Five Grappling - Ontario 1 June 29th Tournament Report

So, this past weekend was Five Grappling's first event!

On Friday night they held a seminar at the venue with jiu jitsu legends Marcelo Garcia and Xande Ribeiro.  Also at the seminar was 27 time mundial champion Renato Laranga!  On a semi related note, a super fight between Marcelo and Renato was announced on Saturday.

I wasn't able to attend the seminar, but from what I heard it was quite excellent.  Marcelo and Xande have fairly different styles and body types so it was great for people to get their different perspectives on the techniques and see what kind of changes you need to make to have things work for different body types and styles. A couple of my team mates, and some of my friends from other schools attended and had nothing bad to say about it.  I was originally registered, but had to withdraw from it because of my shoulder.  I'm pretty bummed I missed it.

My perspective of the competition is a bit skewed because I was working the entire day.  My job was to sort out 1/2 the fighters into queues for their mats runner.  It was a chaotic job, that left me with tired feet, a sore shoulder, no voice and no patience by the end of the day.   I'm not sure I would do the job again, but it was interesting anyway.  There were some issues that were out out fives control.that made the job more difficult then it needed to be and I think at their next event it will be much easier and less stressful.

The event started at 10am with a rules meeting. They basically went over the major differences between the five grappling ruleset and the ibjjf rules that everyone is used to.  This was a really good idea, because not everyone reads the rules of the competitions they enter and it probably saved the table workers and referees some grief from the coaches.   That being said, moat of the adults were not at the venue yet, so they did not benefit from the meeting.

The first portion of the day, which was gi kids, women, and masters took longer to get through then planned.  This was mostly because the competitors didn't listen to the instructions from the meeting, and the runners and myself.   They would not stay in the bullpen, when they were coming up, or enter the exit and go straight to their mat, and all sorts of other, incorrect behaviour that left us looking for fighters and waiting around.   The other issue was that the speaker and Mic setup in the bullpen did not get loud enough and the speaker was at the back of the bullpen, when it should have been at the front, near the warm-up area so the announcer could call people from the bullpen admin area without setting off lots of feedback.

The system for the draws was pretty sweet, each match got a number, so if you paid attention to your mat, and kept an eye on things, you would always have a pretty good idea of when you would be up next.   This is not a new thing for competitions in other sports like wrestling and judo, but it is new to jiu jitsu, so there will always be a learning curve.  I hope its a system that is adopted across the board by all the various promotions because it really is a great way of doing things.

So, the super fights ended up starting later them scheduled, and running before all the kids/masters/womens nogi was complete. This was a bit annoying but not the end of the world.  After the super fights things got back on track quickly and I believe the tournament was wrapped up by 6 or 630 pm. 

The superfights were all great fights.  There were 2 submissions I believe, Thomas Beach won by submission(sadly I missed this fight because we haf a mini meeting during it) and Michael Lierra Jr submitted Dainis Ng. 

Alison vs Sijara was a very entertaining match. They both almost got a kimura and if there had been a few more seconds Alison would have likely score some more points to take the lead.  Sijara won 5-2.
In the main event Darson and Gianni double guard pulled but Gianni came up for 2.  The rest of the match was Darson playing Dlr and Gianni trying to pass.   This may sound boring but it was actually quite entertaining. 

The medals and belts for the divisions were really nice looking.  They even had kids size belts for the advanced divisions. The award presentations were pretty delayed for the first half of the day, but I believe once they got going they handed them out as things went along Hopefully next time they will give them out as the divisions complete, since people had places to go and things to do, it was a holiday weekend after all.  They gave out sweet gear bags to every competitor, and also gave a bag, with a certificate for hatashita international to the competitors who their matches by submission.  I like this idea and I hope it becomes more popular.

All in all it was a successful event, and or their first tournament it was more than acceptable.   There are some kinks to work out, but they almost all revolve around the draw system and should be fairly easy to resolve.  I'm working on writing out some tips and fixes for the promoters that were apparent from my end, and I am certain that the next event will be even better!

Handy Dandy Rules and Format Comparison

Hi Everyone!

 So, the other day I was thinking about the different events out there, and the differences in the rules, and Jon and I talked about a post we saw that was suposed to be about the differences in the rules in various promotions, but really didn't tell you anything.

