Gracie Barra Alaska

New Web Site and updates

2008-01-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

The academy's Web site has been updated and revamped. Thanks, Jason!

Check it out here.

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The new facility will open in mid-January. More news about the move will be available in next month's "Gracie Barra Alaska Monthly."

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December newsletter out

2007-12-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

The latest edition of "Gracie Barra Alaska Monthly" is now available at the academy. This months "Students of The Month" are Kyle Hanson and Oksana M.

Updated promotions and new students are also included.

Saturday Judo

2007-09-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Is back on. Where have you been? :)

Class runs from 11 a.m. to noon. See you there.

Roy Dean Seminar Video Posted

2007-09-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Roy Dean visited GB Alaska and taught a two-hour seminar on August 18 at the Spenard Rec Center.

The video, shot by our very own Becky G., is available here.

Worlds 2007: Randomness

2007-08-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Megan and the king of Youtube, Kurt Osiander.

Steve, Gary and Pat M.

Can you spot Gary? He waited almost an hour and a half to fight in open division this morning and they never called his name. He's in for tomorrow, though.

Worlds 2007: Pat-- "Jiu Jitsu Math: Three Armbars + One Choke = A Bronze Medal"

2007-08-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Pat started his morning off in style, armbarring his first opponent, Kelly Tyler, within three minutes.

Match 2 was against James Baccari and was another armbar in under one minute.

Match 3 was a competitor whose name Megan can't remember (Pat was working too fast for her to keep up), and he was choked with some heel, neck invention Pat made up as he went. He tapped in less than two minutes.

Match 4 was against a fellow marine named Aaron Powell from the DC area, for the winner of Bracket One. Pat tapped him with another arm bar in under three minutes.

His semifinal match lasted four minutes, with the guy (another competitor Megan can't remember, but will post when she can find it) tapping Pat with a stacked arm bar. The guy got second, Pat won a bronze.

Congrats on being third in the world in blue belts, Pat!

Some photos:

Pat and Ted in between matches, waiting in the herding area. Today, they were nice enough to call it a bullpen.

Stand up. Pat's so fast, he's a blur on Megan's camera. That's fellow Devildog Aaron Powell on the right.

Anybody recognize this position from training? Bet you do... That guy hated life shortly after.

The winner. We knew it all along.

Worlds 2007: Megan-"Go Ugly Early"

2007-08-23T15:44:00.001-07:00

Megan had the incredible luck to pull this year's Pan Am champ, Julia O'Riordan, in the first round. Julia scored two early, Megan got a guard pass, followed by another pass by Julia. The majority of the match was Julia in Megan's guard, and at the end of the six minutes, Megan lost by two. Sweet. :)

Pat A. fights tomorrow at 9 a.m. Gary and Steve have chosen to forgo their open category tomorrow to avoid injury. Their weight divisions fight early Saturday.

Pictures:

Megan in the herding area. Moooooo.

Standing. She jumped guard quickly. (A surprise. She was known for her Judo at the Pan Ams)

In Julia's guard...trying to remember posture. :)

Worlds 2007: Brackets and schedules

2007-08-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

Brackets can be found here.

Note: The open division for both men and women blue belts has been cancelled. Too many competitors.

Schedule:

Thursday
1:40 p.m.
Megan (sucker!)(blue medium-heavy)

5:30 p.m.
Pat M. (blue middle)

Friday
9 a.m.
Pat A. (blue heavy)

11:30 a.m.
Steve and Gary's open brown belt division

Saturday
Steve and Gary
Time TBA

Rigorous mental preparation, GB Alaska style.

2007-08-22T22:12:00.001-07:00

We're so ready. Pat's got the best pre-game ritual ever. See below:

Team Alaska Prepares for Worlds

2007-08-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

Five members of GB Alaska will travel to the World Jiu Jitsu Championships in Long Beach, CA next weekend.

Good luck to Gary M.(brown belt), Steve Y.(brown belt), Patrick A. (blue belt), Patrick M.(blue belt) and Megan B. (blue belt).

Blue belts compete Thursday and Friday and brown belts are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Click here for a full list of competitors.

"The Pain Train" Earns his Bluebelt

2007-08-17T10:01:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Dave "The Pain Train" Mazany for his promotion this week. Prof. Ted Stickel promoted him on Monday...making all three Mazany siblings blue belts at Gb Alaska.

What has the world come to? :)

Congratuations, Dave!

Got MySpace?

2007-08-13T02:04:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so do we. Check it out.

August newsletter out

2007-08-12T14:57:00.001-07:00

The August edition was out Friday. Look for a copy at the Academy.

Promotions

2007-08-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our students on their promotions!

