July, 2006

Uncategorized — No Comments
25
Jul 06

Gracie-Barra Marbella in First Annual CHOCO Classic

(Reported by Mike Rios)

On Saturday the 22nd of July some of the Gracie Barra Marbella competition team travelled to the Spanish/American base in Rota Spain for the Inaugural CHOCO classic held on base and hosted by the CHOCO team as a fund raiser to help the guys pay for their trips to Germany to compete. The four team members were Ben Johnson, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rios along with Jose Antonio’s student Roberto. (An unfortunate mix-up prevented our non-Spanish/American/British team members from participating.)

The two weight categories were above- and below 80kgs, so Roberto and Ben fought in the under, and Mike and Antonio fought in the over.

Antonio was injured in his first match by an armbar and could not continue. Roberto, fighting in his first competition, felt the affects of nerves and adrenaline and after a hard fought first match which he won 20 to 4 looked a little worse for wear. He fought 3 more times though gaining some valuable experience and going 2 for 2 on the day.

Both Ben and Mike won their categories in the with Kimono competition. Mike with three submissions and ben with two submissions and a hard-fought 6-4 victory in the final. In the no kimono competition after lunch Mike won again with three submissions and ben won one and lost in the final by a guillotine choke (could happen to anyone) in a rematch of the kimono competition.

Afterwards it was over to Vinnie’s house for a BBQ by the pool and some laughs as everybody took turns telling BJJ and other “warâ€? stories. Unfortunately it started getting late and Ben looked nervous about the consequences of arriving too late to meet the Mrs, so I had to leave without getting to taste one of the luscious looking burgers Vinnie had on the Grill. You owe me a burger Ben!!

Overall my impression from the event was that team CHOCO is made up of some great guys, excellent athletes with lots of heart. They have a great future ahead of them. The event was well organized, and will no doubt become an anticipated annual event.

Thanks, and good luck in Germany, TEAM CHOCO !!!

News / Training — No Comments
6
Jul 06

Summer Training

Lots of exciting things happening this summer:

  • Our very own Pablo Cabo is heading off to Brazil to compete in the BJJ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. This is big time stuff. Pablo’s been training mano-a-mano with Edson for a month or so. He’s totally ripped, and ready to go. Good luck, Pablo– we’re all hoping the best for you, as you represent Spain and Gracie-Barra.

  • Jude (above left) is down from the UK to train with us for a few months. He’s a recent Roger Gracie black belt, and a long-time buddy of ours. He always claims to be “out of shape”, but we know the truth.

  • Bruno (above right) a BJJ purple-belt from Portugal, came down to Marbella for some quality beach time and training with us. Bruno is one-tough-dude, let me tell you (he submitted me in about 10 seconds with some kind of weird handlock from the guard), but is one of the nicest guys we’ve met. Was great having you Bruno, and we hope to see you back soon!

  • Our Swedish buddy Andreas Tjärnberg came down for a week a sun and training, and showed us a few “Goshindo” moves. Great seeing him again!

  • The club just keeps growing and growing. Just last night, we had three new Brits join up and a new BJJ purple belt from Brazil recently moved to Marbella. Edson has been showing us a great series of attacks and counters from the spider guard.

  • We’ve got a HOT NEW CHICA DEL MES. Check out Olga, From Russia with Love.

  • Last, but not least, we’re all looking forward to heading down to the Rota military base on 22 July, for a BJJ and grappling tournament hosted by the US Navy & Marine Corps. Be sure to contact Vinnie Carlucci at CarlucciV@nctams.rota.navy.mil if you’d like to participate, or signup online at:

    http://www.teamchoco.carluccifamily.net/

Un monton de cosas excitantes estan pasando este verano:

+ Nuestro compañero Pablo Cabo está planeando ir a Brasil para competir en el campeonato mundial de Bjj. Pablo ha estado entrenando mano a mano con Edson durante un mes aproximadamente. El está preparado para ir. Mucha suerte Pablo. Estamos todos esperando lo mejor para ti, como representante de España y de la Gracie-Barra.

+ Jude (a la izquierda de la foto) ha bajado de Inglatera para entrenar con nosotros durante unos meses. El es un recien cinturón negro de Roger Gracie, y un viejo conocido de nosotros.

+ Bruno (a la derecha de la foto), cinturón purpura de Portugal, vino a Marbella a pasar unos dias de playa y entrenar con nosotros. Dejame decirte que Bruno es un tio duro (el me finalizó aproximadamente en 10 segundos con una llave de mano desde la guardia), pero es uno de los mejores tios que hemos encontrado. Fue bueno el tenerte Bruno, y esperamos verte pronto de vuelta!

+ Nuestro Buddy sueco, Andreas Tjärnberg, viajó por una semana de vacaciones y entreno, y nos enseñó algunos movimientos “Goshindo”. Fantastico volver a verlo!

+ El club continua creciendo y creciendo. La pasada noche, tuvimos tres nuevos miembros británicos y un nuevo cinturon purpura de Bjj de Brasil que recientemente se desplazó a Marbella. Edson nos ha estado enseñando una magnifica serie de ataques y defensas desde la guardia araña.

+ Tenemos una nueva chica del mes. Olga, desde Rusia con amor.

+ Para el final, pero no lo menos importante, nos estamos preparando para el campeonato de Bjj y Grappling organizado por la US Navy & Marine Corp, en la base militar de Rota, el 22 de Julio. Si quieres participar, contacta con Vinnie Carlucci, en Carlucci@nctams.rota.navy.mil o realiza la inscripción en:
http://www.teamchoco.carluccifamily.net