Arizona State Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
The Arizona Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s mission is to promote and encourage the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the State of Arizona, certifying and endorsing schools and instructors qualified to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The AZSBJJF is affiliated with the United States Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation and the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, which is the sport’s highest body and involves all the local federations spread around the globe. We are committed to promoting the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournaments in the Southwest and to following all the IBJJF standards, including rules and divisions. All AZSBJJF Tournaments are exclusively promoted by GD Jiu-Jitsu Events.
Tournaments
As a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor it is important to understand the ranking system the AZSBJJF follows. We have broken our ranking system down into a few chapters. For new Jiu-Jitsu competitors it is important to familiarize yourself with this information.
History
Some historians of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu say that the origins of “the gentle art” can be traced back to India, where it was practiced by Buddhist Monks. Concerned with self-defense, these monks created techniques based upon principles of balance and leverage …
Blog
As a The AZSBJJF is a proud supporter and active contributor towards the improvement and enrichment of its community. In these tough times, the AZSBJJF recognizes the importance of being involved in Community Services. By including donation …
2017 Southwest Classic Registration
Registration deadline for the SOUTHWEST BJJ CLASSIC ends tonight Friday, September 22nd at 11:59pm. www.gdjjevents.com
CARLOS FARIAS ON OVERCOMING INJURY AND HIS NEW ACADEMY
The 2016/2017 IBJJF season was huge for Carlos Farias, an Ultra Heavyweight Roberto Traven black belt with a school in Mesa, AZ. In addition to becoming the #6 ranked overall adult competitor, Carlos was also in the midst of making plans to move his academy to a larger location. These accomplishments stand on their own as extremely impressive, but become even more impressive considering Carlos qualifies for the Masters 3 age division. With all of these positive competition results, Carlos decided to compete at the 2017 World Championships in June. During the event, Carlos suffered a major injury, tearing his triceps muscle. This injury would force Carlos into the operating room and off the competition mats.
One of the biggest challenges for competitive athletes is often knowing when to hit the brakes. This is why many athletes cite injuries as the most challenging aspects of their careers. “I tore my tricep at the IBJJF World Championship in June. At first it was a partial tear, but it worsened and my Doctor said that to continue competing and teaching at the level I want to, surgery was mandatory. It was my first major injury of my career. My surgery was in July. It was a complete replacement of the tendon. Recovery is going great, my physical therapy is helping a lot and I look forward to rolling again as soon as December.”
Injuries are unfortunately an inevitable part of Jiu Jitsu. Carlos’ long career of training and competing has given him great perspective on how to maintain his body and minimize the risk of severe injuries. “Stay focused and listen to your body. If you have a minor injury or pain, you have to listen to it and not try to fight through it. Fighting through it can make it much worse. I recommend Sports Massage and Physical Therapy as preventative measures, to help with maintenance of the body.” These practices will make injury less likely, but accidents can still happen. For Carlos, an injury doesn’t slow him down, it only changes his direction. “Always stay busy, and don’t let an injury stop you. Do the activities you can do to manage through the wait. Set your next goal. And use that to push you forward.”
While taking time off from training and competing has been difficult, it also gave Carlos some much needed time to work on his new school. “My program more than doubled after 4 years at the old location, and it was time for a bigger home. We established a great relationship with the owner of our new location. He loved my story and helped me get into the bigger space to help me grow there. The space went from 1,800 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft. The move has been so great for the team! I cannot be more grateful for all of my students and friends who contributed their time and materials to the renovation. Thanks to everyone, the gym looks amazing. I look forward to accommodating even more people and continuing to see the program grow.”
With his new school up and running and his recovery in full swing, Carlos is eagerly awaiting getting back to full health. “The rest of 2017 is focused on my recovery and getting back to mat as soon as possible. The break has been a blessing in disguise because I have been able to focus all of my energy and time on the new academy and making it the best. Since the day after my surgery, I have been there next to my students and directing the classes. Naturally, as a very active competitor I cannot wait to get back into competition. The time off has been really hard for me, but the new academy is keeping me positive and focused. I know 2018 will be a big year for Farias Jiu-Jitsu.”
The Farias Jiu Jitsu students have been an integral part of Carlos’ recovery and have encouraged him to get back to what he loves as soon as he can. “I want to say Thank You to all my students for understanding my healing process. It’s not easy for me to be outside of tournaments because I believe the greatest leaders lead from the front. They have been supportive the whole way – even reminding me that I cannot use my arm! And I want to say Thank You to Elaina Martinez at Body Mechanix for taking care of me and my team, to OSS Physical Therapy for my initial post-surgery treatments, and Gabe Lucas at Foothills Sports Medicine in Gilbert for my continued treatments on the road to full recovery!”
For more information on Carlos Farias and his new school visit www.fariasjiujitsu.com
Participation Medals for kids: Agree or Disagree?🤔
By Danny O’Donnell
Youth sports have long been a huge part of American culture. It is estimated that over 36 million American youth between the ages of 5-18 are involved in organized sports each year. While soccer, baseball and football currently dominate the youth sports demographic, there is no denying the growth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training and competition in this same demographic. Just like more traditional sports, Jiu Jitsu offers physical benefits as well as introducing kids to virtues like hard work, determination and grit.
Additionally, the culture of respect in martial arts is also very appealing to parents who want to raise respectful and honorable kids. While it’s hard to deny these benefits of athletic competition, many organizations have come under scrutiny lately for offering participation awards, which are usually trophies or medals given to kids who compete but end up losing their match or game. Although this may not seem like a big deal on the surface, many contend that it has led to a sense of entitlement amongst today’s youth. These participation medals are very common in Jiu Jitsu as athletes compete based on rank and weight.
