Congratulations to Matt Coletta from the Rick Royce BJJ Academy in Gilbertsville, PA.  Matt has been training now for a year and has excelled both in class and in competition.  He was promoted to blue belt at the Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Chalfont on Saturday.  Way to go Matt!

Ricardo  De La Riva and Rosendo Diaz

It was an honor and a incredible learning experience having the opportunity to train with Master Ricardo De La Riva on Saturday during a small group class held at 127bjj in Manayunk, PA.  Master De La Riva gave us an amazing amount of detail about the techniques he uses and he spent a lot of time answering the group’s questions. 

Thanks to Master De La Riva and Vicinte Junior for making the trip out to Philadelphia.

Congratulations go out to Rick Royce and Dylan Royce for competing is this past weekends Cherry Hill Challenge II put on by the Good Fight. 

Rick Royce took 1st place in the advanced no-gi division.

Dylan Royce took 1st place in the blue belt division even after having to compete at a heavier weight class.

Dylan then went on to take 3rd place in the intermediate n0-gi division.

Congrats guys!!!

Rick Royce no-gi match

Congratulations to the 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu Team members that competed in this weekend’s Diamond State Games held in Bear, Delaware.

Our Competition Team for this event.

Rick Royce, 2nd place in advanced no-gi and 3rd place in his brown belt division.
Colin Stewart, 1st place in his purple belt divison
Ed Sheridan, 3rd place in advanced no-gi.
Dylan Royce, 1st place in intermediate no-gi and 1st place in blue belt division.
Bill Mann, 1st place in his blue belt division.

Even with a small team, the 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu Team is able to make a big impact due to the committment to excellence of our members and instructors in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Next up 3G is the Rupture Tourament, lets show up in force!!!!

Congratulations to all the members of the RDBJJ Academy that competed this past weekend at the UGC held in Hamburg, PA.

Rick Royce took home 1st place in the advance no-gi division and 2nd place in the absolute division 200lbs. and under.
Dylan Royce got 1st place in the intermediate no-gi division.
Zack Hockman brought home a bunch of medals winning 1st place in kids no-gi, 1st place in kids gi and 2nd place in the teen gi division. 
Brian “Big Country” Hilinski took 1st in beginner no-gi division.
Mike Omensetter took 3rd place in the advanced no-gi division.
Matt Coletta took 3rd in the beginner no-gi division.
Cory Gallagher took 2nd in the beginner no-gi division and 2nd in the gi divsion.

Big congrats go out to Zack, Cory, Brian and Matt for doing so well on their first time competing. 
Good job everyone!

We are happy to announce that we are adding an Intermediate/Advanced class to our schedule.  This class will be for members ranking blue belt and above.  

The class will be held on Saturday’s from 9am to 10:30am.  Our regular submission grappling class will follow at 10:30am and is open to all levels.

For more information please contact us at

Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy

27 W. Butler Avenue

Chalfont, PA

267-476-1858

News from 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu affiliate, Submission Factory in Hummelstown, PA

The Submission Factory is proud to announce its first 2 children’s promotions to second yellow stripe.  Alex Ortiz and Adrian Ortiz, congratulations you’re both half way to your first belt.  Keep up the good work!

Kid’s Wrestling class has been added to the Submission Factory schedule.  This class will be held on Thursday’s from 6pm to 7pm.  For more information please visit www.submissionfactorypa.com

We are excited to announce the start of our newest program at the Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy.  Boxing is not only a great way to get fit but it also compliments the art of Jiu-Jitsu and self defense.  Boxing classes will start on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 6:00pm. 

These classes are for men and women, all you need to start is a jump rope, wraps and bag gloves.  If you don’t have the equipment, feel free to stop by our pro-shop, we have everything needed to get started in stock.  To register for this class please contact us here or give us a call at 267-476-1858.

About the Instructor
Jeff Richmond is a former professional boxer who trained in the Bethlehem/Allentown area and fought for 7th Street Gym. In addition to his years in the ring, Jeff brings experience as a boxing trainer and can customize programs for competion fighters or for fitness enthusiasts.  As a member of the RDBJJ Academy, Jeff has acted as our MMA team’s boxing coach for the past two years. 

See you on the mats!

