By admin, on July 6th, 2010%
Saturday at the Mundials was the real beginning of the “Clash of the [BJJ] titans.” The junior blue-belts divisions, the purple-belt male and female open divisions, as well as the brown belts and the lighter-weight black belts (my favorite divisions of course) were on the docket. The bullpen, the stands, and the surrounding areas were flooded with BJJ royalty. I arrived at the venue extra early to support Mike Atkin, who is, as most people know, like family to all of us.
As we had done for three days before, Cathy and I placed our bags in a prime location – center seating on the right side of the arena. Initially, it was just Cathy and I, amongst hoards of referees, vendors, and press getting ready for the biggest two days in BJJ. However, this time one thing was noticeably different. Unlike the random seating arrangement of the fans in the first three days, the seating choices of the patrons on this morning were clearly deliberate. In fact, directly behind me I noticed a pack of supporters and athletes from Alliance – Gabi Garcia in the lead handing out black and teal Alliance t-shirts. Directly across the arena I noticed a similar gathering of Gracie Barra supporters huddled around the unmistakable Romulo Barral. Atos members were to the right of them – most of them, including Rafael & Guilherme Mendes and Gilbert Burns, in clean white Atos polo shirts. To my right was a pack of Gracie Humaita competitors, spectators, and family members led by Saulo Ribero. I had heard that Saturday and Sunday were huge, but this was more than I had expected. Cathy and I grabbed our bags and moved our seats to the soon-to-be Lloyd Irvin section (just in time to allow the Alliance Banner to be spread directly over our old seats).
. . . → Read More: A Lawyer in Long Beach pt 4 : Clash of the Titans
By admin, on July 4th, 2010%
Later in the day we came up with a plan whereby each fighter from Crazy 88 preparing for a fight would be assigned an assistant who had fought the day before, to make sure they had everything they needed. It was an honor to be able to assist, in what little way I could, in a teammates’ preparations. SEVEN (7) Lloyd Irvin competitors became World Champions on June 4, 2010 and, at least four others medaled – two of them coming from Crazy 88. . . . → Read More: A Lawyer in Long Beach pt 3 : Once the Dust Settled
By admin, on June 21st, 2010%
Wed, June 2, 2010
Cathy and I left for BWI for a direct flight to LAX. I suffered a neck injury the week before and thus packed in my carry on all the niceties I felt I would need to cure my neck during the five-hour flight. Slathered with Arnica (for those of you who don’t . . . → Read More: A Lawyer in Long Beach : My Experience at the BJJ World Championships – Part Deux
By admin, on June 20th, 2010%
As most people know, the “Super Bowl” is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the premier association of professional American football. It was first played on January 15, 1967, as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League. It was agreed that the two leagues’ . . . → Read More: A Lawyer in Long Beach : My Experience at the BJJ World Championships by David Zwanetz
By admin, on December 16th, 2009%
Everyone woke fairly early the next day. We made our daily early morning trip to the diner up the street from Guigo’s house. After a few cups of cafe espressos and a ham sandwich, I felt great. JT Torres and Mike Fowler were up first that day. Both Mike and JT lost first round on very . . . → Read More: To Brazil and Back Again pt 3
By admin, on December 15th, 2009%
Athletes Prepare for Battle!
I was the first member of Team Lloyd Irvin to fight on Saturday morning in the open weight class division. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I had heard so many stories of how different Brazilian fighters are and how much higher the level of competition is. Well, its . . . → Read More: To Brazil and Back Again pt 2
By admin, on December 14th, 2009%
I was sitting in the Crazy 88 Jiu Jitsu school office typing emails to people and making phone calls when my phone rang. Master Lloyd Irvin informed me that I was needed to go to Brazil to cover Mike Fowler and JT Torres in Sao Paulo at the World League Pro Jiu Jitsu tournament, and the . . . → Read More: To Brazil and Back Again by Jon Delbrugge part 1
