2013 Guerrilla Grand Prix Results

My last post was written a few days before my actual solo road trip down to San Jose, CA. and I’m happy to report that I have returned from my 1200+ mile journey safely. I want to start this post by thanking my hosts Jacob and Gessy Bell for letting me stay at their awesome house while in San Jose. Also, thanks to Mike and Nick for coaching me throughout the day.

I felt very sharp while competing and all three of my matches were against very game and sound jiu jitsu practitioners. In my first match I had to swim through some deep waters as I narrowly escaped a triangle choke to eventually mount and win via points, 6-0. In my second match I pulled off a 2-0 advantage win. Lastly, in my third match, the finals, I was told that I won with what was widely considered the submission of the tournament. I especially enjoyed this win because of the sacrifices made by others in order for me be able to compete in this tournament. Also, driving 20+ hours made me incredibly hungry for victory.

Watch the brief finals match below!

Must be the hair…

My trusty Acrua RSX and an incredible view of Mount Shasta,

Mike Prudencio, Dave Camarillo, and Jacob Bell.

Lastly, I want to write this part down especially, for future Andy to look back at and remember:
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

2013 Guerrilla Grand Prix

I am very excited for this upcoming weekend. On May 18th I will be fighting in the Guerrilla Grand Prix in Pleasanton, CA. From the mind of jiu jitsu ace Dave Camarillo, the Grand Prix is an exciting event. All color belts will be fighting under IBJJF rules, but the cool thing about the purple belt category is that it’s open weight, meaning no weight classes. I’m especially pumped to be driving down all the way from Portland, OR. in what is scheduled to be a mere 10 hour drive. Not too bad right? I’ll be vlogging the entire trip and of course my matches from the tournament.

Stripe #1

This past weekend was awesome! Not only did Samir Chantre put on an awesome clinic featuring some really cool spider guard techniques, but I also earned my first stripe as a purple belt. It’s a big step towards my life long goal of becoming a double black belt. Already holding a 2nd degree black belt in judo, my mind is now absolutely set on earning my black belt in jiu jitsu. Watch Samir pull of an amazing arm bar down below!

Scramble Care Package

You remember that little review video I did for Scramble a few weeks ago? Well, the people over at Scramble loved it. They loved it so much that they sent me a little care package! Watch the short video below to see what was in it. SWAG. SWAG. SWAG.

Shoyoroll Batch #23 Navy Cements Gi Review

This is my first Shoyoroll gi and I think I made a good choice. I got it from Grapplers Delight, all the way from the United Kingdom. Batch #23 pays homage to a certain famous Chicago Bull and one of his famous pairs of shoes. Maybe you’ve heard of him? His name is Michael Jordan. Anyway, Shoyoroll released two “Cement” batches but the one I got was the Navy version. Check the short video below for a snap review.

Kimura is a Boss

You see this man above this wall of text? You recognize him? Those eyes. That pose. That’s Masahiko Kimura and you probably already know that this man was LEGENDARY. Masahiko Kimura is in my opinion, the greatest judoka ever. After Jigoro Kano of course. But, if you do jiu jitsu and live judo, you have to know this man.

Masahiko Kimura was judo. He lived it and it seems as if he was born to do it. Kimura was a phenom and his training methods were madness. How intense? Well, “At the height of his career Kimura’s training involved a thousand push-ups and nine-hours practice every day”. And my favorite, “Many opponents asked Kimura not to use his osoto gari”. These were taken from Wikipedia, so they may not be 100% accurate, but I like to believe that they are.

A technique in newaza is actually named in honor of Kimura after he used it to finish Helio Gracie in their super fight. The Kimura, also known as Ude Garami, lives on in both modern day judo and jiu jitsu.

It’s because of this man and the deeds he has done in the sport of judo that I am seriously considering my first born son to be named “Masahiko”. Do yourself a favor and read up about this man HERE.

Skills

Like a fish takes to water or a bird takes flight, Dave Camarillo takes to grappling, especially judo and jiu jitsu. Who ever filmed and edited this video deserves some type of award, similar to ones passed out for catching lions stalking the Africa savanna or some Planet Earth type stuff. This short video displays some awesome technique and talent and should be watched by anyone remotely interested in judo and jiu jitsu. Number of guard pulls I saw? NONE. Enjoy.