GI Tournament Success!

by admin on July 31, 2010

Dave Torres taking down opponent.

Dave Torres with opponent.

Dominic Ryman finished off this opponent with his trademark armbar.

David Torres on the podium after his victories.

Last Saturday four of our Team Members competed in the Renzo Gracie Invitational Gi tournament.  The tournament took place in Manhattan and had almost 400 competitiors, many of whom traveled long distances to get there.  There were many hard fought battles that day, and lots of great Grappling technique was displayed on that mat.  Despite competing against more experienced opponents, all four of our teammates performed very well, with 2 of them taking home 3rd Place medals.  Like all of our team members,  these guys have really made a LOT of progress in a short amount of time – and we are very proud of everyone who has chosen to invest in themselves and their families by undertaking the path of Jiu Jitsu. This is the type of winning spirit and technical proficiency that we foster at Renzo Gracie Rockaway Beach.

Additionally, all of our team got to meet the Legendary Renzo Gracie and former UFC Champ Matt Serra. Juan Velasquez, Professor Carroll, Master Renzo and David Torres

Tim Robinson on the podium. 3rd Place.

Dominic Ryman with opponent

Master Renzo Gracie, Tim Robinson and UFC Champ Matt Serra

Master Renzo Gracie, Dominic Ryman and Matt Serra

Master Renzo, Sean Murphy, Matt Serra. Thanks to  Allison for all the pics!

if you are interested in future competitions, here is a list of upcoming events:

Thanks to Dominic Ryman for compiling the list.

New York State Grappling Championship - Jul 17th – Fishkill. NY (http://www.acom-sports.net/1_home)

Grapplers Quest Europa Battle of Champions – July 24, 2010, 5PM – Hartford Convention Center
Hartford, Connecticut 06103
(http://www.grapplersquest.com/events/grapplers-quest-europa-battle-champions)

NAGA Battle at the Beach – Aug 8th – Wildwood, NJ
(http://nagafighter.com/index.php?module=eventinformationpage/161)

UFC Fan Expo Boston 2010 – August 27, 2010, 10:00AM – Boston, Massachusetts
(http://www.grapplersquest.com/events/ufc-fan-expo-boston-2010)
-UFC 118 on August 28th in Boston (Penn – Edgar II, Couture – Toney, Florian – Maynard)

Northeast Grappling Championship – October 16th and 17th – Lincoln, Rhode Island
(http://nagafighter.com/index.php?module=eventinformationpage/168)

2010 Mid-Atlantic Regional Submission Wrestling and BJJ Championships – October 23rd 2010 10:00 A.M. – Prince George’s Sports Complex
Landover, Maryland
(http://www.grapplersquest.com/events/2010-mid-atlantic-regional-submission-wrestling-and-bjj-championships)

North American Grappling Championship – November 13th and 14th – Newark, NJ
(http://nagafighter.com/index.php?module=eventinformationpage/169)

2010 World Series of Grappling – December 4, 2010, 10:00AM – Asbury Park Convention Center
Asbury Park, New Jersey
(http://www.grapplersquest.com/events/2010-world-series-grappling)

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Juan V. Wins Gold

by admin on July 30, 2010

Rockaway native, Juan Velazquez, age 36, recently competed in the New York Submission Wrestling tournament in Fishkill, New York. Juan had five matches in the Super Heavyweight division, finishing 4 of those matches by submission in less than 30 seconds. Juan took home 3 Gold Medals for his efforts.

Juan has been a Semi-Pro football player for the past 16 years, and played for Beach Channel High School.

Juan has long been interested in wrestling but never had access to formal wrestling training – although he did have the opportunity to test the waters of professional wrestling with World Championship Wrestling (WCW).  When Juan tried out for their wrestling school in Atlanta, he was ranked in the top 4 out of 100 students.

However, his professional wrestling career was not to be, as he had to return to Far Rockaway where his wife gave birth to their first daughter – the day after he arrived home.

For the past 5 months, Juan has trained at the Renzo Gracie Rockaway Jiu-Jitsu Academy, where he has developed a passion for the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  His professor Stewart Carroll states, “Juan not only possesses rare physical gifts, but he also has a steady intellect that has enabled him to progress very quickly in this sport. More importantly, Juan is very nice person and an excellent teammate.”

Juan looks forward to continuing his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training at the Renzo Gracie Rockaway Jiu-Jitsu Academy, and competing in many more grappling tournaments.

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Attend a Free Intro Class Today!

June 21, 2010

The intro class is a one-time 20 min class outlining the basics governing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu theory. This class serves as a preparatory class to those interested in seriously enrolling at the academy and training at least twice a week in our beginner program (indicated on our schedule).
Intro class times available for walk-ins. Our introductory classes [...]

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Student Testimonial-Juan V.

May 26, 2010

“I am a life long football player and wrestler. I first joined because I was very interested in the sport of Jiu Jitsu and a friend of mine asked if i wanted to check it out. I felt like besides losing a couple of pounds i couldn’t get any better at wrestling or handling myself physically. I [...]

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Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Gi Tournament

May 14, 2010

June 21st Deadline for Registration. Applications available at Renzo Gracie Rockaway.
Follow the latest news regarding the tournament at www.renzogracie.com/invitational

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Student Testimonial-Dave G.

May 13, 2010

“I grew up watching a lot of those karate kid and 3 ninja movies.  From then on I had wanted to do something like that at some point in my life.  I finally made it a reality when I enrolled myself at another school Professor Carroll was instructing at.  He’s an excellent teacher who is [...]

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Student Testimonial-Will G.

May 11, 2010

“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the ultimate form of self defense, easy to learn and fun.  These characteristics combined with Stew’s passion for the sport make Renzo Gracie Rockaway Jiu Jitsu one of the most rewarding things i have ever done.” ~Will G.

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Student Testimonials-Joe G

April 26, 2010

“I just started at Rockaway Jiu-Jitsu and it’s like a dream come true. Stewart is a great instructor. His love for jiu-jitsu and teaching shine through in every class. Both his eye for detail and concern for our safety makes this school a must for all ages and levels. All here in The Rockaways.”
-Joe G.

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Georges St. Pierre’s Sage

April 22, 2010

Danaher a Behind-the-Scenes Sage for St. Pierre, Others

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Not too many people entrenched deeply in the world of mixed martial arts are as interesting as John Danaher. He can squeeze into one sitting topics like Hobbesian political theory, division of labor in economics and paleontology.
The New Zealand émigré holds a black belt [...]

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Student Testimonials-Dominic R

April 22, 2010

Testimonials:
“I decided to join the Renzo Gracie Rockaway Academy a few weeks ago and couldn’t be happier with my choice. Upon arriving, I was immediately made comfortable by the respectful and helpful environment facilitated by Professor Stewart Carroll and all my fellow students. I consider the class a community rather than a hierarchy as all [...]

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