Uncategorized | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Baltimore

Keep an Eye on Roberto Torralbas in 2010

By admin, on January 22nd, 2010%

Roberto Torralbas has been a staple of Team Lloyd Irvin for the past few years and 2010 looks to be a breakout year for the Purple Belt and leader of Third Law BJJ in Naples, Florida.

Roberto racked up a few Advanced and Purple belt division victories at Maryland, Virginia, and Florida tournaments throughout the . . . → Read More: Keep an Eye on Roberto Torralbas in 2010

Team Lloyd Irvin Members to Watch in 2010... DJ Jackson

By admin, on January 20th, 2010%

DJ Jackson (center) celebrates Team Lloyd Irvin GQ Team Victory

We want to spotlight some of the up-and-coming grapplers coming out Team Lloyd Irvin. Because of Lloyd’s great marketing, most of the BJJ community have heard of a few individuals but there is a strong team of talented athletes backing them up as well. One of . . . → Read More: Team Lloyd Irvin Members to Watch in 2010… DJ Jackson

Good Coach vs. Good Teacher

By admin, on January 18th, 2010%

After Alliance outpointed Gracie Barra in the World Championships a few years ago, one of the heads of Gracie Barra commented that it was because Alliance had made an effort to secure visas and sponsorships for its top athletes so they could afford to come to America and compete. This same situation applies to talented athletes and especially to those involved in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It costs a lot of money to get to the big tournaments and if you can’t get to the game, you can’t play. The point is not that money is more important than quality training for an athlete’s development (its not) but that at a certain point, a coach needs to expand its focus to more than just teaching to bring his athletes to the next level.
. . . → Read More: Good Coach vs. Good Teacher

BJJ Scoring Controversy - UmaPlata

By admin, on January 17th, 2010%

So Team Lloyd Irvin Purple Belt and owner of Third Law BJJ in Naples, FL, Roberto Torralbas was in Baltimore this weekend for the JT Torres seminar. We were having a good discussion about scoring controversies in IBJJF competitions esp. the Umaplata (or Omoplata). I have been watching a lot of BJJ matches lately as I . . . → Read More: BJJ Scoring Controversy – UmaPlata

Why Your Child's Birthday is So Important (or Unimportant)

By admin, on January 15th, 2010%

On the way up to the On the Mat tournament in PA, I got to listen to an audio copy of the bestselling book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. The book makes a strong argument for the role of environment and circumstances in the development of successful individuals (“outliers”).

Read this Book!

The book begins with an analysis . . . → Read More: Why Your Child’s Birthday is So Important (or Unimportant)

2010 Top 12 Goals for Crazy 88

By admin, on January 1st, 2010%

Just like I said yesterday, its hard to get going on one’s goals. That’s why I am writing them down and holding myself publicly accountable. These are top 12 objectives I have for Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2010. Note that they are all easily measurable; nothing vague like “get better at judo . . . → Read More: 2010 Top 12 Goals for Crazy 88

Will 2010 Be More of the Same for You?

By admin, on December 31st, 2009%

Happy New Years!

Although I don’t love physics as much as some of the other Team Lloyd Irvin Instructors to name my school after the subject (make sure to check out Roberto Torralbas’ school in Naples FL), one of the law I really like is Newton’s 1st Law of Motion which states:

An object in motion will . . . → Read More: Will 2010 Be More of the Same for You?

2010 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Competition Schedule

By admin, on December 26th, 2009%

We have been planning out next year’s schedule for the Crazy 88 BJJ competition team so we can make sure our athletes peak at the right time and also to give us ample time to get the resources necessary to make sure our guys are able to do the tournaments.

For the competitors who plan on doing . . . → Read More: 2010 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Competition Schedule

2009 White Belt Battle Royale (Holiday Edition) Roster

By admin, on December 11th, 2009%

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Tentative Roster
All weight classes are less than the weight listed so 160 means “less than 160 lbs”. Current weight class listings are approximate, we will do weigh-ins the day of the competition.

White Belt (true beginner division)

Womens

Cammie J (Ivey League)
Cynthia Santiago (Crazy 88)

Mens

170

Rashib (Crazy 88)

180

Tom Shrum (Crazy 88)

205+

Brandon Hendrickson (Ivey League)
Rob Haywood (Crazy 88)

White Belt (standard)

Womens

Teresa . . . → Read More: 2009 White Belt Battle Royale (Holiday Edition) Roster

What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Don Achnick

By admin, on December 11th, 2009%

Don Achnick is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and the head instructor of the Kids Program at Lloyd Irvin HQ. If you have not seen those kids in action, you are missing out – they grapple like experienced adults but have the flexibility and bounciness of the kids!

Our Childrens Martial Arts program is fashioned after . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Don Achnick

Count Koma: 5 lessons from Jiu-Jitsu’s pioneer in Brazil February 5, 2012
Grandmaster Mitsuyo Maeda (1878-1941) learned Jiu-Jitsu in Japan, was bestowed with the nickname Count Koma in Spain, won hundreds of fights in Cuba, and disseminated his knowledge to promising young students, like Carlos Gracie, in Brazil. To bear fruit until this day, and at every corner of the planet, the master had to have firmly entrenched […]
Gracie Barra and 5 recent moves to make the opposition sweat at Jiu-Jitsu Pan February 5, 2012
Eight weeks removed from the IBJJF Pan-American Championship, and Gracie Barra doesn’t want to hear about resting on its laurels after having won the team title at the European Championship. The focus now is on trying for a repeat performance in their own backyard, at the March 29 Pan to take place right down the road […]
Euro champ Michelle Nicolini: absolute gold shouldn’t overshadow mistakes February 5, 2012
The black belt Michelle Nicolini (CheckMat) won the women’s absolute division at the IBJJF European Championship this past weekend, outdoing two opponents. In her first match, she submitted Monica Vanessa with an armbar. In the final, she went up against her teammate Ida Hansson, who is soon to become a medical doctor, and won by […]
Abu Dhabi: who can keep Xande, Tarsis, Bochecha, Lucas & Clark Gracie’s from flying free? February 5, 2012
The main WPJJ event in Abu Dhabi will only happen in April; still the climate is already heating up for the big Jiu-Jitsu stars already this February and March, when three more tryouts for the big event will take place to determine who gets free airfare, food and board for their trip to the United […]
“Jiu-Jitsu’s not about who you beat, but about what you conquer” February 5, 2012
Our buddies with the twitter account @BRblackbelt, responsible for some of the most interesting and exotic Jiu-Jitsu camps in Brazil and abroad, issued this poll a little while ago: #BJJ is not about who you beat, but what you conquer. What have you conquered so far? GRACIEMAG agrees and applauds the query, and it echoes the […]

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Baltimore