Holiday Schedule

Paramount Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will be closed on the following days:

Wed, Dec. 24
Thurs, Dec. 25
Wed, Dec. 31
Thurs, Jan 1

Here's wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday!!

Team Training: Jan. 10!!!!

Lloyd Irvin will host the 2009 Team Training on Saturday, January 10th at his Camp Springs, MD academy from 12pm to 3pm. If you've never been to one of the Team Training events I can assure you it's something you don't want to miss. Last year's Team Training was HUGE, with Mike Fowler flying in from Guam, Brandon Vera coming out from California, as well as Black Belts from Brazil, Tennessee, and up and down the East coast sharing their knowledge.


Paramount BJJ will be closed, so clear your schedule and make sure you're there!

Thanksgiving Hours

Paramount BJJ will be closed Thursday 11/27 and Friday 11/28 for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Jared from BJJ United has invited everyone to his academy in Jenkintown for his Annual Day-After-Thanksgiving Open Mat. The training starts at noon and continues for several hours. This is a great opportunity to train with some of the best Purple, Brown, and Black belts in the country!

BJJ United Tourn Results

Another great tournament put on by Jared and everyone at BJJ United, and another successful tournament showing for Paramount. We brought nine students this time and just like the past few tournaments we had great results. Here's the breakdown:

Ryan O'Connell lost his first match in White belt Featherweight by 2x2, 2x1 advantages. He stuck around and entered the Open weight division and won his first match before losing another close one on points.

Ryan Zuver beat 3 very tough opponents to win the White belt Lightweight, then beat his first 2 opponents in the Open before losing a strange match in the Semi-finals. Ryan escaped a very tight armlock mid-match, but some of the spectators thought Ryan had tapped. Ryan went on to win by points, but declared his opponent the winner since he too felt that he had tapped the leg during the escape.

Zach Farhenholtz won the White belt Middleweight, winning his first two matches without any trouble before squeeking out the win in an all-out war in the finals. In the Open, Zach beat 3 more tough opponents to bring home two 1st place finishes. Zach ends up 6-0 on the day!

Brian Sieb beat his first opponent in the Blue belt Featherweight 11x0, then finished his opponent in the Finals with a clock choke for 1st place. In the Open, Brian used his infamous wristlock to win the first match before losing his second on points.

Kevin MacMullen bounced back from a first round loss in Blue belt Middleweight to tap all 3 opponents in the Blue belt -173lb Open weight and take home 1st place in his Blue belt debut. Kevin took first place after being down on points and rallying to submit his opponent with less than 30 seconds left.

Bruce Thomas was also competing as a Blue belt for the first time, and brought home two more 1st place finishes for Paramount by winning the Light Heavyweight and +173 Open weight. The final in his weight class was another match of the day candidate, with Bruce coming back from a 5 point deficit to score 13 unanswered points for the win.

Jim Mattson lost his first match in his weight class on points, escaping several tough spots and battling till the end. He entered the Open division and despite losing gained invaluable experience. This was Jim's first tournament after training just a couple of months.

The Stats:
Paramount students had 29 total matches, 20 wins.
We won 3 out of the 5 Open divisions.
Finishes:
Ryan Z: 1st place White belt LW, 3rd place Open
Zach: 1st place White belt MW, 1st place Open
Brian: 1st place Blue belt FW, 3rd place -173lb Open
Kevin: 1st place Blue belt -173lb Open
Bruce: 1st place Blue belt LtHW, 1st place +173 Open

GREAT JOB GUYS!!!

Special Guest Instructor!

Its been almost a month since we kicked off our Boxing and MMA Programs and they're going great so far! Coach Matt Chambers has been training the students on the critical aspects of Boxing and now I'm proud to announce our first of many MMA Guest Instructors.


Undefeated Pro MMA Fighter Tim Carpenter will be teaching Thursday night's MMA Class on November 13th. Tim is 3-0, and both the Sportfighting and Combat in the Cage Lt HW Champion. There is NO CHARGE for this class, all students on the Combat Athlete Program can attend- just like any other class!

This is a huge opportunity for students to absorb real hands-on knowledge from a fighter who's been in the Ring and in the Cage and knows what he's talking about. Don't miss it!

Boxing 101: Pics From the First Class

Paramount BJJ held it's first Boxing class this past week and it was a resounding success! Coach Matt Chambers started off with the proper hand-wrapping technique, then went into the fundamentals of boxing: footwork, movement, and the jab. Coach Matt finished the class with one of his patented conditioning routines that left the students gasping for air and glad it was over. Despite the high level of intensity- or perhaps because of it- every single participant is eagerly awaiting the next class. Check out the pics from Day 1...

