News
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April 19, 2008NAGA Virginia Results
Age Skill Weight Result Brandon Bill Kids Novice Gi <50 lbs 2nd Novice No-Gi <50 lbs 2nd Nathen Ferguson Kids Novice No-Gi <50 lbs 3rd Chris Jaus Adult White Belt Featherweight (<150 lbs) 2nd Ben Lipov Adult Intermediate Welterweight (<170 lbs) 3rd Blue Belt Welterweight (<170 lbs) 1st Ann Pratten Adult Beginner Gi Lightweight (<120 lbs) 2nd Frank Schittino Masters Beginner Gi Lightweight(<160 lbs) 1st Timothy Spriggs Adult Beginner Welterweight (<170 lbs) 1st White Belt Welterweight (<170 lbs) 1st
» The kids kicked off the whole tournament as the first division on the first mat. Brandon Bill and Nathen Ferguson both medaled in the Under 50 lbs Novice category. They both had a lot of fun and wrestled hard. Brandon and Nathen are the first two Kids competitors from Crazy 88 so if you see them, make sure to give them a high five!
Chris "Hawaiian Punch" Jaus choked out his first two opponents (choke from back and bread cutter). He controlled position and passed his opponent in the semi-finals to win 3-0. Hawaiian Punch ended up with a Silver, after winning 3 matches.
Ben Lipov countered his opponents takedown attempt and then passed the guard a few times to win his first-ever No-Gi match. In the semi-finals, he faced a strong wrestler named Tripp Seed from Hybrid Academy. 95% of the match was on the feet with Seed hitting a beautiful foot sweep to earn two points. With the seconds running down, Ben changed his strategy and tried to pull guard. As he fell back, Tripp hit a powerful double leg to make the score 4-0. Ben worked aggressively from his guard but there was less than thirty seconds to tie up the match. Ben's opponent for the Bronze medal match did not come out due to exhaustion so our teammate only got 2 matches in the No-Gi division.
With the Gi on, Ben dispatched the first blue belt 8-0, earning him a Finals berth against Mike Reilly (Capitol Jiu-Jitsu). Reilly had defeated Ben twice at the White Belt level so the rematch would be a good indicator of each other's progress. The match was uneventful on the feet and Ben pulled guard (he told me later that he wanted to avoid a situation like the No-Gi semi-finals where by the time the match hit the mat, there was not enough time to work). From the closed guard, Ben worked aggressively for submissions, forcing Reilly to just bury his head. With only a minute left, Reilly finally attempted to open the guard, causing him to get swept and rear-mounted (6-0). Great job by Ben!
Ann Pratten received a bye to the semi-finals where she armbarred the other contestant. It was great watching Ann open up her game against other females her size as she is often the lightest in the class. She would lose on points in the finals but she exhibited great potential for the future!
Frank Schittino won Gold in the Masters division! Frank had been preparing by doing all our in-house competitions and finally jumped out into the mix. He finished his first opponent with an Ezekielle and controlled his Championship round adversary to win the division 8-0!
Timothy "#1 $tunna" Spriggs overwhelmed all his opponents in the No-Gi. He employed a variety of submissions (RNC, armbar, guillotine) and only had one match go the distance in this division.
#1 $tunna then steamrollered all his opponents in the Gi bracket as well. He lit up the scoreboard in the Sweet Sixteen round, winning 11-0. The quarterfinals were close; $tunna pulled guard against a takedown artist who had excellent defense. $tunna tried hard for Umpa sweep and triangles only to have his opponent defend well and get to Double Under. Finally, $tunna just jumped up and muscled him down for the winning two points. To make up for the slow match, $tunna put up 14 points to his opponent's 0 in the next round and got a shot at another sword. He didn't waste the opportunity for two-handed swordplay and finished his opponent with an armbar for the win. Awesome job by $tunna who is only 17 and competing Adult!
Lots of newcomers stepped up to the plate for the NAGA! In addition to those listed above, we also had Darwin "The Bo$$" Saunders and Victor Rivera compete for the first time. Great work by all involved!
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April 8, 2008White Belt Battle Royale 2 - Fort Meade Strikes Back!
