Jim Lawson

Putting the Academia in Academy

Being a parent has a tendency to create a shift in thinking. A repurposing of priorities is a common trait that pierces through cultures, backgrounds, and social-economic structures in a relative fashion. As parents, we all want what is best for our children, and another common focus tends to point

alliance

Roberto Traven; Southern Hospitality With A Brazilian Twist

In the sport jiu-jitsu community, when you hear of some of the elite competitors moving from Brazil to the U.S., the usual assumption is that the majority tends to flock towards the coastal regions of surf and beach communities of Southern California or the warm tropical environment that South

Events

F2W 106 Shines in the Sunshine State

Fort Lauderdale FL – Miami may get most of its press because of the hit tv series, turned movie, “Miami Vice”, the Miami Dolphins, Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan’s “Sound Machine”, but its also home to “Fight Sport”, which happens to be the home gym of one-half of the evening’

Catch As

Catching Pain With Erik Paulson

We hear it all the time, “keep an open mind”. I think it’s safe to say that Minnesota native Erik Paulson is among the crop of people that continually keeps an open mind towards the subject matter of the combative arts. Having been around martial arts virtually his whole

Alopecia areata

Her M.O. is the Gold Standard: Bald Strong Mona Bailey

It is a very common adage within our community to imply that technique conquers strength. However, there is what can be considered the counterpoint to that notion, that strength itself is the technique. In the case of Houston native Mona Bailey, the latter is most definitely the method of operation.

103

F2W103; Big State, Biggest Party

Houston, TX – When you mention Houston Texas, you think of everything being big. Well, you can now chalk up Fight2Win 103 as another big thing that just took place in Texas. The biggest party in grappling showcased another night of exciting jiu-jitsu and continuing their “old-school rules” judo feature match.

BBoy

Flo With the BJJ9000 Jiu-Jitsu Accelerator

For anyone who has been involved with the grappling arts long enough, it’s pretty common to at some point experience frustration of not having a training partner to drill a technique with over and over again, let along get in a good rolling session. There are plenty of variables

102

The Wild-Wild West; F2W Style

Rio Rancho NM – The wild west spirit is still alive in the southwest. Fight2Win rode through town with its 102nd showing and let’s just say that there was enough gi slinging and tusslin’ to make the cowboys of the past green with envy. Also featured in the evening’s

Eve Gracie

Love & Jiu-Jitsu

Valentine’s Day. That special time of the year where people make an attempt to make special acknowledgments to their mate to show them how much they value their love towards one another. It is a commonly accepted notion that jiu-jitsu in some fashion is a “brother/sisterhood”. It is

Mind Games

Mile High Action A Mile High: F2W 101

Denver CO – Fight2Win returned to its HQ to host the 101st installment of the most exciting party in jiu-jitsu! However, F2W101 returned to Denver offering a slight twist with its inclusion of competitive Judo. With its usual brand of matches in the “super fight” format, F2W101 featured plenty of exciting

DDS

Nicky Ryan - He’s Got Next Pt. 2

(Part 2 of a 2 part series) For Part 1 of this series CLICK HERE The Crown Prince: noun – The second most important position, second to the King, and is his designated successor. If you are of the mindset that Gordon Ryan is “the King” of the jiu-jitsu world right

Events

Aloha! Fight 2 Win Ushers in Its Century Event From the Beautiful Island State

Fight 2 Win’s 100th event was brought in with style with the beautiful south shore of the Pacific island of Oahu offering a world-class landscape that offered the competitors and fans many “oo & ah” moments. It’s only fitting that the action of this 100th show elicited the

DDS

Nicky Ryan - He’s Got Next Pt. 1

(Part 1 of a 2 part series) Because this particular feature falls towards the beginning of the New Year, the general vibe of our society tends to focus on resolutions and commitments, which brings us directly to our cover feature of Nicky Ryan. To see what Nicky has been doing

choke

Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon Keeps His Record Perfect With Perfect Submission

I guess you can say that Garry was absolutely destined to claim victory at an event titled “ONE: HEART OF A LION” when considering Garry’s nickname. Easy math, right? Well, “easy” is a relative statement, an argument can be made that Mr. Tonon merely makes these affairs look easy.

MMA

The Return of Renzo

(Photo Courtesy of ONE Championship) Fresh off of his return to the cage and his resounding 2nd round submission win over fellow legend Yuki Kondo, we take a look back at an ADCC match 20 YEARS ago! In this flashback we watch Renzo taking on Frank Trigg who was amongst

Paid-members only

Brian Glick

Garry St Leger Sweep the Leg

In the movie “Forrest Gump”, one of the many iconic phrases uttered was “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get”. That about sums up my experience when I traveled to NYC and visited the iconic Renzo Gracie Academy. Whenever I travel to

Members only

Catch Wrestling

The Submission Grappling Universe Has Just Expanded

The Evolution Will Be Televised

Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon’s MMA career is officially underway, and boy does it look promising. After much discussion about if, when and where Tonon will make a transition to MMA. Well, yes it has finally happened, last Saturday, in one of the international capitals of fight culture. Thailand!

Jiu-jitsu Champ Mackenzie Dern's UFC Debut Looms on the Horizon and Brian "T-City" Ortega Fills In Against Frankie "The Answer" Edgar For Big Co-Main

What makes MMA so interesting to so many people is its very nature, which involves a blending of different styles of competitive fighting. Although directly attached to the creation of MMA, high-level jiu-jitsu these days is something we may not see as much of as some other styles. MMA has

Bump

She’s Back! The Triple Bump With Cyborg

Born Cristiane Justino Venâncio, she is better known as Cris Cyborg, or just “Cyborg”. That is the name that she has found most of her fame with and for good reason.  Cristiane’s fighting style is every bit how you would imagine a Cyberdyne Systems’ Cybernetic Organism Model 101 to

Mauricio

Mastering Spider Guard: With Mauricio “Tinguinha” Mariano

Baseball has “Buck” Showalter, basketball has Larry Brown, football has Bill Parcells, and boxing has Emanuel Steward.  All leaders and “hired guns” in their respective sport who put things in order to create a formula for success to take established programs to the next level. Jiu-jitsu has its equivalent in

grip strength

Your Grips Might Save Your Life

The term “referred pain” is such a very interesting concept. Referred pain is pain felt in a part of the body other than its actual source. It’s always mind-blowing to learn how one area of the body can hurt, and then realize that the source of that pain is

2017 Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championships

The Invite Sometimes I think my boss is Santa Claus. After a brief discussion of upcoming events and other incessant jiu-jitsu talk (which is a normal day at the office, really) it was like Christmas when I received, from said boss, an email with the simple message, “It came. Want

bellator mma

Rafael Lovato Jr. Blasts on to the Bellator Scene With an Explosive 1st Round K.O. Win

It didn’t take too long for multiple time Jiu-Jitsu king Rafael Lovato Jr. to introduce himself in a catchweight match to Bellator fans and the rest of the viewing audience on Spike TV.  Lovato made his mark in the Jiu-Jitsu community as the 2nd American to ever win the

Combat Jiu-Jitsu

"The King" is Crowned and Slaps Are Given for a Twisted Finale

The Eddie Bravo Invitational returned last weekend at Florentine Gardens in El Monte CA with its 11th installment in a brand new venue, a brand new concept and a very familiar champion.  Danaher Death Squad (DDS) member Gordon “The King” Ryan returned to what many consider his natural weight of