July 17th In House Tournament Registration

Starts at 11:30 AM!!! Entrance fee is $5.

Blogging About Brazil by Tye Ryan

Enjoying the View from Barra Bella

Something like a paleontologist excavating his first fruitful site or a young astronaut making his first step on the moon, my dedication, sacrifice and embracement of the brazilian jiu jitsu lifestyle had culminated into a great opportunity. I was headed to Brazil to compete in the Brazilian Nationals, better known as the Brasilero’s. Every serious bjj practitioner dreams of an opportunity to test themselves against they who created, cultivated, refined and dominate our beloved sport and my chance had arrived.

When preparation meets opportunity, success is highly likely and I was ready. My body was strong from early mornings and late nights of training on the mats supplemented with a strength and conditioning regimen. My focus was unwavering leading up to the tournament. Meditation and visualization are powerful mental tools I employed to give me an athletic edge. I was prepared. A Swiss vault could not bottle my excitement to compete. The beach, beautiful people and the tropical climate were just an after thought, a mere luxury to enjoy after competition. It was time to put my blue belt on the line.

Day 1 saw me off from BWI to ATL and then an over night flight directly to Rio de Janiero. We landed early in the morning, collected our bags and headed off to find Roberto Torralbes and Mike Fowler. A cab driver correlated Jon’s bleach blond hair and his jiu jitsu t-shirt with Fowler’s signature look and he whisked us away to Barra Bella, the hotel that the team was staying at. After much confusion and a serious language barrier we landed an apartment for 4 days, 3 nights and put our luggage in the unit.

Waves -1, Team Lloyd Irvin - 0

Roberto, Mike and crew were nowhere to be found so we hit the beach for some sun and to test the waves. Lets just say the waves owned us. They sucked us up, tossed us around, crashed over us and showed us who was boss. It was fun though. Heading back to the hotel we found the team and we stopped at a local food and drink spot for some fresh coconut water directly from the fruit and some icy cool acai. They are two amenities that you have to have when visiting Brazil. Acai blended with banana, granola and honey serves as a great meal replacement when watching your weight for a tournament. I am convinced that Jon can live off of it.

After the beach we cleaned up, visited Barra shopping, stopped at Bibi Succos for a bite to eat, trained at Tata’s to work off the calories we consumed and then ended our night at Copacabana in the flea markets looking for grass root souvenirs for family and friends. We turned in early that evening to rest well for competition.

Bibi Sucos

We woke early to head to the venue. We had a 45 minute drive up and around the mountain through some beautiful scenery to reach the venue, Tijuca Tennis Club. It was a long day at the venue as the kids and teens hit the mats prior to the adult blue and purples. You could feel the deep rooted tradition of many a battles waged on those signature green and yellow mats when you walk into the arena.

The Battlefield

I sat in the bullpen for an hour after they called my weight class. There were many competitors and I had a first round bye so I sat for a while, warming up, stretching and visualizing my game plan. My first opponent was tall, athletic and nimble. I bullied my opponent on the feet to which he jumped guard. I opened the guard still standing and pressured passed. The match went as such: pressure pass, to half back, to the bottom, an x-guard sweep and back on top, a guard pass, back to the feet, another guard pass and finally a back take for a big point win. You can check this match out on my facebook page, search me as Tye Ryan.

My second opponent was observant and pulled closed guard immediately. The match was uneventful in that he was cautious not to open his guard and I worked diligently to do so. The match ended with me opening the guard, smashing down in half and then a scramble to finish. No points or advantages were awarded to either player and the decision was contentiously handed to my opponent.

Reflecting on my experience brings me both frustration and motivation/inspiration to make the trip again. The middle weights in Brazil play a different game than their American counterparts. My opponents were quick, not so much muscular as they had lean wirey frames and the game was about mobility and technique. I found myself having to cut off the ring and stalk my opponents and once the match hit the mats the guards were intricate and a pleasure to dissect. My opponents were patient and calculating. There was little barbarism in their game. I must admit that even in defeat I enjoyed the competition and various styles I was up against.

