SoCal2012:Legends Past,Present,Future

1st 24hours back in Cali and had the honor of visiting the Gracie Academy in Torrance.  What was supposed to be a casual browse through the Gracie Museum turned out to be a martial arts highlight as Rorion Gracie of the originally touted Gracie Brothers gave us a thorough narration of the museum icons,  relatively detailed history of the birth of Gracie Jiujitsu and the UFC–and a rare first person perspective into some of the good and great times behind the scenes in the Gracie compound.

Only 2hours after had the benefit of breaking a serious sweat at the newly opened UFC gym in Hawthorne. Rocked by kettlebells, humbled by the VersaClimber and absolutely floored climbing Jacob’sLadder–watche dteam Purebred/LloydIrvin Guam and Team LloydIrvin Academies from the east coast go into group training, better acquanitance, and a special impromptu photo op in their octagon for a future UFC.com photo…

A Magic Day for the Jiujitsu Kids
ANother day of strength and honor in the Guam Jiujitsu Almanac.

FokaiIreland&TheASkateFoundation2012

hey Guys, hope to see you Sunday Feb 26th at TouchWood SkatePark for the second Autism skate clinic. starting at 2pm – 4pm.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED…

13N144E:SurfingTumonisNoJoke

Hafa Adai,

Let me start by saying that I consider myself forever a student in the water and though I feel I’m not anyone to say—im going to say it anyways. In a 32mile long island where the beach is inevitable and never more than 30minutes away—Its in our islands best favor to make a harder push for improved water safety awareness and water safety education.

My name is Roman Dela Cruz and aside from bodyboarding for the past 25years I have been standup paddling TumonBay the past 5 just as often if not more than anybody else and after seeing a growing interest– just wanted to give some proper caution to folks possibly looking into surfing those waters and also for some insight on that reefline in general.
.
I was paddle surfing over the reef at Tumon Bay this past weekend and had to run the risk of spoiling what might’ve been some serious fun when aggressively advising 3 younger paddlers (in 2kayaks) to leave and to go back towards shore. I don’t really care to yell at anyone and generally hate aggression towards people but had to take drastic action because of a drastic situation. You were heading towards the real impact zone, enroute to freak sets that were much bigger than they might have appeared from shore. Maybe you could’ve landed a backflip gloriously for a photo finish and story of a lifetime or you could’ve been enroute to a violent thrashing between coral heads. The kayak that you capsized would’ve been a hundred times more difficult to turnover in the whitewash even if you could’ve held on to it, the tide was fast pulling out and there was less than an hour left of sunlight..

\I’m not sure if it was the same bunch that came back out regardless or if it was a different one but though you did catch some nice waves true—you were extremely lucky that the bigger ones had backed off because the waves you caught and the place you were waiting were done so in the danger zone.

As inviting as the waves might look and as sunny as the sky might’ve be—it’s a real bad call to chance those waves unless you are fully prepared for the dangers that come with it.
Undercurrents most aren’t aware ,a razor sharp coral reef, and the unbelievable power of sizeable surf can turn a moment of paradise into a state of panic and disaster in a second. The reef were dealing with has already scarred countless strips of human flesh(including mine)—and just yards away from another surf spot on the reef that unfortunately claimed the lives of two young paddlers barely a year ago January 2nd of 2011.

It has been more than a year since this heartfelt tragedy and unfortunately still—many of us haven’t learned from a mistake too often made—the underestimation of our surrounding reefs and waters. Almost a year to the date—our papers almost had to write the headlines of another 2 tragedies in Tumon Bay—this time with 2 standup paddlers last Saturday afternoon. Had it not been for the fine work of our Department of Parks and Recreation lifeguards—we might’ve been starting the new year with another hard lesson in water safety.
Launching off the same beach on the first weekend of the new year—with waves double overhead over the reef and the tide outgoing…without the sensibility to at least have a leash to your board is an extremely bad decision. Obviously we all still need a lot of work…
The dangers of the reefline at Tumon Bay are no joke when its flat and can be a real monster, especially when waves are in that picture. In the midst of enjoying the paradise of where America’s Day begins–We gotta try to remember to not allow alcohol and the spirit of adventure cloud the air of common sense. Death defying acts unfortunately don’t always defy death but if adventure must be our pursuit then we should at least go to far measures to be prepared to do so.

When approaching water—remember that we are dealing with something very much alive and something very much capable. It moves in many ways, and what works for uscan just as easily work against us and vice versa. To arrive properly into its dynamics it’s always best to have a god understanding and/or to get a qualifiable opinion of its current conditions. If you’re planning a day at the beach—at least understand what the tides are doing. Its on page 6 of the pdn or if youre frequent—keep a tide chart handy. Know what time the sun is setting so youre not venturing into the darkness and always always always keep an eye on the kids. It’s not much but its definitely a start.

Tumon Bay seems to be more active than ever…The paddlers are blazing up and down the coast, as they avoid swimmers getting their, while skimboarders slide along the beach where friends and families might be barbecuing. The hotels are having their dinner shows, the tourists are taking their photos, while a growing amount of runners continue to enjoy the view as the stand up paddlers happily enjoy the best seat in the house (haha)…

The waters of Tumon Bay are truly a place to be but, like anywhere else, are to be done so with extreme caution. From the reef –the lifeguard towers are a lot further than they look and people far and away cant necessarily recognize your screams of help if a situation over the reef goes bad. When in doubt—don’t go out. You’ll live to ride another day.

