As you probably know, my shoulder is fucked. So I won't be competing in most (likely any) of these events! But, I thought, just because I can't compete, doesn't mean I can't talk a bit about them and help the potential competitors get an idea what each is about and the history and whatnot of them.
Saturday June 22nd - Ottawa International BJJ Championships. This is the second year for this event. I thought I wrote a blog post about this one last year, but it appears I did not. So, here is a mini re-cap. It was pretty much BTT Canada vs team Renzo Gracie, with a sprinkling of other teams mixed in. It was part of a fit-day expo of some sort, and there were fitness model competitions, crossfit, and pole dancing demos going on in the same venue. We brought a team of 4 to the event (myself, Alasdair, Greg M, and Jon), and managed to place 3rd overall in adult gi. This year, it seems like they have a much larger variety of teams coming out to the event, which will be good. There are a bunch of brown belts registered and it's shaping up to be a pretty epic super fight like brown belt absolute. Here is the facebook event for the tournament and here is the events official website. Registration closes TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. So get on that. Now.
Saturday June 29th - Five Grappling presents Ontario 1. These guys are shaking things up a bit. They are tweaking the rules, bringing in HUGE super fights, a ridiculous seminar(Marcelo and Xande), and tonnes of prizes and gifts(gear bags, sub prizes, lanyards, something from storm, and more) for the competitors. They have been working their asses off to promote this event and I really hope the community supports them for all their effort.
The rule tweaks (that I LOVE):
- Kneebars and wrist locks for all adults. Personally, I maybe would have kept keebars to blue and up, but the current IBJJF rules that don't allow them until brown is just silly. I think Kneebars are great, and they areally aren't that much more dangerous than an armbar, unless you try to be a hero and twist out and bust your know knee up. Wrist locks are the same, as long as people aren't assholes about it, they are perfectly safe.
- No Advantages. This means no more almost passing, or almost sweeping and sitting on an advantage for 10 minutes to squeak out a win.
- 2 points for coming up from the double guard pull. This should mean that people will be more willing to come up, b/c if they get re-swept, the score is still even, instead of them only having an advantage, and the other guy having 2 points. I think it will make for a more aggressive game.
- 6 minute matches, ala Abu Dhabi Pro. I like it, it means people can push the pace, and not worry about having to fight for 10 minutes. and it means if people are going to stall, we only have to watch 6 minutes of it, instead of 10.
- Weigh in 1-4 hours before your division. This means, if you are close, you don't have to starve yourself all day. It also means when it's time for a division to start, we don't have to wait for everyone to get weighed in. This should make for a much smoother process.
This tournament got input from 25 or so of the top BJJ competitors in the world when they were planning this event, and making the rules, and everything. They are trying to make the sport more spectator and competitor friendly and I think they are headed in the right direction. I will likely be helping out with tables, or something at this event
Saturday July 6th - Mat Militia Ladies Sub Only Show. I was pumped for this event when they announced it. I was going to be in it, but now I can't. I think the divisions are full, but you should totally go watch it and support the event. They are accepting donations for the Breast Cancer Society of Canada at the event and the whole thing is being run to raise money for that. There is no entry fee for the competitors, but everyone is being encouraged to donate to the cause. Some of Ontario's top ladies are competing and it's going to be an excellent showcase of jiu jitsu! I will likely be helping referee at this event.
Saturday July 13th - IBJJF New York Open. Does it seem like they just had one here? Why yes, they did! It was a solid event, and I'd go back, If I could compete. I think it will be a bit smaller this time around, since it's been less then 6 months since the last one, and Mundials just happened and no one likes to compete in the summer. That being said, It's a good venue, reliable competition and they have nice big medals. So, if you are in the area, it's worth checking out. Pre-register only, and don't be that guy or girl who complains about registration closing early because it's full and you booked your flight and hotel before registering and now are screwed. Register first, then book your travel.