Coach Matt being very strict on the students' footwork

Working the Jab

The end of a hard workout...

Boxing and MMA at Paramount!

After months of preparation we're ready to launch the Boxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Classes at Paramount. We've brought in Matt Chambers NSCA-CPT to teach the Boxing class and help design the MMA curriculum. For the past 10 years, Matt has worked with Professional and Amateur Boxers, as well as various Athletes from the NFL, MLB, and members of the U.S National Rugby Team.

Stay tuned for a full Bio on Matt as well as Pics and Video from the first week of classes. Check out the class times below:

Boxing: Tues 7:30pm
MMA: Thurs 7:30pm

BJJ United In-House Tournament

From Jared at BJJ United:

I am pleased to announce our next Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, GI ONLY In-house tournament will take place on Saturday November 8th. We will have divisions for White, Blue, and Purple belts. Men and Women. The weight classes are as follows:

feather- up to 148lbs
light- 149-161lbs
middle- 162-173lbs
middle heavy- 174-185lbs
heavy- 186-200lbs
super heavy-201-220lbs
over- 221lbs- up

We will have sign-up sheets at the school. Pre-pay is $30, day of tournament is $50. Save yourself a few dollars and pre-reg. Pre-registration also helps up set things up a lot quicker and helps things run a lot smoother. We will hold weigh-ins the night before at BJJ United from 6pm-8:30pm, and the day of from 8am-10am. The tournament will start by 11am. This tournament is open to all BJJ United, and team Lloyd Irvin affiliations only. We look forward to seeing you there.

-Jared

US Nationals Results

This past weekend Team Lloyd Irvin brought 5 competitors to this years' BJJ American Nationals and came home with 7 medals! Here are the individual results:

Andre Arata (Third Law BJJ) won the White Belt Super Heavyweight.
Mike Florey (88 BJJ) took 3rd in Blue Belt Light Heavyweight, and 2nd in Blue LtHW No Gi.
Fred Ramie (88 BJJ) took 3rd in the Purple Belt Heavyweight.
Roberto Torralbas (Third Law BJJ) won the Purple belt Lt Heavyweight and took 3rd in the Open.

Brad Court (Paramount BJJ) took 3rd in Black Belt Lightweight. Brad tapped his opponent in the quarterfinals with a wristlock, then lost to 3x World Champion Fredson Paixao by a score of 7-6.


Paramount BJJ Head Instructor Brad Court on the Podium

Adjusted Schedule 9/20-9/22

Head Instructor Brad Court will be away this weekend from Saturday thru Monday, to compete in the US Nationals in Los Angeles, California. As a result our schedule has been adjusted. Please note the changes, and we will be returning to our regular schedule on Tuesday Sept 23rd.

Saturday
10am: Kids Class
11am: Open Mat

Monday
730am: BJJ Basics
7pm: Open Mat

Belt Promotions Results and Pics!

This weekend we held our biggest Belt Promotion ceremony yet! First up were the kids. Our Childrens Program is only a few months old, but we have a fantastic group of kids who come to class and always give 100%. Three of them were promoted to yellow belt, and the rest all got stripes on their belts!


After the kids were the Adults, and I can't even begin to describe how impressed I am with the new blue belts. Not only are technically sound, consistent and hungry to learn.. They each trained with everyone in class (about 25 students) for 2 minutes each- Non-Stop. That's almost an hour straight!

And to top it all off we had a special guest- Undefeated Pro MMA fighter and BJJ Black Belt Tim Carpenter was in the house!


Yellow Belts
Kevin
Gianna
Jake

Blue Belts
Kevin MacMullen
Matt Bauer
Adam Carpenter
Steve Miller
Bruce Thomas

Congratulations guys!!

Closed - Labor Day (9/1)

There will be no classes at the Paramount facility on Labor Day, next Monday (Sept. 1st). Be safe and enjoy the holiday!

New Video Technique

I was recently asked by my friends over at Balance Studios to demonstrate a technique for a video shoot. So here's one of my favorite transitions from a pass attempt to a submission. Pay close attention to the details and shoot me an email if you have any questions!

Gameness Platinum Weave On SALE

Gameness Platinum weave Gis- their highest quality kimono- are in stock and on sale! They retail for $150 but we're selling them for just $130. We have a very limited quantity in each size so if you're in need of a new Gi now is the time! Check them out:

Thanks Wilson!

