Lucas Barbosa at the 2015 Worlds NoGi

The IBJJF wrapped up this Sunday the 2016 San Antonio International Open.

Hundreds of competitors gathered at St. Mary’s University to compete in gi and no-gi divisions.

In the gi black belt belt division, Lucas Barbosa and Sijara Eubanks were the standouts with double gold campaigns.

Barbosa won the medium-heavy after final against Victor Silvério and then the open class after beating Manuel Filho in the final.

Sijara was alone in the medium-heavy division and beat Leanna Dittrich for the open class gold medal.

Another highlight of the event was the presence of the five-time featherweight world champion Rafael Mendes.

In preparation to the 2016 Worlds, Rafa jumped in the featherweight division to test new material.

Of course, he ended up with another gold medal for his collection.

Here are the full results of the black belt division.

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light Feather

First – Lucas dos Santos Pinheiro – CheckMat

Second – Darson Barrington Hemmings – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Washington Luis do M. Lima – GF Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Feather

First – Rafael Mendes Godoy – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Gabriel Marangoni de Oliveira – Caio Terra Association Brasil

Third – Isaac Doederlein – Alliance Los Angeles

Third – Richard Stephen Slomba Jr. – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light

First – Mansher Khera – Alliance Marcelo Garcia

Second – Bruno Frazatto Xavier C. Barbosa – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Third – John Rickel – Gracie Barra

Third – Marcus Cole Wilson – Grappling Unlimited

BLACK / Adult / Male / Middle

First – Elfrankli Araruna de Souza – Gracie Barra

Second – Gabriel Rodrigues A. Goulart – Alliance Los Angeles

Third – Kurt Travis Pantle – Pablo Silva BJJ

Third – Samuel Seth Snow – Alliance Atlanta

BLACK / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy

First – Lucas Daniel Silva Barbosa – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Victor Silverio Santos – GF Team

Third – Jose M Portillo Jr – Paragon BJJ Academy

Third – Manuel Ribamar V. de Oliveira Filho – Rodrigo Pinheiro

BLACK / Adult / Male / Heavy

First – Gabriel Kitober Vieira – GF Team

Second – Inacio Ferreira Gomes Neto – Gracie Barra

Third – Gilvan Gomes da Costa – Brazilian Top Team

Third – Thiago Veiga Ximenes – Soul Fighters BJJ Arizona

BLACK / Adult / Male / Super Heavy

First – Diego Gamonal Nogueira – Brazilian Top Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy

First – Rafael Costa Suzuki – Caio Terra Association Brasil

BLACK / Adult / Male / Open Class

First – Lucas Daniel Silva Barbosa – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Manuel Ribamar V. de Oliveira Filho – Rodrigo Pinheiro

Third – Mansher Khera – Alliance Marcelo Garcia

Third – Victor Silverio Santos – GF Team

BLACK / Adult / Female / Middle

First – Leanna M Dittrich – Fight Sports

BLACK / Adult / Female / Medium Heavy

First – Sijara Jihan Eubanks – Team Lloyd Irvin

BLACK / Adult / Female / Open Class

First – Sijara Jihan Eubanks – Team Lloyd Irvin

Second – Leanna M Dittrich – Fight Sports

In the teams’ competition, results were:

1 – Brazilian Top Team – 272

2 – Gracie Barra – 213

3 – Bruno Bastos Association – 170

Click here for the full results.

You have only until this Friday, April 15, to register for the 2016 San Antonio Open.

The IBJJF event is taking place April 23-24.

Don’t miss out and be part of another chapter of Jiu-Jitsu history in Texas.

Click here to register now.

You have one week left to sign up for the 2016 San Antonio Open.

The IBJJF event is scheduled April 23-24 and you can register until April 15.

You can choose to compete in Gi and No-Gi or both.

Click here for more info and to register now.

The IBJJF will be holding the second edition of the San Antonio International Open on April 23-24.

You have until April 15 to sign up and be part of the show.

The event will feature both gi and nogi divisions and you can register for both.

Click here for more info and to join the party now.

Black belt Claudio França celebrated his birthday this Thursday.

