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!
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!
Yesterday, on the hottest day of the year so far, 22 people trained and worked on improving their Kata Gatame or arm triangle choke. After working for 4 hours on the specific details of this technique everyone’s chokes were getting really tight by the end of the seminar. Some of our competitors have been getting this position easily in grappling events but not finishing the choke. Well, those days are probably over and we should see a lot of arm triangle finishes in the next few competitions. Many thanks to Professor Gurgel and his staff, as always, for the enormous amount of energy put into this event and teaching our figthers.
This seminar will be “NOGI” and will focus on grappling for MMA. Professor Jorge Gurgel is a UFC and Strikeforce veteran who puts incredible energy and insight into teaching what he knows so well. The seminar cost is only $50 cash at the door. May 26th, starting promptly at Noon so arrive early to warm up. Come ready to work hard and put as much energy and focus into learning and drilling as Professor Gurgel puts into teaching. Bring NOGI attire, and cup, and optionally MMA gloves. NOTE: The flier says Gi but this is now going to be a NOGI Seminar.
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.
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!
The essence of Jiu-Jitsu is the supposedly weaker or smaller opponent being able to defeat and dominate their attacker. In this series of photos expertly shot by MP Sports Photography at last years 2011 Super Ego Jiu-Jitsu Competition, the average person can see and understand what Jiu-Jitsu is all about. In this series, a girl is pitted against a boy, they are of about equal size, he is of a higher belt, she is just a one stripe white and yet she ends up in mount and dominates the match and gets her hand raised. I cannot tell what school the boy is from, but the girl is wearing insignia from Jorge Gurgel’s school which probably explains a lot about this series of photos. Moral of the story is, Jiu-Jitsu enables Girl-Power!
Saturday May 26th, 30 days from today, Reaction MMA in Lexington, KY will be hosting a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Seminar by Professor Jorge Gurgel. All are welcome to attend regardless of school. Wear your Gi and come ready to sweat, work hard and learn a lot. If you have never been to a seminar with Professor Gurgel, you are in for a special treat because very few if any instructors put as much energy, intensity and insight into their seminars as this UFC and Strikeforce veteran. There will be people on the mat in every skill level, from white to brown, and in every size from 80 to 230 pounds, so you can expect to roll with others at your same level and same relative size. This seminar will start promptly at Noon, so arrive earlier to get on the mat and get warmed up. Also, Professor Gurgel tends to teach until he feels the majority of the students have grasped the techniques being taught that day, so don’t be surprised if the seminar runs past 4PM. I challenge you to find a better value for just $50 anywhere. You can download a PDF Version of the Jorge Gurgel Seminar Flier Here. Please help us share and post this flier.
The XFC has a great matchup on the June 22nd, XFC 18 card between Matt Metts (1-0 pro, 7-0 ammy) vs Scott Holtzman (1-0 pro, 5-0 ammy) in the Lightweight division. Both fighters are identical in height. Both fighters are undefeated in their careers with each being 1-0 as a pro. Both of these fighters hold blue belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Metts is a 4 stripe blue under Coach Rob Nickerson at Reaction MMA in Lexington, KY, where Scott Holtzman is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ben Harrison of Shield Systems in Knoxville, TN. Matt is regarded as the top MMA pro Lightweight in Kentucky and Scott is regarded as the best MMA Lightweight pro in Tennessee. Only one of these guys can remain undefeated. Somebody’s “OHH” has “Got to Go!” Both of these fighters are known for finishing their fights so there we should expect some serious fireworks when these two meet in the cage. This fight will NOT go to a decision and will likely be a serious candidate for either Fight of the Night, KO of the Night, or Submission of the Night. This fight will be broadcast LIVE on HDNET so set your DVR!
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.
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!