RDBJJ Academy
27 W. Butler Avenue
Chalfont, PA
www.GraciePA.com

Starting Saturday, February 6, 2010, Lancaster Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy will begin running classes for children.  Classes will be held on Saturdays at 10:00am and Thursdays at 6:00pm.  For more information please visit www.lancasterbjj.com or contact the academy directly at brianfisher00@netscape.net.  

The type of martial art taught at the Lancaster Brazilian Jiu-Jistu Academy decended from Japan and was adapted for real world self defense by Helio Gracie.  Master Gracie concepts allowed a smaller person, utilizing leverage, to defeat a larger strong opponent.
 
The discipline and self confidence that kids aquire in our programs empowers them to more effectively handle problems including bullying.  We help kids develop active, healthy lifestyles and build character, self-esteem and interpersonal skills necessary for peaceful conflict resolution while stressing the importance of safety.  But more importantly to them, they’ll be having fun, getting fit and learning one of the most effective and powerful martial arts being taught today.
 
What sets Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu apart from other martial arts is it’s empahsis on practicality and real-world performance.  Your child in not going to memorize forms or kata.  They will not learn to chop and kick the air or break boards.  They are going to learn realistic and proven techniques for self defense, just like adults, in a fun, friendly and safe atmosphere.

Some news from our 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu students who competed this past weekend.

Congratulations to Kijafa Spiller from Ground Level Martial Arts in Dayton, Ohio. Kijafa competed at the 3rd Tri-State Grappling Championships 2010 and took 1st place in No Gi Mens Intermediate Middle Weight divsion
Match 1: 4-2
Match 2: Armbar from guard
Match 3: Flying Armbar
Match 4: 4-0

Congratulations to the 3rd Generation team members from Berks County BJJ and Aaron Morris BJJ Academy who competed at the US Grappling event in Boothwyn, PA on Saturday. Our medalists are:
Chaz Horner: 1st Lightweight Purple
Erik Faust: 1st Blue Belt Medium-Heavy over 30
Shane Mock: 3rd Brown Belt absolute
Alex Keibart 2nd Novice Absolute No-Gi.

Great job everyone!

Monday, February 2, 2010 starting at 8pm, Rosendo Diaz will be running a workshop at the Aaron Morris Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Holmes, PA.  For more information please visit www.wcma-usa.com.

Congratulations to the members of our team that competed at the OTM Grappling event held at the MMA Expo this past weekend in King of Prussia, PA. 

Berks County Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Jeff Gianacova-         1st place executive (over 30) Blue Belt super-heavy

                                  2nd place Blue belt super heavy

Joseph Kuhn-             1st place white belt super heavy

Shane Mock-              3rd place brown belt open

Erik Faust-                 1st place executive blue belt middleweight

                                  1st place executive no-gi advanced

Derek Lengle-           3rd place no-gi beginner

Lancaster Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Alex Alzuru-             Gi beginners open division 3rd place

                                No Gi beginners  1st place

                                No Gi Open 2nd place

Steve Olin -             No Gi Beginners 1st place

                                No Gi Beginners Open 1st place

Josh Graff-              Blue belt 188-202 3rd place

                                Blue belt open, 4th place

1.  I just  have to lose a few pounds or get in better shape before I start.
That’s our job.  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu provides a full body workout.  You don’t have to be in good shape to start, you just have to start and we’ll get you in the best shape of your life and we guarantee that you’ll see results quickly with our fun, energetic programs.

 
2.  My schedule is crazy and I’ll probably not have the time to invest.
Your schedule will always be crazy, no matter what point in your life you’ll reach.  Find the time today for yourself.  Jiu-Jitsu isn’t just about training, it’s a lifestyle.  Ask any of our members, Jiu-Jitsu brings peace and confidence into your life.  At our academy you’ll find that you quickly become one of the family and you’ll enjoy coming to academy to forget about the craziness of life for a while.

 
3.  I don’t want to show up to work after class with a black eye or injury.
At the RDBJJ Academy we have doctors, lawyers, plumbers, realtors, mechanics, dog trainers, sales people and so on..You name it, we’ve got them here.  All of our members have a day job and your safety is our upmost concern. 

 
4.   BJJ is all about competition and I’ll be forced to compete if I join.
Competition is a big thing at Jiu-Jitsu academies, but the truth is that only a small percentage of students ever really compete.  Most of our members are looking to learn self defense, get in better shape or just interested in learning this amazing art.  In the end we are all training for the same purpose and that is mastery of one’s self through the art of Jiu-Jitsu.  Competition is a great way for some to challenge themselves, but for most, the challenge is in the academy, learning and perfecting the art.