Not surprisingly, Wilson Reis put on an absolutely fantastic seminar this weekend. He showed some of his favorite and most successful techniques, including a few he pulled off in his MMA fight last weekend. Wilson was even cool enough to take some time after the seminar to answer questions and even train with the students. It's such a privilege to have such a World Class fighter here at Paramount and a huge benefit to the students who participated in the seminar.

Wilson Reis EliteXC Result

Congratulations to teammate Wilson Reis on his most recent win at Elite XC this past Saturday night on Showtime/CBS. Wilson won a Unanimous Decision in what was his toughest challenge yet against the 9-2 Bryan Caraway. Don't forget- Wilson will be here at Paramount THIS SATURDAY at 11am for a Special Seminar.

Here is what MMAWeekly.com had to say about the fight:

"Wilson Reis remained undefeated, winning a unanimous decision over Northwest fighter Bryan Caraway. Throughout the entire fight, Reis was able to ground Caraway and outwork him with superior positioning. From there Reis would either go for a submission or use ground and pound. Caraway’s best moment in the fight came in the second round when he stunned Reis on the feet almost finishing him, but Reis survived and fought on. Caraway was the better fighter on the feet, landing knees and punches but he was unable to stop Reis’s takedowns and that is what lost him the fight with Reis winning a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 on all three judge’s scorecards."

Check out some photos of the fight...




Congrats Wilson!

Thanks Julius Park and 88 BJJ!

Last night I had the pleasure of teaching a 2 hour seminar at Julius Park's school 88 BJJ in Baltimore, MD. Julius has a fantastic group of students and a very nice facility. I was impressed with the level of skill, and the overall positive attitude of the students was fantastic. I look forward to my next visit!

Belt Promotions at Paramount

For the first time EVER we're announcing our Belt Promotion day in advance! The big day will be Saturday, September 13th, so mark it on your calender and make sure you're there! The promotions will start at 12 noon, so our Children's and Fundamentals Classes will be running as usual.
See everyone there!

Also, for those who haven't been in class lately I will be conducting a seminar at 88 BJJ (a Team Lloyd Irvin school run by Julius Park) in Baltimore MD tomorrow night. Our Monday night Advanced BJJ class will be an Open Mat.

Wilson Reis back at Paramount BJJ!

Undefeated MMA fighter and BJJ World Champion Wilson Reis is coming back to Paramount BJJ for a Special Seminar on Saturday, August 2nd! The 4-0 EliteXC superstar is fighting live on CBS July 26 and will be at Paramount the very next weekend for 2 hours of World Class instruction.

This is a fantastic opportunity for students of ALL skill levels. Make sure you sign up ASAP as we have limited space and spots go fast for Wilson!
*10% Discount for Students enrolled in the Black Belt Program*

T-Shirts $10 thru July!

We've been working hard on several new T-shirt designs for the fall, and so far they're looking great! In the meantime, our gray Paramount BJJ shirts are on sale for $10- thru July ONLY. We have all sizes, from Youth small to 2XL in light and dark gray. Check em out:

Copa Atlantica 2008

After a fantastic showing last week at the US Grappling tournament, a few of the guys were hungry for more competition. So we headed up to Morristown, NJ for the Copa Atlantica tournament yesterday. As usual there was a big turn-out for this one- it's one of the biggest tournament circuits in the U.S.

First up was Chad Bender, who's been super busy lately and hasn't had much time to train. Even so, he trained as hard as he could and entered the tournament with about a week's worth of preparation. Although he lost his first match 2-2 (by advantages), he was pleased with his overall performance and felt as though he did the best he could. He fought hard till the very last second and that's all you can really do. Next time we'll make sure to get in the proper amount of training beforehand.

Kevin Macmullen was coming off a bronze medal at last week's US Grappling and looking to add more hardware to his collection. He won his first match 16-0 and as always was fresh and ready for the next one. Unfortunately, his opponent was able to exploit a few weaknesses in Kevin's game. Kevin escaped a super tight triangle and battled but came up short on points in the end. We discussed a few of the areas he needs to improve and I'm confident that once those mistakes are corrected he's going to terrorize the tournament scene.

Next up was Mike Tenaglia, who took second at the US Grappling last week and was back to battle again. Despite escaping a fully extended armlock Mike lost 6-0 to the eventual champion. We watched the footage afterwards and focused on a few details that could have changed the outcome of the match. Not surprisingly Mike was back in the gym less than 24 hours later drilling these moves and I'm excited to see him execute them next time he competes.