Division Champion 2nd Place 3rd Place 4th Place Womens Ann Pratten
(Crazy 88)Theresa Buchanan
(LIMAA)140 lbs J. McKenna
(Ft Meade)David Zwanetz
(Crazy 88)Ryan Corsillo
(Crazy 88)A. Friedman
(Crazy 88)160 lbs Chris Jaus
(Team Amber)Surfer Dan
(Ivey League)Derek Petty
(Crazy 88)Mark Greenstein
(Crazy 88)180 lbs Roy Kempf
(Pentagon Combatives)Timothy Spriggs
(Crazy 88)Tyler Woods
(Crazy 88)Keith Cebula
(Crazy 88)200 lbs Frank Marinello
(Crazy 88)J. Pearcy
(Pentagon Combatives)T. Wilson
(Pentagon Combatives)Brett Jones
(Crazy 88)200+ lbs Charles Cherry
(Ivey League)Jason Milton
(Ivey League)Chris Cochran
(Ft Meade)Cliff
(Ft Meade)
» Special thanks to Fred Ramie and Danny Ives who not only brought students from their individual academies but also were involved in the organization and running of the tournament. The mats had almost no downtime so we were able to run six full double-elimination tournaments in about 3 hours. All the participants were very sportsmanlike and got some good competitive experience.
See You Next Time!
Photos courtesy of Adrian Monza and Maryland Sports Photography
Division Winners - Heaviest to Lightest
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April 7, 2008Bruno Frazatto Visits Crazy 88
» Our good friend from Brasa, Bruno Frazatto stopped by the academy before heading back to Brazil. Bruno just got back from the PanAms where he took 2nd place in the Black Belt Featherweight division. He is ridiculously technical as any Abu Dhabi Brazil Trials winner is and we were more than happy to benefit from his knowledge! Keep an eye out for Bruno at next month's Brasileiro where he will be one of the favorites to take the Gold.
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April 5, 2008NAGA World Championships Results
Age Skill Weight Result Scott Miller Teens Expert Gi Middleweight (<170 lbs) 1st Teens Expert No-Gi Middleweight (<170 lbs) 1st Jovie Soriano Masters Beginner Gi Welterweight (<170 lbs) 1st
» "Little" Scott Miller showed just how much he has improved in the last year. In the 2007 NAGA Worlds, Scott took 2nd in the Teen Beginner. This year, he took double Golds in Teen Expert. Because he had won 4 divisions at last year's Copa Nova, our training partner received a bye in both divisions. In his first No-Gi match, Scott quickly dispatched his opponent with a triangle/armbar. The Championship bout was a lot tougher, with both grapplers attacking each other's feet. Scott won 3-1 but injured his foot in the process. After consulting his parents, he decided to continue competing as he could always tap out if it really bothered him.
Despite his damaged foot, Scott managed to squeek out an advantage win in the first round of the Gi division. The Final was less competitive, with "Little" Scott submitting his opponent with an armbar from the guard (he tried to triangle but could not lock it on due to his foot). Congratulations to Scott who will now fight only at the Adult level.
Little Scott's Final Mementos from the Teen Divisions
Jovie Soriano won his first two No-Gi matches on points in the No-Gi (9-2, 4-2) before losing a close one 2-4 and getting knocked out of the division.
In the Gi bracket, he brought back a Gold, defeating four opponents. The victory was made extra sweet by the fact that he avenged two earlier losses. In the semifinals, our teammate defeated the man who had beat him in the November NAGA finals. He then avenged his earlier No-Gi loss 7-2 for the #1 spot!
Division Winners - Jovie and Khalil
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March 28, 2008 - March 30, 2008Great Job All Pan-American Competitors! » Full 2008 Pan-Americans Report Here
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March 22, 2008US Grappling Submission-Only Tournament Results
Age Skill Weight Result Keith Cebula Adult White Belt Welterweight (<170 lbs) 1st Kwami Mensah Executive White Belt Lightweight (<160 lbs) 1st Adult Intermediate Lightweight (<160 lbs) 3rd Adult White Belt Lightweight (<160 lbs) 1st Josh Plashckes Adult Blue Belt Featherweight (<150 lbs) 1st
» Keith "Trainspotting" Cebula required only two and half minutes to take Gold. In his first match, he timed his opponent's guard pull, passed immediately to North-South, and concluded the match with a standard breadcutter choke. 45 seconds. The Final was a rematch with a grappler from BJJ Revolution Team. Trainspotting had defeated him last year via points so this would be a good indicator of how much each competitor had improved. This time was only 90 seconds with Trainspotting countering his opponent's shot attempt with a pseudo-flying triangle to get the tap.