In retrospect I truly believed that I was going to win my weight class. I left it in the hands of the referee and I was not the hometown competitor. I must refine my transitions to dominate positions and execute finishes more fluidly and more frequently. I felt great physically but I can be better. I was mentally prepared but I can still push the limits of my mental game to new heights of concentration and focus. I left Tijuca with an internal fire of desire ablaze inside me. As we descended down the mountain back to the hotel, I soaked up the scenery knowing that I would be back soon to perform and to perform better as a better me.

STRIKEFORCE: Heavy Artillery Review

-Jon Delbrugge- In today’s mainstream MMA we have an oversaturation of the blood splattering, lightning bolt, tribal tattoo designed logo appeal to it. I like how Strikeforce is trying something different they are going for the complete opposite.

Saturday night’s Heavy Artillery card had different audiences, different fighters, different TV deals. The production of the Strikeforce shows go back and forth; the production team at CBS is a little better than Showtime but neither is really able to connect the viewer at home with the electricity of the live crowd. The Heavy Artillery card had a very anti-climactic feel to it. Unfortunately, no matter how good the card or production is, the bad commentary will always serve as a drag on the action by over compensating for the the uneducated fan with wrong information.

Despite the card’s shortcomings, Saturday night was very entertaining. The card featured five televised bouts with the Heavyweight belt on the line in the main event. One thing is clear; in Strikeforce they are going after the highly qualified athlete to ensure good fighters. Not the “bar room brawler” that will “stand up and bang” for “a good fight”.

Heavy Artillery was loaded with talent. Too many times the public is told that certain fighters are “world class” but really they have never competed in a international level event. On the Heavy Artillery card alone Strikeforce Featured real Olympic level athletes competing. Roger Gracie, Jacare De Souza, Vitor Sholin, K-1 Star Allistar Overeem, even Kevin Randleman, although he never reached his full potential as an MMA fighter, has more wrestling credentials than the beloved Randy Couture, who is portrayed as one of the best wrestlers ever. The Strikeforce Organization has without a doubt the fighters with the best credentials, as far as Kickboxing, Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu goes.

The Fights that stood out:

Overeem vs Rogers– Brett Rogers is very new to MMA and is not yet good at any particular skill set to make him a threat to a highly skilled fighter. Overeem is that highly skilled fighter and it showed Saturday night. Rogers couldn’t get anything started. He could not defend Overeem’s stand up and eventually was thrown on the ground with a school yard headlock throw and pounded into unconsciousness. Although sad for Rogers, Overeem now looks like a legit fight for Fedor.

Alistair Overeem Demolished Brett Rogers

Roger Gracie vs Kevin Randleman– Current IBJFF Black Belt World Champion Roger Gracie made his Strikeforce debut. In the Brazilian Jiu-JItsu community this fight was huge because Roger is truly a representation of BJJ in MMA. Even Bj Penn and Damian Maia don’t even compare to this guy. Although Kevin Randleman is by all accounts out of his prime, he still posed a threat to Gracie. BJJ fighters arent exactly kown for their awesome stand up techniques, but Roger showed that he has been working on his boxing by putting together some very nice combinations even dropping Randleman with a knee and eventually finished the fight with a choke from the back in round 2.

Kevin Randleman in his Collegiate Wrestling Days

Jacare vs Joey Villasenor– Villasenor was on the defense for all three rounds losing a unanimous descision. Jacare looked great for his second fight in a row earning him self a shot at the middleweight title. For the first two rounds Jacare controlled the fight on the feet as well as the ground. Villasenor seemed to gain a little momentum in the third round but he was unable to even steal the round in the judges eyes.

Andrei Arvloski vs Antonio Silva– Everyone was waiting to see if Arvloski was going to go to sleep if he took a hard shot to the chin including Arvloski himself who intentionally took shots directly to his face after the fight saying “I proved I can take shots off my chin” even though he was not knocked out he still lost a one sided fight. Silva rebounded from a loss in November while Arvloski suffers his third L in a row.

Andrei Arlovski in Happier Times

All in all the Mixed Martial Arts community can expect to see some interesting match ups in the near future from this up and coming organization. Heavy Artillery was supposed to be considered a small card but had some big names. Lets hope that Strikeforce does something about the commentating soon so that we can continue to see these athletes fight in front of a large TV audience.

