Next Tournament (Champions Challenge - February 19th 2006)

Our next competition will be the CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE no-gi tournament.

The tournament will be held on Sunday February 19th and will be held at:

Avondale Senior High School
2800 Waukegan St.
Auburn Hills MI 48326

We will be training HARD for this tournament and will step up the no-gi portion of our training over the next month. This is a smaller tournament, but a great one. It is run by Caique's team, Warrior Way (in Michigan). Caique and his whole team are great people and excellent representatives of true Gracie Jiu Jitsu. We'll support this tournament as a team and will train hard to have a good showing.

I would encourage everyone to compete, as it isn't very far away and the cost is reasonable. Tournaments are not about winning or losing; rather, they are about testing your skills and spirit at a moment in time against other competitors. Competition is a great opportunity to develop your network of jiu jitsu peers (as you'll be coming up with them through the years), to better understand your strengths and weaknesses, and to test yourself in a competitive, dynamic and safe environment.

Additional details are below:

The tournament will start at 10am, registration will begin at 9am.

Fees for competitors will be $35 (with pre-registration) or $40 at the door.

The tournament is no-gi ONLY. The divisions will be as follows:

Mens Novice = 0-2 years experience
Mens Advanced = 3 years and above.

Womens and juveniles / teens will be placed in brackets at the tournament.

Weight classes:
149 & under
150-164
165-179
180-199
200 & up

General Rules:
-No obscene language
-No cervical locks (e.g., crucifix, can opener)
-No strikes
-No heel hooks
-No hands to the throat for the purpose of pinching of the windpipe. (Non-choking techniques to open the guard will be allowed.)
-No slamming: This does not apply to take downs but there will be no spiking of your opponent's head to the mat.
-No small joint manipulation

Judging and Scoring:
Clean takedown: 2 points
Passing guard: 3 points
Sweep from guard or half-guard: 2 points
Knee on belly: 2 points
Mount: 4 points
Back mount: 4 points

Please remember: In order to gain points for any postion, the competitor must show clear control for a minimum of 3 seconds.

Time Limits:
Novice - 6 min.
Advanced - 8 min.

Prizes:
All first place winners will recieve a samurai sword.
2nd and 3rd place winners will recieve medals.

Any other questions, please contact Dan Cousineau at 810-664-5574.