Roberto Wins @ Florida State Championships

Roberto Torralbas kicked off the whole tournament in the purple belt division on the third mat. He dominated and controlled his first match, finishing with a bread cutter choke. In close semi-final battle, he came out on top 4-2. Proving again the importance of advantages, Roberto won the gold medal by defeating his opponent with 2 advantages to 0.

Copa America Results

Roberto Torralbas started on the road to his 2nd Pan-American title with his first competition of the year. He has been practicing his cross-choke on his poor White Belts and much like Zoolander’s “Magnum”, he had been waiting for the right moment to drop it on the world.

Hunting for the "Holy Grail" of BJJ - The Mounted Cross-Choke

Roberto then entered the Gi Open which was open to all belts and weights. He defeated his first two opponents without being scored upon. The semi-final was a grueling gripping and takedown battle with ATT professional fighter, Esteban Ramos. The circuits came into play as Roberto was able to takedown his opponent late to earn a rematch with Moacir “Boca” Oliviera, the Black Belt who had defeated Roberto in the last Gi Open.

The rematch was not pretty! Boca jumped to his signature half-guard from where he swept Roberto and then proceeded to try 101 submissions (all unsuccessful). However, as Roberto says, “the match was worth more than 100 private lessons. ”

Roberto Exchanges Grips with Esteban Ramos

Squaring Off Against Boca

Roberto needed some more matches to get ready for the PanAms where he will most likely be competing in a 64+ man bracket, so he entered the Professional No-Gi division. His first match was against a lanky Gracie Barra Brown Belt. Roberto re-dragged off his adversary’s armdrag attempt and scored 2 points for the victory. He then dismantled a lighter fighter to make the finals against Mario “Big Hurt” Rinaldi. Rinaldi is a fighter from American Top Team and the winner of the Abu Dhabi North American Trials in the heaviest weight class.

The bulk of the match was fought on the feet. Roberto managed to secure a tight single leg but was unable to muscle the big man to the floor for the points. In the closing minute, Rinaldi finished his own takedown to win 2-0.

Roberto's First No-Gi Match

Big Hurt Rinaldi vs. Little Hurt Torralbas

Congratulations to Roberto on another strong performance and to Mike “Goku” Defurio, leading the charge for Team Lloyd Irvin in Florida!

Third Law BJJ Expands to New Location

Congratulations to Roberto and the rest of the Naples, FL crew

2007 World Championships Results

Mike Atkin decided he wanted to face the best grapplers in the World and entered the Adult division. He had a good battle with a much-younger competitor from Grace Florianopolis before succumbing to an armbar halfway through the match.

Nia Daniels proved that she is one of the toughest Blue belts in the World by defeating three opponents before coming up a bit short in the Finals. Nia is a beast and has been competing non-stop since she began training. She was promoted to Blue belt in April right before the PanAms so she has improved QUICK!

Lloyd Irvin and Nia

Mike Easton has got to be one of the most multi-talented Combat Athletes out there. Mike is primarily an MMA fighter but remains true to his roots and in true Team Lloyd Irvin fashion, is dedicated to improving his skills in all areas of fighting. Mike brought out his lightning-quick takedowns and guard-passing, even collecting two submissions on his way to the semi-finals. There he faced Joao Catisti (Godoi JJ Club).

Catisti, who had pulled guard in his earlier fights, surprised everyone with a quick double-leg. Mike swept Catisti back quickly and the match turned into a sweep-for-sweep scramble. In the end, the initial points would prove to be too much and Mike would lose on points. Catisti went onto win Gold. Great performance for Mike!

Nyjah Easton earned her 2nd International Medal, going 1-1.

Nyjah's First Match

Ryan Hall quickly submitted his 1st opponent and won a lopsided points decision to start the day off. In the quarterfinals, he faced Rubens Calasans (Oswaldo Alves), who had placed third at last year’s Mundial in the blue belt division. Calasans and Ryan both pulled guard from the get-go. Calasans quickly came up and earned 2 pts for a sweep. Calasans played a very tight game, forcing the under-over position, and leaving very little openings. Eventually, the Team Lloyd Irvin fighter hit an armdrag and managed to jump on the Brazilian’s back standing up, catching a TIGHT gi choke in transition. After the match, Ryan told me that he heard his opponent’s neck cracking. However, Rubens was a tough bastard and grabbed Ryan’s elbow and pulled him off his back, limiting Ryan to an advantage rather than 4 pts for the back. The match ended 2-0.

