Category Archives: Tournaments

Tournaments

Jiu-Jitsu World League Tournament: AJJ Syndicate wins 1st place!

 JJWL Golden State III Reflections

On Saturday many competitors from El Dorado Hills BJJ drove down to Stockton for the Jiu Jitsu World League tournament. It was a very fun and well organized event. The day started off with the kid competitors, then later adults in the gi and no gi last.

Coaching the kids is always an incredible experience. It was so amazing to watch them go out there and do their best. A couple of our kids made it to the podium but what I was most impressed with was the way all of them displayed good technique, hustle and a lot of bravery. It will be fun to study the matches and use them to learn and improve as a school.

All of the adult competitors went home with a medal! American Jiu Jitsu Syndicate won first place against the other teams competing at the event. Watching and coaching the adults was interesting because of all of the various gameplans and styles. We had some athletes with a takedown oriented game, others with some impressive guard play and even some aggressive submission focused Jiu Jitsu! I thought everybody did really well and had a great time.

I had a total of four matches. I won my first match by points, lost my second by points and then won my next two by points earning a bronze medal. I made some technical and strategic errors that I will be working to fix in the gym before my next competition but overall I fought pretty well. I was able to get a few takedowns and guard passes but unfortunately I was not able to get to the back and finish like I had planned.

Jiu Jitsu tournaments are always great experiences. They are especially fun and memorable when we have a big team presence and can support, coach and cheer for each other. I am very excited for more to come. 

Coach Danny

Tournaments

BJJ TOUR ALL STAR in Stockton, CA

BJJ TOUR ALL STAR
On Saturday several competitors, coaches and supporters went to Stockton to attend the BJJ Tour All Star tournament. All of the EDH BJJ competitors did really well, many of us took home gold medals. It was really nice to see people from the team there just to spectate and support their friends.

This was the first time I have worked and competed at the same event. Working as a score and time keeper is a pretty fun and easy job. I got to watch a lot of matches and joke around with the referees, it’s always fun to make new friends at tournaments. That being said, I would have much rather spent the day coaching the kids before it was my turn to compete. I probably won’t work at a tournament again if we have many kid competitors going.

Watching my adult and master teammates compete was exciting. Everybody looked really sharp and was hunting for submissions. For a couple of them it was their time competing. It was nice to see those guys have a fun first tournament experience, they went out there and fought hard. I am excited to see how everyone grows at the gym after this one.

I was disappointed after I lost to my first opponent in the Gi. It was a frustrating match for me because I ended up in a couple positions that I usually do well in and still got beat. I also ended up in positions that I have been working hard on getting better in and got beat there too. I won my No Gi division later on in the evening taking down all of my opponents and getting a submission in the final. I feel really motivated to get back on the mat and to keep improving. 

Coach Danny

Kids Jiu Jitsu, Tournaments

Ruckus in the Hills Jiu Jitsu Tournament

This weekend I refereed for my second time at the Ruckus in the Hills in house tournament at EDH BJJ. It was a very fun experience for me as a referee and as a spectator. At this tournament there were a lot of PeeWee competitors, which is something we did not have at all at the last event. It was great to see some of the PeeWee students getting their first competitive Jiu Jitsu experience and it looked like they all had a great time. My daughter is in the PeeWee class and competed at the tournament for her first time so it was really special for me to get to watch her go out there and play. All of the kids in that age group showed a great attitude and exceptional sportsmanship.

I was really impressed with the kids and juniors who competed. They all displayed good technique and fought hard in their matches. Those were my favorite matches to referee. The brackets were put together well and there were a lot of competitive matches that were fun to be a part of. I hope the in house experience inspires a lot of the students from these age groups to do some more tournaments, it would be awesome to go coach those kids at some bigger events.

There were not a lot of adult matches but the ones that we had were great. Even though it was an in-house tournament and the people competing were teammates there was definitely still a competition level of intensity in the matches. Everybody was working hard to finish with submissions which made the matches very exciting to watch. Overall it was a great tournament and I look forward to doing more of them!