 
5.  It’s one of those deals, they’ll reel me in with a cheap price and then next thing you know, the prices go up and up and up.
At the RDBJJ Academy, the price we give you for your monthly training will never change, no matter how long you train at our academy.  Also, our monthly rates are fair compared with other programs of this caliber. 

Now what’s your reason not to join?  We invite you to come and take our two (2) week free trial membership at the academy.  Take the two weeks, train as much as you like, meet our members and instructors, we guarantee you a great experience.

For more information please click here

It’s been quite a year for us here at the RDBJJ Academy.  So much has happened this year that we don’t have enough space to write it all, but some of the most amazing news has come just in the last 4 months.

 
In August we moved to our new facilty which more than doubled the space we had in Telford which allowed us to have more mat space, a pro-shop and many other amenities.

 
In October we had Royler Gracie out for what turned out to be our biggest seminar ever with 52 members in attendance.  We also promoted several individuals including three black belts.

November started off with our kids program, and we had our first yellow belt, my son Jake, who after many years of training tested for his yellow.  Coming soon we’ll be posting a video of his test.

 
Rick Royce and Brett Hoover both opened their own training facilities, we wish them both all the best of luck.

 
And finally to all our new members since our arrival in Chalfont:
John Taube
Brian Plajer
Fred Koslowksi
Paul Blackway
Gerald Laird
Andrew McCarthy
Jason Kifner
Patrick Benner

 
2010 looks to be even better with the establishment of new programs, some exciting events and the growth of our academy.  Hope you all can make it in to visit us.  All the best to you in this new year!

 
Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
27 W. Butler Avenue
Chalfont, PA
267-476-1858
Graciepa.com

Tristate MMA-BJJ will be hosting a special seminar with Saulo Ribeiro and UFC fighter Diego Sanchez on Sunday, January 10, 2010 from 12pm to 3pm.  For more information on how to attend this amazing event please contact:

 
James Terry
Tristate MMA-BJJ
Saulo Ribeiro University of Jiu-Jitsu
Team Maxercise
201 West Harford Street
Milford, PA 18337
570-242-4650

Congratulations to all who competed at the recent North American Grappling Championships held in Newark, NJ on November 14-15, 2009. 

From Berks County Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:
Dylan Ekis - 3rd Place No-Gi and 2nd Place Teens Gi Intermediate Bantamweight
Dmitryi Poltauvskyi - 1st Place both Gi and No-Gi Teens Expert Middleweight.

From Harrisburg Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:
Tyler Gustavson - 3rd place -Mena no gi cruiser weight
 Jeff Gelnett -4th place gi and no gi mens lightweight beginner and white belt

Great work everyone!!!

Brian Fisher from RGDA Ephrata reports another big win for Big Mike Stoltz.  Mike fought at the Pain at Penn Street 2 event, defeating his opponent in a record breaking 12 seconds.

Congratulations to Big Mike and RGDA Ephrata.

The Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy is excited for our first Kids BJJ class to be held Tuesday, November 3, 2009.  Class will begin at 6:00pm, so bring your children and let us show you how Jiu-Jitsu will benefit your child.

Also, we have updated our Class Pricing and Schedule page.  Please visit it to see our current specials for our adult and kids programs.

We are happy to announce that our kids program is starting on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.  Class will begin promptly at 6pm and is open to all kids ages 8 to 14 yrs.

For more information on getting your child enrolled in our program and beginning his/her path into one of the most recognized and respected martial arts in the country, please contact us at 267.476.1858.

Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

27 W. Butler Avenue

Chalfont, PA

The Three P’s of Training by Rosendo Diaz (RGDA Black Belt)
 

The keys to becoming better at Jiu-Jitsu don’t always rest in the in the hands of your instructor or the quality of your training partners, nor does it always come from getting the most up to date techniques used in competition.

While those things are important and contribute to the overall development of your skills, what really matters is the commitment you make to the art of jiu-jitsu and your discipline and what I like to refer to as the three P’s of training.

 What are the three P’s of training?

Practice, Persistence and Patience…
 

 This article will teach you how to use the three P’s to ensure that your jiu-jitsu improves at a steady pace, avoiding the typical “slumps” that come with training an art for so long.
 

 P1 - Practice

 Drilling is one of the most, if not the most, important keys to developing an overall game in jiu-jitsu. 

