Premier BJJ Championships: Newcastle!

Our competition team flew out to Newcastle on friday night for the Premier BJJ Championships in Newcastle. 8 competitors total, with the ambitious goal of taking home the overall team title to the East Coast of Ireland!

Dean Barry set the tone early, dominating 3 opponents with ease and collecting his 3rd Premier BJJ Championships Gold medal. (Dean was the Cork leg of the event absolute Gold Medalist, and won his weight at both the Newcastle and Bristol events)

Head instructor Darragh O Conaill took to the mats next. Submitting his first opponent in just over a minute with a Bow and Arrow choke from the back, Darragh took home Gold after submitting his final opponent by guillotine! Gold number 2 of the day.

Marcus Phelan and Sam Mcnally continued the form as the closed out the Light Feath Blue Belt division without being scored on. Then Coach John Sheridan and David Phelan made quick work of the Lightweight Blue belt division, closing it out with 2 submissions each on their way to the final. This brought the total to 4 Gold and 2 Silver.

Niall Mullen, fresh off the plane from Brazil and due to injuries, a 6 month break from competing set out to prove his competition game is as strong as it always was. Niall defeated his first opponent by multiple points, scoring sweeps and guard passes as he began to find his rhythm. His next match finished quick with a footlock. The final was going to plan as he led on points, but then lack of conditioning caught up with him as he was caught in a scramble, leaving him with a Silver medal. Total now 4 Gold 3 Silver for the team.

The White and Blue Belt Open Weights began with more medals on the teams minds. After a tough loss in his division, Steven Byrne came back for more in the White Belt Open Weight earning himself a Bronze Medal. The Blue Belt Open began as planned with both Coach John and Marcus picking up convincing wins in the early rounds. After a day of hard battles, the semi finals of the open weight were made up purely of East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy team members. After hitting the most submissions during the day, the Team nominated Marcus Phelan to take home the Gold, Coach John to take the Silver and Sam and Niall to share the Bronze.

An awesome days work and mission thoroughly accomplished!

Team East Coast finished on 60 team points total, close to double that of the team in second place. With only 8 competitors 12 medals were taken home and a lot of hard work paid off!

Next stop for our Competition Team will be the IBJJF London International Open and the IBJJF NOGI European Championships on the 20/21st of October. The mission is the same! Gold Medals and The Team Title!

Match Of The Week!

Another classic!

Fernando Augusto "Terere" vs Roger Gracie from the 2008 Mundials.

Terere shows why his exciting and flowing style still holds an influence over Jiu Jitsu today and Roger showing why he is the submission escape artist!

Watch at 2.15 for one of the most beautiful sequences in BJJ history!

Enjoy! 

More Potential Superfights!

More potential superfights are being rumoured for the event which will feature the infamous Roger Gracie making his return to the BJJ world to take on 2012 absolute world champion Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida.

The latest one that has everyone talking is 3x World Champion 2x ADCC Champion, and reigning 2012 World Champion Rafael Mendes of Atos Jiu Jitsu, taking on the always exciting and colouful Jeff "The Pipelayer" Glover of Paragon Jiu Jitsu.

It is obvious to anyone who follows the modern jiu jitsu scene that Rafael is the heavy favourite in this one. But, don't count Glover out as he has had some extremely impressive victories over world champions Caio Terra and Robson Moura recently. In both cases Glover was given no chance and he pulled off the win!

This event should be awesome if these matches come together!

Match Of The Week!

This week we have a classic match up from the 2006 mundials, 5x World Champion Marcelo Garcia vs 3x World Champion Andre Galvao! This took place 6 years ago in the middleweight division final, both competitors would go on to win many more world titles and become legends of the jiu jitsu world. Check out Marcelos awesome sweep and crazy pressure on top!

Back Take Drills!

Check out this awesome video from our friends in Portland, Oregon, Nathan and Zach Adamson! Zach is an awesome competitor, taking multiple medals at IBJJF tournaments across america, putting these techniques to the test at the highest level. Our head instructor Darragh O Conaill had the chance to train with him at the Worlds 2012 Training Camp at Lovatos Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Oklahoma earlier this year!