Ryan then competed in the Open division, catching a flying triangle and an armbar from the guard, before losing 5-0 to Super Heavyweight division winner, Gustavo Elias from Chute Boxe.

Julius Park won his first three matches 11-0, 9-0, and 4-2 before coming up short in his fourth match.

Julius Mounted on Opponent

Julius Working to Sweep

Roberto Torralbas had some tough matches over the weekend. In his first match, Roberto put an advantage on the board very quickly for a near-pass against his adversary from BJJ Revolution. With only a minute left in regulation, Roberto’s opponent came up with a single-leg. Both grapplers came completely to their feet before Roberto threw his opponent back to the mat with his signature Uchimata. The referee actually awarded the other fighter an advantage for a “near-sweep”. The match was now tied. As the fighters came to the middle, we were shocked when the official gave the decision to the fighter who had been losing for 6 minutes and had received his advantage on a very controversial call!

In the Open division, Roberto used his superior takedown skills to defeat a much larger grappler from Alliance. He then faced Alfredo Miras (Brasa), last year’s lightweight Gold medalist at Blue Belt. The Brazilian pulled a deep 1/2-guard from the buzzer but Roberto managed to smash him down, earning himself an advantage. It was a game of centimeters as both purple belts struggled to secure position. Miras managed to unbalance Roberto and come back on top for 2 pts. Roberto went into his own guard gameplan (funny because it was exactly what we had been working during his last visit) and swept Miras back with only about 60 seconds remaining. Roberto tried to jump on the Team Brasa competitor’s back and earned another advantage but the match exploded into a non-stop scramble. With only about 10 seconds left, Miras’ got in deep on Roberto’s legs and took him down, earning the winning 2 pts. Very good fight!

Despite not taking place in Brazil, the Worlds were definitely the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, I have ever been to. I always leave them remotivated to train and with a greater insight into BJJ. For all the up-and-coming competitors at the school, I highly recommend you make it to an international-level competition as soon as you can. It has a slightly different feel than the local ones and often requires an adjustment period for new competitors. Get it over with now!

And like always, a special thanks to Medora for all the great pictures!

Tough Day at NAGA Florida Grappling Championship

Roberto Torralbas and students headed over to Ft. Lauderdale for the NAGA tournament. Knowing the level of competition down in FL, it was gonna be a fun day!

Roberto’s first match in the No-Gi was against Edson Diniz. Edson is perhaps best-known for his match against BJ Penn in the finals of the Black Belt division in 2002. Roberto fought tough in there with the Brazilian, losing only 6-2.

The Gi division wouldn’t be any easier. This time it was Brown Belts, mostly from Pablo Popovitch’s team (currently the largest in the area). Roberto defeated his Brown belt opponent, 5-0; throwing him and then tight-passing him from the top of half-guard. The next bout would be against Wagner Rocha, who had defeated Roberto a few weeks ago. This match would be just as close as the first with Roberto getting to some good positions but unable to capitalize. It ended 2-0 again.

Roberto Struggles to Pass Rocha's Guard

It’s very important to evaluate the matches in context. For Roberto to go in there and be battling with far more experienced competitors shows great promise for the future, despite the current results.

Roberto takes Gold at Copa America

Roberto Torralbas competed in the Purple Belt and No-Gi Open this weekend in Florida. Unfortunately, there was only one other Purple Belt there but Roberto took care of him handily, racking up a stack of points. In the No-Gi Open, he faced Wagner Rocha, a Brown Belt from Pablo Popovitch’s school and the PanAm champion of the Brown Belt No-Gi division. It was a close match that ended up with Wagner defeating Roberto 2-0.

It was a historic day for Roberto’s school in Naples, FL as it received it’s first win courtesy of Roberto’s student, Julian Rives!

