BJ Penn in action at the 2000 Worlds

The list of people who will attend this seminar is growing by the minute. Vitor Shaolin’s long-time friend and early training partner BJ Penn will be at the Vitor Shaolin BJJ Academy on September 17 for a gi seminar. It will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Announced over the weekend, the spots are slowly filling up. If you would like more details and to confirm your spot, email: mssung@4blackbelt.com

The first American black belt world champion and UFC lightweight and welterweight champion will be bringing his techniques from Hawaii to the Time Square New York BJJ academy of fellow Nova Uniao teammate Vitor Shaolin. Don’t miss out, email today for more information.

GRACIEMAG will be present tomorrow, April 20 at the 2013 IBJJF New York International Open. Set at the City College of New York in the heart of the city, the Nat Holman Gymnasium will be the battlefield for local teams to determine who is the best. You can follow all the coverage on our google + page!

Gracie Barra has sent a team of some of their best black belts to the other coast from California. Philippe Della Monica came out and held a seminar at GMA Gracie Barra Long Island and will be present along with his teammates. World champion Otávio Sousa leads the pack that includes also Rodrigo Simoes, Gustavo Pires and Magid Hage. Renzo Gracie team has opted to represent their academy without combining into the Gracie Elite Team name and Alliance is being represented by both New York academies Alliance NYC and Marcelo Garcia Academy. Nova Uniao is holding their own with Times Square locals Vitor Shaolin Academy. Many streams of competitors will be present from all over the nation to see who comes out on top. This tournament, however, has always been very important to the teams who are all located in rather close proximity and who gains the overall lead in points to win the team trophy. Will you be present to catch all of the excitement and/or defend your team’s glory?

The schedule is up as well as the brackets so be sure to check those both below:

Click here to see the schedule!

Click here to see the brackets!

Make sure you follow our live and up-to-date coverage tomorrow for all the action on our google plus page: www.gplus.to/GRACIEMAG

Photo: publicity

“Beat The Streets,” a New York City-based not-for-profit organization that has brought wrestling to thousands of middle and high school students in New York City, along with USA Wrestling and the New York City Department of Education, today announced a unique event, a freestyle wrestling match featuring some of the world’s greatest Olympic-class wrestlers, to be held in Duffy Square in New York’s Times Square on Thursday, May 5.

The freestyle wrestling dual meet between defending team world champion Russia and the United States, will be the featured competition for the 2011 Beat the Streets Gala and Benefit, which will be held following the dual meet at the Hard Rock Café. It is being billed as The Battle on Broadway, with “New York Is Wrestling” as the

theme of this year’s event, which traditionally raises several hundred thousand dollars for programs in five boroughs of New York City. The event is free to the public, and will also be streamed live on TheMat.com by USA Wrestling and be shown on the single largest face LED screen in Times Square.

“There is no grander setting than Times Square to feature some of the world’s greatest athletes and to raise awareness for our program, which has given thousands of boys and girls the ability to be more physically fit and learn the life lessons that are essential for success in today’s ever-changing world,” said Mike Novogratz, Beat The Streets Chairman of the Board. “This event, outdoors in Duffy Square, will provide us with a very unique way to expose our program to thousands who may not be aware of our work, so we are very appreciative of all involved from the City and the Times Square Alliance, as well as USA Wrestling, for helping make this happen.”

“We are very proud to be able to help present this very unique event as a way to grow awareness for the sport and all the good work ‘Beat The Streets’ does for kids in New York City,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. “It will be a great setting for some of the world’s greatest athletes to showcase their skills.”

This is the second straight year in which a major Olympic-style competition has been featured as part of the Beat the Streets Gala. In 2010, an all-star challenge featuring top U.S. wrestlers was held on the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier docked on the west side of Manhattan. Over 1,200 donors from over 26 states attended the event.

A card of exhibition matches will be held at 3:00 p.m. in Duffy Square, featuring young athletes who wrestle in the Beat the Streets youth program, as well as high school wrestlers from the Public School Athletic League.

Final lineups for Team USA and the Russian National Team will be announced shortly.

The USA vs. Russia freestyle dual meet will follow at 6:00 p.m. In Duffy Square. Russia is the reigning World Team Champion in freestyle wrestling and is a traditional wrestling rival for the United States. USA vs. Russia freestyle dual meets go back to the 1960’s, and are among the most popular spectator events in wrestling.

The Beat the Streets Reception and Awards Ceremony is set for the Hard Rock Café, 1501 Broadway in New York City, starting at 7:30 p.m. There will be a live musical performance by country music legend John Rich at the function.