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Mike Atkin brought Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to a 100% medal rate with a Silver medal in the Brown Belt division.  Mike had to bump up a weight class because there would only have been one match in his normal Medium Heavy and Mike is always looking to get good matches.  He utilized his half-guard in the first match but lost on points in the finals to a tough wrestler from Genesis JJ in Texas.

Jon “Devastator” Delbrugge had another compelling performance – this time in the Purple Belt Open division.  In the quarterfinals, Jon was up 2 points and seemingly on his way to a hard-fought but clear victory when his opponent timed Jon’s guard pull and scored a “takedown” tying the score up.  Jon fought back hard and scored a back take in the final minute to enter the semis against the Middleweight champion and Purple Belt World Silver medalist, Alec Baulding (Alliance).

Alec got on the board first with a beautiful sweep but Jon would tie it up 2-2 quickly.  Alec has a phenomenal Cobrinha-esque spider guard and kept Jon at bay for the remainder of the bout and went on to win 2 advantages to 1.  Alec would go onto win the division over Beneil Dariush from Ralph Gracie.

We also had Jimmy Harbison and Cory Robinson kick butt in the Brown Belt divisions.

• Cory Robinson: BRONZE @ Brown Featherweight
• Jimmy Harbison: BRONZE @ Brown Middleweight

Check out some of the footage from the PanAms below and make sure to join the Baltimore Martial Arts fanpage for even more videos!

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Jon “Devastator” Delbrugge came back strong with a Bronze medal in the Purple Belt Medium Heavy division and became Crazy 88 BJJ’s second Pan Am Medalist (only 1 more competitor to go – Mike Atkin tomorrow in the Brown Belt division).  Jon dominated his first two opponents and then had a close match with last year’s Silver Medalist, Elias Ramirez (Gracie Barra).  Jon took the narrow victory to enter the medal round where he lost on points to a tough Brazilian grappler who then went on to win the entire division.  With the Bronze medal, Jon gets a berth into the Purple Belt Open division tomorrow (only the medalists from each weight class are permitted to compete in the Open).

It was another AWESOME performance from Team Lloyd Irvin BJJ team as we went onto dominate the Blue Belt Open divisions!

• Tracey Goodell: GOLD @ Blue Female Open
• Sijara Eubanks: BRONZE @ Blue Female Open
• DJ Jackson: GOLD @ Blue Open
• Willie Leonard: SILVER @ Blue Open

Check out some of the footage from the PanAms below and make sure to join the Baltimore Martial Arts fanpage for even more videos!

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Evan “Oz” Gideon became Crazy 88 BJJ’s first Pan Am Medalist this year with 4 wins and 1 loss. Evan had a strong performance at the Houston International Open of Jiu-Jitsu and continued his win streak through the early rounds before losing in the semi-finals to Marcus Sosa from Claudio Franca.  Good experience for Evan as he now prepares for the NY International Open of Jiu Jitsu in May.

Evan was part of a strong Lloyd Irvin Adult team:

• Tracey Goodell: GOLD @ Blue Female Lightweight
• Dominyka Obelenyte: SILVER @ Blue Female Lightweight
• Kim Rivers: GOLD @ Blue Female Light Featherweight   *first tournament as a blue belt*
• DJ Jackson: BRONZE @ Blue Middleweight
• Willie Leonard: GOLD @ Blue Ultra Heavy
• Kenny Brown: SILVER @ Blue Ultra Heavy

Check out some of the footage from the PanAms below and make sure to join the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fanpage for even more videos!

Roberto Torralbas is on page 3 of a 4 page bracket as well.  The big challenge on his page is Alex Baulding (Alliance) who is the returning World Silver Medalist.  Before Alex Baulding, Roberto might face Jeffrey Shulze (Gracie Barra), who at Blue Belt won a controversial Judges Decision over Jon Delbrugge.  Purple Middleweight is a notoriously difficult division so we should get some good matches out of the Third Law BJJ coach.

Jon Delbrugge has 3 matches to get into the Medal Round and 5 matches to win the Gold in the Purple Belt Medium-Heavy weight class.  The only name I know on his page (2 of 4) is Elias Ramirez (Gracie Barra), last year’s Blue Belt Pan Am Silver Medalist.

Mike Atkin will be competing Senior 3 Brown Belt Heavyweight (he moved up from Medium Heavy because there was no one in his weight division).  There are a few guys in this bracket that Mike has not faced before and Willie Rodriguez who Mike has competed against a few times.  Should be fun!

At the tournament, Seth had three matches, winning two (video below).  Seth used his solid takedowns and defense from on top to get the victories.

Due to the smaller size of the competition, the children’s weight classes were a bit more spread than usual so Seth also had a chance to wrestle a 110+ lb’er.  Even though Seth did not win that one, it turned out to be good experience for future Adult Open divisions!  Next week, Seth and Brendan “Spike-a-Doodle” will fly to Los Angeles for the first Kids Pan Ams so make sure you keep an eye on the site to keep up to date with the results!