Here are some great transitional options from the same passing system we use here at our academy! This system was taught to us in person over the course of 2 seminars with 3x World Champion Rafael Lovato. Jr. Rafael is also Zack and Nathans coach and as you can see his style has influenced them greatly!

Enjoy!

Cleanest Academy In All Of Monkstown!

Gym cleaned and ready for a fresh week of training!!

Super Fight!!!

Apparently, the only 3x Absolute World Champion and arguably greatest Jiu Jitsu fighter of all time, Roger Gracie, has just confirmed a brief break from MMA to compete in a 20 minute submission only super fight with 2012 Absolute World Champion Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida!

Roger has only been defeated a handful of times, on points, in extremely close matches. Most notably to losing to Xande Ribeiro by advantage, and to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza on points after breaking Jacare's arm!

Buchecha has been on fire this year, winning both weight and absolute at the 2012 World Championships taking out 2011 Absolute World Champ and previously undefeated at Black Belt, Rodolfo Viera. Known for extremely aggressive style and fast paced matches, Buchecha will undoubtedly be one of Rogers biggest challenges yet.

It is rumored to be taking place in October. If so, this will be one of the most anticipated matches of all time. Who takes it!?

Learn From World Champion Leandro "Lo"

Check out 2012 Lightweight World Champion Leandro "Lo" Nascimento teaching one of his best sweeps from the open guard! If you are a fan of Leandros, you will have seen him hit this sweep multiple times since exploding on the scene in 2011 with a win over fellow World Champion Michael Langhi. Leandro followed this victory up with an amazing 2012 season, winning the 2012 Pan Ams, Brasileiros and World Championships, taking out other big names like Lucas Lepri from Alliance and Roberto Satoshi from Bonsai!

Match Of The Week!

This weeks match is between Davi Ramos of Team Atos vs Diogo Almeida of Team Renzo Gracie. Davi was a world champion at the brown belt level and is known for his aggressive style and dangerous leglock attacks! Check out his match here against Diogo Almeida at the Copa Podio a couple weeks ago where the ending is not to be missed!

Omoplata App!

3x World Champion Professor Rafael Lovato. Jr taught at our school twice last year, sharing with us details of the game he used to win his World titles. Rafael was the second American to ever win a Black Belt World title (:BJ Penn being the first), he was also the first American Black Belt to win the "Black Belt Grandslam", taking gold at all four of the IBJJFs Major tournaments in one year.

Now you can have Rafael teach you those same techniques he use to dominate the BJJ world on your smart phone! Check out his omoplata app and take your game to the next level!

Then, check out what Rafael had to say about training at our academy!

Xande!

Seminar In Port Laoise!

Head instructor Darragh O Conaill taught a seminar today at Tuatha De Danann and the turnout was the biggest yet! Close to 30 people on the mats!

The subject of the day was the Butterfly Guard. Darragh worked through some of his favourite sweeps from the guard with some details on how to make the moves work more effectively against bigger opponents, as well as how to submit from your opponents passing decisions.

After close to 2 hours of technique demonstration and practice, Darragh and the traveling students from East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy got stuck into a sparring session, with plenty of rounds and sharing of technique amongst each other!

If you are eve in Port Laoise and looking to train, make sure you check out Tuath De Danann BJJ and MMA Academy!

Newcastle Premier BJJ Championships

The same organisers of the Irish Premier and UK Premier BJJ Championships are running their 3rd event of the year in Newcastle on September 29th. We have been extremely successful at these well run tournaments, taking several gold medals and placing in the team standings with as little as 7 competitors!

This is only a couple weeks prior to the IBJJF London Open and the IBJJF Nogi Europeans so it is a perfect warm up for our competition team!

Rolled Up!

Budovideos have been running a fantastic series called "Rolled Up" where they interview and train with various teams and famous black belts from around the world.

The most recent episode was one of their best yet, at Alliance New York. It features interviews and techniques with Alliance legend Fabio Clemente, World Champion Brown Belt Francisco "Sinistro" Iturralde and Alliance Black Belt "Babs".

Check it out!

Seminar This Saturday!

This Saturday, East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy Head Instructor Darragh O Conaill will be teaching a seminar in Port Laoise at our good friend Marko Conroys club "Tuatha Da Danann". Tuatha Da Danann is located in Unit 1 in the Porlaoise town centre right beside the Kyle Centre. For more information contact Marko on tuathadedanann@live.ie.

