Mike Venturella went from playing World of Warcraft, eating fast food everyday, and weighing over 300lbs, to a lean mean, 170lbs. When he first started training with us, he may literally have been the worst student to have walked through my doors. Fast forward two years, and he’s made a complete turn around. He’s won gold at countless grappling tournaments, has fought in Muay Thai smokers and even fought his first full contact, MMA fight this year. It’s really possible to be just like Mike. If you have a hard time believing it, come down to the and ask to see his old drivers license. You’ll sign up on the spot!
Denny “300” Prokopos will be a part of Jiu Jitsu history for a long time. He is the first person awarded a Black belt by Eddie Bravo. When Eddie first started teaching the Rubber Guard people were writing it off. They said it was not very effective or practical. Nevertheless Eddie Bravo won over a lot of students across the planet. Many are highly skilled. Many medal in various tournaments. Yet one proud Greek student, Denny “300” Prokopos soaked up the game at an insane pace. He moved ahead with a work ethic thats hard to match. At the end of the day, Eddie Bravo could only award ONE man the first Black Belt in his system. This is his story.
Keith Owen, Pedro Sauer black belt, shows the art of shrimping, Shrimping is very important in grappling as it allows you to regain half or full guard when on your back. For more information about Keith Owen, visit his site:Â http://www.bjjmoves.com
I’d love to see Conor do more grappling tournaments. He’s an amazing competitor.
“Here is my first match back in competition since my knee surgery. It was at the Grapplers X tournament in Long Beach on Feb 14, 2010. I set up my takedowns off of the Russian 2-on-1 or the baseball grip 2-on-1. The first take down is a Japanese Double when he stands up too straight, anticipating the tie up. The second is a submarine throw of of the Russian with the “Hurricane Grip”. If you are interested in learning these techniques I am available for Private Lessons. Please e-mail me or comment for info.”
In Free Trip to Brazil,” MMA legend Eddie Bravo told us about his unlikely victory at the North American trials for the ADCC Submission Grappling World Championships, the best competition of its kind on the planet. In part three of this FIGHT! Life series, Bravo, who arrived in Sao Paolo, Brazil as a brown belt surrounded by black-belt masters, recounts his now-legendary fight with Royler Gracie, the undisputed top dog in the sport who had never given up a single point in his career. Bravo had nothing to lose. Heres what happened.
Produced and directed by Matthew Ross. Shot by Rick Lee, Marc Rizzo, and Randy Ward. Edited by Ashley Cahill and Ryan Jackson-Healy.
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Posted by Alder Hampel