 1.  When learning a new technique; Drill the move with no resistance, if your partner is using resistance it will only ensure that you will have to force the move for it to work!  When you force a move, you most likely are doing something incorrectly and that incorrect movement will be programmed into your muscle memory.  Work hard to ensure that your body is learning correct form early on and consistently throughout your training.

2.  Locking the move down; Once you grasp a basic understanding of how the technique works, you can start having your partner use varying degrees of resistance.  This will help you learn the timing and create different angles of the technique, so that when used in live training you’ll be able to have moderate to good success in getting the technique to work.
 

3.  Connecting the puzzle pieces;   Once you’ve drilled a move to death, gone for it in resistance drilling and had success in live training, it’s time to find how the technique fits into your game.  For example, a brabo choke is a great submission, but if you never get to the position where you see it and are able to use it, then it’s worthless.  All techniques have their place in a series of exchanges.  Your job now is to figure out how to seamlessly connect the new move into your style of movement.  If you’re having trouble, just ask your instructor.
 

P2 – Persistence

Being persistent has many meanings but for me its most important meaning is having discipline in your approach to training.

 1.   Show up; If you’re not showing up to train then I’m sorry, but you’re not going to get any better.  While a brief break in training is good to focus the mind, taking a month or more off only sets you back.  There is nothing better to breaking a slump than getting in there and working yourself out of it.

 
2.  Go after it;  If you want to get better at let’s say an x-choke then you’re going to need to drill that move and, even more importantly, you’re going to need to really go after that move in your live training.  This does have a way of making your matches a bit boring, but overall it improves your chances of actually getting the move to work.

 
3.  Let go of the ego; Be persistent in controlling your ego.  Being the best jiu-jitsu guy in your academy only ensures that someone eventually is going to catch up to you.  Don’t fall into the trap of always needing to win every match in class.  You need to experiment, you need to take risks and you need to put yourself in bad positions as often as possible.  Here are some things you can do in your live training to ensure that you keep your game in top-notch condition.

 i.) Positional only rolling;  If you a submission hunter, then a great exercise is to start your first match without allowing any submissions, since your goal is to outmaneuver your opponent to gain advantageous position.

 ii.) Bad side rolling; Here you’re going to want to train everything on the other side.  So, if you like to armlock your opponent’s left arm, then only armlock his right.  If you like to pass the guard to the left, then go right.  If you’re a wiz at escaping cross side when he’s on your right side, then he’s got to be on your left.  And so on..

 iii.)  No ego, unconventional rolling; In this type of training, your job is to basically go for moves that are not typically in your game and for positions in which you don’t usually find yourself.  You’re going to want to just move as quickly as possible from positions, sweeps, and submissions while at the same time allowing your partner to do the same.  This type of training really improves your ability to improvise and to see different submission all while on the go.

 P3 - Patience

Rome was not built in a day and so goes jiu-jitsu.  Mastery of the art, for the average person, takes many, many years, if even attainable at all. 

 
1. You don’t need all the answers right now; In jiu-jitsu there are many techniques, many counters, and many counters to the counters and so on.  Understand that your brain and your body can only download so much information before you it gets overloaded with information.  This often happens to those starting out, so avoid the pitfalls of trying to know everything at once…you can’t.  Focus on what is most important, which at the beginning should be developing a great defensive game.

 
2.  Moves come and go; Years ago, I was an ace with the Uchi Mata, which is a type of JUDO throw.  Now, I can’t seem to find the timing or the opening to land that throw.  No worries, my arsenal of takedowns has grown and matured over the years.  I may at some point come back and find that move or I may not.  It’s not important as long as you’re improving. 

 
3. I’ll work on that later; You don’t need to have the best half guard to be good at jiu-jitsu.  Focus on what you’re good at now, as there is always time for exploring later.  I always remind my students that there are techniques that I learned as a white belt that I really didn’t start to explore until I was a brown belt.  In the end, will it affect your game today not knowing that move or position?  Probably not, but as you progress and mature in the art, you’ll definitely want to come back and begin the process of exploration.

4.  Don’t give up;  David Adiv once told me early in my career that if I wanted to be better than everyone else, then simply, just don’t quit.  Sounds funny, but the truth is that if you do a thing for a long time then you really have no choice but to eventually get good at that thing. 
 

