Xande begins preparations for Abu Dhabi title defense!

Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro in guard

The 2011 Abu Dhabi Combat Club NoGi Championship is around the corner. The event will be held in Nottingham, England on September 24th and 25th. The tournament is loaded with grappling superstars in every division such as, Guilherme and Rafael Mendes, Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, Rani Yahya, Marcelo Garcia, Kron Gracie, and Fabricio Werdum. However, all eyes will be on the -98.9kg division. The division has been a rest home for 2 time champion Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro. Xande has dominated his division for near half of a decade. This year the wager has grown for the -98.9kg title. Among a number of hungry up and coming grapplers, 2011 World heavyweight and absolute champion Rodolfo Veira has put his name into the hat. Also, fighting in his academy backyard, the only 3 time absolute world jiu jitsu champion Roger Gracie enters the division. Also, formidable opponents such as Joao Assis, Robert Drysdale, and former ADCC Absolute Champion Dean Lister fill the bracket as well.

Xande is coming off a rib injury suffered in the semifinal at the World Cup Pro in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. Also, a two time world jiu jitsu absolute titlist, Xande will be healthy and well prepared for the event. With two months to prepare, Xande has began his training with his brother Saulo Ribeiro. Saulo has the experience to prepare Xande for the event, having won two ADCC titles and 6 world jiu jitsu titles himself. Now living in West Hollywood, Xande also has expanded his training to Kron Gracie’s academy. Kron will be attempting to win his first ADCC title in the -76.9kg division. Stay tuned to the most anticipated divisional battle in years. With all the fanfare directed towards newcomer Rodolfo Veira, let us not forget the king of the past four years….Xande Ribeiro.

Ethan receives his 1st stripe

Congratulations to Ethan for earning his 1st stripe last night! We are very glad to have Ethan at our school and look forward to his continued progress, keep up the great work Ethan! -Oss

Training with guest instructor Jake Mapes

OJJ would like to thank Jake Mapes for coming out this week and teaching the adult classes. We had a great turnout the entire week, everyone trained hard, and we learned a lot of great new techniques! I'll be uploading pictures from the week shortly. Thanks again Jake! -Oss

OJJ Welcomes 2 new members

We would like to formally welcome our newest members Junior and Holly to the OJJ family. They have been a great addition and are both learning very quickly. We would also like to thank Junior for his service in the US Navy. They both joined us by referral from Steve. Refer a friend and receive 1 month free training!

3 students receive their 1st stripes today!

Congratulations to Jake Casey, Clayton Hutton, and Dave Cosper on receiving their 1st stripes tonight! All 3 have shown great improvement and exceptional dedication since beginning their training.

Outliers Jiu Jitsu Blog Debut!

Hey everyone,

So I've been working on getting this blog thing going for about a week now and am happy to say that the kinks are out, the website is updated, and we are live!!!

I'm going be here everyday to maintain the website and to send out updates via our Facebook page as well as this blog. We want to get a great sense of community going here at OJJ and keep everyone informed of what is going on both at our academy and in our sport world-wide.

Some of the main things I will cover are listed below, but feel free to send me any suggestions at webmaster@outliersbjj.com anytime for things you would like to see more of whether it be for the blog, website, facebook, the academy itself, or anything else in general.

• School closings
• Special events (BBQ's, group events for the kids, University training days)
• Competitions (and live updates from them)
• Promotions
• Student recognition
• BJJ happenings from around the world

I want to help get the information out to everyone in all ways possible. Lets train hard and grow the school!

-Beau


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Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu wins overall team and every absolute division title at Grappling X San Diego!!!

Grappling X is a San Diego tournament that brings the local academies together for some good competition to check the level of each others Jiu Jitsu. This event had almost 700 competitors!! The Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu competition team had around 55 competitors alone, including a strong kids team of about 25 kid competitors. The team did not disappoint, winning numerous division weight titles, the overall team title, and every single absolute title from white to brown belt!!! The team showed that they are maturing, and absorbing the technique taught by Saulo Ribeiro, and his black belts. This was the first tournament that new RJJA affiliate Outliers Jiu Jitsu of Santee, Ca. joined forces with University of Jiu Jitsu, and Jake Mapes BJJ to make up the Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu effort. One big family of martial artists! Some of the individual achievements were Aaron Eberhart winning his weight and the absolute divisions at white belt. Nisar Loynab winning his weight and absolute divisions at blue belt. Michael Liera Jr. winning his weight and absolute divisions at purple belt. Finally, Darragh O’Connail only had an absolute division at brown, he won that . Darragh did get his double gold later in the evening, winning the NoGi portion of the event. Overall, the team was well prepared, and it showed in the results. Congratulations to all who competed!

