Stressed out from dealing with children all day, the Crazy 88 staff decided to take the kids to Lazer Tag to relieve their pent-up aggression. Aiden bore the brunt of the laser assault as he stood dead center against the Red Team. Years of video game playing did not come in handy as Coach Jon and Coach Chris decimated Team Stunna. Next week, its to the Smithsonian!

This week’s field trip for the Kids Summer Program participants was to the National Zoo in DC.  The weather reports indicated that it might rain and there were some drizzles on the way there but the weather was clear once we arrived at the Zoo.  Because of the (nonexistent) rain, the Zoo was pretty empty which allowed us to see all the major exhibits pretty quickly; the big winners with the kids were the Pandas and the Small Mammal house.  Tomorrow the little animals will be back in training at the Crazy 88 Zoo.

Chris has been training from 9 AM – 10 PM during the summer and exemplifies the attitude that we are looking for at Crazy 88.  For his first tournament (2010 Grapplers Quest US Nationals), the coaches wanted him to do Intermediate and despite some personal and familial misgivings, he entered the tournament, and won all his matches by submission.

A few weeks later, Chris was asked to move up to the Advanced division, despite falling at least 2 years below the training time recommendation, and he again challenged himself, winning a Gold and Silver.

When not winning tournaments and training, Chris can be found aggravating David Zwanetz re: the Process.

The Crazy 88 Summer Program Kids took a break from 3-a-day Mixed Martial Arts practices to visit the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia. It was all planes and rocketships and helicopters.  Although most of the adults fell asleep during the IMAX movie about engines and all sorts of other gadgetry, the subject matter was apparently quite intriguing to those 12 years old and under.   The infamous beltway traffic which mentally decimated the staff was seemingly also quite enjoyable for the van-riding children.  Overall a very dichotomous experience.

** = split division with teammate.
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The Kids Martial Arts team was down in Virginia today competing at US Grappling’s Junior Championships. The competition was for children and teens only and offered both Gi and No Gi divisions.  It was also one of the few tournaments that was double-elimination, allowing the competitors to get at least 2 matches per division.

As the results indicate, all the kids fought really well but special recognition has to go out to Chris “Short Round” Tran who stepped up to the Advanced divisions without complaint and grinded out his way to two finals – winning one and losing the other.   Also, Austin “American Idol” Moore got onto the mats and fought hard despite his circumstances; Austin is a former Crazy 88 BJJ student who moved to Texas where he has not been able to do BJJ.  He asked to spend the entire summer training at Crazy 88 and got a full week in before going into the competition.

Great job everyone!

(l-r) Shawn Suser, Seth Fillers, Chris Tran, Coach Jon, Mason Hollis, Brendan Bill, Trystan Balderston

The Kids Summer Program participants took their first field trip today – this one to the Baltimore National Aquarium.  We were able to park the school van relatively easily and get into the facility no problem.  The dolphin show and big stingray pit were the big hit attractions and, surprisingly, the kids just blew past the shark portion of the trip.  We also had a Crazy 88 student Scott Heindl, an employee of the aquarium, go out of his way and feed some of the animals for the kids.

Evan Gideon Beaten Without Gi

Evan “Oz” Gideon became the 7th Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt tonight.  Evan has been one of our most consistent competitors, winning Gold at the 2010 BJJ World Championships and taking Silver in the Open Division at the same tournament.   He is also tied with the legendary “Hawaiian Punch” in coach-aggravation ability.

Evan had this to say about his promotion, “I just want everyone to know that I am extremely thankful for all their help and patience with me.  And I’m going to train hard everyday to live up to Team Lloyd Irvin and Crazy 88′s expectations.”

Ouch!

Mike Atkin, Evan Gideon, Jon Delbrugge, David Zwanetz

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Great job by the Crazy 88 Childrens BJJ team at the GQ US Nationals event in Morristown, NJ.  The team consisted mostly of competition veterans but we did have Chis Tran and Andre Shiller compete for the very first time (and do awesome)!  Also, of special note is Brendan “Spike-a-Doodle” Bill, Seth Fillers, and Shawn Suser taking the plunge into the Advanced division.

Champions On and Off the Mat!

Rodeo Takes Time Off Coaching to Work on His Upcoming Novel

All the Team Lloyd Irvin Kids Together

We had two first time competitors going this weekend, Chris Tran and Andre Shiller.

First up was Chris Tran and he got right to business. His first match was the longest match of the day. Chris worked early for the takedown,for his efforts he got caught in an anaconda choke but was able to fight through it and secure side mount. Chris applied all his knowledge that he’s learned in his time training and quickly moved to mount and then back mount. His opponent was able to reverse the position but Chris quickly transitioned to a fight ending triangle choke! Chris’s next two matches followed the same script, his second match Chris’s foe tried to pull guard but Chris did a good job in controlling the knee and setting up the knee cut. This time he finished his opponent with a kimura from cross body. Big congrats to Chris for his double gold performance!!

Madeline Donnelly

With no one in her division, Madeline was awarded a gold medal and offered to either; move up to the advanced division or; bump a weight class. After the coaches talked and talked to Madeline we decided to make the weight class jump. Despite being outweighed by more than 20+ pounds Madeline fought like a champ. She took her opponents back twice but the weight difference was too much to overcome and Madeline ended up losing on points…great effort!! In gi, Madeline was looking to redeem herself and she did in a big way!! She dominated her opponent standing and on the ground enroute to a 30-0 win!! It looked more like the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Baltimore Ravens than a Jiu Jitsu match!! Double gold for Madeline!!

