Onra:April25th,2008

Hafa Adai, So I guess most of us have seen Pat Ayuyu’s fight on youtube. . So he lost by KO but his performance was definitely not a disappointment. A fractured rib that he suffered since the end of the first round might keep him out of competition until the latter part of the year but rest assured, we will hear more of him in the near future. 

Justin”TheShocker”Cruz is getting ready for a title fight in the URCCat the end of the month in the Philippines and KelvinFitial will be flying the Marianas Flag for the second time at the ArtOfWar in China.   An applause for Saipan’s Frank “The Crank”Camacho for securing gold in the 185lb.white belt division anda  bronze in the men’s no-gi intermediate at the the NAGA Virgina Grappling Championships. And another congratulations to Zac Rapadas for taking gold in the men’s blue belt division athe CopaPacifica Jiujitsu Championships inCalifornia. This comes just weeks after Jason Evangelista’s Gold in the Pan Ams and almost a year after an outstanding BJJ WorldTitle forGuam with James Quan’sGold Medal as a PurpleBelt at the WorldChampionships last year in

California.

A dynamic six week road in grappling and Jiujitsu are in front of us as TheCarlsonGracieJiujitsuAcademy will be heading out to the Philippines hoping for another outstanding performance at the PanAsian BJJ andGrappling Tournament on May3rd.

Multiple Kickboxing, Jiujitsu, and Pankration medalist at only 14, Ian Lujan and a host of other Guamanians training at Mark Laymond’s Cobra Kai will be competing on the same weekend’s Grappler’s Quest in Las Vegas. On May10thThe CNMIwill be holding their second grappling tournament in the Mariana Islands’ largest Martial Arts training center in the 15000 square-foot training and event facility in the newTrenchTech/PurebredSaipan.   The guys at Kontenda’s will be busy with Caesar Whitt hosting a Judo and Jiujitsu tournament, while Sonny Chargualaf hosts an  amateur kickboxing event as Simon Ysrael facilitates, on the same day, a tournament for TaeKwonDo, all at the Westin Resort on May 17^th With the BJJ World Championships around the corner , it seems that our Guam Grapplers here and abroad will have some opportunities to sharpen their blades before the event with these smaller, although always significant tournaments.

This time around though at the Worlds, Guam will be making a bigger presence with more than double the amount of Guam representative competitors from lst year stepping up to the challenge in the world arena, at the Mike and Arlene Walter Pyramid in LongBeachCalifornia.

 Mike Fowler will be leading TeamPurebred/LloydIrvinJiujitsuAcademy with GuamBJJAmbassador and assistant instructor Stephen Roberto taking his first step into the highest level of BJJ Competition in the blackbelt division. Guam’s first BJJ World Champion James Quan , will hopefully join TheShoyorollOnlineForum’s Vince Quitugua and Chris Gutierrez for their first time in the World’s brown belt divisions.    

Familiar MMA names among the long and growing list of Guam Grapplers  heading to the Worlds will also be Ted Vida, T-RexAflague, ZachRapadas, possibly Frank”TheCrank”Camacho, as well as the recent PanAmerican gold medalist Jason Evangelista and PXC Vice President Eli Monge. As it looks,The Worlds Championships will not only be an opportunity for our competitors in competition, but also for our Guamanians and Chamorros in congregation. Strength inNumbers. 

 

Wrestling and Judo in the Olympics, Kickboxing in K-1, MMARegional Belts, BJJ World Titles, StructuredAthletics, First-Class Sportsmanship,Destination Guam, The pursuit of big things,  And fan support like no other.  Marianas Combatives: Community service. Thanks for dropping by.