NEWS

Third Law BJJ decided to go medal hunting into different states at the same time in another weekend of Jiu-Jitsu competition. This time it was the 2-day US Nationals run by the IBJJF and the Copa America Championships. A total of 4 Team Lloyd Irvin competitors (2 Team Third Law BJJ)  went out to the US Nationals there with a shot at getting four medals apiece (Gi Weight, Gi Open, No-Gi Weight, and No-Gi Open).

Andre “White Shaq” Arata crushed three opponents to take Gold in his very first IBJJF competition.

 Andre “White Shaq”Arata Hand Raised After His First Fight

   Andre “White Shaq” Arata Looking for the Americana

Andre “Whiteshaq” Arata White Belt US National Champion

Michael Florey passed his first opponent’s guard, and then used an armbar to get the tap.  In the semifinals, he faced Dan Schon who was coming off a Gold medal at the Worlds this summer.  Michael went to sleep rather than tap to a clock choke and ended up with a Bronze medal.

In the Blue Belt Open, Michael submitted his 1st opponent again with an armlock but lost 2-0 in the next round.

Michael Florey from 88 BJJ American Nationals Medalist in the Gi

In the No-Gi division Michael Florey  submitted his first opponent from Gracie Barra with a triangle to enter the Medal Round. There he swept the opposing grappler for the W. In the finals, he faced Elias Ramirez who had beaten him by two points in the Gi Open. Ramirez did it again, this time in a 4-2 sweep-for-sweep battle.

Michael Florey from 88 BJJ American Nationals Silver Medalist No-Gi

Fred Ramie did not look like his normal self today.  Fred squeeked out a narrow 2-0 victory in the quarterfinals over a grappler from Roger Machado’s team.  In the medal round, he faced Fadi Khouri who outpointed him to enter the Finals.

Fred Ramie Attempting to Open the Guard

Fred Ramie 1/2 Gracie Barra &  1/2 88 BJJ American Nationals Bronze Medalist

Roberto Torralbas jumped up to Medium Heavy for this tournament.  He dispatched the Purple Belt in the quarterfinals with a bread cutter choke under the first 2 minutes of the match. In the semi finals Roberto  passed Chris Engle (Team Mica) to make the finals.  The Championship match was very even with Roberto trying to pass Matt Sloan’s (NW JJ Academy) guard constantly and getting very close at times but Matt defended well.  Despite his hard work, the scored ended up being 0-0 with zero advantages.  The officials awarded the Gold medal to Roberto thanks to his aggression.

Roberto Torralbas Passing Spider Guard

Matt Sloan was Silver Medalist of the 2008 Pan-American Championships and Bronze Medalist in the Open Division. Matt was also Bronze Medalist in the 2008 World Championships Open Division.

 Roberto Torralbas Purple Belt National Champion

Roberto continues his win streak into the Open division, with a 5-0 victory.  In the following round, Roberto again got up 5-0 and then used a bread cutter to get the tap.  In the Final Four, Roberto was up 4 advantages to zero when he was surprised by a sweep courtesy of James Puopolo (NW JJ Academy). Roberto ended up with the Bronze.

James Puopolo was Bronze Medalist of the 2008 World Championships and Silver Medalist in the 2008 World Championships.

 Roberto Torralbas American Nationals Open Division Bronze Medalist

Brad Court, one of our Black Belts, defeated Sam Joseph (Hollywood BJJ) in the first round, and then grappled Fredson Paixao.  Fredson is a multiple-time Black Belt world champion and Brad gave him all he could handle.  The final score was 7-6 in Paixao’s favor but Brad got everyone’s respect by taking the veteran to the wire.

Brad Court Sweeps and Mounts Fredson Paxiao

5 Competitors - & 7 Medals

Third Law BJJ decided to go medal hunting into different states at the same time in another weekend of Jiu-Jitsu competition.  In Lakeland, FL we sent two competitors Mike “Goku” Defurio, and Beker “JaguarPaw” Escalante

Mike “Goku” Defurio fought very smart and stuck to his game-plan in the White Belt Gi Division. Mike won 4 of 4 fights winning 2 via submission. In his first match Mike dominated on points.

 Mike “Goku” Defurio After First Match

Mike continued to dispatch his second opponent via armbar.  After that Mike won in the semifinals with a clock choke after racking up lots of points.

 Mike “Goku” Defurio Looking for the Armbar

 In the finals Mike found some though opposition. Mike jumped half-guard and manage to sweep and quickly passed his opponents guard scoring 5 pts. His opponent managed to scramble to the feet and followed with a double leg take down, making the score 5-2. Mike responded by bringing him into the close guard and doing a textbook bump sweep  to add to his lead, score was  7-2 . Quickly after that his opponet grabbed one of his leg and managed to sweep, the score was now 7-4. Mike found himself in a difficult position pinned in half guard but managed to replace his guard. It was a very close match but Mike ended up with the W!

 At last, Mike Defurio White Belt Champion !!!

Beker “JaguarPaw” Ecalante was in lala land and by accident  instead of doing the beginner division did the intermediate division. Nevertheless Beker swept his first opponent from the half-guard to go up 2-0 early in the match. Beker kept getting caught in the guys guard and struggle to pass, but managed to win on points.

 Beker Attempting to Pass Blue  Belt after Sweeping

In his second match against a  blue belt,  Beker once again managed to sweep, but was surprised by an arm bar from the guard. Third match Beker won once again thanks to his sweeping abilities and secured the Bronze Medal for the team. Beker has only been training less than 6 months and has already won two bronze medals (1 Gi -Whitebelt and 1 No-Gi - Intermediate) keep you’re your eyes open for this guy as he has an amazing future ahead of him.

 Beker Escalante Bronze Medalist  in the Intermediate Division

Every now and then Head Instructor Roberto Torralbas visits his teachers Lloyd Irvin, Danny Ives, and Julius Park to get some pointers, ideas and specialized training for upcoming tournaments.
This time he had the honor to be present to the promotion of Malcolm Vaughan. Malcolm is a true example of not letting circumstances get in his way of training and his passion for Jiu-Jitsu. Roberto met Malcom as a white belt who could not keep Roberto from passing his guard 2 or 3 years ago. This time around Roberto was amazed to see the progress his teammate and friend had made after a training session together it was Malcom who had Roberto breaking his head about how to pass.
Malcom who has had a lot of success in competitions since he was a white belt adds a lot of experience to Julius Team, but most importantly Malcolm is a great teacher who does not waste anytime in trying to explain and make those around him better. Congrats to a great role model.

Malcolm Vaughan, punisher of Blue and White Belts, receives punishment and a Purple belt. Great job!

Roberto and Teacher Danny Ives

Roberto and Team 88 BJJ