Brown Belt: John Givens

Purple Belt: John Cottle

Blue Belt: Gina Mazany

Julio lands IFL tryout

2007-08-08T15:12:00.001-07:00

Julio Paulino has been offered a tryout with the IFL Seattle Tigersharks on Sept. 28. He’ll be training for the next month and a half before traveling to Seattle to meet Tigersharks coach Maurice Smith.
Because of his training schedule, and the opportunity to take his career to the next level, Paulino relinquished his AFC Light Heavyweight Championship title earlier this month. As part of his regime, Paulino has been putting in 20-25 hours of training a week, including core strengthening work with trainer and GB Alaska member Chad Hufford.
GB Alaska Monthly will follow his progress in the next months with photos and updates.

Prof. Flavio Almeida visits GB Alaska

2007-08-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

The following feature first appeared in the August edition of Gracie Barra Alaska Monthly:

Prof. Flavio “Cachorrinho” Almeida, a two-time World Champion and second place winner at the 2007 Abu Dhabi Championships, spent time at GB Alaska earlier this month. Almeida is currently an instructor at Gracie Barra America in Lake Forest, California. GB Alaska Monthly sat down with him while he was in town and asked the following questions.

As a fighter, what’s your training schedule like?
Like everyone else in jiu-jitsu, I have a full-time job and not a lot of time to train. I have to train smart and efficiently. I use my time wisely. I train five times a week, and three of those times, they are intense workouts. The other two, I mostly roll with students. My friend and coach, Prof. Marcio Feitosa says this: “It’s not how hard you train, but how smart you train.” It’s very true.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career?
It was something Prof.Renzo Gracie told me when I got my blackbelt. He said “Now, everything starts. As a blackbelt, you finally start to understand and you begin to put it all together. It’s just the beginning.” He was so right.

What’s the most difficult part of training and teaching jiu-jitsu?
For most students, it’s consistency. People come and go all the time. Your mind has to be there and you have to be focused and determined to really grow in the art. As a teacher, understanding that each student learns differently is a challenge for me. I have to adapt what I know so I can reach each individual.

When you compete, do you have a strategy or submission in mind?
I play what my opponent gives me, mostly. In the blackbelt division, because everybody is mostly equal, submissions are more of an accident than a specific plan.

What can tournaments and competing teach a student?
Losing is important. It teaches a student not to be ashamed of their effort. They also learn to love just being there. You only really learn something when you lose. If you never fail, you are in the sport for what it can give you, not what you put into it.

What’s your favorite submission?
The armbar.

Is there a submission you’d love to catch but find hard to come by?
I really like the clock choke, but it’s a hard one to catch.

What’s your pre-fight routine in a tournament? Any superstitions?
I used to be very superstitious, but these days, after hundreds of matches, I am relaxed and focused. I concentrate on getting a very thorough warm up before stepping onto a mat because the more open and loose my blood vessels are, the less of a shock it is when I start working hard.

What were your impressions of Alaska and the school?
Alaska has been a great experience for my wife, Vivi, and I. Everybody really took care of us and showed us how beautiful it is here. As far as GB Alaska, I saw outstanding fighters and a very close group, which is important for the success of a school.

How often do you travel for seminars and events?
I travel on behalf of Gracie Barra America once or twice a month, but not necessarily for seminars. I act as an ambassador on behalf of the organization and meet with instructors to help spread the message that the head of our system wants everyone to know.

From you travels and what you’ve seen, what separates a Gracie Barra academy from other jiu-jitsu schools?
Above all, it’s the sense of family among the instructors and students. It can’t be copied. There’s always a charismatic professor and a core group of individuals who work hard to keep the academy flowing smoothly. But the family aspect is the most important and makes us who we are.

What’s happening with you in the next year? Where will we see you next?
I’m competing at the Worlds this month and will be at the No-gi Worlds in December. I’m also planning to open my own school in San Clemente, California this fall. It’s going to be a very exciting year for me.

Photos from the academy: Summer 2007

2007-07-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

New judo class offered

2007-07-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

11 a.m. to noon on Saturdays at the Academy.

Judo is a grappling art based on unarmed combat techniques. The main idea behind Judo is the mechanical method of using the opponent's force to convert an attack into defeat by submission.

The class will combine methods and techniques of throwing with submissions common in jiu jitsu—ultimately created a natural flow between the two arts and sharpening students’ competitiveness. It's taught by Megan B., a sankyu (1st brown belt) in the Kodokan Judo system.

Current newsletter out

2007-07-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

The July edition of the Gracie Barra Alaska Monthly is out and available at the Academy. Submit ideas for upcoming articles and profiles to Megan.

Congrats to our newest blue belt!

2007-07-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jason, our newest blue belt in the adult class. Jason has been with Prof. Ted Stickel for nearly five years and has helped countless MMA fighters with their stand up skills.

Jason and his wife Jas are parents to Kowai and Kona from the kids class and to their newest addition, "Tama," born June 20.