Grapplers Quest: Beast of the East

Congratulations to everyone that competed at the Grapplers Quest “Beast of the East” tournament yesterday! We came back with 3 Silver medals on the day. I’m so impressed with the heart, determination, and most importantly, respect that our students have every time they compete. Seeing these 6 and 7 year old Little Ninjas bow on and off the mats and shake hands with their opponents before and after each match is what martial arts are all about. Leanna won the Silver medal in the Youth (7-9 years) Lightweight Intermediate division. She showed some excellent takedowns and guard passing, especially in her semi-finals match where she won by key lock submission. Leanna definitely had one of the best matches of the day in the finals. It was a back and forth battle against a very tough opponent from NYC BJJ Staten Island, with a final score of 8-7. Little Ninja Zachary also won the Silver medal in the Youth (under 6 years) Lightweight Intermediate division, submitting his semi-finals opponent with a choke in 21 seconds. Zach almost pulled out the win in the finals after an exciting match against an opponent that easily outweighed him by 10 lbs., a big weight difference in the under 49 lbs weight class. Zach’s wrestling and guard looked awesome, almost pulling out the win at the end of the match, coming up short by a score of 4-2. NJ United MMA adult student TJ Glennon also had some great matches in the Men’s White Belt Gi division, coming home with the Silver medal. TJ’s takedowns and guard passing allowed him to win 3 tough matches against some game competition Saturday. We also had some other excellent matches where we just came up short of medals. I’m very proud of everyone for stepping out there and taking the challenge!