The seminar will begin at 12.30 and will run for a minimum of 3 hours. The subject of the day will be sweeps from the butterfly guard, and of course there will be plenty of rounds of rolling at the end!

Check out this review of Darragh's last seminar in Port Laoise for an idea of what's to come!

 http://paleochallenge.tumblr.com/post/26293005873/darragh-o-conaill-x-guard-seminar#a1

Arte Suave : Marcelo Garcia

Here is an old clip from the BJJ documentary "Arte Suave" featuring the legend, 5x World Champion 4x ADCC Champion, Marcelo Garcia. It features some rolling footage and interviews with both Marcelo and his instructor Fabio Gurgel.

"It is crucial to open the game in the academy, to loosen up, let the guy go... if i let him escape i can see the kind of escapes he can do, it gives me a wider array of options, and it will be easier when i fight at the tournament"

"I train everyday with the Gi, and once a week with no Gi, it's crucial to train with the Gi to have the finest technique, an athlete who wants to be good in no Gi, must also train with the Gi"

Competition Calendar

Here is the Competition Calendar for the rest of the year for the UK and the rest of Europe:

2012 BJJ CALENDAR

August

04 1st NoGi Manchester Open http://www.grabandpull.co.uk/

05 UK Premier BJJ Championship Bristol. www.ukpremierbjj.com

18 Blackpool Open. Tower Ballroom, Blackpoolhttp://www.grabandpull.co.uk/

25 UMA VI British Open 'With Gi' Grappling Championships.http://www.umauk.co.uk/

September

01 1st NOGI Brighton Open http://www.grabandpull.co.uk/

01 Vision NoGi Glasgow. http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/

invite-friends?eid=3894681096

02 BJJ Nottingham Open http://
www.bjjnottinghamopen.co.uk/

09 Welsh Open NOGI http://
2012welshnogiopen.eventbrite.com/

16 The Hereford Open 14 http://
www.thecombatacademy.com/HOCalendar.html

16 2nd South East Open www.southeastbjjopen.com

23 Dorset & Hants BJJ Open http://
www.dorsetandhantsbjj.co.uk/index_dh.html

23 Bournemouth No Gi Open 2 www.bournemouthnogiopen.co.uk

29-30 No-Gi Finnish Open http://www.bjjliitto.fi/
tapahtumat.php?tap=46&lang=en

29 UK Premier BJJ Championship: Newcastle.www.ukpremierbjj.com

October

06 Glasgow Open (Gi event) https://
scottishgrappling.co.uk/

06 ADCC World Pro Trials Warsaw Poland

08 1st NOGI Southern Open Falmer Road, Rottingdean, Brighton BN2 7FR http://www.grabandpull.co.uk/

20 3rd Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Midlands Open Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre http://www.grabandpull.co.uk/

20 London International Open IBJJF Championshiphttp://www.ibjjf.org/
calendar.htm

21 IBJJF No Gi European Championship http://www.ibjjf.org/
calendar.htm

November

04 The English Open: Kids and Juveniles.

10-11 The English Open: Adults / Masters / Seniors.

17 Scotia Cup No Gi https://
scottishgrappling.co.uk/

25 No Gi British Open.

December

01 UMA VI British Open 'No Gi' Grappling Championships.http://www.umauk.co.uk/

02 The Hereford Open 15 http://
www.thecombatacademy.com/HOCalendar.html

Match Of The Week!

From this past weekends Rickson Cup in Japan, here's Lloyd Irvins newest black belt (Blue, Purple and Brown belt world champion) DJ Jackson, taking on veteran black belt World Champion Michael Langhi!

UK Premier BJJ Championships : Bristol

Head instructor Darragh O Conaill alongside Dean Barry and Steven Byrne, travelled saturday night to Bristol for the UK Premier BJJ Championships in search of more Gold medals to add to their already successful seasons.

First up was Steven in the White belt Featherweight division. Working his way through three matches, Steven took home the first Gold of the day for ECJJA beating his first two opponents comfortably on points, sweeping, passing and taking the back. The final was his toughest match, going behind early on advantage points, with 1 minute left to go Steven pulled off a beautiful armbar from closed guard to get the submission and the Gold medal!