Kwami Mensah got his money's worth, spending more than an hour on the mats! He took another Executive 1st place, by submitting his first opponent with a Mounted Cross Choke (yes!) and tapping his second with the Fedor armbar at the 12 minute mark to win the division.
In the No-Gi, the more experienced grapplers wasted no time initiating Kwami to the higher level of competition; his first opponent took his back and choked him out. Kwami got motivated and fired back to take third with a Monson choke!
With just over 40 minutes of grappling already completed, Kwami entered the White Adult gi divisions and kicked it off with a 22-minute back-and-forth battle. This was exactly the type of match you DON'T want in a No-Time-Limit competition but Kwami persevered and earned his berth in the finals. In his sixth match of the day, Kwami went another 14 minutes. It came down to heart with both competitors exhausted. When his opponent pulled guard half-heartedly, Kwami exploded through and went right for an arm triangle ("avoiding the zero" as those of you in class have been hearing) A great end to a GRUELING tournament!
"Fat" Josh Plaschkes finally got the gold medal after being on the receving end of injuries and bad refereeing. He flying-armlocked his first opponent after a good 10 minutes of positional domination. In the Championship, Josh again used an armbar, this time the classical top version.
Very strong performance by three of our hardest-working students. It is really amazing to see how much these guys have developed since coming in (like most of our students, these individuals began with no grappling experience). 5 medals (4 Gold) with 3 competitors (167% medal rate, 9-1 Overall Record) is outstanding!
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March 3, 2008Team Lloyd Irvin Expands to Annapolis
» New Team Lloyd Irvin Black Belt, Danny Ives opened his school TONIGHT in Annapolis. It will focus on No-Gi Grappling and Muay Thai. Ivey League Mixed Martial Arts (<-- link to his website) will be located at:
Universal Gymnastics
2030A Industrial Drive
Annapolis, MD 21401
If you live in the Annapolis area, you need to check out Danny's program! He is the ONLY competition-tested Black Belt in the area and actually has a proven track record for producing champions.
First Class at Annapolis' Premier Academy
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March 1, 2008Congratulations to New BLACK BELTS!
» Team Lloyd Irvin held its annual team training today. It was over 4 hours of training with some of the most talented martial artists on the planet. The whole team was there, from UFC competitor Brandon Vera (sporting his gi) to Abu Dhabi medalist, Mike Fowler, to an army of White Belts.
I am happy to announce the following Black Belt promotions:
Danny Ives (LIMAA)
Don "SuperStall" Achnick (LIMAA)
Sharon "Meow" Bonewicz (BJJ United)
Brad Daddis (BJJ United)
Ed Clay (Nashville MMA)
Sean "Spyder" Pulizzano (Nashville MMA)
Congratulations to All!
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February 23, 2008Copa America Results
Age Skill Weight Result Roberto Torralbas Adult Purple Belt Welterweight (<185 lbs) 1st Adult Gi Open Open 2nd Adult No-Gi Open Open 2nd
» Roberto Torralbas started on the road to his 2nd Pan-American title with his first competition of the year. He has been practicing his cross-choke on his poor White Belts and much like Zoolander's "Magnum", he had been waiting for the right moment to drop it on the world.
Hunting for the "Holy Grail" of BJJ - The Mounted Cross-Choke
Roberto then entered the Gi Open which was open to all belts and weights. He defeated his first two opponents without being scored upon. The semi-final was a grueling gripping and takedown battle with ATT professional fighter, Esteban Ramos. The circuits came into play as Roberto was able to takedown his opponent late to earn a rematch with Moacir "Boca" Oliviera, the Black Belt who had defeated Roberto in the last Gi Open.
The rematch was not pretty! Boca jumped to his signature half-guard from where he swept Roberto and then proceeded to try 101 submissions (all unsuccessful). However, as Roberto says, "the match was worth more than 100 private lessons. "
Roberto Exchanges Grips with Esteban Ramos
Squaring Off Against Boca
Roberto needed some more matches to get ready for the PanAms where he will most likely be competing in a 64+ man bracket, so he entered the Professional No-Gi division. His first match was against a lanky Gracie Barra Brown Belt. Roberto re-dragged off his adversary's armdrag attempt and scored 2 points for the victory. He then dismantled a lighter fighter to make the finals against Mario "Big Hurt" Rinaldi. Rinaldi is a fighter from American Top Team and the winner of the Abu Dhabi North American Trials in the heaviest weight class.