2010 Team Lloyd Irvin Pan Jiu Jitsu Roster

A-Team

• Blue Belt
  • Pena
    • David Wool
    • Logan Bender
  • Leve
    • Kenny Degenharght
    • Chris Bennett
  • Medio
    • DJ Jackson
    • Tye Ryan Murphy
  • Meio Pesado
    • Evan Gideon
    • Frank Camacho
  • Pesadissimo
    • Willie Leonard
    • Kenneth Brown
  • Female Pluma
    • Kim Rivers
  • Female Leve
    • Tracey Goodell
  • Female Medio
    • Sijara Eubanks
• Purple Belt
  • Pena
    • Bryan Tidwell
  • Medio
    • Roberto Torralbas
  • Meio Pesado
    • Jordan Sullivan
    • Jon Delbrugge
• Brown Belt
  • Pluma
    • Jason Scully
    • Cory Robinson (might be Pena)
  • Female Pluma
    • Nyjah Easton
• Black Belt
  • Leve
    • Brad Court
    • JT Torres
  • Medio
    • Mike Fowler

Meet Our Newest Staff Member… Melanie Cebula

Welcome Mrs. Trainspotting!

My name is Melanie Cebula, I am Keith “Trainspotting” Cebula’s wife.   My husband and I know many of you.  Keith teaches Jiu Jitsu classes, I have attended the women’s Muay Thai classes and our daughter, Megan attends the tiny ninja classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I have been hired to run the Crazy 88 BJJ after-school program and to man the front desk.  My training started several weeks ago.  I met with Julius to review what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai  is and the differences between the two.  I also watched a very good video regarding enrollments in a martial arts environment.  I would highly recommend the video to anyone who is interested.

Ms. Cathy has taught me how the tours are to be conducted, how she handles the calls and sets up appointments.  I have put in hours driving the new 15 passenger van that Julius purchased for the after-school program.  I have passed STAND  training (a child safety education program) and will be certified in CPR and First Aid.  I truly appreciate the opportunity that Julius has given me and my husband to work and participate in such a family friendly place as Crazy 88.

I think the after-school program is a great addition.  We will pick your children up from school, bring them here, keep an eye on them while they do their homework and get them ready for class.   As a mother of two, I found it difficult, after working all day, to pick up my children from daycare  just to turn around and take them to class. There were many nights that I decided to go home instead.  I would have loved the after-school program.

I previously worked the front desk at a small dermatology office and before that I worked retail for many years.  Working for Crazy 88,  I will be able to spend more time with my kids, meaning they will be with me all day.  This knowledge both scares me and excites me.  When both kids were born I was back to work within 6-7 weeks.  I will be able to try homeschooling Megan in the morning and I will be able to take both kids with me to work in the afternoon.  Please pray for our sanity.

I thought my husband was crazy when he took up Jiu Jitsu three years ago and started spending all his time here.  Now I totally get it and I will be here all the time too.  Correction! The entire Cebula family will be here all the time.

Melanie Cebula

To Lisbon and Back by Jon Delbrugge

My journey to a black belt world championship continues. This time around I found myself in Lisbon, Portugal.  There was a lot of anticipation building up to this tournament, as it was the first IBJJF tournament of the year. Personally I felt great; on weight and well rested. At crazy 88 we have preparing non stop for the rigorous  2010 tournament season.  My trip to Europe was six days long.  I left Baltimore Monday night and made my way to Europe. I had a nine hour layover in London. My teammate Roberto Torralbas was getting his wedding suit made from a world re known suit tailor Andrew Ramroop.  After exploring the Harry Potter-esqe streets of London (I must say I felt right at home) for nine hours, it was time to make my way to Portugal.

I arrived in Portugal almost 36 hours after I left Baltimore. Lisbon is a very different place. For starters every single taxi cab was a Benz, and everyone spoke the non-Brazilian Portugese (which kind of through me off). The hotel was a nice American style facility complete with high priced internet and 24 hour room service. Everyone was watching their weight so we would all had to keep a close eye on what we ate.  The first day came and went just like that. Al Washington, Keith Cebula, and Tye Murphy all competed the same day. Everyone had great fights with a lot of good fighters. I was very impressed with what I saw from the lower belts at the tournament. After the day of fights we all went back to the hotel to rest up for yet another day of fighting.

