Gracie Barra Santa Ana

GB Future Champions did an outstanding  job

To see the high skill level, hard work and discipline presented by our kids made everyone at GB very proud.
They really gave it their all and we thoroughly enjoyed so much the evening.

Congratulations for the GB Professors, Instructors, Assistant Instructors and Volunteers for the outstanding job they are doing with the GB Kids Programs throughout California. The kids showcased beautiful take downs, guard passes, sweeps, chokes, armbars and so on … there could not have been a better representation of good Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the expectators.

Big thanks to all the Professors, Instructors and students who helped us seting up the event, without your help we could not do it. We would like to specially thank Professor Mike Buckels from Gracie Barra Costa Mesa for the awesome job he did leading the organization.

Everybody walked out with big smiles on their faces, and most wanting to come back and see it again . A final note to the kids: Well Done, keep training hard and Thank You!

Here are some cool pics for you guys to enjoy:

Professors lined up to award the medals.(foto by Professor Magidi)

Focus and determination before stepping on the mats. Thats how we do it!(foto by pesh)

Professor Marco Joca referring and doing his part on “Keeping the legacy alive”. Professor started to study under Master Carlos Gracie Jr at the young age of 9 years old.(foto by pesh)

Professor Marcio Feitosa referring. Professor started to study under Master Carlos at the age of 12 years old. For sure at the moment of this pictures lots of memories were going through his mind.(foto by Professor Magidi)

So much talent displayed all day long. Kids you are amazing!(foto by Professor Magidi)

Master Carlos Gracie Jr. was there the whole evening awarding the kids with medals. We don’t know anybody who loves Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu more than this Man.(foto by pesh)

Master Carlos Gracie Jr awarding the kids. He must be very proud of the nice things Gracie Barra is doing for the comunity.(Foto by pesh)

There are many pictures posted on Professor Magidi’s website. If you would like to see it: CLICK HERE!

Gracie Barra Keeping the legacy alive!

Comments(0)

Comments(0)

GB Future Champions Kids Tournament 06/28/2008

To see the banner in better resolution: CLICK HERE!

Comments(0)

GB San Diego in action

We would like to congratulate our teammates from Gracie Barra San Diego for the excellent performance of their students who fought the MMA Show Las Vegas Combat Championship.

Steve Gable had his second MMA fight (he is now 2 -0) he faced Vitor Pimenta from Brazil,a really tough opponent, and had a great win. On the same night Greg Contardo did his MMA debut achieving his first  win in great way.

To see Steve Gable in action: CLICK HERE!

To see  Greg Contardo 1st round: CLICK HERE! 2nd round: CLICK HERE!

Keep training hard,
Great job guys!

Comments(0)

Hey guys we know that there’s been alot of requests about when we’ll start our new schedule and now it’s finally here, the Gracie Barra Santa Ana 2008 Summer Schedule was released and will start next Monday (June 23rd). We’ll see you on the mats! Please check the new schedule by clicking here.

Comments(0)

The involvement of great leaders and important people with the gentle art is not a recent phenomenon. Following up with our last post about the Quote of this Week “Men in the Arena”, find below a very interesting statement from President Roosevelt and his relationship with the Jiu-Jitsu Japanese masters who lended in Brazil a few years later to make the link that allowed the birth of BJJ.

“… Yesterday afternoon we had Professor Yamashita [Yamashita was Roosevelt’s Jiu-jitsu instructor before Meada and Tomita had arrived there in the U.S.] up here to wrestle with Grant. It was very interesting, but of course jiu jitsu and our wrestling are so far apart that it is difficult to make any comparison between them. Wrestling is simply a sport with rules almost as conventional as those of tennis, while jiu jitsu is really meant for practice in killing or disabling our adversary.

In consequence, Grant did not know what to do except to put Yamashita on his back, and Yamashita was perfectly content to be on his back. Inside of a minute Yamashita had choked Grant, and inside of two minutes more he got an elbow hold on him that would have enabled him to break his arm; so that there is no question but that he could have put Grant out. So far this made it evident that the jiu jitsu man could handle the ordinary wrestler. But Grant, in the actual wrestling and throwing was about as good as the Japanese, and he was so much stronger that he evidently hurt and wore out the Japanese.