The bulk of the match was fought on the feet. Roberto managed to secure a tight single leg but was unable to muscle the big man to the floor for the points. In the closing minute, Rinaldi finished his own takedown to win 2-0.
Roberto's First Match in the No-Gi
Mario "Big Hurt" Rinaldi vs. Roberto "Small Hurt" Torralbas
Congratulations to Roberto on another strong performance and to Mike "Goku" Defurio, leading the charge for Team Lloyd Irvin in Florida!
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February 4, 2008Kids Program Launches
» Our first Children's class was today at 6 PM. The program will follow a Monday 6 PM, Wednesday 6 PM, and Saturday 9:30 AM schedule.
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February 2, 2008Mission Submission Results
Age Skill Weight Result Wayne Johnson Adult Blue Belt Middleweight (<180 lbs) 1st Kwami Mensah Adult Novice Lightweight (<160 lbs) 1st Jovie Soriano Adult Novice Lightweight (<160 lbs) 3rd Tim Stauner Adult White Belt Welterweight (<170 lbs) 3rd Phil Thorn Adult White Belt Superweight (>210 lbs) 1st Adult White Belt Open 1st
» Wayne "Emo" Johnson overcame a late rally by his Finals opponent to win another weight class Gold. Wayne was taken down but swept and passed his rival to win it all.
Kwami Mensah defeated two to triumph in the No-Gi although he competed in a higher weight class than his usual one. Unfortunately, Kwami fell victim to some shaky reffing in the White Belt division. Kwami secured a tight under-over pass position and was trying to rotate around his opponent's legs. The other contestant kept pushing his head, attempting to free his trapped leg and lock on a triangle. It was a dead-even position but the referee felt differently, penalizing Kwami 2 pts and 1 advantage for "stalling". As soon as the stalemate broke, Kwami immediately scored 2 pts but it was not enough since his foe had been given an additional advantage.
Jovie Soriano finally transitioned to the Adult age bracket after a string of successes among the Executives. Despite a quick scare from an armbar, he proved he belonged with the young guns, double-legging and then bullfighting his initial foe for the "W". He also grappled in the Gi division where he fought a scrappy wrestler. It's great that Jovie decided to go for the hard medal rather than the guaranteed one; they say experience is the best teacher, so look for an even better Jovie in the next competition.
A few wars were all it took to initiate Tim Stauner into the tournament scene. The officer of the law was completely unpredictable - changing up his gameplan on the fly and perfectly executing moves that he had been taught a few days before. Our teammate was pulling Greco-roman throws, slick armbar transitions, and half-guard sweeps out of his hat. We had no idea where these techniques were coming from, but they were working! Unfortunately, there was not an extra gas tank in there, and he began to slow down in the Open division after he won a Silver in the weight class. Stauner is just under 3 months of training, and he looks to mature into a serious threat as he gains more experience.
Phil Thorn crushed all his enemies who were before him. 4 matches, 4 submissions, 0 points scored against him. He used a Breadcutter to submit his first two opponents, and then changed it up with a Gi choke from the back, and then an Americana from side. Flawless performance by the Big man.
Lots of divisions were joined together so it is hard to decipher who won what.
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January 22, 2008Julius Park Promoted to Brown Belt
» Julius will return to training as soon as he is physically able.
Early Rounds of the Test - Everything Going Well
Wayne Johnson Added to "To Kill" List
Mike Atkin Penciled In as Well
Things Take a Turn for the Worse
I Manage to Survive to the End
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January 19, 2008Dominion Grappling Championships Results
Age Skill Weight Result Kaitlyn Hilton Adult White Belt Featherweight (<115 lbs) 3rd KEith Cebula Adult White Belt Lightweight (<160 lbs) 3rd Wayne Johnson Adult Blue Belt Open 2nd Frank Marinello Adult Beginner Light Heavyweight (<205 lbs) 4th Kwami Mensah Executive Beginner Lightweight (<160 lbs) 1st Executive White Belt Lightweight (<160 lbs) 1st Adult Beginner Lightweight (<160 lbs) 1st Julius Park Adult Purple Belt Middleweight (<180 lbs) 1st / 2nd Adult Purple Belt Open 1st Tyler Woods Adult White Belt Welterweight (<170 lbs) 3rd
» Kaitlyn "Tinkerbell" Hilton exhibited a poise far greater than her 4 months of training, sticking to her gameplan, and listening to her corner. In her first match, she dominated the grips from the guard, controlling her opponent until she was able to secure a sweep and mount to win 6-0. Tinkerbell gamely attempted to take the fight to her second opponent (and eventual division winner). To avoid her guard, Tinkerbell's opponent pulled first but was forced to scramble back to the feet when our teammate was able to clear her legs with her whirlwind pass style. Sticking to the plan, Tinkerbell pulled guard but was forced to turtle out herself, giving her opponent the opportunity for the finish. In the consolation, Tinkerbell dominated the grips from her guard again before she deftly applied the match-ending triangle choke.
