May 15th, 2013 In 10th Planet Van Nuys, Seminars | Comments Off on 10th Planet’s First Black Belt, Denny Prokopos is Teaching a Seminar June 1st in Van Nuys!
Denny Prokopos was born in San Francisco around 1988. He was interested in Pro Wrestling as a child, and it was looking for Pro Wrestling tapes at a video store that he found out about the UFC. He bought a few tapes of the fighting organization’s first tournaments at the store and as he saw the footage he was amazed by Royce Gracie’s prowess inside the cage. He was so fascinated by the Gracie Jiu Jitsu style that he managed to convince his parents to let him train Jiu Jitsu (who vehemently opposed to it in the beginning). He was 12 years old when he started and his first coach was Charles Gracie.
As Denny got more involved with Jiu Jitsu, he started preferring the Nogi aspect of the game; this was when he sought out Eddie Bravo for private classes in Nogi. Eddie at the time had already made a name for himself in the Nogi community and was a great believer of the benefits of training without the kimono. Denny ended up leaving his previous instructor and turning his full attention to Eddie Bravo’s way of thought and method, he was around 16 at the time.
In highschool Denny Prokopos also added wrestling to his resume, competing all throughout secondary School with the exception of the last year due to a bad injury that prevented him from training. He ended up quitting the academic life to focus solely on Jiu Jitsu training and competition, that hard work and dedication paid off with several important victories at a national and international stage, culminating with his black belt award in 2009. In that same year he was part of the American National Team at the FILA Grappling Championship, being coached by Ricardo Liborio in preparation for the tournament (a competition he won), he has also worked extensively with Jake Shields.
This move is awesome! It’s very difficult for you opponent to see it coming. When you get it locked in, it’s almost impossible to scramble out. If you opponent does happen to get out, you can transition to a heel hook, or sometimes even a figure four leg lock!
After a tremendous success, we’re bringing back our coaching program to 10th Planet Van Nuys. If you’re a serious student, and you’re looking to make Jiu Jitsu a serious part of your life, this class is for you. Whether you want to own your own gym one day, help corner fighters, teach classes, or just get better and more involved, this class is for you. I’ve told my class this several times, but I’m serious when I say this, this is the BEST class we’ve ever had at the gym.
If you don’t know my story of why I got into coaching, here it is. I was just a regular old purple belt looking to do something more with my bjj. I wanted to find a reason to be around the gym more, I wanted more responsibility so I wouldn’t slack on my training. I wasn’t must of a competitor, and I never really had any serious interest in fighting MMA, but I still wanted to find a reason to show up everyday outside of just loving the sport and staying in shape. I ask my friend and training partner Brent Littel for some advice. He told me to find some white belts who needed some extra work, and start helping them get better. Fast forward a few years, and here I am, a full time coach, running my own 10th Planet affiliate.
If you’re a full time member of 10th Planet Van Nuys, and you want to jump in there’s still some time left. Contact us at info@10thplanetvannuys.com
Here’s my new card. I had my good friend Jo-S hook up the graphic design. He’s an art director at a firm that does all the DVD covers and Movie posters. I thought that it was pretty special. What do you guys think?
Here’s the deal… You pay me money, I teach you 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. Seems like a fair trade to me right? I know what I’m doing, I have experience, I’m talented and I’m fun to hang out with.
…Or shame on you if you haven’t told your friends.
I’ve been getting about 4-5 times the site traffic that I usually get this week. Thanks to everybody who checks out the site. It gives me personal satisfaction to Know you care. Thanks to everybody who posts their techniques, uses 10thpjj in tournaments and mma ect. Keep the videos coming and I’ll keep posting them.