GRACIEMAG joins the celebration (with one day of delay) and shares with you this video of Claudio showing two self-defense techniques.

Enjoy!

Know more about França at claudiofrancabjj.com

Registration is now open for BJJ Tour Texas on Aug. 29 in San Antonio, Texas.

The event exceeded expectations the last year and they’re back to do it again. The venue is the Freeman Coliseum located at 3201 East Houston Street, San Antonio, TX 78219.

If you register before Aug. 10 you can pay the following prices:

Kids: $60.00
Juvenile, Adult, Masters: $75.00

After, the prices go up for regular registration at these prices:

Kids: $75.00
Juvenile, Adult, Masters: $90.00

Don’t miss this opportunity to get into the competition early!

Register here: https://t360.azurewebsites.net/bjjtour/texas.aspx

Learn more at www.bjjtour.com

Nathan Mendelsohn

This Monday, October 6, is your last chance to register for the BJJ Tour Texas tournament on Oct. 11.

The event will be held at the Freeman Coliseum located at 3201 E. Houston St. San Antonio, TX 78219.

Registration prices are $94 for kids and $109 for juveniles and adults.

This is the first BJJ Tour opportunity for those in the lone star state so don’t miss out.

Register here: https://t360reg.com/bjjtour/texas.aspx

And for more information on this tournament and others on the BJJ Tour calendar, visit www.bjjtour.com

The medals from BJJ Tour Connecticut. Photo: Dan Rod

The last day to register for the very first BJJ Tour tournament in Florida is today, Sept. 22. The Kissimmee, FL tournament will be a gi-only event for kids, teens, adults and masters.

The venue for the event is the Kissimmee Civic Center located at 201 East Dakin Avenue Kissimmee, FL 34741.

To register, go here: https://t360reg.com/bjjtour/florida.aspx

The full schedule of the event will be available on Thursday, Sept. 25 and the brackets will be released on Friday, Sept. 26.

For those in Texas, Monday, Sept. 22 is also the last day for early registration prices for the BJJ Tour tournament in San Antonio, TX on Oct. 11!

Learn more at www.bjjtour.com

Kids competing at BJJ Tour Connecticut. Photo: Dan Rod

The next stop for the BJJ Tour after Kissimmee, FL is the lone star state. On Oct. 11 BJJ Tour-Texas will be held at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, TX.

Divisions will be available for kids, juveniles, adults and masters from white belt to black belt in the gi only.

Early registration period from now until Sept. 22 offers a discounted price as follows:

Kids: $60, juveniles, adults and masters: $75

After Sept. 22 the prices go up to $75 and $90 respectively.

All registration ends on Oct. 6.

The location of the venue is :3201 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78219.

Register now here: https://t360reg.com/bjjtour/texas.aspx

The pair at Brazil-021 in Chicago, IL, Andre Terencio and Hannette Staack, will be teaching yet another seminar. This time, they will be present at GMA Marra Senki Jiu-Jitsu  Academy in San Antonio, TX for a BJJ lifestyle seminar.

This will be a two-day event on October 4 & 5. One day will be open to all and the other day will have a women-only seminar with Hannette.

For non-Marra Senki members the cost will be $80 and the members will pay $60. The women’s event will be $60 per person.

The location of Marra Senki Jiu-Jitsu Academy: 15231 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78232.

To learn more about the event email mrs.marra@hotmail.com

Correa is a five-time world champion and 2013 Abu Dhabi World Pro champion who has years and years of teaching experience.

The first date will be August 23 at Marra Senki Sao Leo in Sao Leopoldo, Brazil.

The second date will be on August 29 at GFTeam Atalaia in Aracaju, Brazil.

The third date will be on September 7 at Sniper Fight Sports & Martial Arts in Lima, Peru.

For full information about Correa and GMA Marra Senki Academy go to www.marrajj.com

Brown belt no-gi world champion. Photo: Personal Archive

Jason Yerrington is a black belt who lives and teaches in San Antonio, Texas and has Crohn’s disease. Many people find that Jiu-Jitsu, even with a disability, is a great enhancement of one’s life. Jason felt and still feels the same way. We wanted  to know what it’s like to live with such circumstances that interrupt one’s life and how it’s still possible to continue training.

