- Running a Large Martial Arts School vs. a Small OneI’ve had the opportunity to be a student at “small” academies that grew into big ones and also have had the good fortune of watching my own Howard County Martial Arts academy develop into a “big” school as well. One thing that I’ve noticed is how different it is to run a successful big program [...] […]
- Whats Up with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Associations?So what are these benefits? Firstly, joining a reputable associations is a good way for the new member to get the recognition and reputation of the association without necessarily being of the same quality. Imagine a school that does not have any history of producing competitors and also lacks an instructor with solid credentials; the school owner would grea […]
- Five Mistakes BJJ Beginners Make Dealing with LossesAt our Baltimore martial arts school, we like to have an active competition team in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, No-Gi, Thai boxing, and MMA. Of course, if you compete, you will inevitably lose. And like everyone has told you, its what happens after the loss that is important. So let’s look at five common errors beginners make [...] […]
- Founded in 1998 – So What?Customers find comfort in the fact that a business has been in existence for a long time. This is apparently a mark of dependability and continual success and so one feels comfortable developing a relationship with the proprietor with less worry that the business will undergo some bizarre twist of fate that causes it [...] […]
- Go After Titles, Not PeopleSome of the best advice I ever received from Lloyd Irvin was regarding rivalries. To many times, competitors get focused on a single opponent rather than focusing on the big picture. A common situation would be as follows: Adam loses to Bill. Adam then focuses all his efforts on beating Bill. He trains with Bill in [...] […]
- How to Watch Competition FootageSince everyone is snowed in and is supposedly working out at home and watching a lot of film, I thought I could provide some tips on watching competition footage that have helped me out over the years. In the beginning, I could not watch Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition videos and preferred instructional videos; nowadays, its the other way [...] […]
- One Reason Competition is Important…Competition is important because it helps keep BJJ instructors honest. Every instructor has a different set of criteria from one another and most likely, a different set of criteria for each belt. For example, some instructors use an attendance system for some of the early belts while others focus primarily on competition results. This often causes [...] […]
- Bullfighting & Jiu Jitsu by Brian Neal pt 2Continued from yesterday’s post by one of Children’s Martial Arts coaches, Brian Neal… I think another similar aspect is the preparation required for each. There isn’t any training manual or book you can read that will prepare you for what you will encounter when you get on your first bull or fighting in your first advanced [...] […]
- Bullfighting & Jiu Jitsu by “Rodeo” Brian Neal pt 1In a previous life, I used to ride bulls, in part for fun and in part for many. I think you might find it interesting if I shared my thoughts about how the two are similar. While I am not suggesting to anyone that if you can or are willing to do Jiu Jitsu, you should run out and jump on the first bull you see, but I hope to give you alittle insight into how […]
- Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…Now I don't know if VW Golfs are good are bad but the point is made - if everyone seems intent on just copying something - there must be something to the original! For an example right from our BJJ school - ever notice how every gi is compared to a Koral (the original "luxury" gi) and every light gi is compared to Vulkan (the original gi sold […]
What long day…Just got back to the hotel after being at The Abu Dhabi Trials all day. Willie Leonard won his division with 2 fights. After that, I was up and I had 3 matches.
My first opponent was a blue belt and I won by points. My second match was against brown belt, Sofia Amaramte. I had her in a triangle and submitted her with the straight arm lock. Next up was the finals, and I had Hillary Williams who is also a brown belt. I was very nervous to fight her but as soon as we shook hands, all that went away…I ended up taking second place losing to Hillary by points.
About 2 hours later Willie’s absolute division started. He had 6 matches in the absolute division. He stuck to his game plan and won it! First place prize, all expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi.
All in all it was a awesome day, you win some and you lose some. It was a great experience fighting against the brown belts today. I learned a lot from it, and it’s always hard to travel without your coach. But learning to fight without them is something you have to do, because they can’t always be there.
Tomorrow Willie and I head back to Camp Springs and it’s back to BJJ Training. Next weekend, Master Donnie, Head Instructor of the kids program will be taking the kids and I up to NAGA in Rhode Island. Stay tuned to see what’s going on in Camp Springs at Lloyd Irvin’s Mixed Martial Arts. To see the updates on how the guys did in Portugal, check out LLOYDIRVINFANS.COM
GO TEAM LLOYD IRVIN!!!
2 Responses to “Congrats to Willie Leonard, 1st Place @ Abu Dhabi Trials!!!!”
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Team Lloyd Irvin!!! AYYYYY CONGRATS WILLIE
ROCKIN AND ROLLIN TEAM LLOYD IRVIN! Congrats Willie! Abu dhabi here you come!