New Classroom
The wall pads are up in our new 2nd classroom! Tomorrow we start fitting the mats in! NJ United MMA is growing stronger every day!
Totowa MMA: A look inside NJ United Mixed Martial Arts Academy
JT Torres Seminar
JT Torres Seminar at NJ United MMA: Wednesday, September 25th from 7-9pm! Congrats to JT on getting the invite to 2013 ADCC World Championships and for making the cover of the next issue of Jiu Jitsu Magazine! This is an amazing opportunity to learn from one of the best Black Belts in the WORLD!
Monday Night Competition Team Class
We had an awesome Competition Team class last night! We did some great guard passing drills that I learned from top UFC Middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in Brazil in ’05 or ’06. Some friends and training partners of mine met him on the beach in Ipanema and we set up some private lessons. What an awesome experience it was, especially as a purple belt at time when BJJ was not as popular in the U.S. as it is today. We finished up the class with some battles on the mats and then running some stairs… Next week we’re adding 5 more laps. Make sure everyone brings their sneakers…
Congratulations Mercado Family!
Congratulations to Tito, Leanna, and Shaniya on their recent promotions at NJ United Mixed Martial Arts this week. It was awesome to promote an entire family together, keep it up guys!
The Great “Jacare”
Check out an old BJJ match of one of the best UFC middleweights, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Jacare was a multiple time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and ADCC World Champion. I love Jacare’s jiu jitsu! Enjoy…
Women’s Self Defense Seminar | NJ United MMA
Empowering Women through Self Defense
We had a great women’s self defense seminar at NJ United MMA on Saturday. NJU instructor Hanyann taught some awesome techniques that will allow everyone to protect themselves in many different situations against an attacker. We got to practice some great moves with “real world” applications, from countering punches and defending the bear hug to some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grappling techniques and knife defenses from the Filipino art of Eskrima. Thanks to all the tough women for getting out there and training, and thanks to the guys for being great practice dummies.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Athlete With Down Syndrome
BJJ Athlete with Down Syndrome Achieves Great Success
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art that is often associated with self defense or it’s practical application to Mixed Martial Arts. Though it’s been proven to be extremely successful as a form of self defense, perhaps the greatest benefit is it’s ability to improve one’s quality of life. Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners find that martial arts training is a great way to challenge yourself mentally and physically, while developing close personal relationships with your training partners who become part of a close knit family.
David Berube is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner that puts the kimono on every day and gets on the mat and trains with his fellow classmates at his academy in Texas. Every day David challenges himself not only with testing his mental and physical capabilities, but also overcoming the challenges of Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome is often associated with a delay in cognitive ability and less development in muscle tone and physical growth. In only 18 months of training David has already won a gold medal and a silver medal proving that he can overcome any obstacle thrown at him. More importantly David has developed social skills from participating in the wonderful art of jiu jitsu.
David is an inspiration and should motivate everyone to strive to be a better person every single day. You will never know what you can achieve if you never try. One quote that I really love from this article is a poster that David has on the wall at the academy where he trains. It reads, “Don’t stand in my way and tell me I can’t do it, move out of my way and watch me do it.”
Click HERE to check out an article about David Berube…
Grapplers Quest: US Nationals
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone from NJ United Mixed Martial Arts that competed today at the Grapplers Quest! We had 5 students compete and we came home with 7 medals! Congratulations to Hanyann, Steve, Adam, Andrey, and Steve on their great performances today. These 5 NJ United Mixed Martial Arts competitors brought home 7 medals on the day, great job guys! Results:
Hanyann – 1 GOLD, 1 Silver
Steve – 1 GOLD, 1 Silver
Andrey – 1 GOLD
Brian W. – 1 Bronze
Adam – 1 Bronze
Andre Galvao Highlight
Check out this cool highlight of 2x IBJJF Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion, 2x ADCC World Champion, and 7x IBJJF Pan American Champion, Andre Galvao!
Adam Wins Bronze at IBJJF NY Open
Congratulations to Adam Curtis for winning the Bronze medal at the 2013 IBJJF NY Open. After having a bye in the 1st round, Adam showed some great guard passing and top pressure winning his 1st match 12-0. Adam’s 2nd match was against a very tough opponent with a tricky guard. Adam was losing 4-0 with less than one minute left and then found himself stuck in a tight triangle choke. In situations like this you really get to see the heart of an athlete, this is where champions dig deep and where others fall short. Adam fought out of the triangle choke and scored a guard pass to bring the score to 4-3, but he was still down 1 point. As Adam looked for submissions his opponent recovered guard and it looked like Adam would come up just short of the victory. With less than 10 seconds left Adam pressured and fought like there was no tomorrow, scoring his second guard pass with less than 5 seconds left, securing the win by a score of 6-4! Great job Adam! I was very impressed with the heart and technique that Adam displayed out there, as an instructor there is no better feeling than seeing a student go out there and give it everything that they have.
Come take a look over my shoulder and get a sneak peak at what's going on at our Academy in Totowa, New Jersey on a daily basis..