My teammate Roberto Torralbas and my self were up the second day of the tournament. Our brackets were suprisingly tough. Roberto ended up loosing his third match by a VERY questionable call. I received a BYE first round. Second round I fought Tulle Edman (Nacka Dojo) who was very very tall. I ended up winning the match 12-0. In the third round I was matched up with the returning champion Janne Autio (Alliance Europe). The match started with me pulling guard. Right away I could feel that my opponent was very strong but also very calm. As I was getting into my deep-half position my opponent went for an arm bar and I made a move to take his back. During the scramble transition I was able (for a split second) to attempt a double leg. He defended it well. I pulled again and went back to the deep half position. My opponent was very tight on top, although I am used to this I was rushing a lot of my normal movements from this position. As I was trying to transition around my opponents leg, he was able to secure a good kimura grip from the top of half. I tried to stay calm and set up a sweep from the position I was in, but he was able to secure a strong kimura. He went on to win the weight class (again) and placed second in a very large absolute division.  I know it sounds cliche, but a loss is only a loss if you do not learn anything from it. I must remain focused and learn from anything and everything on my journey to a black belt world championship. This was not my first loss and it will not be my last, I am only a purple belt and I have to think long term!

All in all my experience at the European Open was awesome. I got to fight very tough opponents and watch very high level matches, I picked up on a lot of new things. Also I have to give Europe credit. For the longest time people have been telling that the Europeans jiu-jitsu is untested and questionable. Well, from what I saw that was not the case. The Europeans are game, and very tournament savvy. I can not wait to fight in Europe again. Next up: Houston, California, New York, California (again), and Brazil. That will take me all the way to July.  Keep up with my training, fighting and more on http://www.youtube.com/JDelbruggeBJJtv or find me on facebook.

My Experience at the European BJJ Championships by Keith Cebula

Its been a crazy experience! We left Baltimore on Tuesday. It was a long flight and i didn’t get much sleep. As we were flying over London I saw Big Ben and thought its official, I am in another country for the first time. We didn’t leave for Lisbon for 10 hours so we went out for a while.

London was very interesting. It was similar to New York but all of the buildings and houses looked like something out of Harry Potter. The streets were all very narrow one way streets but cars would go the wrong way in what could only be described as organized chaos. Although it was very crowded and congested it was not that loud. There were no cars beeping or sirens. It was however very cold and wet. We walked around some nice areas, ate and returned to the airport.

After a short delay we were back in the air. The flight to Lisbon was was short but very crowded. Lisbon was a little bit of a culture shock. Its odd to not be able to communicate with anyone… Lisbon is not that different then U.S. Cities. Although they do all drive Mercedes.  After check in I was finally able to get some sleep before the tournament.

Riding Around Lisbon

The tournament did not go as planned. I had a first round by. I then won my first fight and was feeling pretty good going into the next round. I was winning half way through and completely melted down. I’m still a little down but am going to make the best of the remainder of the trip. I will still get to see a lot of good Jiu-Jitsu over the next few days.

On Sunday we will be going back to the UK and onto France before returning home next week.

Keith Cebula
http://www.baltimore-mma-news.com

At the Restaurant in Lisbon

Day 2 of the European Open Championships by Alfonso Washington

Woke up this morning and the team gathered form some Portuguese breakfast at the hotel, which is like ours, French Toast, Eggs, Bacon and some pork sausages.  I did not eat much being that my stomach was still kind of upset.    Next we took a cab to the tournament.   You have to watch out for the cab drivers they definitely will take advantage of tourists.

Night in Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal is a beautiful port just reminded me of the downtown old Ellicott city, if you have not been there go check it out to get a taste of Portugal.   The venue was just like the rest of the IBJJF tournaments they areas are separated from spectators and the competitors that way its not easy to be coached unless you are close to the side where fans are.   It throws you off because you are used to being coached at all the local tournaments but here you are kind of alone which makes it even more nerve racking and stressful.

