It said that “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”."Everyday in bjj and in our daily lives we are often forced to deal with obstacles which prevent us from living happy lives. Whether it is dealing with a stream of loses in competition, a serious injury, or even losing your job. Whatever the case may be it is clear that sometimes life can be pretty unfair.

This past Sunday, The Gracie San Diego Academy hosted their first IBJJF Referee Course. The course’s main purpose was to provide black & brown belts with the proper training to become an IBJJF referee. As for a jiu jitsu competitor & enthusiast, the course also offers the knowledge & understanding of IBJJF rules. Bo Francy, better known by the Onthemat (OTM) audience as bjjbo, got the opportunity to attend this much talked about course.

In any sport including Brazilian jiu-jitsu it is required that an individual has to put in a lot of practice in order to become better at what they do. In addition to putting in a lot of time on the mat, supplemental training is critical to enhancing an athlete’s strength, agility, speed, and other physical attributes. While there are many options athletes use to increase their abilities in these different areas one option athletes decided to take up is Yoga.

With the start of the New Year in full swing, every jiu-jitsu practitioner has got to have a new years resolution to ensure that 2011 will be a great year for them. Just recently I got the opportunity to interview six great instructors in the So Cal area about what their new years resolution will be for themselves and their academy. Special thanks to all instructors for taking time out in their busy schedules to do this interview.

This year has once again shown us that there is no limitation as to how far this sport is growing. With many sad, exciting, and shocking moments the year 2010 will be a year that will truly be remembered as the jaw dropping moment of our time. One of the things this year has blessed us with is the opportunity to be introduced to upcoming rising talents that are sure to make a major impact in the following years to come.

Earlier this month 4x BJJ World Champion Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles made a shocking announcement that he was moving to Los Angeles, Ca to open up a new academy. With the anticipation rising and many questions flooding the various online chat forums, Cobrinah’s arrival looks to be shaping into one of monumental  proportion.

It is said that nothing great in this world can been accomplished without passion & dedication. If you look back at great athletes over the years their love and dedication for this sport allowed them to rise and become remarkably great at what they did.
 

Fresh off his championship victory at the No-Gi Mundials, multi-time BJJ champ Lucas Lepri graced our academy here at Hollywood BJJ (Team Paragon) to host a fun and exciting seminar that was surely one to remember.

When it comes to entering into the sport of Brazilian Jujitsu as a senior at times it can be a difficult transition as oppose to a younger individual that is starting out. While some Older Grapplers ( commonly known as OG’s) struggle to stay committed to the game for various reasons, there are some OG’s who continue to stay committed by training hard, competing , and even putting their younger teammates to shame, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that age is nothing but a number.