Shawn Suser

This was Shawn’s first try at the Advanced Division and he got a firsthand look into why it’s a difficult division to win. Shawn fought hard all day and was able to use some of the techniques he’s learned in the Juniors classes and was able to find areas that needs work. Like a true Crazy 88 kids competitor, you will see him back in class working to improve on his two 4th place finishes!

Andre Shiller

This was Andres’ first competition and didn’t disappoint! For the day Andre went 1-2 but gained a lot of experience and knowledge for future tournaments. His first match was hard fought and he showed the skills that he’s been working on in the Black Belt Club. His guard opening was spot on! In the end Andre lost a tough battle on points. His second match was against his own teammate Tyler Neal. It was an epic battle, both had takedowns and sweeps with Andre coming out on top of this slobber knocker 11-9! His last match of the day had him squaring off against another Team Lloyd Irvin competitor; even without the coaching , Andre stuck to his game plan but fell short on points again but learning valuable lessons to take back to the training room! Andre finished the day with 1 Silver and 1 bronze…not bad for first time out!

Vanessa Fillers

This was Vanessa’s fist dip back into the competition scene since the mix up at the Baltimore BJJ championships earlier this year. In her first match Vanessa was able to jump guard and defend the pass very well. She displayed very good guard control, but at the end of the day she lost two tough matches but was able to finish with 1 bronze medal!

Tyler Neal

Tyler’s first match in no-gi went like the last few have gone. Tyler shot in for a double leg takedown perfectly but landed in closed guard and left his neck out a little too far and found himself locked in a tight guillotine. Tyler tried to fight it and escape but was forced to tap. His second match was the slobber knocker against teammate Andre Shiller (see his highlights). In Tyler’s only gi match he fought hard again and what could only be described by Coach Danny as “the best osto gari” of the tournament but again wound up on the losing end of a points decision. Tyler ended the day with a 4th place finish in no gi and a bronze medal in gi!

Mason Hollis

Mason has been on the medal stand before and this one was no different. In Mason’s no-gi match he had to face a much bigger kid. Mason tried to shoot for the takedown but was stuffed by the larger kid. After an intense struggle Mason’s opponent was able to lock in a fight ending anaconda choke. Mason’s second match was with the gi on this time, and all the hard work on grip fighting paid off. Mason was able to dominate the grips and force the takedown. Once is was on the ground it was a matter of time before Mason got the armbar and won via submission. Two Silver medals for Mason!!

Brendan “Spike” Bill

Spike was another one of our kids that took the dive into the advanced division, and he let them know he was there by winning a bronze medal! His first no-gi match was a tough 9-0 loss but is closed guard is showing marked improvement! Spike’s second match went more according to plan. The kid shot in for a takedown and landed in Spike’s closed guard. Spike was able to secure his opponent in a guillotine choke after breaking his posture. It was only a matter of time until he got the tap. Spikes final match in gi was tough. His opponent was very aggressive. Spike spent the entire match in trying to get back to closed guard from cross body. In the end Spike drew the short straw in a points loss. Great job though….bronze in both no-gi and gi!!

Seth Fillers

Just like Spike and Shawn, this was Seth’s first try at the advanced division. Seth went 1-1 in no gi. Losing his first match by points but was able to rebound in his second match to take the bronze! In gi, it was much of the same, in his first match Seth handled his opponent with relative ease winning 10-2. His second match in gi was a points loss to his teammate from Camp Springs, Romeo. Two bronze medals for his effort!

Great job today by the Juvenile Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team and Tracey Goodell.  Tracey ended up winning another Gold, this time in the Purple Belt Open.  Tracey was only promoted two weeks ago which drives critics crazy as they can not decide if we are sandbagging (forcing our competitors to fight in divisions below their skill level) or destroying the standards (by promoting our competitors too quickly) LOL!

JT “Spiderman” Torres and Mike Fowler were also up today for the pre-quarterfinal rounds of the Black Belt divisions.  JT submitted both his opponents with chokes from the back and will face Gilbert “Durinho” Burns tomorrow in a rematch of the Brasileiro finals.  Mike Fowler defeated Adriano Silva before losing on points to Abu Dhabi Pro Gold Medalist, Claudio Calazans.

Check out the team results below…

• Tracey Goodell: GOLD @ Purple Female Open
• Shane Hill-Taylor: SILVER @ Blue Juvenile Rooster
• Cedric Bryant: BRONZE @ Blue Juvenile Light Feather
• Jacob “Bro” Huffman” BRONZE @ Blue Juvenile Middle
• Krystal Allen: GOLD @ Blue Juvenile Female Light Feather
• AaRae Alexander: GOLD @ Blue Juvenile Female Middle, GOLD @ Blue Juvenile Female Open
• Kiana Washington: GOLD @ Blue Juvenile Female Medium Heavy, SILVER @ Blue Juvenile Female Open

If you are looking to become involved with the Worlds Best Kids Martial Arts program or the United States Best Womens Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Program, you need to check out Team Lloyd Irvin NOW!