#nova uniao

[theanticool]

Goddamn it Sandro. Good on NU to cut ties.

[theanticool]

Well, if you're interested in training under Claudia Gadelha, she opened a gym in Pennsylvania.

[thesportssoundoff]

Does any gym have as many grinders as Nova Uniao?

Feels like they got the most. 

[mma-gifs]

WEC 38: Jose Aldo vs. Rolando Perez

[fightcaps-blog]

UFC 169: Barao vs. Faber // Renan Barao lands a right hand that drops Urijah Faber

[womenatwarbjj]

[aline-ramos]

[heroamongstwhom]

With Hard Work And Dedication, Success Will Follow....

    This weekend at the Phoenix College, Gustavo Dantas held the 5th Southwest Classic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament, one of the best tournaments held in Arizona. Grace Fighting Systems and Nava BJJ went into it with a huge army of competitors ready to fight their hearts out for their chance at the top spot on the podium. I was one among the vast amount of teammates who competed both Saturday and Sunday.

    On Saturday after coaching the GFS kids and teens to victory (11 out of the 12 took medals ranging from bronze to gold), it was the blue and brown belts turns to compete in their normal brackets. I was more than ready for this competition, I was amped up and ready to bring the gold back to GFS. In the final match against Daniel Hampton (GD Prescott Affiliate), things started off great, he pulled guard quickly on me and I had passed the guard earning a quick 3 points and an advantage for almost passing the guard. Within the first four minutes, it was a struggle for position and grips, Hampton was playing an upside down guard very well and I was doing a good job of shutting down his offense quickly. Five minutes into the match, again I passed the guard and he went straight into his upside down guard, this time unfortunately I had made the mistake of putting my head down which allowed him to spin and lace on a tight arm bar. I defended it quickly, Hampton goes to the belly down position which for me I'm usually able to escape fairly easy. As I was coming out of the position, my arm got trapped beneath Hampton and the mat and as I turned out of it my elbow popped and immediate pain shot through my arm forcing me to tap. At this level of BJJ, mistakes are capitalized on quickly and Hampton was victorious. 

    I left that night feeling disgusted with myself, knowing I could've won that match and because of a ill timed movement, I had lost the match and sustained a swollen elbow. Trying to get some sleep that night was hard, not only because of the pain, but the mental anguish of my mistake which cost me that match. I iced my arm that entire night, take well over the recommended amount of ibuprofen (around 2600mg). I would not allow myself to not compete and at least put forth an effort to give my team more points for the overall competition. 

    Sunday morning comes fast, I awake with a readiness and a little hesitance due to the injury. Now I am competing in the absolute brown belt bracket, there is only four competitors including myself. My first match is against Daniel Grupado (pretty sure I spelled his last name wrong, apologies), we've faced each other before in the open, I was able to win that match with a box choke. Right away he is quick to pull guard, I tried to brace my right arm on his belt to open his guard, right than I knew that this match was going to be a handicap for me. I was able to open his guard a few times and pass to half guard, only to be put back into his full guard time and time again, this went on for the majority of the match. With a minute in a half remaining, Daniel was able to throw up a triangle on me and sink it fairly tight, it took me about a minute to get out of it (Pretty sure I didn't breath for a good 30 seconds). As soon as I escaped his triangle, I attempted to stand up and pass the guard, but was unsuccessful in my attempts. Daniel won that match by one advantage point, score was 0-0 with a penalty on both sides. As tough as it was to swallow, I did find some positive that came out of that match. I fought with one arm for eight minutes, I successfully defended a sunk triangle, now is the time I look back on the mistakes I made and use this time to correct them before Gracie Worlds in January.

    I am thankful and blessed to have such a great team/family behind me that supports me as I do them. To be a part of a team that takes first place overall in the tournament that is predominately won by GD BJJ is a huge accomplishment! Even though I fell short of my goals for this tournament, my team stepped up and made all of my own felt short comings feel tiny compared to our accomplishments as a team. For that I can't thank them enough, to watch them compete and apply the techniques that Professor Nava, Jose Munoz, David Barnes and myself show in the classes we teach, well I can't even begin to express into words how that makes me feel. Congratulations again to the Nava BJJ and Grace Fighting Systems family today, I hope to fight side by side with you all for a longevity that time will only tell!