 SO I thought, why not make a fairly comprehensive chart, of the various promotions that I know about with the differences and similarities of each. I tried to list all the things that people might care about. This chart generally applies to ADULT GI DIVISIONS. Of course ADCC is nogi, and when I could, I made comments about a promotions nogi rules as well. IBJJF the rules are identical for gi/nogi so that is why there are no notes about the differences there.

 If there are any mistakes, omissions, or things you would like added, please leave a comment, or message me on facebook, twitter, or reddit, or however else you want to contact me. If there is another promotion out there that hosts events in more then one city and has an easily accessed rule set, send me the info, and I will try to add them. I'd like this to be as comprehensive as possible!

 I know the chart doesn't fit perfectly in my stupid layout, sorry about that, I haven't spent that much time trying to make it all responsive and beautiful. As a programmer, I am ashamed, but I'd rather get this information out sooner and deal with making it absolutely beautiful later.

If you know 100% the answer to any place I have left as a question mark, please also let me know.  I couldn't find anything in those events rules books to confirm or deny how they handle the situations.

If you see a little Number like this ⁹⁹⁹⁹ Click on it, it will open a cool little tooltip with more information about it. They aren't the prettiest, but it sure beats scrolling up and down, or clicking and getting automatically scrolled down.

Each heading links to that organizations most current rules (that I could find).

Format and Such
	IBJJF CBJJF OJA	Grappling Industries	Grapplers Quest	Five	Naga	ADCC	Abu Dhabi Pro
Bracket Format	Single1	Round Robin2	Single	Single	Single	Single	Single
Match Length	5 / 6 / 7 / 8 /10	5	5 / 6 / 7 / 8 /10	6	4 / 5/ 6(pbb)	6-1012	6
over time	No	No	NOGI and Superfights only	No	Ref Discretion	Yes13	No
Weigh in time	Before Division	Morning Of	Night before, or morning of	4 to 1 hour before division	Night before, and morning of32	Morning of3	Night before only
weigh in with gi?	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Weight Classes	Standard34	Standard34 ,37	Every 10lbs ish 35	See Chart38	Every 10lbs is36	See Chart39	Varys 40
pre registration only	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Absolutes	Medal Winners	Gold Only	Sign Up and Pay	Sign up and Pay	Sign up and Pay	Medal Winners	Medal Winners4
Gi rules25	Very Strict, White/Blue/Black, no frays Page 28	Less Strict, But follows IBJJF Rules Gi and Uniform	Any color, but must match Item 16	blue, black white matching Page 16	No color or matching restrictions Page 46	N/A	Follows IBJJF Rules kimonos
Rashguard under gi	No	No	No	No26	Yes	N/A	No
nogi uniform regulations	Black rashguard and board shorts, no tights	rashguard and board shorts	rashguard and shorts, tights or gi pants	rashguard/tight top and shorts, tights or gi pants	minimum - shorts	No real rules	N/A
cups allowed	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No real rules	No
entry fee(one division)31	IBJJF - 100(ish) CBJJF - 70/90 OJA - 50-65	60/7033	100-120	100	80(ish)	80	100-120
Membership Fee	IBJJF - 3527 OJA - 2528	N/A	0/10/3529	0/10/3530	N/A	N/A	35
Points and Advantages
	IBJJF CBJJF OJA	Grappling Industries	Grapplers Quest	Five	Naga	ADCC	Abu Dhabi Pro
Points for Sub Attempts	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Advantages for Sub Atempts	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No5	No6	Yes
Points for Takedowns	2	2	2/37	2	28	2/49	2
Points for Knee on Belly	2	2	210	2	2	2	2
Points for Sweeps	2	2	2	2	2	2/411	2
points for passes	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Advantage for pass to turtle	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
points for mount	4	4	4	4	4	2	4
points for back mount	4	4	4	4	4	2	4
points for back control	4	4	4	4	4	3	4
points for body triangle (back control)	-	-	-	4	-	-	-
double guard pull	Adv	Adv	?	2	Adv	?	Adv
penalty for guard pull	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Allowed Techniques
	IBJJF CBJJF OJA	Grappling Industries	Grapplers Quest	Five	Naga	ADCC	Abu Dhabi Pro
Kneebars	Brown/Black	Brown/Black	All Adults15	All Adults	Brown/Black14	All Adults	Brown/Black
Wrist Locks	Blue	Blue	All Adults	All Adults	Blue	All Adults	Blue
Heel Hooks	No	No	Nogi only16	No	Nogi only	Intermediate+	No
Toe Holds	Brown/Black	Brown/Black	Brown/Black18	Brown/Black19	Brown/Black17	Intermediate+	Brown/Black
slicers / compression locks	Brown/Black	Brown/Black	No20	Brown/Black	Brown/Black	Intermediate+	Brown/Black
slams	No	No	No	No	No	Yes21	No
spine locks (twisters)	No	No	No/Yes22	No	No/Yes23	Yes24	No
Banana Splits	13+	13+	Not Mentioned	Not Mentioned	18+	Intermediate+	13+

