Some of the Reaction MMA fighters will be competing in Las Vegas, NV on July 6th and 7th at Grappler’s Quest, part of the UFC Fan Expo being held in conjunction with UFC 148. This event is huge from many perspectives. Many of the best amateur grapplers in the world will be competing. Hundreds of sponsors will be part of the Expo and looking for talent to represent their brands. Thousands of fight fans will be on site to witness this event. For many, this will be the largest stage upon which they’ve ever competed. Will you be there? If not, you can watch the action on FUEL TV!
Some of the team went up on Friday night to make-weight for Saturday’s NAGA event in Columbus. This was the smallest NAGA event we’ve ever seen and you could tell that the NAGA team were disappointed at the turnout. Despite the low turnout, there were some very good competitors there and plenty of good matches took place. Meredith took 4 first places and a 2nd in here very first NAGA event. John finally got some NAGA Gold in both gi and nogi. Wolf and Rocky got belts. Jack attended his first NAGA event and competed in the expert division against brown belts even though he is blue. And Chad competed against a tough and experienced collegiate wrestler.Below are some video highlights from today’s action at NAGA Columbus.
On June 16th, a group of the Reaction MMA grapplers will be in Columbus, OH for the NAGA Columbus grappling tournament. For this event we are especially excited to have Jack Podgorski competing in the blue belt division at <150 lbs. The venue for this event is the Greater Columbus Convention Center – Hall E, so this should be a first-class, roomy and comfortable event for both spectators and competitors. Wolfie will compete in the Expert Teen 14-15 under 109.9 lbs. Rocky in the Expert Kids 12-13 under 89.9 lbs. Also, this will be Meredith’s first big NAGA event and she will be competing in the Beginner Teen 14-15 under 119.9 lbs. There might even be a few more Reaction fighters competing depending on how schedules work out.
UPDATE: More fighters going to Columbus. John Lakes will compete at White Belt 185 lbs. Sirena Madere will be at White Belt 150 lbs, and Chad will be competing at Purple Belt 170 lbs.
Reaction MMA Kids Team at OGC Lexington June 9, 2012
Today, the entire Reaction MMA Kids grappling team and some of the adults had a great time and competed at the OGC (Ohio Grappling Challenge) event in Lexington, KY. The venue was set at Dunbar Highschool in a nicely air-conditioned gym and was the most impressive and comfortable venue we’ve ever had the pleasure to compete in. For the kids, the rules were the typical IBJJF type matches. The adults competed in a “Submission Only” format which ran smoothly. Although there were a few matches that ran for 30 minutes or more until a submission was obtained, most of the matches went surprisingly fast. I suppose when nobody has to worry about points, the fighters can focus only on getting the submission, which was quite refreshing to experience.
At the end of this post are some of the best photographs taken today by the wonderful and talented Mrs. Munson. These photos capture some of the submissions obtained by our fighters and there is one of Trey giving his signature torment to his opponent.
In the VIDEO below are some of the highlights from the Reaction MMA Kids. All of the kids did really well. The standouts from today taking double golds were Meredith who competed against all teen boys and made two of the cry, Wolf, and 6 year-old Trey.
Reaction MMA Kids Team at OGC Lexington June 9, 2012
Monday is Deadline to register for OGC LEX Submission Only
The OGC is very excited to bring their unique “Submission Only” format to the heart of the Bluegrass State! BOTH Gi and No Gi.
WHEN: Saturday June 9, 2012 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT
WHERE: Paul Laurence Dunbar High School – 1600 Man o’ War Boulevard Lexington, KY 40513
PLEASE NOTE…the “Submission Only” divisions are ONLY for Adult Competitors…the youth competitors (under 17 years) will compete under the regular time limits & points. If you are 15 years or older, you may choose to compete in the “Adult divisions”, only with a parents consent.
ALL COMPETITORS MUST REGISTER ONLINE by June 4th…NO EXCEPTIONS! There will be NO REGISTRATION at the door! In order to make this event run as smooth & efficient as possible, all divisions will be bracketed in advanced! Register Here!!!
Besides all the FREE Give-A-Ways from companies such as Shoyoroll, Subculture, & Foundation Fight Company…you will not want to miss the chance to be a part of the ever-growing expansion of the OGC!
Wolfie and Rocky Report From Grappler’s Quest Midwest
This was the second time Grappler’s Quest held an event in Ohio, the first being one of their very first events. Ohio is the 3rd biggest state for grappling and the GQ folks said they are glad to be back in Ohio. We are glad to have them within driving distance. It was a well run event overall with rock solid referees, some were BJJ Black Belts. Professor Jorge Gurgel started off the event by giving a short seminar to benefit Autism Awareness. The venue was pretty hot with not much air flow so hopefully something can be done about that next time. The competition was excellent with deep divisions for both kids and adults. The big prize of the day was to winners of Advanced divisions who took both gi and nogi, free entry into all Grappler’s Quest events for the rest of 2012. Wolf took the belt and the big prize of the entry fees. Rocky ran into a more experienced grappler from Pennsylvania who he’s looking forward to getting another shot at soon. The adult divisions were very deep, especially in mens blue, purple and brown. Videos of the 13-15 y/o under 114 lbs Advanced Gi and Nogi finals are below.