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There are a couple events throughout the year that brings some of the best BJJ practitioners together to compete. One of these events is the Pan-American Championships of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which took place March 28-30 of 2008 in Los Angeles, California. Team Lloyd Irvin took its battle squad as usual.

Mike Atkin added two more international medals to his collection after winning his weight class and taking home the silver in the Absolute Division.

Nyjah Easton also won her first international Gold medal to put with her World Silver and Bronze. Professor Leo Dalla won the Masters black belt Super Pesado + Open.

Congratulations as well to Fred Ramie who trains with us over at Crazy 88 BJJ but represents Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Despite having the option of fighting Masters, Fred jumped into the Adult Pesado division, and won a Bronze medal!

Congrats to Leo Dalla on 2 Golds at PanAms!

Congratulations to all of them on these huge accomplishments and we wish them luck in their training for the 2008 World Championships.

100% Medal Rate per Competitor (2 matches average)

Mike Atkin started things off with a dominating victory over James Ortiz of Renzo Gracie. Mike was able to apply his immense top pressure to pass Ortiz’ guard. He secured a Kimura from North-South as time ran out. In the finals, Mike came up short versus Brant Perkins of Maine JJ. Perkins had a good butterfly guard and was able to keep Mike from passing. About the middle of the match, Perkins hit a sweep – Mike bounced up immediately but was now down two points. He pushed hard to pass but was unable to and had to settle for a Silver.

Mike then entered the open where he would lose 4-0 to Bernard Weinstock of Paragon BJJ. Weinstock stuck him with the same 1/2-guard sweeps that have distinguished Paragon over the years.

Wayne Johnson suffered a disappointing first round loss to a competitor from Rickson’s. Wayne was perhaps the most-prepared competitor from the team heading out to California and was looking tough in practice. In the match, Wayne pushed the action from the start, fighting hard for his grips and working his takedowns. His opponent kept backing up and fighting off Wayne’s grips but not securing any of his own. During one of the exchanges, he shot a power double – Wayne rolled him right over with a butterfly guard sweep but they landed out of bounds. The referee scored it 2-0 for Wayne’s opponent despite Wayne ending up in the top position. Knowing he was ahead, Wayne’s opponent disengaged and ran down the clock. Despite the result, it was a great experience for Wayne who has been tearing up the tournament scene locally but had yet to see international competition until this weekend. Look for big things from him in the coming year.

Medora Macie netted a Silver medal in her FIRST competition. Medora’s first opponent jumped guard, allowing the 88BJJ competitor to pass. In the finals, she faced Elaina Maxwell from USH Fight Team. The match began with some hard gripping and attempted takedowns. Eventually, Maxwell managed to snap Medora down and spin around to her back. From there, she secured the hooks and eventually worked in a choke. Congrats to Medora on a strong debut!

Our 2006 Pan-American Champions

Mike Atkin and his first opponent battled on the feet for the duration of the match. Based on his aggression, Mike was awarded the victory. In the finals, Mike turned on the heat, quickly taking his opponent down, passing his guard, and submitting him from the side-mount. After securing a Gold in his weight division, Mike entered the Open Weight category and fought his way to the final where he would face the Super-Heavyweight division winner, Gary Casey. This was a WAR!!!

Mike got things started immediately with an attempted lat-drop throw but ended up on his back. Gary passed Mike’s guard, forcing him to turn to the knees. Well-trained by Claudio Franca, Casey jumped on Mike’s back and began working the choke. I remember Mike telling me that he won’t tap to chokes and that he would rather go unconscious. Just as I was preparing myself mentally to resuscitate him, Mike escaped and reversed his opponent, taking Casey’s back! Mike fought hard, looking for the submission but Casey was tough and managed to escape in similar fashion to how Mike just had. The buzzer rang soon after and the match ended with Casey’s hand raised but there were no losers in this match. Both competitors gave 110% and left everything on the mat! Congrats to Mike on 2 medals!

Roberto Torralbas overcame many obstacles to achieve his goal of becoming Pan-American Champion. As a full-time engineering student at Cornell University, Roberto faced not only a tough academic semester but financial difficulties. Luckily, through the help of some last-minute sponsors and a few understanding professors, we were able to get Roberto out to California! The Crazy Cuban didn’t let anyone down, defeating 5 tough opponents on his way to the title, winning 2-0, 5-0, 9-0, advantage, and topping it off with a judge’s decision. This guy has been working his tail off since receiving his blue belt a few months ago: analyzing tapes, doing the conditioning, and formulating strategy; we are delighted to see his dedication pay off.

Amie Turton was the favorite to win the division and she lived up to her reputation. Amie has had a weight on her shoulders since losing a close match in last year’s final but now she can relax (at least until the training for the Mundials starts). Amie easily submitted her first opponent via armbar and defeated her 2nd opponent handily on points. In the finals, she faced Miku Matsumoto, a tough Japanese grappler. This was a contrast in styles, with Miku having a crushing top game and Amie fighting with her tricky guard. Amie scored 2 points early but Miku battled back, trying to pass and get her points. The pair ended up in some crazy positions but in the end it was Amie with the 2-0 victory and the Gold medal.