Coach Danny

Tournaments

Tournament preparation and the big picture

With a lot of tournaments coming up soon, it’s been a lot of fun getting myself prepared and watching my teammates prepare for their tournaments. Tournament preparation creates a really cool environment when everyone is working hard towards a common goal.

The process of tournament preparation is so interesting to me. The way we peak at a certain time and try to capture ourselves in a most prepared moment is a skill I have not yet mastered. One element of preparation is mental. I think many people start to feel nervous about competition as we get closer to game day and everybody’s mental preparation seems to be a little different and unique. This nervous energy is a great force to be captured and channelled in a way that helps us prepare ourselves.

In general I think most people are nervous about results, the win or the loss. When thinking about the big picture tho, the result of the tournament is almost irrelevant. Everybody wants to win, including me but winning or losing the tournament isn’t what makes us grow as martial artists. When we lose, there are always big lessons to be learned. These lessons help us get better. However, where we really grow most is during the preparation. I think many people forget about this. That extra focus, drive, and determination that we have when getting ready to compete seems to be impossible to replicate in casual training. For me, the fear of not working harder than my opponents and the fear of losing makes me push myself harder when I know I have committed to a tournament.

I look forward to competing at my next tournament and am excited for all of my teammates as they prepare for different events. The overall experience of competition is difficult to compare with other things in life. The tough training leading up to game day, the nerves and excitement right before stepping out to compete, the fast paced battle on the mat, and the way I grow and get better from my experiences are all things that I love about Jiu Jitsu competition.

Coach Danny

Tournaments

The Ruckus in the Hills in house tournament at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was a pretty awesome experience for me. It was my first time Refereeing a tournament. I got to watch a lot of kids that I teach compete, many of them for their first time. Seeing everybody come together for such an event and feeling the sense of community was very special.
I had a lot of fun being one of the referees. It’s a pretty difficult and very important job at Jiu Jitsu tournaments. The responsibility of keeping the athletes safe felt like a daunting task. Having that up close view of each match made it very rewarding. In my preparation for refereeing the tournament I reviewed the IBJJF rules which i thought I already knew pretty well. Something that I learned was the rule on stalling is a lot more objective than I thought it was based on my experience competing and watching competition. They even have video examples of what should be called and time limits for their stalling rule. I thought that was really interesting.
The competitors all fought really hard which was awesome to see. Everybody also showed really good sportsmanship. It was cool to see people compete hard with their teammates while still being good teammates and friends. Watching the kids deal with the nerves of competition and then conquering that fear by stepping on the mat and doing their best was one of the highlights of the day for me.
The overall experience of the tournament was really positive for me. It was cool seeing everybody hanging out, chatting and enjoying the matches. I think the feeling in the room was a really good example of the strong, family friendly culture of EDH BJJ.

Coach Danny

Adults Jiu Jitsu, Tournaments

Professional Jiu Jitsu Competitors in Reno, NV


On the last weekend of January, Tanner Ford and Eliot Kelly made their presence felt on the stage of Fight to Win Pro 60 in Reno, Nevada. This was an exciting night for the two competitors where over $30,000 were paid to the many competitors of the night. Tanner made his Submission only debut on the fight to win card and won via heel hook. He had a dominant performance and was able to execute to precision what he had been training. We are excited to see him again on the stage!

Eliot wasn’t as successful as Tanner in his match. Eliot lost a unanimous referee decision. Needless to say he made an effort to put on a show of takedowns and hand fighting looking to gain advantage starting from the feet.

We are excited to have been a part of another Fight to Win pro card in the Nevada area! This was an exciting opportunity to compete and perform on a professional stage in the art of submission grappling. We look forward to seeing these competitors in action again on the fight to win stage!