Diamond State Games Results

Mike Atkin returned to the mats with a win in the Masters division. Mike controlled the match from the top position and earned multiple advantages for near-passes. Afterwards, Mike once again entered the Adult division and beat competitors almost half his age! He faced Chris Schindler from Maguilla’s. The match was close with Mike having difficulty passing but Schindler unable to attack from the guard. In the end, Mike would win on advantages. Mike then split the division with another Lloyd Irvin fighter. Another great Victory for Mike who plans on going to the World Championships in August to compete in the Adult division!

Mike’s Crushing Top Pressure in the Masters Open

Mike Fights to Break the Guard in the Adult Division

Paul Davis jumped into the tournament despite his once-a-month training routine and managed to place! He finished his 1st opponent and was dominating his 2nd opponent, before gassing out, and losing on points. Once he starts training again, look for big things from Paul Davis.

The Legend Returns

Mike “Bottom Game” Florey continued his 100% submission rate, finishing three opponents this weekend, including a school-record Fastest Tap (19 seconds)! In the No-Gi finals, Bottom Game had his opponent nearly tapped with both a straight ankle lock and a TIGHT triangle but the guy just would not give up! BG would lose on points but damn if the submissions weren’t close!

Early Rounds - Kimura

Finals Match - Footlock attempt

Finals Match - Triangle attempt

Chris Jaus defeated two competitors and received his first Competition medal this weekend!

After getting upset in his weight class, Wayne “Emo” Johnson decided to do the Blue Belt Open. He dismantled his first opponent, forcing him to the knees and keeping him defensive with constant back attacks. He then faced off against a giant from Balance. Despite being outweighed by at least 40 lbs, Wayne managed to keep the match scoreless. You could see the strain on his face as even simple movements like shrimping were difficult on the much larger opponent. Down on advantages and with a few seconds left, Wayne locked on a straight footlock (one of the main techniques we have been working on in the Advanced classes) for the submission! One of the most memorable finishes in school history!

Wayne Goes for the Footlock...

...looks painful...

...and the TAP!

Wayne’s next opponent was a HUGE blue belt from Evolve Academy. As big as the last guy was (210-ish), he was dwarfed by this new opponent (300+ range). Wayne had a textbook guard pull but once the guy flattened him out, it was over – Big guy by Smooshing. Still a great performance from Wayne who showed a lot of heart and demonstrated the importance of proper conditioning. In his own words, “There is no way I would’ve been able to beat that big guy without circuits.” We’re not sure if Wayne placed because of bracketing changes – however he did win 2 matches which would’ve put him into the Medal rounds in the 16-man division.

Find the One Happy Guy

Has Anyone Seen Wayne?

Ben Lipov received a bye in the first round. In the quarterfinals, he used his acrobatic guard passing to get North-South and the points victory. Unfortunately, Ben made a technical error in his 2nd bout, forcing him into the Consolation bracket. He split the 3/4 position with teammate, Paul Davis.

Mikhail Onishchenko returned to competition with a fury, finally getting that Gold Medal! He had won 2nd and 3rd in his past divisions so he was due for that 1st place! He defeated both his opponents via points.

Julius Park competed in the Open, defeating his 1st opponent by DQ. He was winning 4-0 with multiple advantages for near-passes and submissions when his opponent disqualified himself by going for an illegal technique. Gotta learn the rules! Julius then bowed out to fellow Lloyd Irvin teammates and went onto the Welterweight Purple Belt division where his opponent did not show. Finally, he moved up to Middleweight (<180 lbs) where he defeated Monroe Hall of Maguilla’s 4-0 with two sweeps. Julius and Roberto then split 1st place.

Julius Works to Pass

After winning the Intermediate No-Gi a month ago, Josh Plaschkes moved up to the Advanced division. He fought hard, losing to a Purple Belt on a single advantage and then submitting his next opponent, to earn a respectable 3rd place. Not bad for a White belt!

Josh in Trouble...

Josh Never Taps!