Despite the fact that we didn't come home with medals this time, I was pleased with the overall performances and happy that we were able to correct some things that will help the guys win next time around. Check back soon for pics and video!

Reminder: No Class this Saturday

Due to the enormous Grappler's Quest tournament and the number of Team Lloyd Irvin competitors competing this weekend there will be no class Saturday. The No-Gi divisions are Saturday and the Gi divisions are on Sunday. We have a good group going from Paramount so come support the team!

US Grappling Videos

Little Mike's flying armbar


Eric's No Gi semi-final match


Big Mike's comeback in the Absolute


Brian's reverse-triangle kimura

Great Performances at US Grappling!

This weekend we brought the competition team to US Grappling's Diamond State Games in Bear, Delaware. It was a great showing for Paramount and once again almost every student came home with a medal. Of greater importance is the fact that everyone gave 100%, and took home some valuable lessons from the experience.

Great job to all the guys who competed- many of which came back after disappointing performances in one division to medal in another.



Here are the individual results:
Eric Young- 2nd place, No Gi Intermediate
Mike Tenaglia- 2nd place, Blue belt featherweight
Brian Sieb- 3rd place, Blue belt lightweight
Matt Bauer- 2nd place, White belt lightweight
Kevin Macmullen- 3rd place, White belt middleweight
Mike Todd- 3rd place, White belt Executive Absolute
Adam Carpenter- After sweeping his opponent in the No Gi division Adam injured his knee while trying to pass. He competed again later in the Gi but it was obvious the injury was hindering his movement.
Paul Dinunzio- In Paul's very first tournament he was forced to enter the Advanced Teens division, since there were no other competitors in the Beginner category. With just 3 months training under his belt, Paul was up for the challenge and gave it his all.

Stay tuned for video from the matches, and for next week's Copa Atlantica!

Wilson and Matt Win at EliteXC!!!

Congratulations to teammates Wilson Reis and Matt Makowski for extending their undefeated records at the HUGE EliteXC MMA event tonight!

Wilson defeated Justin Robbins from Matt Hughes' camp by choke, after completely dominating his 12-3 opponent. Wilson's Pro MMA record is now 4-0 and he'll be traveling to California next week to try and secure his second World BJJ title.


Wilson at the weigh-ins yesterday


Matt Makowski beat black belt Nick Serra (brother of Matt Serra) by TKO in just his 3rd Pro fight. Matt fought out of some tough positions to overwhelm Serra with his excellent Muay Thai.


Matt (left) faces off with Nick Serra at the weigh-ins

Brasileiro Photos

Before I get to the pics from this year's Brasileiro (Brazilian Championships), I'd like to thank Felipe Costa for all of his help. Aside from being an absolute beast on the mats- a Brazilian, European, and World Champion- Felipe is incredibly generous and an amazing instructor. Check out his website and the fantastic write-up he did at www.brazilianblackbelt.com

Now on to the pics! Unfortunately I was unable to get much of the black belts since I was competing too. But we did manage to get some good shots of Ryan's journey to the podium as well as my matches.


Training with Felipe Costa at one of the Brasa Academies


Ryan Hall finishes his first opponent with a triangle.


Ryan defeats the current Pan Am champion.


Ryan works his upside-down guard and wins his 3rd match.


Ryan takes bronze at the Brasileiro!


My first match, using a sweep to get the top position.


Finishing my first opponent with the cross choke.


My second match, against the eventual Champion.

Brasileiro Results

Congratulations to BJJ United Instructor Jared Weiner on taking home a bronze medal from the Masters Lightweight division. In the quarterfinals Jared beat Luciano Nunes 6-0 in a dominating performance. In the semi's he went up against Rodrigo "Feijao" (a multiple time black belt World Cup champion) and fought a tremendous fight before losing 4-0.

Today I competed in the Adult Lightweight division. It was my first time competing in Brazil as a black belt and I was super excited and in good shape. I won my first match by cross choke from the mount, after being up 12-2 on the scoreboard. In the quarterfinals I faced the eventual Gold medalist and lost. As always, it was a great experience and I took away some important lessons.

Stay tuned for pics, I'll upload a bunch of them as soon as I get home on Tuesday. Unfortunately video is not permitted at the tournament. I can't wait to get back and show some of the slick techniques I've picked up training with Felipe Costa and the Brasa team!

Update from Brazil

First, for those of you not on the email list, congrats to teammate Ryan Hall for bringing back a Bronze medal from the Brasileiro- A huge accomplishment! Make sure you sign up for the mailing list on the homepage for constant updates, not to mention a Free BJJ Instructional.

