*Head Coach Alliance Team, USA/Brazil
*6th Degree Black Belt
*Instructor to world champions:Fabio Gurgel, Alexandre Paiva, Rodrigo Comperido, Leo Vieira, Ricardo Vieira, Tarsis Humphreys, Chris Moriarty, Marcelo Garcia, Felipe Zicro Neto, Ricardo Franjihna, Jamelao and many more!!
-Saturday July 14, 2007 (NO-GI)
12 till 3:30pm @ Joslin’s Karate Hamilton, ON
-$75.00 Sunday July 15, 2007 GI)
12 till 3:30pm @ Krav Magra Waterloo
Cost is $75.00 per day
For further information contact Jeff Joslin at 905-383-3539 (cjoslin@cogeco.ca) or Dragan Kongevic 519-505-3692
Get ’em while their hot! Contact me and we can personally design your Gi with up to five separate designs, duplicated if required (ex. both shoulders). For the ultimate Gi we have a small supply of blank white War Kimonos (my favourite fit on the market). That is to say, there are absolutely NO patches on it to begin with – total customization. Once those run out you can further decide to embroider your existing gi any way you’d like. Any thread colour(s), placement and minor sizing changes are possible. See images below for the designs; 1) Large DRagaN BJJ logo – two colours, 2) Alliance/DRagaN combo – two colours, 3) Classic Alliance logo – one colour, 4) Canada flag – two colours, 5) alliancebjj.ca – two colours.
*Get ANYTHING embroidered with those designs; Hats, Hoodies, T-shirts, Jackets, Shorts, Cars, Your Skin, ANYTHING!!!
For the past few weeks I haven’t had the opportunity to get on the computer and make news articles for this blog, or updates to this site.That’s because there’s a whole helluva lot going on in the world of Alliance BJJ.
LAX
For my part – and the devourer of my free time – I’m a week away from the biggest competition I’ve ever done; the Pan-American BJJ Championships. Training has gone well. Time to do this. At least I’m past the phase which involves being utterly tortured by Dragan in the Basement (don’t ask). The event is in Carson, California on Sunday April 3rd. Joining me from Alliance Canada is my good friend, Jack “Jakuraba” Szatko.
ATL
But Cali must wait for a few days. Dragan, Baleia and myself are heading down to Atlanta for the all-star seminar grand opening of Jacare’s brand new academy. The room’s gonna be overflowing with jiu-jitsu. Set to attend are Alliance greats; Marcelo Garcia, Fabio Gurgel, Cobrinha, Tarsis and more.
YYZ
On the same weekend of the Pans, our hometown team gears up for the second qualifier of the Ontario Grand Prix. I wish I could be there. Click Here for all the details.
See y’all on the flipside! For my teammates, I’ll leave you with one of my favouritest, most inspirational quotes. Think about it if you question why you put yourself through it all. Why you break down your body in training day-in, day-out. Usually without pay. Why you suffer the nervousness, worry, stress, long days, and even, at worst, injury, all for the love of competition.
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
“Citizenship in a Republic” speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910.
It’s about time I made an announcement regarding our expansion this New Year. The schedule is set and we’ve been quietly setting up shop in a brand new, extremely nice, huge-as-hell martial arts facility in Waterloo. The place has only recently been finished – you can smell that “new mat” scent in the air. Run by Aubrey Brawley and Michelle Janzen, it’s primarily a Krav Maga club. Aubrey contacted Alliance wanting to bring in specialists in all the areas of martial arts. Dragan leads the grappling charge, and they have a boxing camp with Syd “The Jewel” Vanderpool in the near future.
This is not an all-out move for Alliance in the K-W region. Rather, it’s more like am adolescent growth spurt – we’re not kids any more. Our head quarters are still located at 113 Charles St. W in Kitchener. The schedule has not changed either (still: Monday, Wednesday & Friday at 6pm). The training we now offer in Waterloo takes place on staggered days of the week; Tuesday & Thursday at 7pm, and Saturday @ 12pm. In addition, the Exclusively Women’s Brazilian Jiu-jitsu program happens at 11am, Saturdays.