Fred Ramie faced off against Tommy Yun from BJJ Revolution in the 1st round of the Open. Fred racked up advantages for his near-passes but could not stabilize Yun for the points. A win is a win, and Fred went into the semi-finals where he took on a tough (and heavy!) grappler from Balance. Fred was down on advantages and was unable to score on the big man! With only a few seconds left in the match, Fred rolled under his opponent for the kneebar and transitioned to the toe-hold for the finish! Congrats to Fred, and his first Adult Advanced division Championship!

Fred Ramie vs. Tommy Yun!

Phil Thorn scored 13 points to his opponents 0 to win his 1st match. He had a back-and-forth battle in the semi-finals but came out on the losing end of a Kimura. In the consolation match, Phil came back to win on points!

Big Phil Dominating!

Roberto Torralbas applied his takedown abilities to outpoint both his opponents in the No-Gi Open. He used the exact techniques that he taught in Friday’s No-Gi Class. At Team Lloyd Irvin, we don’t show BS moves that look good but don’t work! He met Fred in the finals and they closed out the division.

Roberto then jumped into the Purple Belt Open division where he threw Ricardo Almeida student and IFL Fighter Hazim Ibrahim with a beautiful UchiMata to create a Lloyd Irvin shutout (all top 8 finishes in the Purple Open were from Team Lloyd Irvin). Roberto then outgrappled his Middleweight foe to close out the weight class with Julius.

Roberto About to Launch His Opponent!

Special recognition goes out to Keith “Trainspotting” Cebula, Mark Parella, Derek “Derelicte” Petty, and Dave Zwanetz who all competed for the 1st time this weekend. Learn from the experience and come back stronger!

Of course, a special Thanks to Medora for all the great pictures!

Close Matches at the Abu Dhabi Trials

Amie Turton vs. Yael Young #5

For the 5th weekend in a row, 88 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has had students competing. This time it was at the Abu Dhabi North American Trials. Amie Turton and Roberto Torralbas received invitations to the qualifier tournament for the Abu Dhabi tournament. The winners of this tournament get a spot at the international Abu Dhabi competition and a chance to compete alongside such greats as Marcelo Garcia, Jacare, and Leo Viera. The best No-Gi grapplers from Canada, California, New Mexico, and all of North America were there, fighting for this great opportunity.

 Amie Turton competed in the under-55 kg category. In her first match, she faced Kanoka Inaba, PanAm silver medalist in the Brown/Black Belt division. Amie was able to use her dangerous closed guard to keep Inaba at bay. Unable or unwilling to pass, Inaba fell back for Amie’s foot and Amie followed her up but was not awarded points. Luckily, Amie scored an additional 3 points and entered the semi-finals.

Her semi-finals opponent was Yael Young from Toronto BJJ. Yael is a very tough competitor and has had a few battles with Amie in the past, with each of them splitting the wins so we knew this match would be no different. With a minute to go in the no-points period, Amie pulled Yael into her guard and was working aggressively. Amie locked on a TIGHT triangle. With about 90 seconds left, we thought the match was over – there was too much time in order to just “tough it out”. Amie was squeezing with all her might, transitioned briefly to the mount, and even locked on a tight armbar but Yael would just not submit! Finally, the bell rang, and Amie had to release the submission. Like their last few matches, this match was heading into OT!

In Overtime, Yael hit a quick takedown. Amie worked hard from bottom but was unable to get her 2 points back. This was another war in their competitive series and hopefully there will be another in the near future.

Roberto Torralbas jumped up to 88 kg category despite weighing 24 lbs. less than the weight limit. His opponent was Justin Garcia, 2005 Trials Finalist. Garcia is extremely explosive with powerful takedowns. We suspected that Garcia would not engage for the 1st half of the match since there was no points at that point. When points finally started, Roberto managed to stuff a few of Garcia’s shots and get a few of his own. On one of these attempts, Garcia attempted a guillotine and Roberto pulled Garcia into his guard. We thought that this would be a -1 point for Roberto but they gave Garcia 2 pts for a takedown. Roberto worked aggressively and Garcia disengaged, receiving a -1. The match ended 1-0 for Garcia.