Ireland's Chris Leddy's shares His Jiu Jitsu Story

Article written by Chris Leddy-

I was introduced to Jiu Jitsu by my friend, and now Jiu Jitsu teacher, Darragh O’Conaill. Darragh was training NoGi grappling at an MMA club in Dublin, Ireland at the time. I had been training grappling there as well for about a year and a half, and had competed in numerous tournaments. I never really wanted to fight MMA, and Darragh had talked to me about Gi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As soon as I put the Gi on, I knew right away this was for me. In grappling, I always competed relatively well. I was athletic and strong from weight lifting. I soon realized that BJJ offered me a whole new challenge. I wasn’t able to use my athleticism to pull out of bad positions anymore. I felt like I had started all over again with BJJ. I had to relearn so many things, which for me was really rewarding. At the time, I was working in a bank, a 9 to 5 job. I was training 2x a week at best. I made the decision to leave my job in December of 2010, and began training full time with Darragh in his academy. Nowadays I train 5 days a week and twice a day. I don’t make very much money, but I get to do something I love to do everyday! Most people wouldn’t understand that.

This summer I came to the University of Jiu Jitsu with Darragh. I had no idea what to expect and was a bit apprehensive. As soon as I walked in to the University, I was welcomed as if I were already part of the team. It felt great! I got there just in time for the World Championships training camp. The team atmosphere was incredible! Everyone pushing each other to the limit, getting the best out of each other. I’m due to fly back to Ireland in a couple of weeks. I hope to take home some of the energy with me. I have learned so much during my stay at the University. Thanks to Saulo, and everyone at the University for accepting me. Thank you to Darragh for instructing me every day, and taking the time to answer all my questions! If you are ever in Ireland, come visit us in Dublin at Darragh’s academy!

Chris went on to win 3 fights and finish with a bronze medal at the 2011 World Jiu Jitsu Championships….

University of Jiu Jitsu promotes beginners!

(front left to right) Tomas Suros, Kerstin Pakter, Marc Acero, Tom Culbertson, David Dalstrom, Dejon Davis, Phil Hsia, Paul Wallace, Anthony Aguilar, Fernando Navarro

(back left to right) Saulo Ribeiro, Michael Liera Jr.

The first class of students to be promoted in the beginner program received recognition this past Wednesday. The program has been a huge success for the University, and it’s members. Focusing on fundamentals, the class has helped promote a solid foundation to new students. With this promotion, these students are eligible to train in the advanced class following the beginning class. One step closer to the blue belt, we congratulate these students for their hard work and consistency!!!

Two brothers find a home in Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu

(left to right) Taranveer Bains, Saulo Ribeiro, Jatinder Bains

Article written by Jatinder “JT” Bains-

When I was younger, I had always been a kid that got into a lot of fights in school. One day, I was watching some videos on fighting on the internet. The name Royce Gracie repeatedly kept popping up. After watching a few of his fights, and his execution of submissions, I became a Jiu Jitsu fanatic. I found the nearest Jiu Jitsu academy in the area and began training. I trained at other gyms as well, but I always felt lost and without a home. After two years of training at this academy, and practicing my moves on my younger brother “Tarn” at home, I decided to seek out help from the outside. I thought who should I contact? At the time, Xande Ribeiro had just become the Absolute Jiu Jitsu Champion in the world. So I thought, if I was going to leave Canada to learn Jiu Jitsu, why not learn from the best in the world? So, I decided to contact him with an email. I asked him if it would be okay if I came to the University of Jiu Jitsu to train and learn. He welcomed me with open arms! I honestly believe that was the turning point in my life. I worked an extra job for a months and finally saved enough money to make the trip to California. I would go for two weeks. The minute I stepped into the University, I felt at home. The atmosphere was very friendly and highly traditional. During these two weeks, I was exposed to some of the greatest Jiu Jitsu in the world. Xande and Saulo Ribeiro absolutely smashed me, and even the lower belts were much better than me. Despite having my blue belt, I felt like a brand new white belt. I returned home with a burning desire and new understanding of what Jiu Jitsu really is. I revealed to my brother that we were so behind in our Jiu Jitsu, and the only way for us to improve was to make a trip to the University annually. I brought my brother on my second trip to the University. We stayed for two weeks and trained three times a day. This year, I worked two jobs and saved enough money to stay 3 months. Both my brother and I. The training was amazing, the friendships irreplaceable, and the feeling of being without a home gone. My brother and I now have a great Jiu Jitsu family, and a man I am proud to call my leader, friend and mentor, Saulo Ribeiro.

Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu wins 10 medals, placing 5th for overall team results in debut!!!

In it’s inaugural year as an independent competition team, Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu finishes with a strong fifth place spot. And was one medal away from leaping to the fourth overall position. A very questionable call against brown belt Johannes Weith in the weight division final may have kept RJJA from the number four team spot. All that while it’s centerpiece in the black belt division, Xande Ribeiro, sat on the sidelines due to a rib injury suffered in the World Pro Cup Abu Dhabi. The strength of the team was in it’s younger competitors, showing that this team will be a force to reckoned with for years to come. Also, the juvenile bluebelt duo of Absolute winner Dante Leon and Absolute runner up Angelo Barden, was not counted towards the teams overall points. These two rising stars will soon add firepower to the adult team, solidifying Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu as a team of contention in the immediate future. RJJA now sets it’s sights on the American Nationals in September. A third place finish in 2010 left a bitter taste in the team, after an overall team win at the 2009 American Nationals. Ribeiro competitors, get your airline tickets, and fall in line with one of the most dynamic teams in the world! See you in September…