In his case, it may mean knowing where the nearest bathroom is or having to wear an adult diaper. But the fact that he pursues his dreams regardless is inspiring and a learning experience for all of us.

Jason recently took second at the 2014 IBJJF Houston Open and he teaches regularly at his academy. We’ll let you learn more about the disease from him:

GRACIEMAG: What is Crohn’s Disease and how does it affect your daily life?

JASON YERRINGTON: Crohn’s Disease is an auto immune disease of the GI tract, which means that your body produces antibodies that start to work against you instead of for you. Crohn’s disease can manifest anywhere along the GI tract which basically is from the mouth all the way to the most southern region.

I first went to a doctor when I started to lose control of my bowels and was experiencing a lot of blood loss during the restroom breaks. I had to have a surgery called a colonoscopy. After the doctor came out and explained that I had an auto immune disorder known as Crohn’s. She then gave me a pamphlet of information regarding treatment options and also counseling options because she said the disease is incurable. The disease is incurable but mainly operates via outbreaks or at least for me thats what has happened. During the outbreaks I am for the most part chained to a restroom because I have to go an average of 27-32 trips a day.

For me there was a lot of blood loss because I had of 19 different places along my intestines that were legions or open scabs caused by the antibodies attacking my intestinal walls. I was extremely anemic and lost 36 pounds during my first outbreak mainly due to the fact that I couldn’t eat. Of course eating would cause a chain reaction that caused me to go to the bathroom more.

The most irritating thing of all was none of the doctors had an answer for any of the things that I was going through and they all contradicted each other. No one truly knows why someone gets Crohn’s or how to effectively treat the patient. Daily life was really how far away is the bathroom from whatever it is that you’re doing at that time. Driving to and from work became extremely hard and I had to resort to wearing diapers due to many unfortunate events.

Have you had Crohn’s throughout the entire time you’ve been training Jiu-Jitsu? 

All this being said I never stopped training in Jiu-Jitsu. I did take a six month break from competition during my first outbreak to try and get a handle on my new situation. I was an early purple belt when I was first diagnosed. Life off the mat was so much more complicated during the outbreaks but on the mat all that fades away. I’m not saying that I still didn’t know exactly how many steps it took to get to the restroom. In fact there were many days that it was extremely hard just to make it through class.

Jiu-Jitsu was my therapy. It is what kept me mentally sane; that and my wife. I trained and taught all throughout every one of my outbreaks. I have had three each which have lasted for a minimum of six months and none lasting longer than a year and a half. When I’m not having an outbreak I still go to the bathroom much more than a normal person but we’re talking about 6-8 times a day as opposed to 27-32 times a day. (I had to keep a journal of my restroom breaks cause the doctors wanted me to).

Ultimately I was able to bring everything under control when I finally said goodbye to conventional medicine and went to a PhD in mathematics whose name is Dr. Costi. He told me to go get some blood work and then based on the results he gave me some herbal supplements that weren’t for sale yet in the US and asked if I would like to be part of his study group. I said why not as I had already tried everything else the doctors. I had received contradicting advice from steroids to enemas to special inflammatory medicines and diet restrictions and nothing helped. My professor was about to send me to Brasil to see the doctors there but long story short: within four weeks of taking the herbal supplements (miracle pills) that Dr. Costi gave me I was able to get a hold of the outbreak and through diet (eating fresh, raw, and varied) and Jiu-Jitsu I have been able to keep it at bay for the most part. Dr. Costi has me do a two-week cycle of the herbal supplements (miracle pills) every six months. This is not a fool-proof thing. I still get outbreaks from time to time but they don’t last nearly as long and are much more manageable.

What’s it like to train with the condition?

Training while on Crohn’s is all about planning for the inevitable emergency. I never stopped training but sometimes due to the amount of blood-loss I had to step off the mat during super intense sessions. For the most part, though, that rarely happened. During my outbreaks I always have to wear an adult diaper, which is kind of embarrassing but it is the only way to ensure that I don’t make a mess.