Jiu-jitsu can be, that’s if you want it to be, a life-long journey.  Now in my fifteen plus years of training, I find myself exploring and learning even more now than in all the years I worked towards my black belt.  Using the three P’s method will only get you better.  But the most important part is not to worry about your strengths and weaknesses but to enjoy the process of your improvement.

Congratulations to all the members of Team RGDA-PA that competed at the recent Grappler’s Quest held in Lancaster, PA. 

 
Harrisburg BJJ Academy
Jessy R.  - 4th place no-gi intermidtate division 180-189
Jessy R. - 4th place gi Blue Belt 180-190
Kyle B. - 1st place no-gi intermediate 160-169 (I think that’s the weight.)
Scott - 2nd place gi White Belt 170-179 (I think that’s the weight.)
Kevin S. - 1st place no-gi Advanced 160-169
Cameron Mitchell -1st place Purple Belt 149 and under and 150-170 Masters

Lancaster Family Martial Arts
Jason Santiago - 2nd Gi
Collin Sharpe - 2nd no-gi
Dan Burns - 3rd no-gi

Berks County BJJ
Erik Faust 1st place WB Gi welterweight
Dylan Ekis 1st place Teens lightweight Gi and No-Gi
Dmitryi Poltauvskyi 3rd place Teens Expert Gi
Mark Colantuna 1st place Blue Belt Heavyweight (30+)
Jeff Giacanova 3rd place Blue Belt Super Heavy (30+)
Ricardo Pena 3rd place Blue Belt welterweight
Jonah Fritz 2nd place Teens Beginner Cruiserweight

Awesome job everyone!

We are proud to announce that Royler Gracie will be at our academy for a seminar on Saturday, October 17, 2009.

“Royler Gracie was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He is the fifth son of Grandmaster Helio Gracie.  He started Jiu-Jitsu at the age of three and has been competing as a Black Belt for more than twenty years. During his career, he has had more than 300 matches and has won the World’s Championships four years running along with several national and regional titles.  He has been one of the most active Jiu-Jitsu competitors in history, always ready to test himself against people of all sizes holding many different titles.”

Everyone is welcome to attend.  From the beginner to the advanced student, you will find Royler’s mastery of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to be beyond words.  To take advantage of this special seminar, please contact us and reserve your space as we are limiting this event to the first 30 people.

Date/Time:  Saturday, October 17, 2009 from 1pm to 3pm

Place:    Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy

                27 W. Butler Avenue

                Chalfont, PA 18969

Cost:       $75.00 per person

We are excited to announce the grand opening of the Rosendo Diaz Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Chalfont, Pennsylvania on Monday, August 17, 2009.  Classes will begin at 7pm, and the academy will be open all day for tours and free introductory classes.

In the coming weeks we will be adding classes and programs to our schedule.  Please keep checking back for updates on our schedule and for a brand new video tour of the academy.

Hope to see you there!

After having been in our Telford location for over 4 years, our academy and the art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has grown tremendously.

We are now excited to report that starting by the end of August we will be relocating the academy to 27 West Butler Avenue in Chalfont, PA.  This new academy provides over twice the mat space then our current location. 

On Saturday, September 12, 2009 starting at 1pm we will be celebrating with a special grand opening event.  We invite anyone from men and women to kids to come over and take a tour of the new facility.

In the coming weeks we will be covering the work done at the new academy in preparation of it’s opening date.  Keep checking back!

Congratulations go out to all the RGDA-PA members that competed in the Diamond State Games this past weekend. 

No Gi:
Ed Sheridan (WCMA) 2nd Advanced 170-179

Gi:
Ricky Royce (RDBJJ) 2nd Purple Belt 160-179
Chaz Horner (WCMA) 2nd Blue Belt 130-139
Stephen Cunningham (Berks) 1st Masters Blue Belt 170-179,
2nd Masters Blue Belt Absolute, 3rd Blue Belt 170-179
Ryan Owles (Berks) 1st Blue Belt 205-220
Jeff Giagnacavo (Berks) 1st Blue Belt 220+
Dylan Royce (RDBJJ) 1st White Belt 140-159
Bill Mann (RDBJJ) 1st White Belt 160-179
Dave Lafferty (Berks) 1st White Belt 170-179
Erik Faust (Berks) 1st Masters White Belt 160-179, 1st Masters White Belt Absolute
Shane Mock (Berks) 3rd Brown Belt 160-179, 2nd Brown Belt Masters