Now, on the the update. The schedule and brackets have been released for the Black Belt divisions. I will be competing on Sunday around noon (11am EST), while BJJ United head Instructor Jared Weiner competes Saturday afternoon. I am not familiar with either of our first round opponents, but there are very tough guys in both divisions. It's going to be a blast and I can't wait!

I'll do my best to check back with at least one more update after the tournament.

Temporary Schedule Change

* ATTN: ALL STUDENTS! *

As many of you already know, I will be headed to Brazil this Friday. As a result, I've modified the schedule for Friday May 2nd to Tuesday May 13th. The following classes have been removed from the schedule until we return to the normal schedule on Wednesday May 14:

-Tues and Friday 12pm Classes
-Wednesday's 7:30am Class

All other classes (Kids, Evening, Weekend etc.) remain as usual, so Train Hard!! Mr. Brian will be running the Children's classes, and Chuck will be teaching the Adult Fundamentals. If you haven't had the chance to work with Chuck, this is a great opportunity. He trains primarily in the morning and noons, is an advanced purple belt and has a wealth of experience and knowledge. I’ll be back before you know it with some new techniques and tricks to add to our curriculum!

BJJU Tournament Pics

Here they are, the best pics from this weekend's BJJ United tournament. Check below for full results and details on the great performances from the Paramount BJJ Competition Team!


Ryan working the cross choke



Steve Mckenna works for the submission



Chad gets ready for his first match



The Paramount BJJ crew hangs out between matches



Steve Miller works guard



Steve Mckenna looking for a choke in the finals



Brian ready to battle in the Finals



Eric takes the back in an awesome match



Steve Mckenna finishes the triangle choke



Eric wins his first match in the Open division

BJJU Tournament Results

Paramount BJJ brought 11 students to compete at the BJJ United In-House tournament this weekend- our biggest competition turn-out to date! Each and every student performed up to or above expectations, I couldn't possibly be more proud. Check out the results below and stay tuned for more pics!


Competitors get instructions before the Tournament


Brian Sieb - 2nd place, Blue belt Featherweight (won submission of the day with a superfast wristlock!)
Ryan O'Connell - 3rd place, White belt Featherweight (just started training this year!)
Matt Bauer - 3rd place, White belt Lightweight (lost his first match, and battled thru the consolation bracket with 3 straight submissions!)
Steve McKenna - 2nd place, White belt Middleweight (Steve decided to do the tournament yesterday! Still he won a total of 4 matches including a katagatame choke and triangle choke.)
Steve Miller - 2nd place, White belt Open weight, 3rd place Middleweight (Steve had a total of 6 matches and was very impressive. In the semi-finals of the Open he swept a much bigger opponent before finishing him with a cross choke from the mount.)
Eric Young had some wars in Blue Belt, losing an exciting 7-6 battle in his weight class and winning 6-2 before losing in the Open weight.
"Chef" lost a super close 2-0 match in Blue belt Middleweight, but showed strong passing and composure.
Evan Henderson lost a controversial 0-0 decision in a fantastic match in the White belt Lightweight.
Joe Marciano faced teammates in his weight class, so he jumped into the Open and lost a close 7-3 match to a big and very strong opponent, it was a war!
Mike Todd finished his first opponent with a guillotine choke before losing on points in the White belt Open weight division.
Chad Bender had a tough draw, losing to the Open Class champion in his weight class then taking on the same giant that Joe fought. Both matches were impressive, Chad showed that he's been drilling his techniques and its only a matter of time before they're unstoppable.


Paramount BJJ Competition Team at BJJU


Every single competitor from Paramount showed technique, potential, and most importantly heart- Not once did I anyone consider quitting, and almost everyone jumped into the Open just to get more practice. As I said I am very very proud of each student, I can't wait for the next tournament!

Kids Class going Strong!

Here are just a few pics from one of our recent Kids Classes, check them out and stay tuned for more!


Warming up before class.


Practicing our gripping.


Escaping from a headlock.


A test of balance and grips!

BJJ United Tournament- April 12th

It's that time again! The Annual BJJ United In-house (Team Lloyd Irvin) tournament is right around the corner. This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in testing themselves and gaining an invaluable experience. There's nothing like the tournament experience, come see for yourself!

Even better, BJJ United's tournament is inexpensive and double elimination, so no matter what every competitor gets at least two matches. Check out some of the action from last year's event!