With a little practice in the art I am sure that one of our big wrestlers or boxers, simply because of his greatly superior strength, would be able to kill any of those Japanese, who though very good men for their inches and pounds are altogether too small to hold their own against big, powerful, quick men who are as well trained [of course we have to disagree with President Roosevelt here].”

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
(Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children. 1919. NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, 1919 NEW YORK: BARTLEBY.COM, 1999)

Comments(0)

 Great Belt Ceremony … Thanks to all of you!

Before the eyes of 50 black belts, Master Rickson Gracie and a large number of GB members who packed the new Gracie Barra America branch in Irvine, CA, Master Renzo Gracie holds the red-and-black belt to Master Carlos Gracie Junior.

To read more: CLICK HERE!

To see the video from Master Renzo’s speech: CLICK HERE!

To see the video from Master Carlos’s speech: CLICK HERE!

Group pictures from the GB Black Belts who attended the ceremony

Comments(0)

Attention Students!

Due to the Belt Promotion that will take Place at our Headquarters in Irvine, this upcoming tuesday we will have only the Fundamentals Class from 6.45pm to 7.45 pm. The Gracie Barra Santa Ana Team will be heading to Irvine after the class. Meet us at the school if you are planning to see the first GB Red and Black belt get promoted.

GB Santa Ana Staff

Comments(0)

 GB Worlds Training Camp 2008

More and more GB members are coming in to train and prepare for the Worlds 2008. It is been an amazing learning experience to train with and watch some of the best Gracie Barra competitors practicing together.

The GB Worlds Competition Training is happening on our HQ in Irvine, everyday at 12pm. Students from all belt levels that will participate on the Worlds 2008 are welcome to join.

Here is a cool picture from Master Carlos Gracie Jr. with the GB Black Belts. The picture was taken after a competition training session led by Master Carlos. There are LOTS of World Champions on that line!

Graduation ceremony

This upcoming Tuesday, June 3rd we will host a very special graduation ceremony. Gracie Barra will have its first red and black belt on the family.

GB members from all School are invited. GB Instructors from all over are flying in to join us.

It will be a day to remember!

Score keepers and Ring Coordinators are needed for the 2008 World championships.

Would you like a front row seat to see the world championships? Help our sport grow and be an active part of the development of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ?

We are currently filling staff positions for the 2008 World Championships in Long Beach, CA. We are in need of time keepers and ring coordinators. You do not have to have any experience to be a time keeper or ring coordinator, just the willingness to hang in there for a long fun filled day. We will offer online tutorials and have a staff meeting at the start of each day to answer any questions that you might have.

For more information please contact us at usjjfeventstaff@gmail.com.

Comments(0)

Competition training for the World Championship 2008

Gracie Barra members from many different Schools are joining us at the competition classes. Its been a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

This morning we had almost 20 Gracie Barra Black Belts on the mats. Its amazing to watch them rolling!

Here is a group picture from the Black Blets taken after the competition class

George St-Pierre in Gracie Barra Rio
Ximu coments on Champion’s visit

Since great champions must keep on moving, UFC welterweight title holder Georges Saint-Pierre arrived in Brazil yesterday to refine his game. The Canadian will be making his first title defense, since recovering it from the hands of Matt Serra, against John Fitch, in August.
To continue to put on a show in the octagon, St Pierre’s Jiu-Jitsu instructor in Canada, Bruno Molenga (Gracie Barra) sent his student to Barra da Tijuca on an exchange in the Gracie Barra home base. The champion will stay in Brazil until the 10th of June and until then will practice MMA and do his physical conditioning with the fighter Gustavo Ximu, and complete his Jiu-Jitsu routine at night.

GRACIEMAG.com contacted Ximu, who today took the champion to practice boxing at the Nobre Arte boxing academy and got ready to have a first roll with Saint-Pierre at GB.

“He came to work on his Jiu-Jitsu. He arrived yesterday and I took him to Nobre Arte today. The guy is really humble and good people, besides being a really good fighter. We had only one technical training session led by Claudio Coelho and he liked it a lot. The guys there at the academy couldn’t even believe their eyes, as everyone there is a fan. I was also under the impression he was bigger. Not that he’s small, but he weighs 84kg and on tv he looks bigger. I’m going to take him to practice boxing, wrestling and do physical conditioning with me to keep him active, but the main thing is Jiu-Jitsu,” said Ximu.

Article featured on Graciemag.com

Comments(0)