Onra:October7th,2010

Hafa adai.

Congratulations again to Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy’s Mike Carbullido for capturing the gold in the medium heavyweight adult bluebelt division in the 2010 American National Jiu-Jitsu Championships and to instructor Gabe Baker for returning home with the bronze.

Guam did well in the 2010 Mr. Olympia Grappling Challenge in Las Vegas on Sept. 25 as Ron Okada won first place in the Men’s 139-pound Intermediate Class and Ted Vida won the gold in the Men’s BJJ Purple Belt Executive Division also taking silver in the Master’s Executive No-Gi Advanced 149-pound Class.

And congratulations go to Team Guam in the MACP 2010 U.S. Army Championships Combatives Tournament at Ft. Benning, Ga., this past weekend. Represented by 12 soldiers and airmen from the Guam National Guard in what was supposed to be a 16-man team, Guam placed 11th out of 67 teams.

Spike 22 Academy has started Greco-Roman Wrestling Camp slated from Oct. 1 through Jan. 10 in preparation for the Christo-Lutte 2011 Greco-Roman Tournament scheduled in France on Jan. 29.

Good luck to Josh Calvo. He’s fresh off a win in late August, and will be facing undefeated Strikeforce veteran Lyle Beerbohm at Rumble On The Ridge Oct. 30.

Saipan MMA is on for Oct. 29 with Trench Warz 13: Vengeance at the Saipan World Resort, and grapplers are getting ready for the next Marianas Open slated for Dec. 4.

Its pretty amazing at how well our islands are doing abroad in competition and how much attention has arrived to the island via the trials of our fighting islanders.

Professional fighting as a sport has really come far. With rules in place in a controlled environment — the ways of fist and feet have truly proven to be a thing of athletics and to be one of the more technical sports around today.

Across the world, not too long ago, and maybe even still, critics have accused MMA as being a form of bloodbath and brutality. Often blind to the more-than-obvious skill requirements to compete on a respectable level, these skeptics have even tried pushing for the banning of these events.

ow do these same skeptics feel now, seeing big industry players like Burger King and EA Sports investing into this same sport, and how would those skeptics feel if they ever saw the post-fight resolutions we’ve seen after epic confrontations such as BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes, Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock or, locally, Stephen Roberto vs. Manny Chong?

MMA — local and abroad — has proven that even after the highest forms of physical confrontation, forgiveness takes place, winner and loser often resolve, and seeds often arrive with the fallen fruit.

We are fortunate today to have a champion stable of gentlemen and thinking people.

This, and the sciences applied in the greatest form of confrontation, have illustrated many times over that we have long graduated from barbaric to athletic.

This is an episode playing throughout the planet as we are reintroduced to the increasingly difficult sport of modern and very professional gladiators.

A contender yesterday, a champion today, and maybe an upset tomorrow.This is what keeps it exciting. This is mixed martial arts.

Justice is served … with the legalization of MMA; authority is earned … not just by commissions and lawmakers but through the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to excel in the bluntest display of true athletics.

Hopefully, in appreciation for this growing acceptance across the planet, our local players and local industry can recognize and execute in our efforts — so that we are not lost in the process of justifying fighting and we are found in the ventures of authorizing athletes. There is a difference.

Thanks for dropping by.

JoshCalvoIn:ADarnGoodMMACommercial

Guam’s Josh Calvo willbe fighting again in RumbleOnTheRidge  14th OCtober30th against undefeated Strikeforce veteran Lyle Beerbohm.

ONRA:September23rd,2010

Hafa Adai,

Jesse Taitano returned to Japan this Monday to make preparations for tonight’s battle as he fights to qualify for a title shot in the Men’s 115lb. division of ProfessionalShooto. Kelvin Fitial is in HongKong for his return to international Mixed Martial Arts this weekend against Korea’s Yang Hae Jun for Legend Fighting Championships 3. Tickets will be available at the door for Karate, Jiujitsu, and Army Combatives tournaments at the Guam National Martial Arts Invitational from 1pm to 4pm September 25th at the Marriot Hotel. And the Spike 22 Wrestling Club Announces a Greco-Roman Wrestling training camp from October 1st to January 10th.

Expectations were met and new horizons have been defined in Guam Jiujitsu with the echo of last year’s success and domination of the Tokyo Open Jiujitsu Championships . as TeamGuam returned with a total metal tally of 34 Gold,Silver, and Bronze medals in the mens, masters,and womens color belt and weighted divisions
The total participation of Guam jiujitsu in this years All-Japan Open Jiujitsu Championships really reflects how diverse our competitive BJJ population has grown. Men, women, and children; athletes from the red and blue corners of MMA competition; and young and old created the most visible and cheering and competition contingency to represent Guam Jiujitsu in foreign soil.