Lisbon in the Day

IBJJF tournaments usually for the most part run on time, but like most of the large organized sporting events they sometimes run off schedule.  I was scheduled to fight at 12:10 but did not fight until 45 minutes later.  So the wait really gets at you and you find yourself with extra time on your hands, like extra time to talk to your competitors.  This guy walks up to me and is like are you Alfonso? I’m like how did he know that, I was wearing my Rugby jersey with my last name on it, and he put 2 and 2 together.  For the most part everyone there is nice and is there to have a good time but all that changes when you fight or at least it should.

Fight time they call my name and measure my Gi to make sure it is at the right length and nothing is hanging off or anything is illegal.  Literally when they call your name, no time to wait, you walk on the mat and you fight.  I started the match I felt great and my game plan went out the door somewhat and so with that so did my time to execute anything.  I started off running around the guy and before that shaking hands.  We have 5 minutes and that starts when the Ref says “Koboch” or go.  10 seconds with the shaking hands wasted, another 20 running around, 2 minutes grip fighting while standing up, tick tock tick tock, and then you pull guard and you have 1 minute left in the match, and by the time you get back up to your feet time is ended.  The score was zero / zero.  At this point it is the Refs decision as their are no advantages.  The match was given to my opponent who went on to take third and I was left standing in shock, mainly because it felt like I was fighting for 2 minutes, but time was ticking against me the whole time and wasting away.

Lessons learned,  don’t waste anytime doing things that waste time.  Get straight to business and execute as much as you can and show dominance over your opponent so that if this ever happens there is no doubt who won the match.  I am disenchanted by today’s experience but grateful for the experience gained which will always make you a better person down the road.

Alfonso Washington
http://www.baltimore-mma-news.com

Portuguese Pastries

Day 1 – Traveling to the European BJJ Open by Alfonso Washington

Our new home for a 5 hours

Today I am going to Portugal with Master Julius, Roberto, John Delbrugge, Keith Cebula, and Tye Murphy.  First I will have a long 9 hour flight to London and wait there another 5 more hours and then fly to Portugal the following morning.   When you travel with the team you feel less stress.  The first half of the trip we were together but someone my flight was different on the 2nd leg and was stuck on a earlier flight than everyone.  So on the road / flight to Lisbon all by myself and just time with myself to think, and this thinking is what causes this uncontrollable stress.  Spent some time in the Hotel watching some Jiu-Jitsu videos and visualizing myself winning and controlling all my matches.  It is critical to believe in yourself and trust in your own abilities.

Foreign travel for me has usually been a blast for me with me growing overseas and all.  So this trip should have be the same, well not exactly.  An upset stomach, funny feeling in your body, non stop fidgeting, the normal senses you get before I fight a match, and my match is not until tomorrow at noon.  This has been a stress filled trip because of many reasons, the long lay overs in the airport really get to you.  Traveling and staying awake for 24 hours is kind of crazy but your body gets used to it.  I am going to put it all on the line tomorrow and trust in my training, fitness, and all the hard nights of rolling in class when everyone else is sleeping.  Well I am going to try to get some sleep and wish me luck…

TLI baby.. AAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!

Alfonso Washington
Results will be posted to http://www.Baltimore-mma-news.com

Our hotel in Lisbon

Follow Jimmy Harbison – Newest Team Lloyd Irvin Member

Brown Belt Jimmy Harbison is another grappler to watch in 2010.  Jimmy already has a medal from the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championships (2009 Purple Belt Meio Pesado – 3rd place) and a whole rack of local tournament victories.  I had the opportunity to watch Jimmy compete at the local OTM tournament when I brought grapplers from my Columbia BJJ school to compete and he is talented!  Coincidentally, he is sponsored by Hybrid gis, the company that also sponsors Crazy 88’s Jon Delbrugge.

JT Torres & new Team Lloyd Irvin member - Jim Harbison

A friend of JT Torres and Jay Hayes, Harbison, started in with them and then trained with American Top Team when he relocated to Florida.  Now back up north, Harbison has rejoined with his old teammates under the Team Lloyd Irvin banner.  His first outing will be this weekend at the IBJJF European Open in Lisbon Portugal.

At only 19 years old, Jimmy Harbison has a bright competitive future ahead of him.  He is one Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor to watch for many years to come.