• 1 - OJA - kids they use round robin (usually under age 8, sometimes under 11)
• 2 - 4 fights in the round robin, then if there is a tie, they do a single elimination bracket to determine winners. Divisions of 2 will do a best of 3, divisions of 3, you fight each guy twice, divisions of 4 I think you get only 3 fights.
• 3 - I see some posts saying they don't do day before anymore, we haven't had one one these around anymore, and there was some controversy about the weigh ins the last event, so I wouldn't count on this information being 100% accurate.
• For the qualifying tournaments, many divisions, you must win the absolute to earn a trip. It varies by divisions how well you must do in your weight class to qualify, Normally it's top 4, but sometimes it is top 8.
• 5 - Five does not give advantages at all, so nothing for sub attempts, but in the case of a draw, sub attempts are the first thing that is considered when choosing a winner.
• 6 -ADCC does not use advantages at all.
• 7 - 2 points if you end up in a guard, 3 points if you end up in side control or mount.
• 8 - Naga has some strange rules about take downs in NOGI, where sometimes you only get 1 point. This chart is about Gi Rules only. You are best off reading page 19 or their rule book.
• 9 - ADCC gives 2 points if you finish the takedown in a guard position, and 4 if you finish passed the guard(like side control or mount)
• 10 - Grapplers Quest does NOT give points for knee on belly in NOGI.
• 11 - ADCC considers reversals as sweeps as well, and sweeps that end passed the guard earn 4 points.
• 12 - ADCC has pretty convoluted match times. national and qualifier events have 6 minutes for the first rounds, and 8 for the final, the world championships has 10 and 20. Also note, ADCC does not score points for the first 1/2 of the match.
• 13 - Overtime is 1/2 the match length. Only 1 overtime per match.
• 14 - Kneebars are Allowed for ALL adults in NOGI at Naga
• 15 - Kneebars are legal for all adults in gi, and nogi at Grappler's Quest, they are even legal for advanced kids/teens in nogi.
• 16 - Heel Hooks are legal in the Advanced and Pro and Superfight NOGI divisions only at grappler's quest. ***the OGA, who grappler's quest works with in Ontario, does NOT allow Heel Hooks, so they would never be legal, in Ontario.
• 17 - Toe Holds are legal for all adults in NOGI at Naga
• 18 - Toe Holds are legal in Advanced NOGI adult divisions at Grappler's Quest
• 19 - Toe Holds are legal in the Expert NOGI adult divisions at Five
• 20 - Calf crushes are NOT legal in Gi at Grapplers Quest, but are in advanced/professional and brown/black. They have contradictory rules on their website, so I would confirm with them at the event before going for one in the Gi divisions.
• 21 - Slams ARE allowed, but only to escape a sub, slams from guard are not. Yes, ADCC is crazy.(not for beginners or intermediate)
• 22 - Neck/Cervical Locks are only allowed in the advanced / pro NOGI divisions at Grapplers Quest
• 23 - Neck/Cervical Locks are only allowed in the All Adult NOGI divisions at Naga.
• 24 - Spine Twisters are NOT allowed in the Beginer ADCC division
• 25 - Everyone has something in their rules about gi's and nogi uniforms, your best bet is to just look it up, since I don't feel like writing a paragraph in each box and making my table ugly.
• 26 - It doesn't say in the rules that it is allowed, it just doesn't say that it is not allowed.  According to a facebook post, they are not allowed.
• 27 - IBJJF -  Black belts, kids, juveniles, and possibly others need to have a membership to compete. eventually everyone will.  The CBJJF does not have a membership fee.
• 28 - All competitors must be registered with the OJA, membership is valid for the calendar year
• 29 - Grapplers Quest in ontario is sanctioned by the OGA, which comes with a $10 per event, or $35 for a year membership fee
• 30 - Five in ontario is sanctioned by the OGA, which comes with a $10 per event, or $35 for a year membership fee
• 31 - These vary event to event, and location to location and are just here as general indicator.
• 32 - Night before is currently only at the Toronto(and future, large events)
• 33 - 60 in Montreal, 70 in Toronto. Kids are less
• 37 - Grappling Industries uses the IBJJF NOGI Weight classes for their single weigh in(gi or nogi), and you can weigh in wearing as little as you want (undergarments required).
• 39 - ADCC Weight Classes
  see the official weight class page Here