SAVE $15 if you sign up by Thursday, May 17th! (extended)
The OGC is very excited to bring their unique “Submission Only” format to the heart of the Bluegrass State! BOTH Gi and No Gi.
WHEN: Saturday June 9, 2012 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM EDT
WHERE: Paul Laurence Dunbar High School - 1600 Man o’ War Boulevard Lexington, KY 40513
PLEASE NOTE…the “Submission Only” divisions are ONLY for Adult Competitors…the youth competitors (under 17 years) will compete under the regular time limits & points. If you are 15 years or older, you may choose to compete in the “Adult divisions”, only with a parents consent.
ALL COMPETITORS MUST REGISTER ONLINE…NO EXCEPTIONS! There will be NO REGISTRATION at the door! In order to make this event run as smooth & efficient as possible, all divisions will be bracketed in advanced! Register Here!!!
Besides all the FREE Give-A-Ways from companies such as Shoyoroll, Subculture, & Foundation Fight Company…you will not want to miss the chance to be a part of the ever-growing expansion of the OGC!
Compete – Study Video – Find Holes - Fix Them – Dominate
For the past few weeks, 12 y/o Rocky has been in a cycle where he competes, we video his matches, then he and Coach Rob study the video to decide what to improve next in his game, they work in private lessons 3 times each week, he does classes, then he competes again a couple of weeks later. In just two completions of this cycle, Rocky’s ground game has gone to an entirely different level and he is getting a little scary. The video below is from Saturday’s nogi division, semi-finals and finals, where he quickly finished two opponents in the Advanced Kids under 80 lbs division. This training strategy has helped Rocky go from squeaking out wins on points to where he now finishes most of his matches. This is where hard work from Rocky meets effort and energy from Coach Rob Nickerson. The suggestion is that this same formula would work for anyone. Stay ferocious my friends!
This Saturday, April 28th, some of the grapplers from Reaction MMA in Lexington, KY will make the trip to Greenwood, Indiana (just south of Indianapolis) for the Extreme Grappling Open. On April 28th you can go(actually you can go there now) to the EGO Event LIVE Web Broadcast site, where for a cost of $19.95 your friends and family will be able to watch the EGO from the comfort of their own home! Now your friends, family, and teammates who are unable to attend can still watch your matches!
*Disclaimer* for this first go round, not all matches will be filmed. We are going to have two cameras on site. One filming ALL the kids matches, and the other filming all the high-ranking matches plus random matches throughout. You (or rather your friends – since you’ll be at the EGO) will be able to watch all the high level matches and great competition at the EGO, and grandparents or far away aunts, uncles… whoever can catch-all the kids matches LIVE as they happen!
All you have to do is go to this site – EGO Event LIVE Web Broadcast site – and you can register to watch all day!
EGO Battle Axe
Winners of divisions will get an EGO Battle Axe like this one. You have to admit that one of these bad boys would look awesome as a part of your collection of medals, belts, katanas and trophies. Don’t let your Jiu-Jitsu friends be sporting these battle axes without you getting a chance to have one too.
One group will be passing through Georgetown and Louisville en route to the tournament so if you want to ride-share, leave a comment on this post or talk to the Steel boys.
If you take the Weigh-In Friday Option, they are offering Free Food and Drinks while it lasts! So if you weigh-in Friday night from 7:00-9:00pm we will have free food and drinks for you! *Again – while supplies last.
Start making plans now for this very fun event in Louisville, KY. Reaction MMA will be represented in kids, teens, and adult divisions. This is one tournament not to miss if you can help it. The format is GI only, with 5 people in each division, round robin, so you get a match with everyone in your division, win or lose. Winner of the division is decided by total points.
Win via submission: 3 points;
Win via points: 2 points;
Draw: 1 point;
Loss: 0 points;
Bye: 0 points.
Also this event was well covered by Cage Craze last year and you can see video of some of the fights via Cage Craze Youtube Channel. The folks that put on this tournament are well-organized and the whole event runs smoothly. Last year, there were several MMA fighters from the region competing at this event and this year I expect there will be even more MMA fighters showing up to show that they can get it done on the ground.
Some of the Reaction MMA fighters will be competing in Las Vegas, NV on July 6th and 7th at Grappler’s Quest, part of the UFC Fan Expo being held in conjunction with UFC 148. This event is huge from many perspectives. Many of the best amateur grapplers in the world will be competing. Hundreds of sponsors will be part of the Expo and looking for talent to represent their brands. Thousands of fight fans will be on site to witness this event. For many, this will be the largest stage upon which they’ve ever competed. Will you be there? If not, you can watch the action on FUEL TV!