Next up was Dean. Dean has had an awesome season so far taking home Gold at the Irish Cup, the Irish Open and the Irish Premier Championships and was looking to add yet another Gold to his collection. His opening match was his most difficult, with him and his opponent trading takedown attempts until his opponent thought wiser and pulled guard! Dean worked up points from passing and mounting eventually winning 9-0. He then made easier work of his final, racking up a 15 point lead and finishing with a cross choke from mount for the Gold!

Last of the day was Darragh competing in the Brown Belt Open Weight Division. His first opponent, a Super Heavyweight weighing in at 105kg scored early with a takedown, but Darragh quickly swept back, passed and finished with a Guillotine. His second opponent, also a Super Heavyweight, was harder work. Scoring early with an X-Guard sweep and quick guard pass Darragh took a 5-0 lead. His opponent recovered and brought some strong passing pressure but Darragh eventually swept again and finished the match 7-0 making it 3 Golds for ECJJA! An awesome days work and will carry the momentum perfectly towards the IBJJF London Open and IBJJF Nogi Europeans in October!

More Saulo Matches!

Some more of Professor Saulos matches are surfacing from the Rio Open last weekend!

Check them out! Pass, Mount, Finish!!

Match Of The Week!

Enjoy this excellent, technical, back and fourth battle between two ATOS Teammates at the San Diego ADCC World Pro Trials last year! 3x World Champion Guilherme Mendes vs Eduardo Ramos

East Coast In The Paper!

There was an extensive article on our academy featured in the most recent edition of the Dun Laoghaire Gazette! Pick up your copy at all good newsagents!

Patches!

Our new patches just arrived! Available now at the gym!

Xande Explains His Flying Armlock!

Xande pulled off an amazing flying armbar in the semi final of the World Championships earlier this year! Hear the man himself explain how he pulled off such an incredible submission!

Saulo at the Rio Open!

Check out Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu International head instructor Saulo Ribeiro competing in the final of the Open Weight Division at the Rio Open over the weekend. This match was Saulos 7th of the event, having submitted 4 opponents in his weight division, he crushed his way to the final of the Open Weight event.

Here, his opponent is the legendary Eduardo "The Turtle Master" Telles. For those of you unfamiliar with BJJ or Telles, the match may look unusual. Telles has a unique style of "turtling" aka balling up. In most circumstances in both BJJ and self defence this would be a bad decision, but Telles has managed to make a career out of reversing and submitting people from this traditionally poor position. However, this time, Saulo played a perfect strategy, being cautious of Telles' reversals and racked up some advantage points to take home his second Gold of the weekend!

Nova Clearance Sale!

We are having a clearance sale of our Nova Basic Gi From Tatami!

While the rest of our stock lasts, the Nova Gis will be only 50 Euro AND they come with a free belt! These Gis are lightweight and great quality, Perfect for any beginner and great as a training Gi for the more experienced student! We have sizes A2 and A3 available in both blue and white!

Coming Soon!

Tatami Fightwear

Looking to get a new Gi? Shorts? Rash Guard? We stock a full range of Tatami Fightwear products in the academy! We have worked previously with several Gi companies and Tatami are by far the highest quality we have seen. From their Nova basic model to the high quality Estilo 3.0 you won't be disappointed!

Check out www.tatamifightwear.com for a full range of products or enquire at the academy!

BJJ Fundamentals

Coach John teaching fundamentals class tonight! Our fundamentals class is growing bigger every week! Tonight the class covered escapes from the triangle choke. Students learnt how good posture and early prevention is the key to preventing the submission, as well as some options to escape even when the choke is sunk deep. Everyone is doing great, training hard, listening and practicing technique, as we will have stripe testing on Saturday September the 1st!

Are you looking to take up a new hobby? Bored of the same old routine at the gym? Looking to get fit, lose weight and learn a new skill? If so our fundamentals class is the place for you!! And there is no better time than now to start!

