold attempts and one dive for a crucifix/kimura by Gianni. The time narrowed down and Queixinho was down by advantages but he quickly acquired them making the score even. But the referee decision was Gianni’s with a final score of 6-6 points, 3-3 advantages, 1-1 penalties for both.

In the final, it was Gianni versus Joao. They both pulled and Gianni came up for the advantage. Joao swept, Gianni swept back. The same exchange happened and Gianni attempted two toeholds to lead with advantages. Joao swept again in the exchange to lead by points. A last ditch effort by Gianni to earn takedown points while Joao pulled failed and the title along with the $4000 went to Joao.

Middle

Otavio Sousa secures the choke over Vitor Oliveira. Photo: Erin Herle

The first match of the middle division came between new black belt Kevin Mahecha and seasoned competitor AJ Agazarm. AJ pulled guard and Kevin passed to earn the lead. AJ swept but still needed points. He eventually earned a pass of his own and later a sweep giving him the win of 7-5 points.

Vitor Oliveira faced Vinicius Agudo for his first match. It didn’t take long for him to secure the back and later the choke for his first win.

Otavio Sousa entered the bracket and faced teammate AJ Agazarm. A quick takedown defense and pull to an omoplata started the match by Otavio. AJ was able to defend and Otavio swept and later took the back and choked for the victory.

In the final, Otavio was up against Vitor. The match began with Otavio jumping guard. Vitor opened the guard and worked to pass for awhile. Eventually Otavio exploded with a sweep. As he went to pass he secured the back and the choke for the title.

Heavy

Keenan Cornelius vs. Leandro Lo. Photo: Erin Herle

The first and only match of the heavy division was between Leandro Lo and Keenan Cornelius. Tim Spriggs was set to compete in the division but was not present. Keenan pulled guard and immediately went for the worm guard. Leandro was able to deal with the lapel around his legs and secured an advantage for a pass over halfway into the match. He earned another for another pass attempt. And again. But Keenan was able to sweep to take the lead by two points. Leandro swept back and as he worked for a pass, Keenan secured an omoplata and then a gogoplata but only managed to earn an advantage. As Keenan attempted another sweep, Leandro took stepped over and managed to take the back right before time ended earning him the 6-2 lead and the title.

Ultra-heavy

Bernardo Faria vs. Abraham Marte. Photo: Erin Herle

The first ultra-heavy match between Tiago Giussani and Antonio Henriques ended rather quickly as Tiago secured a toehold in the beginning.

Abraham Marte faced Kenny Brown. He pulled guard, went to triangle was able to submit fairly quickly.

Bernardo Faria went against Tiago Giussani and pulled and earned a sweep in the beginning of the match. He went for the over-under pass and was able to use his legs to stretch out Tiago’s leg and submit with a kneebar.

In the final, it was Abraham and Bernardo. Bernardo pulled and secured a sweep, and using the same over-under guard pass, he tapped Abraham with a kneebar for the victory and the title.

Females

Nyjah Easton celebrates her win. Photo: Erin Herle

The only division with more than one athlete was the medium-heavy for the girls. Combined, there were four.

Nyjah Easton drew Karen Peterson first round and earned a pass and almost a back-take. Karen escaped but Nyjah swept and went to top half where she submitted Karen with a kimura.

Luiza Monteiro had her first match against Nathalia Amaral. Luiza pulled to x-guard, tried for the back and swept and pushed to side control. Nathalia recovered her guard multiple times but Luiza was able to keep securing the pass. As Nathalia swept, Luiza locked in a loose triangle, transfered to an omoplata and swept and as Nathalia defended, Luiza submitted with a toehold.

In the final, Luiza pulled guard and tried to attack the feet of Nyjah. But Nyjah was able to step into top half and submitted Luiza with an ezekiel for the title.

Open Class

While males had no open class, the females had to win their open class in order to win a cash prize.

Nathalia Amaral defeated Karen Peterson by choke from mount.
Nyjah Easton defeated Bibiana Silva by kimura.
Luiza Monteiro defeated Nathalia Amaral by armbar.
Luiza defeated Nyjah by triangle armbar.

See full results here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000311/en-US/Results.pdf

See full photo gallery here:

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

Pan No-Gi 2013. Photo: Dan Rod

The Pan No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship is already filling up its athlete list. Scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27 at the City College of New York in New York City, the event will bring the best no-gi players to fight for the Pan title.

As of now, the registration is at 76% capacity. The original registration deadline is Sept. 19, however the IBJJF will close the registration prior to the deadline if capacity reaches 100%.

So this means, if you are planning to compete this month for the Pan No-Gi title, get your travel accommodations arranged and register on www.ibjjf.org

The venue is the Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York located at: 160 Convent Ave. NY, NY 10031.

So far the black belts who have confirmed their registration include Rodrigo Freitas, Renan Borges, Lucas Rocha, Leonardo and Francisco Iturralde, Luiza Monteiro, Megan Nevill, Mark Ramos and more.

Don’t miss the opportunity to win this no-gi title. Go to www.ibjjf.org now.