IBJJF
I’m immensely proud of everyone who came out to compete and support at the IBJJF Chicago Spring Open this last weekend. As Brasa CTA we were able to clinch third place above some major teams with a lot of competitors, so that was very cool and you all contributed to that!
Karen, Ryan, Andrew, Andre, Sam, Kaleo, Valerie, Jack, Alyson, Kevin, and Paul all did incredible and represented our team well. Ryan placed second in his division with one of the most exciting (and stressful!) matches in the tournament. Alyson got first place in her division and was awarded her Blue Belt on the podium! Jack placed second in his division after battling some true giants. Karen, Andrew, Andre, Sam, Valerie, Kevin, and Paul all fought really good matches but came up – sometimes by a hairs breadth! – short. That’s how it goes in the big leagues. However, all of them showed improvements in their games and fought really good matches that I’m very proud of them for fighting!
Regardless of the outcome of any match, I hope they all learned something about their Jiu-Jitsu and walked away with something to work on and develop – and maybe to avoid as well! The outcome of any given match or tournament isn’t as important as the process itself and where it will ultimately lead you.
Thank you all so much for being a part of this team and for representing us in competition!
Fundamentals: last week in our Fundamentals class on Monday we studied a staple – and favorite! – of our Fundamentals curriculum: the Collar Drag – both from the standing position and from the seated guard. On Wednesday we drilled the Torreando Pass leading into the Single Under and ultimately the Double Under Pass. On Friday we studied attacking the Kimura from Side Control, and responding to our partners’ defense by attacking a straight Armlock.
Advanced: in Advanced class we studied how to prevent our opponent from wrestling up from the 1/4 Guard / Knee Cut / Coyote Guard position by backstepping into Reverse Half Guard and using shoulder pressure to pass from there. We also studied a sweep from that Reverse Half Guard Position
No Gi: in No Gi this week we drilled the Top Pyramid Triangle trap and setup, and also took a look at the basics of the Heel Hook Submission and Escape from 50/50.
This week in kids’ class we worked on single and double under passes! Passing the guard is one of the most challenging aspects of Jiu-Jitsu. And sometimes even getting to a starting position to pass can be considered a win since the other person has to put their energy into maintaining the guard. We also focused on how to be good partners to help everyone progress. Finding that perfect zone of learning where we aren’t flopping over but also not resisting at 100% is tricky, but critical to being a team player.. Congratulations to Milah, Cordy, Lincoln, and Aria for earning a stripe. Consistency and hard work pays off! Also a great big Congratulations to Valerie for her IBJJF debut! She is our first kid competitor at IBJJF and we couldn’t be more proud. Can’t wait for others to follow in her footsteps.