For further information about the facility visit this site, where you can find pictures,maps, directions and membership info (or contact michelle@joinkravmaga.ca).Email me with any questions regarding the BJJ programs offered. The information pages of this site will reflect the changes very soon. Eric out.
While the Kitchener/Hamilton crew were battling it out in Scarborough,other Alliance BJJ fighters were competing in Brazil at the Lutas Casadas event as well as in portugal in the European Championships.
Locally, a small contingent from Team Joslin made it out to the Ascension BJJ Open in Scarborough Ontario; With Jack “Jakuraba” Szatko pulling off an upset win over a local black belt in his no-gi division and earning a silver metal. Amir also competed but unfortunately was injured. We wish you a speedy recovery Amir. Honourable mention to Ivan Diaz, as well as Tony and Blair who all won there first round matchups but lost afterwards.
Team Dragan brought a contingent from Kitchener and was on fire! With 2 gold metals going to Susie Yakabuskie and Karl Borgmann. Mike Higgins put on a submission clinic and earned 2 second place finishes as well as Dave Beach. Way to go guys!
In Brazil, Alliance Jiu-jitsu superstar Marcelo Garcia fought in a superfight against the talented Romulo from Barra Gracie in the Lutas Casadas event. Marcelo was victorious and won on a decision! Go to Tatame Brazil’s website for some pictures!
In Lisboa Portugal, the European BJJ Championships took place and Team Alliance was represented by a large team lead by Romero “Jacare” himself. Fabio Gurgel won the masters heavy division as well as the open division. Also Paulo Sergio won his division and Hugo from France placed second. Alliance placed second place in the Masters Team and first in the Womens division! Congrats everyone!
In news from the Atlanta headquarters, the Sandy Springs location of Alliance Jiu-jitsu academy has moved and into a much larger location. Go to masterbjj.com to see the pics of the new academy! Also best wishes on a speedy recovery to Alliance Atlanta team member Chris Moriarty who fought recently in the Bud Pro Cup and broke his leg! Chris was in the finals of the pro division battline rival Raphael Lovato Jr. and had an accident while defending a takedown. Chris was also the ADCC heavyweight trials winner and will hopefully be able to make it in time for the ADCC world championships coming up this April in New Jersey (start planning the road trip now guys!)
So the year has begun with lots of news and im sure there is more to come as the Alliance Jiu-jitsu team continues to compete worldwide and show that it is still amongst the top teams of grappling in the world!
On Saturday, the Ontario Grand Prix hosts it’s first competition of 2007.Visit this site to get all the info you need on the event. Alliance will be well represented, well trained and ready for action. This year there’ll only be 3 qualifiers where last year saw 4. Points are accumulated throughout the circuit based on wins and submissions in Gi and No-Gi. Top four in each division are invited to the finals in June. Reigning champions in the advanced class get automatic invites; of Alliance, Jakuraba and myself represent. Woohooo!
On Wednesday, Jeff Joslin made his UFC debut against Josh Koscheck. I must admit, it didn’t go down as I had expected. However, if there was to be a way for Koscheck to win, this was the most likely scenario. It came down to wrestling. Koscheck scored takedown after takedown, only to be stood up time and time again for passivity and lack of action. Jeff is hard to take down. Credit goes to Koscheck – his double leg was fast and powerful as hell. A well deserved win. The guy’s going to be a problem foranyone in that division. Standing, Jeff got the better of the striking and on the ground he showed an incredibly technical butterfly guard. But it didn’t prove to be enough for the judges. Both fighters were scuffed up at the final bell.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan said during the second round, “Win, lose or draw I’m really excited to see Joslin again. This kid has got some talent!”
Jeff will be back.