Instead of tolerating the prattle that is normally offered in this biweekly column— some interviews took place over lunch, coffee, and training to provide inside perspective on what escorted 40plus competitiors to the Asian Open and whats going to keep Guam participants coming back.

Lets take a look at the words and in between the lines of some of the performers that delivered to Guam another stepping stone and landmark performance that, in World Jiujitsu competition, is slowly turning our tiny island into a pretty big deal…r

Regarding her second trip to Japan:
“I like to compete in Japan because the Japanese tend to possess a true warrior’s spirit. I know when i go there its going to be a battle”

Dara Roberto

Regarding her first competition overseas.
“I was filled with happiness after I took gold for Guam in my division at my first off island jiu jitsu competition. There was so much going through my mind before I got on the mat, but I gave it my all and I came out victorious.. Along with so many of my brothers and sisters from Purebred. God deserves all the glory for what Team Guam accomplished in this years Asian Open.”
Danielle Cabaccang, multiple Marianas Open and Copa de Marianas Champion
2010 Gold medalist Asian Open

Aileen Wong on consistent competition:
“I would have to say the competition level is rising — I saw such a variety of teams from all over the world great experience”

MarianasOpenMultipleMedalist
GuamJiujitsuInternational Competitor
AsianOpen2010SilverMedalist

On winning the gold and training with TeamPurebred/LloydIrvin
“The best part of winning gold while representing Team Purebred/Lloyd Irvin is having something to show for all of the hard work and dedication that the team puts into training BJJ. I’ve trained at a handful of gyms, but the training and dedication to training at Purebred/Lloyd Irvin is on another level. The camaraderie and cohesiveness within the group makes for a great environment to train BJJ.”
Jenna Shieh,womens bluebelt gold medlalist

On winning the gold and his future in BJJ:
“The PanAsia 2010 Championships was yet again another unforgettable experience. This recent victory required me to be very determined, focused and not to mention very competitive. I know I could not have succeeded without the blessing of God, the help from my family and the support of the Purebred Lloyd Irvin Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Team. I want to expand my jiu-jitsu career as far as I can possibly take it by receiving my black belt and not only training amongst the best jiujitsu players, but to follow in the footsteps of my Coach, Steve Roberto, and to teach others as well.”
Eric Sian-
BJJ BlueBelt World Champion and Asian Open Purple Belt Gold Medalist

On a flawless performance in one of the event’s most competitive brackets:
“First i have to thank everyone in the gym. i couldn’t of done if without my coaches Steve Roberto, Terence Alfague, and all the training partners that pushed me till the day of the tournament. I trained very hard for this tournament trying to get at least 6 days of training a week with some circuits in betweenThis year at the Asian Open i was a little more nervous than i usually am, because last year was my first time fighting at purple belt and I lost my first match. Losing my first match made me train harder than ever and my goal was to come back to the Asian Open and get past that first fight.”

Mike Sanchez
World blue belt division bronze medalist closing out his weight bracket in this years AJOJC mens purple belt division with 4submission victories all under 3minutes in the allowed 7minute matches

thanking the Lord and team for the support and hard work of training we had for the past months. it was another great opportunity of experience to gain of an off island tournament. it got me feeling more comfortable and confident competing this year. i just got my mind set and stick to an A-C game plan. taking and focusing one match at a time, not thinking of how far or more matches left. had to give my best of all of each matches. “hard work beats talent, talent refuses to work hard.”"
Mens BlueBelt Double Silver Medalist Richard Enriquez

Team Coach and also BlackBelt Masters Open and Heavyweight Division Double gold medalist represented Stephen Roberto concluded that
“In closing, Guam was well abroad by its finest combat athletes. Si yuus maase for all the support and prayers. We will continue to train hard to represent Guam and jiu jitsu to the highest level possible. Please continue to support your local jiu jitsu athletes and to remember, there is nothing a good day of grappling can’t cure!”

Consistent performances from PurebredLloydIrvin Guam and Guam Jiujitsu collected over the years continues to attract the attention of an expanding audience that is already raising inquiries and requests for participation across the world’s growing BJJ community and industry; Consstantly returning to the incubation chamber–Guam Jiujitsu remains a respected and respectful force in World BJJ; and, likely an increasing target for regional competitors, has increased prestige to a roots-run venture positioned perfectly not just in a place whereAmericas Day begins but also where a healthy vehicle in which world Jiujitsu can (and confidently will) move forward.