The AZSBJJF/GD Events currently Whether or not these participation medals are an issue depends on who you ask. For some these medals represent an award for all of the time and effort put into preparing for the competition. For others, these medals represent a false sense of accomplishment that can lead to unrealistic expectations in other aspects of life.
The topic of participation medals has gained plenty of attention over the past few years. James Harrison, a linebacker in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers, made headlines when he announced that his kids would not be allowed to keep participation trophies they were given. Harrison wrote:
“I’m sorry I’m not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I’m not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best…cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better…not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy.”
Harrison’s statements led to much debate, with many other pro athletes weighing in. Kobe Bryant also had an interesting take on the subject. Known for his ferocious work ethic, many would think that Kobe would have a similar outlook as Harrison. However, when Kobe’s child was given a fourth place trophy he said:
“You take the fourth place trophy, you put it up right where you can see it, and when you wake up in the morning, you look at the trophy and you remind yourself of what you’ll never win again.”
The AZSBJJF/GD Events currently gives medals to all Kids division competitors. The top four competitors of each category will receive 10"medals. Additionally, kids who did not make to the podium will also receive an award, a 7" bronze medal.
The organization offers exhibition matches if a child misses weight, registers for the wrong division, has no matches in their registered bracket or even if the child doesn’t make it to the medal rounds.
What do you think? Are participation medals themselves a problem or should they be viewed as a symbol of hard work and dedication towards a goal? Please comment below!
For more information on tournaments in Arizona visit www.gdjjevents.com
HOW MEANINGFUL HAS YOUR BJJ COMPETITION EXPERIENCE BEEN TO YOU?
How meaningful has your BJJ competition experience been to you?
By Gustavo Dantas
Have you ever competed in a jiu-jitsu tournament? If so, regardless of the outcome, what is one of the most meaningful experiences you have had in a tournament?
If you haven’t competed yet, it is never too late to try ☺. I believe that every jiu-jitsu practitioner should try to compete at least once in his or her life. The entire experience will first have you focusing on getting ready, your diet, and the amount of sleep you are getting. When the day of the tournament arrives, that focus will change to where you are evaluating your mental and emotional state, as you try to perform your best on the mat, while under pressure.
Personally, competition changed my life in so many ways. As a teenager, it gave me direction while also teaching me about success and failure. I learned how to deal with my fears and anxieties, so that I could perform to the best of my abilities, both on the mat and in my life.
I don’t know what benefits competitions have brought into your life, but I know that there is a good chance that you have learned some important lessons and gained some powerful memories.
All those lessons and experiences that we have had are great, but most likely not too many people have had the life experiences like Wantuir Spenciere has had in his lifetime.
Wantuir is a competitor who discovered the sport of jiu-jitsu when he was only 10 years old. He stumbled across a social project, “Projecto Pedra 90”, that is led by fifth degree black belt, Fernando “Fepa” Lopes in São Paulo, Brazil. The project offers opportunities to both kids and adults in impoverished areas of São Paulo, and allowed them to train in jiu-jitsu for free.
The “Projecto Pedra 90” has become quite successful over the last decade as it has impacted thousands of people.
Wantuir is one of the thousands of success stories in this project and his coach, “Fepa”, stated “When Wantuir discovered BJJ, he fell in love with the sport and in only a few months, he was already competing and doing well”.
In 2009, when Wantuir was about to turn 16, “Fepa” had the idea to take him to compete at the IBJJF Pan Championship in California.
Everyone managed to raise the funds that were needed for both the competition and travel, but there was a much larger problem that they still needed to solve. Wantuir had never met his father and he needed a signature from him for both his passport and travel authorization, and he needed it sooner than later.
Thankfully, “Pedra 90”, quickly found his father in Sao Paulo, so Wantuir had the opportunity to meet him and obtain his signature for the trip. What do you think about that as a meaningful tournament experience?
When Wantuir was 20, he had a chance to go back to the United States for a few months, and this is when he had an opportunity to fight his first MMA fight.
Wantuir is now one of the instructors for the Social Project and you can watch him compete at the IBJJF São Paulo Open on September 16th and 17th. He will be there with eleven other teammates and they have all been sponsored by the non-profit organization of Live Jiu-Jitsu, which I co-founded in 2010.
Live Jiu-Jitsu has been able to purchase new mats for projects as well as new and used gi’s. LJJ also pays for tournament registration fees with the help of financial donations, memorabilia donations from athletes like José Aldo (Former UFC Featherweight Champion) and Marcio Andre (Black Belt World Champion), and sponsorship partnerships.
Back in 2012, I came up with a concept to help BJJ competitors become more emotionally mature to handle the under pressure situations on and off the mats more effectively. Live Jiu-Jitsu partnered with The BJJ Mental Coach, so that this concept could continue to grow and improve while helping competitors.
100% of the proceeds from the sales of The BJJ Mental Coach merchandise (T-Shirts and Patches) that is sold by Live Jiu-Jitsu is donated to our non-profit organization to help fund social projects in the United States and Brazil.
You can find those products and the LJJ patches on the website www.livejiu-jitsu.org
I encourage you to become a supporter of the Live Jiu-Jitsu non-profit organization and help the social projects in both Brazil and the United States. This will allow us to continue doing amazing work as we change lives through jiu-jitsu.
Check out the full article with the pictures at www.livejiu-jitsu.org
Early registration deadline ends on Friday September 8th at 11:59pm! Sign up now at www.gdjjevents.com
IMPORTANT: This will be a ONE-DAY tournament.
Registration Fee before FRIDAY 09/08/2017
• Kids (4-15) – $60
• Adults (16 and up) – $70
Registration Fee after FRIDAY 09/08/2017
• Kids (4-15) – $70
• Adults (16 and up) – $80
All registrations must be received by Friday, September 22nd by 11:59 pm. Registration will be closed when it reaches 800 competitors.