Adults Jiu Jitsu, Tournaments

Bronze to EDH from IBJJF NoGi World Championships

Eliot, Marshall, Vin, Tanner

EDH Jiu Jitsu had 2 competitors compete in the most prestigious NoGi IBJJF tournament this year in Anaheim, CA. The IBJJF NoGi World Championships. Eliot Kelly and Tanner Ford made their preparation for the competition this weekend. Eliot finished in third place on the podium with a bronze medal and Tanner, coming back after a year sabbatical from an injury, finished with one win and one loss.

The tournament was a great learning experience for both competitors as they made their way through the tough bracket at the world championships. “The best of the best compete in this tournament. It’s a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck that takes you to the next round and to the top of the podium.” Visiting black belt from Rhode Island and IBJJF NoGi Pan American medalist, Vin Canabarro, was also on the mat at EDH in the week of competition. “It was great to have Vinny in town. In his first year as black belt he’s made a name for himself on the east coast. It’s only a matter of time before he is all over the world.” Vinny fought through the tournament with one win and one loss as well.

Eliot and Diego in the open class

Eliot Kelly competed in the open class as well as the weight category. Having finished with a silver medal in 2012 at the super heavy wt division, Eliot had high aspirations to finish at the top of the podium in his category and double medal in the open class division. He fell short in the open class to Diego from Ze Radiola Team 2-0 0-3. “I came to win and didn’t, but I did get some task goals accomplished that I’ve been working on only in the last few weeks. I just need to keep working on them.”

Joao Assis, Lucas Barbosa, Aaron Johnson, Eliot Kelly, Super Heavey Wt. IBJJF NoGi World

Eliot fought his way to the semi finals of the tournament, but was stopped by Lucas Barbosa, the eventual weight and open weight champion of the tournament.

Adults Jiu Jitsu, Tournaments

BJJ Tour: US Open Results from El dorado Hills Jiu Jitsu Competitors

The 21st US Open took place at the Cow Palace in San Francisco this weekend. El Dorado Hills Jiu Jitsu had multiple competitors from kids to adults, white belts to brown belts in action on the mats. The tournament was a great event to measure everyones progress from the beginning of the year and set some new markers going into 2018. The US Open, along with the BJJ Tour, is a great and professional tournament organization that has been dedicated to improving and enhancing jiujitsu viewership and competition from the beginning of jiujitsu in the United States.

Kids Jiu Jitsu Competitor Results

  • Slater – Godl
  • Ian – Bronze
  • Mateo – Silver
  • Mia – Bronze

Adult Jiu Jitsu Competitor Results

  • Dave – Competitor
  • Mark – Competitor
  • Coach Kunk – Gold
  • Aaron – Silver
  • Jarrod – Gold
  • Ryan – Competitor
Tournaments

El Dorado Hills BJJ Results Grappling X & Jiu-Jitsu in El Grove

We had 6 members of our Competition Team fight from El Dorado Hills BJJ & Self Defense last Saturday, at Elk Grove High School, in the Grappling X tournament. All six competed well past my expectations, all six noticeably improved between their first and second matches, and all six made it to the podium!

Gold:

Jordan (Adult- Blue Belt) competed for the first time and won both of his matches by double-digit point deficits.

Slater (Kids- Yellow Belt) had five matches and 5 finishes! 2 matches were in one division and 3 matches were in another, for two 1st place finishes!

Silver:

Danny (Adult- White Belt) competed for the first time in a Gi and won his first match by points.

Mateo (Kids- Grey White Belt) fought a very tough opponent, but was able to greatly improve between his first and second match.

Ben (Kids- White Belt) competed for the very first time and made instant progress between his first and second match as well.

Bronze:

Josh (Adult- White Belt) fought with an injured ankle. His black and blue, swollen foot was wrapped tight in a soft brace, but he went out and won his first match. He later had a fun exhibition-style match with Danny. 

It was a great day for the team and the medals were certainly well deserved, but everyone was very coachable and listened well during their matches and between. We had simple game-plans the competitors and coaches came up with. As a group, the fighters did an excellent job of staying disciplined with their goals and medaled as a result.