Tinkerbell Debuts
Master Donnie is Impressed
This Girl is Not
Keith "Trainspotting" Cebula validated his title of Most Improved Grappler with another robust appearance. All aspects of his top game looked sharper as he racked up big points in the prelim and quarterfinal rounds. The semifinals turned into an inch-for-inch tooth-and-nail fight with Trainspotting unfortunately coming out as the defeated (and barely-conscious) party. It was back to basics in the consolations, with the 88BJJ fighter administering his token breadcutter to chalk up another medal.
Starting to Become a Familiar Sight
Wayne "Emo" Johnson drove hard on the road to the Open division title. He handily shut out his first adversary and then outpointed a 240-lber from Yamasaki. The big man hit a big back take in the closing minute, a potential 6-point move, causing a nailbiting flurry, but Wayne was able to hustle and hold on to the victory. In the finals, Wayne got on the board first with a sweep and near-takedown. His opponent from Team ROC tied the score at two apiece with a deceptive Kimura setup which landed him on top of North-South. Wayne defended for a while but turned out the wrong way, allowing his opponent to gain access to his back and consequently, his neck.
Despite hitting a roadbump on his road to the championship, I was pleased to see that Wayne's game is coming together. In the Combat Gold program, he has been drilling a particular takedown (if you have been keeping up-to-date with competition footage, you'll be able to identify which other Lloyd Irvin competitor first popularized it) and it worked in EVERY match - an unbelievable 100% success rate at this tournament!
Solving the Riddle of the Guard
The Glory of the Open Division
Frank Marinello submitted his first (very spastic!) opponent with an old-fashioned Matt Hughes choke after riding out the initial onslaugh. His semifinals foe managed to outpoint him, sending him into the consolation bracket. He came up 1 point short there (3-2) and narrowly missed a medal.
Frank Chokes Out His First Opponent
Frank Defends the UmaPlata
Kwami Mensah, returning to his old form, bullied the other 30+ year-olds around to prove that he was clearly the #1 guy in each Executive division. He then jumped into Adult bracket where he won again, claiming another two victims. The win-count was at four before Kwami lost a tied match in the adult White Belt division on a controversial referee's decision. The match was spent entirely on the feet with both fighters warring hard for takedowns. Despite Kwami's greater aggression, the referee awarded the match to his opponent. This will be the last you see of Kwami in the Beginner division as he chases greater challenges in the Intermediate division.
Kwami Protects His Arm in the No-Gi Finals
Julius Park bumped up to the 180 lb weight class to get more matches and ended up winning two there to split the division with teammate, Seph Smith. He then entered the Open as the lightest competitor where he won another 2 matches to capture 1st place.
Julius En Route to Sweep
Finals of the Open
Timmy "Weezy" Spriggs showed no fear as he competed in the Adult division rather than Teens. Timmy knows only one way to roll - fast and hard. He was almost TOO aggressive in his matches but he proved that he could compete with adults. He will be a solid competitor once he tempers his youthful exuberance with a greater understanding of match mechanics.
Tyler Woods got off to a rough start - his opponent shot just as he pulled guard and earned two points. Woods went through his entire arsenal of sweeps and submissions but unable to regain those 2 points on his conservative challenger. Luckily, Tyler was given another match. Tyler fought off a near-pass, managing to roll his opponent. As his opponent went to roll him back, Tyler transitioned into a triangle. After a few minutes of readjustment, Tyler got the tapout and the Bronze medal!!
A great start to 2008 with Team Lloyd Irvin winning the three major titles. Congrats to Brandon Raedy for his 1st place in the No-Gi Open, Julius Park for his 1st in the Purple Belt Open, and Ryan Hall for his victory in the Superfight.