Hear what student and CrossFit Strength and Performance head coach Alan Sherry had to say about training at our gym :

“Rarely does a great athlete make a great coach, but Darragh O Conaill fit’s that bill. I have trained Jiu Jitsu alongside Darragh for a few years now and I have yet to meet someone more dedicated, or more passionate about their art. He has built an amazing team atmosphere at East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy. It is unlike any other gym I’ve ever trained at, and that camaraderie is witnessed by the athletes he produces. The technical level you will see on the mats is only matched by the fun and friendly attitudes shown by the students. If you want to learn Jiu Jitsu you shouldn’t be training anywhere else!”

Check out www.ECJJA.com for information on how you can receive your FREE 30 DAY TRIAL NOW!

Kids Classes

Our kids program will be starting VERY soon!

Are you interested in having your kids learn martial arts?? Martial arts not only help with self defence but build self confidence, keep kids active as well as learn important qualities such as discipline, respect and humility. Above all else, our Kids classes are fun!!

If you are interested in your kid starting their Jiu Jitsu Journey at East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy. Visit www.ECJJA.com and fill out the contact form and we will respond to you ASAP!

Richie Takes Another Medal!

Just got word that our very own Richie Bolger, who took Gold in his weight class at the IBJJF Rio International Open yesterday, just won himself ANOTHER medal!

Richie fought in the Open Weight division today and continued his run of submissions from yesterday defeating his first two opponents by kimura and triangle respectively. He then lost in the final to a tough opponent to take home Silver!

An amazing performance at one of the toughest tournaments on the World Circuit! Congratulations Richie!!

Saulo Takes Gold!

Professor Saulo Ribeiro, 6x Black Belt World Champion and Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu International head instructor, added yet another title to his long list today at the IBJJF Rio International Open/Masters & Seniors World Championships. Saulo had 4 fights winning every single one by submission!

Congratulations too to our own Richie Bolger from Waterford, who mirrored Saulos feat in the Purple Belt division taking home Gold with 4 fights and 4 submissions!

From all of us here at Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu Ireland / East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy, Congratulations!

Match Of The Week!

Check out one of our team leaders Professor Xande Ribeiro in one of the most amazing finishes at the World Championships this year!

Upcoming Tournament!

The Grab & Pull 3rd NOGI Irish Cup will be taking place on Saturday the 8th of September.

Check out www.grabandpull.co.uk for more information!

3x World Champion Rafael Lovato Jr.

3x Black Belt World Champion and Americas most decorated Black Belt Rafael Lovato Jr. visited our academy for some training and a seminar in January after competing at the European Championships. Check out what Professor Rafael had to say about training at our academy!

Keep an eye out for Rafaels return to ECJJA, he teaches awesome seminars that are more detailed than any i've ever been too so don't miss out!

UK Premier BJJ Championships : Bristol

Our Competition Team represented well at The UK & Ireland Premier BJJ Championships in Cork a couple of weeks ago, with only 9 competitors we managed to take 3rd place in the team standings!

The next leg of the tournament will take place in Bristol shortly on the 5th of August and we will be sending a Team to this! Check out http://www.ukpremierbjj.com/ for more information on the tournament and stay tuned here for all results from the competition!

ADCC Pro Trials 2013

The date for the first of the European Trials for the ADCC World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championships 2013 have been announced!

Taking place in Warsaw Poland on the 6th of October, paid tickets to the World Championships in Dubai are up for grabs for winners of blue belt absolute divisions and brown/black weight divisions!

Our team will be attending this for sure!

2011 Highlight Video!

Check out our competition teams highlight video from last year!

Since this was made, our team has grown bigger and nearly all of our competitors have been promoted and medalled at major tournaments across Europe!

I think it's time for a new highlight to be made! :)

Beginners BJJ!

Are you looking to try Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or simply find a new way to keep fit, build confidence and have fun? If so our fundamentals program at East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy is the perfect place to start! Our program is growing bigger everyday and is tailored to suit anyone of any fitness level!

Simply visit www.ECJJA.com for more information on how you can receive your FREE 30 DAY TRIAL today!

Welcome!

Welcome to the East Coast Jiu Jitsu Academy Blog! The official blog for Dublins premier Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy!

We have classes suitable for all ages and skill levels. From kids to adults, from complete beginners, to intermediates and advanced!

Check back here regularly for news about the academy and be sure to check out our facebook at www.facebook.com/RJJIreland and our website at www.ECJJA.com for more information about how you can receive your FREE 30 DAY TRIAL!

:)