Roberto Torralbas vs Justin Garcia

It was great seeing such a high level grappling competition in the United States. To see guys like Xande, Marcelo Garcia, and Dean Lister at the tournament as spectators when our own teammates were on the mats was rewarding. Amie and Roberto are both very young (18 and 21 respectively) and to have competed in the toughest no-gi tournament that early will only help them in the future. Congrats to both!

How I Won the Chicago NAGA by Roberto

I won the no-gi advance, and the purple belt 175 and under divisions. In the process, I submitted one brown belt in my first match of the no-gi advance with that Monson Choke I showed in class The match went as follows: arm drag to take down, passed guard twice, then the choke. Then I won my 2nd match in overtime by take down since it was 4-4 in regular time – I took him down, got swept, swept him right back, and then he put me in a triangle which I managed to get out but they gave him 2 points (NAGA rules!). In OT, I took him down and almost passed his guard to win.

On the Way to the Finals

My final match was against a Brazilian black belt (that’s what I heard). He pulled guard and was searching for submission, while I was trying to open his guard. I risk a little bit by exposing my arm and he fails at the submission but now his guard is open (he gets no points because he wasn’t close). I proceed to pass but he gives me a hard time. I put him in half guard and get very close to passing but he pushes away for his life. We both go for ankle locks no one taps, overtime! We start over time and I switch strategy on him and sit into an open guard and quickly transition into half guard. I do the Marcelo 1/2-guard to X-guard (Danny helped me with this and I have already thanked him for it) and almost get the sweep.

Fighting from the 1/2-Guard

Working to Pass

As I stand up to sweep him, he pulls guard. I pass to 1/2- guard and work to pass. Time runs out. Referee gives me the decision which I thought was fair since I did come very close to sweeping him in overtime and was more aggressive in the bottom and top games. Of course the Brazilian dude and his friends were not happy (you know how that goes). He screams, waves his hands, etc.

In the gi division, my first opponent pulls guard but I step back leaving him in open guard and I proceed to pass his guard with collar-sleeve pass. He defends, but I pass, by going into half guard. He pulls me again in half guard and I pass again (I’m up 6-0) . Then I do the “I’ll choke you or I’ll choke myself choke ” I showed in your school (which I learned from Jacare) and the match is over fairly quick. My second match was against the same guy in I fought in my second match of the no-gi division. I find out fairly quickly he is very good Judo guy with a sensational foot sweep! He takes me down but as I fall I turn around quickly and take him down (Score is 2 to advantage). Then I proceed to pass and am now up 5 to advantage. Finally, I bread-cutter choked him.

Dominating the Purple Belts

My last match was against a guy who had beaten two PanAm semi-finalists (one weight class below the one I competed). He armbarred the first one, then beat the other by a good amount of points. He was one of the friends of the black belt I had beaten earlier who was complaining. We started on the feet, trying to take each other down. He goes for foot sweep, I defend and go for Ippon Seionagi, and he defends. He pulls guard. I begin to pass by lifting him and as I lift he stands up. He tries a sacrifice throw which I defend, and then he goes for a series of sweeps, which I also defend but in the process knees me in the lip, drawing blood. I get a bit angry. I pulled into Margarida. He comes close to passing after I fail a scissor sweep, but I manage to get into half guard (I’m down an advantage). then I do . I sweep with the Garcia 1/2-guard to X-guard sweep and almost pass so he turns to his back (2 to advantage) and then I take his back (6 to advantage). He manages to escape into 1/2- guard but I pass again. Final score was 9 to advantage.

Congrats to Roberto on two more medals swords for the collection!

Roberto Promoted to Purple Belt

Today Master Lloyd Irvin promoted Roberto to purple belt at the Camp Springs, MD Academy. It was one of the most grueling tests ever with Roberto having to roll live against about 30 guys nonstop including Danny Ives, Jim Kelly, Seph Smith, Ryan Hall and of course the man himself, Lloyd Irvin. The gauntlet started off with the white belts, and moved up belt by belt. Lucky for Roberto, more and more upper belts showed up just in time for the test. 50 lloooonnnggg minutes later, Roberto was pulled up to his feet and awarded his purple belt. Congrats!