Im not gonna lie—I’m the guiltiest guy of going over that reef when its cranking but im putting in a ton of work and preparation before doing so…and still im just asvulnerable. Suuuuper stoked on Tumon Bay and its waters…and knowing for sure that its best enjoyed when done so responsibly, preparedly, and in effect truly respectfully.

Lets not wait for another tragedy and progressively exercise better awareness in water-safety to pave the way for less if not zero tragedies in the future and to work hard to develop the tools and skills—for a better chance to turn the monster into majesty, for a better understanding of what to do when a situation goes bad, and for the humility and sensibility to sometimes just sit back, watch, and appreciate.

Roman Dela Cruz
Tumon Bay Resident
Concerned Citizen

Onra:February9,2012

Hafa Adai,

February 18^th looks to mark a big day for Guam Martial Arts as on the homefront Guam Kyokushin Karate will host the 5th Freshman Karate Tournament at the Dededo Sports Complex, in the Philippines PXC29 will feature GroundFu and Guam’s Jesse Taitano and Ryan Bigler as their main event bouts and a timezone away 17 members from Team Purebred/LloydIrvin  will be competing in the PanKidsJiujitsu tournament in California ..

Congratulations to Scotty Duenas and Maria Dunn for their gold medal finishes in  the 2012Oceania Championships  and hats off to a job well done in BJJs long and winding road for Guam’s newest blackbelts Patrick Fleming, Omar Damian, and Will Escobar of Team Purebred/Lloyd Irv in.

Guam is honored to again host a direct descendant of the martial arts pioneers that changed the world—Welcome back to Guam Carlson Gracie Jr.! Sincere hope and confidence that you will find within your students and others that Jiujitsu is flourishing profusely where America’s day begins.

A few weeks back the guys from BudoVideos .com were on Guam filming at different grappling academies across the island, interviewing many of the pioneers and new faces regarding the past, present, and future of what could be considered Guam’s most popular martial art.

As of this week–That end product is available online on their website.

Budovideos .com has done a magnificent job in opening windows  online to some of the greatest grappling tournaments in the world—the AbuDhabisCombat Championships, the Jiujitsu World Championships,etc… They definitely have their hands full and it says a lot that they would literally travel thousands of miles to broadcast Guam’s jiujitsu story. The 44minute and 37second piece is an excellent opportunity for online viewers  to get a backstage glimpse into the perspectives of the different academies that illustrate Guam’s growingly elaborate picture. At the very least 330 people already like it. Dial into www.budovideos.com or find its link on www. Fokai.tv  and  see what the fuss is about and come witness a description of the islands far beyond the grass skirts, brown tree snakes, power outages, and other misleading topics of conversation that miserably fail to reveal the proper picture of the island we love, live in, and fight for.

Jiujitsu has done this much for the island and with the long list of talent in the waiting—athletically the future looks promising.  With the good intentions  of our industry, the hard workof our , and with the  critical and undying  support of its  fans-Jiujitsu in Guam has proven itself to be a truly honorable effort and an extremely successful venture.

Certainly the benefits of Jiujitsu training have given us more than enough reason to enroll in an academy, to talk about endlessly, and to convince friends to join in all the fun. And though it might not be the main focus of our training—its Good to see how the online world is digesting Jiujitsu on Guam as training in paradise.

Because its something that we have not only digested well—but something we have reprocessed even more positively.

Thanks for dropping by,

FokaiHawaii:NSJJYouthProgram

Fokai is proud to stand with FokaiFamilia’s Mike Fowler of TeamPurebred/Lloyd Irvin in sharing the gentle art throughout the Aloha State. Team LLoydIrvin’s empahsis on a strong learning curriculum will inevitably take to the next level those that are willing to commit to it. Cheehoo and Au’Ryyyte!

JiujitsuGuam:RolledUpEpisode31

Budowvideos and Shoyoroll Present: Rolled Up Episode31:GuamSpecialEdition.
Click into the link below for a window into the past, present, and future of BrazilianJujitsu on Guam.

http://www.budovideos.com/online/shows/rolledup/rolled-up-episode-31-guam-special-edition/

TheFokaiOhanaW/CrazyMike

small window into a very large thing with TeamLloydIrvin and the FokaiFamilia’s CrazyMike Fowler and his growing efforts to enhance lives in sharinjg the gentle yet extremely effective art of Jiujitsu

AWindowintotheWreckShop:

Words of wisdom from the Monday Wednesday Friday evening shift @FokaiCentral

Onra:January26th,2011

Hafa Adai, Purebred/LloydIrvin’s Mike Sanchez just won his Mixed Martial Arts debut fight via flying triangle in California, former Guam resident and Strikeforce matchmaker Richard Chou is still doing big things as another successful show in last Saturday’s ProElite3 in Hawaii ,Preba Hao is at the Marriot for tomorrow evening. Good Luck Guam as our Wrestlers are in Australia for the 2012Oceania Championships set for this weekend from the 27-29th and later next month PXC29 will be in the Philippines on February 18th and on the same day Team Purebred/LloydIrvin will be competing in the PanKidsJiujitsu tournament in California . For those of us were able to attend January 14ths edition of the Marianas Open–Seeing USOpen multiple champion Mike Carbullido, World Champions James Quan and Eric Sian, Shoyoroll’s Bear Quitugua , Guam’s top academies, and a significant evolution of skill in our younger competitors once again brought to light how dynamic Guam jiujitsu has truly become.. in what has proven to be our island’s most successful grappling/Jiujitsu tournament to date, It was a who’s who turnout with over a thousand accumulated fans in attendance as well as a telltale presentation of Guam’s true Jiujitsu potential. World MMA icon, Guam MMA cultivator and especially-as-of-recent world humanitarian Enson Inoue is back on island to pay a visit to his affiliate academies, catch up with old friends, and reconnect with this island paradise at 13degrees north 144degrees east. Though TJay Thompson flew Enson’s into Guam as a cornerman for Tetsuji Kato in 1998’s SuperBrawl light weight tournament—fate obviously brought him here for bigger reasons as his selfless contributions would become the catalyst to help sprout into fruition Guam’s competitive fight ambition. Circa 1998,though our islands most qualifiableMMA candidates might have already had their eyes on the stars, our island was still pretty-much in the dark to the world fight scene as well as updated strategies for competition and training. Enson would change all of that–going above and beyond to extend all his resources to help develop Guam’s fighter athletes, to share in the up-to-date ways of international mixed martial arts, and to work with the locals and send instructors and equipment over to soon open Guam’s first total fight center—the PurebredShootoGym Guam. Flipping the pages to Guam combat sports almost 14years later in 2012…It’s been 4years since Ensons last visit and he has arrived into an evolution that could be called the fast lane of local athletics as in just our first month into the new year and were already talking about things only dreamed of not too long ago— Ensons undying emphasis of perseverance and ironwill has echoed beyond the confines of the mat, beyond the confines of training, beyond the confines of time itself to enhance lives all over the planet. On Guam it is no different. For everything Enson has taught his students in martial art, —he has backed up with the encouragement and example in life to rise above adversity, to be aware of silver linings in dark clouds and to dig deep for the incredibly valuable solutions that lie beyond the borders of surrender. Enson these days doesn’t seem to be in the ring, cage, or dojo as often before…but its pretty nuts because looking from the outside in we can recognize that in his life—in the difficulties he has overcome and in his composure under fire– he has never really stopped showing usmartial arts. It’s been four years since Inoues last visit. For those of us who might ve followed his tracks—weve seen that hes literally walked the journey of a thousand miles. We cheered at the victory of his comeback fight. After last years tragic Japan Tsunami, Weve seen him return to the fire again and again to help people he doesnt’t know, to feed the abandoned household pets who couldn’t even care less about him…and now hes trying to save the dolphins… Ladies and gentlemen somebody please get this man a cape….or at least a microphone. As imperfect as he, like all of us, might be…it’s obvious that he has some good things to say and goodwill to follow. With the from-above vibe attracting from all over the world–good people to listen. Enson is a guy who has had good intentionsfor Guam sinceeversince. Ultimately its an honor and a pleasure to welcome back an instructor, a friend, and a brother to an island that, because of such impact and because of a brotherhood that is truly purebred , he will never completely leave. Good to have you back Ens—enjoy profusely. Again and again– Thanks for dropping by.

Results:MarianasOpenXIII2012

kids division
26-38
elijah castro
zion delacruz
kaekala leon guerrero
40-45
caleb laserna
ethan sablan
rai peredo
50-58
colin ada
william ludwig
jordan lujan
63-69
lance galarpi
darren cruz
colin santiago
71-79
miria peredo
jesse manglona
javon borja
80-86
justin untalan
ayden duenas
stevie shimizu
87-100
mason manglona
scott goulet
devin patawaran
115 up
brian roberto
dj cruz
duke appleton
juvenile
64-76
kawai flores
adriano cruz
byron cabaccang
78-88
eddie muna
ethan flores
kenneth ledesma
90-97
cory quitugua
cj quitugua
bryana cabaccang
105-113
jeric tabunar
kyle taitingfong
johnny garcia
114-124
jude garcia
napu taimanglo
jonah carbullido
134-147
jayronne gandaoli
ambroshio shimizu
cory mendiola
151-161
norberto rosario
billy larrison
ethan cruz
180-190
brandon ogo
matthew pojas
alex sablan
200+
davin matanane
shane baluran
MEN’S BLUE BELT
130under
john untalan
gerard perez
eric alcantara
131-145
david harris
kevin cruz
kevin diaz
146-160
chris thomas
trevin jones
chris unpingco
j161-175
ryan bustamante
skyyler taitano
drew palomo
176-190
noah villanueva
larron gandaoli
chad ada
191-205
john moser
ruben rivas
johnny aguon
205+
ryan schilling
james lee
rayjo san nicholas

« Previous Page — Next Page »