Thanks for dropping by.

VitorBelfortAndInsightintoMMA

10,000XMakesTheMove

The Not so secret training of Champions as broken down by Master LloydIrvin and Friends

Believe&Respect

A $200 million headlock on mixed martial arts

TapouT cofounders Dan “Punkass” Caldwell and Tim “Skyskrape” Katz , with company president Marc Kreiner. By Michal Lev-Ram, contributing writerAugust 18, 2010: 9:18 AM ET

(CNNMoney.com) — It’s not every day you meet a chief executive officer named “Punkass.” Especially one who runs a $200 million company.

The heavily tattooed, bandana-wearing CEO fits right in at TapouT, a 140-employee clothing company in Grand Terrace, Calif., that caters to athletes and fans of mixed martial arts, a combat sport known for its brutality.

Apart from the name, what makes Punkass and his co-founders unique is the commitment they made more than a decade ago to a sport that was then virtually unknown. They took a gamble on a market that barely existed.

The risk? If the market didn’t grow, TapouT would have nowhere to go. The reward? If the market exploded, they would be the first ones in.

Back in 1997, TapouT’s three co-founders — Dan “Punkass” Caldwell, Charles “Mask” Lewis and Tim “Skyskrape” Katz — had no college degrees and little money. But all three had trained in mixed martial arts and were ardent fans of the sport. They were confident that someday, the sport would be accepted — even embraced — by a mainstream audience.

So they took the kind of leap that would make little sense to anyone but their fellow true believers: They maxed out their credit cards to start a small operation selling t-shirts at underground mixed martial arts competitions.

Back then, mixed martial arts was still a fledgling movement, well under the radar of other apparel companies. Today, it’s almost as mainstream as boxing — and TapouT’s block-letter logo has become synonymous with the sport.

The company sponsors well-known fighters like Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko and Thiago “Pitbull” Alves. (Along with tattoos and bulging biceps, nicknames are a must-have for practitioners of mixed martial arts). TapouT also sells clothing, mouth guards, nutritional supplements and other branded goods online and at retail chains including Macy’s and Champs Sports.

All those t-shirts and vitamins add up fast. Last year, TapouT raked in $200 million in annual revenue — more than 16 times its $12 million revenue in 2006.

So how does TapouT keep the mixed martial arts market in a headlock? Customers say it’s the early relationship the company developed with both fighters and fans.

“They’ve been right in the mix from the beginning,” says Andrew Lang, co-owner of Lightning MMA, a mixed martial arts gym in Laguna Hills, Calif. “Those three guys were at all the events — they have this presence, this rapport with the fighters.”

In the late ’90s, TapouT sponsored fledgling fighters for $300 a pop. Nowadays, sponsorships cost anywhere from $3,000 to $1 million.

“We have a full team dealing with our fighters and their managers 24/7,” says Punkass. “We’re worried about their personal lives, too. How’s their new baby? How do they feel after a fight?”

The goal is to get fighters to wear TapouT gear in and out of the ring. That, in turn, has given the company mass appeal among fans — which come mainly from the sought-after 18- to 34-year-old male demographic.

“I don’t know who’s more fanatic, mixed martial arts people or NASCAR people,” says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, a market research firm. “But in either case, when you’re that fanatical there is a tremendous allegiance to a brand, and it’s all about the lifestyle. It’s almost like a club.”

To make sure that club keeps growing, Punkass, Mask and Skyskrape brought a seasoned entrepreneur, Marc Kreiner, on board in 2006. Kreiner had a varied background — he launched disco bands in the ’70s and more recently started an infomercial company — but he helped bring TapouT products to over 20,000 stores worldwide. He also inked a handful of licensing agreements, including a line of TapouT-branded supplements with Champion Nutrition.

“We’re licensing a nutrition line, energy drinks and TapouT gyms,” says Kreiner, now the president and chairman of TapouT. “The motto is ‘Grow big or go home.’”

But TapouT’s evolution had its low ebbs. In 2009, co-founder Mask — known for his big personality and signature face paint — died in a car crash. Kreiner, Punkass and Skrape were leveled by the loss of their friend and colleague. Many TapouT employees got commemorative tattoos in Mask’s honor with the word “believe.”