  Mens -145.2 lbs -169.5 lbs -193.7 lbs -218.0 lbs +220.5 lbs

  Womens -132.2lbs +132.2lbs

• 34 - IBJJF Weight Classes

  Class	Male Gi	Male NoGi	Female Gi	Female NoGi
  Rooster	127	122.5	-	-
  Light Feather	141.5	136	118	113.5
  Feather	154.5	149	129	124.5
  Light	168	162.5	141.5	135.5
  Middle	181.5	175.5	152.5	147
  Medium Heavy	195	188.5	163.5	158
  Heavy	208	202	163.6+	158.1+
  Super Heavy	222	215	-	-
  Ultra Heavy	222.1+	215.1+	-	-

• 35 - Grapplers Quest Weight Classes.
  *Not all weight classes are available at all age/skill levels. check the official post about it here
  

  Mens Bantam (129.9 lbs. & below) Flyweight (130-139.9 lbs.) Feather (140-149.9 lbs.) Light (150-159.9 lbs.) Welter (160-169.9 lbs.) Middle (170-179.9 lbs.) Cruiser (180-189.9 lbs.) Light-Heavy (190-199 lbs.) Heavy (200-209.9 lbs.) Super (210 lbs. +)

  Womens Class A (119.9 lbs. & below) Class B (120-139.9 lbs.) Class C (140-159.9 lbs.) Class D (160 lbs. +) Absolute (Open Weight)

• 36 - Naga Weight Classes

  Mens Fly Weight 129.9 lbs. & Under Bantam Weight 130 to 139.9 lbs. Feather Weight 140 to 149.9 lbs. Light Weight (50 to 159.9 lbs. Welter Weight 160 to 169.9 lbs. Middle Weight 170 to 179.9 lbs. Light Heavy Weight 180 to 189.9 lbs. Cruiser Weight 190 to 199.9 lbs. Heavy Weight 200 to 224.9 lbs. Super Heavy Weight 225 & Above

  Womens Fly Weight (119.9 lbs & Under) Light Weight (120 to 134.9 lbs.) Middle Weight (135 to 159.9 lbs.) Light Heavy Wt (160 lbs. & Above)

• 38 - Five Grappling Weight classes

  Mens Flyweight up to 124.9 lbs. Bantamweight 125 - 139.9 lbs. Lightweight 140 - 154.9 lbs. Welterweight 155 - 169.9 lbs. Middleweight 170 - 189.9 lbs. Light Heavyweight 190 - 209.9 lbs. Heavyweight 210 lbs +

  Womens Bantamweight up to 119.9 lbs. Lightweight 120 - 134.9 lbs. Welterweight 135 - 149.9 lbs. Middleweight 150 – 169.9 lbs. Heavyweight 170 lbs +

• 40 - Abu Dhabi Pro Weight classes vary by qualifier and event. Your best bet is to just check the website for the qualifier you are attending.

Upcoming events in the Ontario Area (Summer Edition)

Hello Lovelies!

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):

1. 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.  
2. No Advantages.  This means no more almost passing, or almost sweeping and sitting on an advantage for 10 minutes to squeak out a win. 
3. 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.
4. 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.  
5. 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)!