March 12-16th will mark the year’s biggest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ Grappling) tournament on the planet- the IBJJF Pan American Championships. Last year over 3,200 men and women stepped onto the mats at UC Irvine to compete for Gold.
Paramount BJJ brought three blue belts, Mike Thomas, Phil Mento and Eric Desmarais. We had good results, with Mike Thomas winning 3 matches and reaching the quarterfinals, and Eric tapped out the European Champion in less than 2 minutes- but no Gold.
For 2014, we ramped up the training to a whole new level. Mike Thomas and Phil Mento will compete again, though Eric is busy with a new job and home (of course he is still training). Ed Westermark (2013 Pan No-Gi Champion) will also be competing this year.
We set the schedule early in January, with 8 weeks of preparation planned out. We have drilling sessions, training sessions, film study, mental preparation, conditioning and rest days all scheduled. We will monitor the athletes weight to ensure they qualify for their respective divisions. We will visit our teammates at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United and Deep Water BJJ, among others, to get as much variety with training as possible.
In the series of blogs that will follow, I’ll detail our training schedule, give insight into the athlete’s mindsets and post videos of training. Stay tuned, it’s going to be fun!
For more information on training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Downingtown PA click HERE or call 610-269-1127 and ask about our 30 Days FREE offer.