Punkass says that Mask’s death has been the company’s biggest challenge to date. But TapouT has other, less tragic troubles. While mixed martial arts has toned down the violence a bit in recent years — the rules, for example, no longer permit biting and eye-gouging — some lingering controversy about the sport’s roughness could limit the growth of its fanbase, which is TapouT’s main audience.

A handful of smaller companies have also entered in the mixed martial arts apparel industry, including Dethrone Royalty Clothing and Hitman Fight Gear. But when it comes to the competition, TapouT’s main threat is much bigger players, like Nike and Adidas.

So could TapouT be the next sports apparel giant, akin to Under Armour?

It’s unlikely, suggests Cohen, the NPD Group analyst. But for the moment, at least, the company doesn’t have significant competitors vying for a share of the same market, he notes. And there’s plenty of room to grow: The overall sports apparel market rakes in $12 billion a year in the United States alone.

As TapouT lends its name to more and more products, the company runs the risk of diluting its brand and losing “street cred” with its loyal fan base. But Punkass isn’t worried about that.

“I don’t see ourselves making TapouT Ken and Barbie dolls anytime soon,” he says. “We won’t make a product unless it connects to our core audience. We stay true to the brand.” 

SouthVillage:JoshCalvo

Joshua Calvo  whos been relatively off the radar in Marianas MMA is on deck for Rumble On The Ridge XI this Saturday.

Much props to the Umatac Boys and Product 828.
MarianaIslandsMMA making noise

FokaiCombatUnit:TeamHurricane

Brett Albee Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Justin Berkley 155 lbs (71kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Cody Blades Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Liz Carmouche 137 lbs (63kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Carlo Catada Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Cody Culkin 170 lbs (78kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Mike de la Torre 154 lbs (70kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Kevin Dunsmoor 133 lbs (61kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Matt Hendricks 185 lbs (84kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Manolo Hernandez Hurricane Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Sergio Hernandez 134 lbs (61kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Matt Lagler 193 lbs (88kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
War Machine 5’11 (181cm) 173 lbs (79kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Billy Metzger Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Jake Mitchell Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Andy Murad Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Ryan Park Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Hector Perez Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Landon Piercy 5’9 (176cm) 155 lbs (71kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Michael Pratt Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Frank Salgado Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Alex Soto Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Paige Sturtevant Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Dustin Thornton Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Todd Vance 185 lbs (84kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Walel Watson The Gazelle 5’11 (181cm) 143 lbs (65kg) Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane
Jason Wessling Purebred Und1sputed Team Hurricane

ONRA:TheCrankSpeaketh

taken from the Shoyoroll Forums–Frank Camacho sounds off on the bigger and better picture of MarianasMixedMartial Arts

Buenas yan Hafa Adai!
I’ve been keeping up with the forum and just thought I throw it out there… I just turned 21 this year and when I started fighting MMA 5-6 years ago It was really inspiring to see local chamorro boys train hard and put everything on the line to fight guys from Hawaii, Cali, Japan, and other international fighters! It was real cool to see local boys train to fight these guys from off island with a whole new game… Man we are a small dot on the map, anything we can learn from off island competitors is very important for MMA in the Marianas as a whole. Melc fighting Tyson, Terence fighting Kamaka, Luigi Fioravanti, Tetsuji Kato, Joe Camacho, and a whole lot more.

Even if the these top names didn’t fight a local guy, it will open up a young and up and comers eyes to one day fight at the high level “ONE DAY ILL FIGHT THAT DUDE AND BEAT HIM!” Or just watching high level MMA guys go at it… even a spectator can learn SOOOO MUCHHH! Its only for the evolution of Marianas MMA! Thats what we are trying to do right? See… Learn… Apply… and have a Local UFC World Champ!

Dont get me wrong… Local match ups are the shit! Guys fighting super hard, representing themselves! but when its a guam vs guam.. its only a guam learning experience. Get what im saying? Guam vs Greg Jackson? Whether win lose or draw he WILL learn something that he will apply in his game and show his teammates and his teammates will show their friends and its a domino effect! Guam WINS! GUAM LEARNS! Another weapon to add!

For example.. When I fought Luigi Fioravanti! I just turned 18, got a call from Ken or Eli.. (dont remember) “Frank you wanna fight Luigi from ATT?” With No hesitation I said of course! I was gonna go in there, balls to the wall and fight my F*C**IN* ass off to win…ANDD I wanted to taste the next level of MMA, and bring it back to my team and let them know what i learned and what i felt during the fight! I ended up losing the fight via TKO Cut. Oh yeah I was upset. Hell Yeah I wanted to Win. But the reward was way more that i had realized. That fight opened my eyes to MMA. That fight made me realize that “WOW I fought a 5 time UFC vet (at the time) and had a good ass time! I can really do this and bring back to the island!”