“Congrats to Jeff on an amazing performance last night vs. Koscheck! Great stand up and incredible ground defense. While Koscheck did win on points he scored very little damage due to the effectiveness of Jeff’s guard. There is no doubt that this fight will improve Jeff’s game. The UFC would be crazy not to have Jeff come back. Yahoo for Joslin!” -Loaf, mmaringreport.com Canada Forum @ mma.tv
“Seriously, even in a decisive defeat, the guy impressed the hell out of me. He is clearly skilled both on the feet and on the ground, and he put up a good fight despite the fact that Koscheck is a complete f—–g monster and a horrible match up for him. I hope they bring him back” -Tomato Can, The Underground Forum
“Koscheck is a very tough match up for anyone. He has also looked very good in his last few fights and Joslin made him look extremely one dimensional again. Joslin did exactly what I expected. Stopped Koscheck from doing anything other than score takedowns and basically hold him there. Joslin is going to be a very tough fight for anyone in that division. Mad props. It was great to see that performance even though it was a loss.” -RussT, The Underground Forum
“Is it just me or was this guy really impressive in his fight against kos? He has lightning fists and excellent bjj, his work off of his back was really impressive… Even with this loss I think Joslin will be a serious contender and he’s just what the [welterweight] division needs; a real strong striker with well rounded ground skills.” -Chinesebugrepel,Sherdog Forum
“Probably the very best showing in a loss that I’ve seen in a while. I have no doubt he’ll be working his sprawl non-stop as that is the only thing that stopped him from winning the fight. UFC would be foolish not to bring you back.” -UltraViolentRay,mmaringreport.com Canada Forum @ mma.tv
Well, here it is; video of my latest matches at the Canadian Open. Special thanks to Ben Kane who, not only shot the footage, is also the one who cut these clips. Thanks must go to Shayne Sholdice who provided a secondary camera angle when it was needed. See the video on Google or download the high-quality versions (big files).
Legal disclaimer: opponents of mine may not use this footage to study my attacks or risk facing litigation.
Video 1: No-Gi Quarter Finals
My opponent seemed to be very athletic and fast, difficult to hold down. And it may also account for my failed takedown attempt. Of course I’m happy with the end result. One day I hope to own people with Karelin-esque wrestling dominance. *practices suplex*
This turned out to be my hardest match of the day, and the most tiring. It is the only match that went the distance. The triangle choke was too much on his face, and not the neck. I couldn’t break his freakishly powerful grip and switch to an armbar. That, and my legs were tiring. For all the conditioning you do leading up to a competition the intensity of a match is a whole different beast. I think you have to find ways of coming as close as possible to that level of intensity. When I watch the video it doesn’t even look that intense. There were so many little, invisible battles going on – struggling for inches.
A mix of luck and opportunism. When he was going for my arm I thought, “thank god, this won’t be another long-ass match”. Benny’s choice of music is deadly cool. A few details: This was the VERY LAST match of the entire day, which is why there’s hardly anyone around in the background – just some people cleaning up! The truth is, I had a lot of supporters positioned behind the camera. It just looks funny. Over 600 competitors there, and I get the final match. Also, while we’re fighting for grips he accidentally slaps me in the face (or not so accidentally…? Hmmm…). And finally, notice after I pick up Dragan, and he lands, he does so on his injured leg. Jeez, that guy really goes through a beating for his students.
I got a bye in the quarters – which I don’t like. I like to earn my way. That, and have a chance for more cool footage! This guy felt crazy-strong. Tough to break his base. Hardest guy to sweep all day. You can’t see the finish too well in the video (only had one angle). I managed to land a reverse triangle from north-south and then lock his left arm.
About a week earlier I saw a video on youtube of Imanari demonstrating a falling/rolling kneebar and decided to try and spring it on someone. Didn’t work. Damn. I threw the whole book at this guy and he kept escaping. This is my favourite match of the day.
I was amazed to see the turnout at this years Canadian Open, spectators and competitors alike. The official number of grapplers far surpassed the numbers of last years success; over 600 I’m told by those in the know. Team Alliance hit the mats with high spirits, going strong until the final match of the day (ahem… which was mine – circa 8:30 pm – 12 hours after I had weighed in). In total Alliance left with four championship belts, over 6 silver medals, a couple bronze medals and a many respectable outings in huge divisions (30-50 men brackets). Special thanks to our coaches, Jeff Joslin and Dragan Konjevic, respectively. Couldn’t have done it without you.