Saturday July 13th - OJA Sub Only Event. This is going down in Thornhill, which is close to Toronto. It's GI only, and that's about all the information that is available at this point. It will be no time limit I believe, kids age 11 and up and should be a lovely time. I hope they can get more information, and registration, and whatnot out soon, or this might be a dud. They tried to have one about 6 months ago, but scheduling and venue conflicts just made it not happen. At least, if it does end up sucking, the ladies have the Mat Militia event the week before to have fun at. I will likely be refereeing (though, not much to referee in sub-only), and or supporting my team mates.
Saturday July 20th - Grappling Industries: Summer Havok They recently announced that they will be doing this tournament INDEPENDENTLY. This gets them free from the political fight between the OJA and the OGA, and hopefully means that those people who are strictly on either side can now support the event. That being said, I have talked to the guys who run this(since I work for the event, and happen to be sponsored by them) and they have assured me that they have a great insurance policy that has equal coverage to what the OGA or OJA have. So, don't worry, It is perfectly SAFE to compete at this event.
Alright, on to the good stuff! EIGHT trips are being awarded as prizes for absolutes. TWO of those are going to the ladies!! They will also have prizes from their sponsors, as usual. The rest of the tournament will be as usual for these guys, round robin (4 fights), morning weigh ins, no gi on for the weigh ins, competent referees and a good atmosphere. They will be recording the fights, but they have been slow to get them posted. They don't mind if you record your fights yourself. One difference will be, since there is no OGA registration to deal with, the process in the morning should be much simpler and smoother! YAY! I really hope my shoulder is magically better in time for this, because it seems like every time they put trips on for the ladies, I'm broken. Last time it was the concussion, now my shoulder. I competed at the last one in Montreal, when there was no trip of course. (I didn't win anyway, so I suppose it doesn't matter that there was no trip heh) I'll be refereeing at this event!
Saturday August 3rd - IBJJF TORONTO Last year was the first year the IBJJF brought their event to Ontario and it was a well run event. It was smaller than most of their tournaments, but just as well run. I think this year will be bigger and better than last. Now that people know that the IBJJF run a great event, I think they will be more willing to shell out the slightly higher entry fee to participate. That being said, this past Ontario Open was run as well as any IBJJF tournament I've been to, so they may have to step up their game if they want to lure people out. Here is the facebook event for the tournament.The IBJJF only uses brown and black belt referees, so I won't be working at this event, but, if my shoulder is healed up, I'll be competing.
Saturday August 17th - OJA Northern Ontario Championships This will be the first BJJ tournament in Northern Ontario (that I am aware of). It's a bit of a trek for most of us, but Sudbury is a pretty beautiful area, so make a weekend camping trip of it or something. This should be a solid event, but I have a feeling it will be small. Hopefully they get people from Manitoba out or something.
Saturday August 17th - Grappling Industries Montreal: Nogi Worlds Edition This is likely where I will be this weekend. It's not that I don't like sudbury, but the OJA separates blues and purples, and there are only about 10 purple belt girls (being generous) in ontario, and none of them are near sudbury. There are lots of blue and purple belt girls in the Montreal area, so the chance of having someone to compete with is much higher at this event. Also, I'd rather have 4 fights than 1 or 2. That being said, you know the drill by now about these events. The Montreal ones are smaller, but equally well run. They get a lot of MMA and Judo guys out, so the vibe is a bit different. Be prepared to see guys almost lose by stalling b/c they don't know you can't just sit in side control to win a match. They are giving out 3 trips to NoGi worlds at this one (edit: confirmed: one of which is for the ladies), so If you are hunting for a prize trip, check it out.
That about round off the summer. I hope I didn't miss any. There are a million IBJJF tournaments happening all over the world now, a bunch of which are this summer, chicago, boston, atlanta. They aren't really in my area, and I won't be travelling to them, so I didn't get into the details on them. All will be solid tournaments, in theory, so If you are in those areas, check out the IBJJF schedule for more info.
In September we will likely have another Grappling Industries tournament, and the GTA classic, but I don't think either has been officially announced and neither has a confirmed venue and date, so I won't post about them officially let.
See you on the mats (or the sidelines, whatever)!
No comments:
Post a Comment