Here I am in Maryland training under Master Lloyd working on my skill sets. By the way someone mentioned that me and tuck are working on bjj and counting our money blah blah… idk what he said but.. check this… Look at Every Champion sir! Every Champion has at least ONE high level martial art under their belt. BJ (he just lost but he was a reining champ) High level BJJ World Champion, GSP High Level Wrestling, Brock high level wrestling, Shogun high level muay thai good overall mma game. anderson BJJ Black belt and good MMA Striking. The UFC was built on BJJ.. on the Gracies.. something must be working. and for these Champs.. Why not do what the champions are doing? They are making it work!

Sorry for the novel guys but just felt like I throw it out there! MMA is too beautiful to look at the smaller picture. Bring the Level Up! That definitely opened my eyes up! And I wouldnt be doing what Im doing if I didnt see our local boys fight tough big names.

Good Vibes yan Si Yu’us Ma’ase

http://CrankEffect.com

-Crank OUT!

ONRA:July28th,2010

Hafa Adai,

SaipanMixedMartialArts is keeping the pace with the Rites of Passage9:Indestructible happening at the Saipan World Resort this Friday.

Weve got the Guam Amateur Wrestlign Federation sending out a team to the Micronesian Games in Palau for Greco-Roman, Freestyle, and Beach Wrestling, are

And the buzz has hit Guam’s Grappling with the MarianasOpen No-Gi Team Invitational  scheduled for August 21^st.

PXC 20:

Would like to start by congratulating the organizers of Premeir Xtreme Combat on their 20^th full-scale event. Leaving in its trails more than 2dozen smaller shows  in PrebaHaos, Fight Nights, and events in Saipan—the event has adapted to move forward through different trials that have come in the many forms of MMA controversy, surrounding economic adversities, as well as having to educate yet also report to a newly formed government-endorsed sanctioning body—the GuamUnarmed CombatComission.

With that being said, after sitting for another night of good fights and evolving local talent. We can all attest that overall our industry has come far. Our fighters are consistentlybetter, our event production(s) always seem to be getting crispier and very noticably our fans are definitely a lot more sport-educated.

Though we might not be seeing the overpacked audiences in attendance as weve seen in the past—its still quite impressive to see the masses still number in the thousands to gather in celebration of our sport.

A comment was made by a good friend that the crowd we saw event are the die hards and that the grudge matches, and local vs. local bouts seem to be better sellers.  Coming from an event promoter’s perspective, I think I can agree. But you know—it’s very important that we continue to have these international fights. Airfare costs money. Hotels costs money.As do rent-a-cars, meals and other extended accommodations. These pressures make it increasingly difficult to continue this formula. Though at times these types of fights do not seem to sell tickets today. In light of the audience that still pays tickets to support our events—this movement will continue to sell tickets tomorrow.

Lets face it though—as promoters we must be entertainers. And as service providers we should try to give the fans what they want . But sometimes, in one way or another as leaders, we should also make efforts to provide something we might feel that an industry needs.

As we have  our seasoned audience, we have seasoned promoters, we have seasoned fighters, and we have a pretty seasoned industry. With this deeper perspective, with hopefully a mindset that has evolved from the curiosities of “Who is the toughest guy on the island?”  having international fights graduates our local events from just being an incubation chamber to becoming a summit landmark for prospects and opportunities beyond the boundaries of out island.

This tremendous display of gratitude for the efforts that our fighters have endured, is a toast for their accomplishments and a stepping stone to a higher podium for not just our fighters but more importantly our flag.

Its not just a road to send our fighters off-island; It’s part of a bigger process to send our island off island. For her honor, for her glory.

At the fights, I had sat in on a group conversation and were all commenting on how many events weve been to and reminisced of old fights and fighters of the past—but what was even more noticeable was fights that we’re anticipating to watch in the future.

In good faith, this sport and this industry can be around for a long time.

What exactly do we want to do with it? And what might be our call-of-duy?

Questions not just for promoters, but for fans, fighters, sponsors..for the extended community supporting MMA. This is not a product of or for one. Its one collective product for the many.

Like sponsors, fighters, and other fans–already standing in line for the next show.

Thanks for dropping by.

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