The 2025 NABJJF All Americas Jiu Jitsu Tournament took place on Saturday, February 1st in Fullerton, CA. We took a total of 8 child and 1 adult competitors. Overall, the team had a solid showing as competitors were able to display the skills and tactics that they have been dilligently working on in class. We believe that each competitor had a deeply valuable experience that will contribute to their growth as fighters and human beings. Special thanks to coaches Sam, Phil, and Papa Sison who took time out of their weekend to support our fighters.
AVERY
We were super excited for the competition debut of one of our fiercest fighters, Avery. This was her first competition. When she first arrived at the event, she was a bit overwhelmed with the environment, but when the referee said fight, Avery charged forward with ferocious intensity. Being outsized by a much bigger opponent, didn't phase her. She gave it her all but came up short. We hope to see much more of this powerful warrior on the competition mat in the months and years ahead.
JETT
This was Jett's first competition. With only about 6 months of training experience, Jett stepped up to the challenge. For many first time competitors, the biggest challenge is to simply get acquainted with the atmosphere and intensity. This was certainly the case for Jett. Nonetheless, Jett showed some very good emerging skills and great promise for the future.
MASON & THEO
Perhaps the toughest challenges were faced by Mason and Theo. Both boys fought super aggressive and hungry opponents. Theo, in the face of relentless pressure from both of his opponents, was able to maintain his composure and fight to the end. Mason encountered similar tenacity, but surprised us all by matching and in some moments exceeding his opponent's tenacity. Mason receives the Fighting Spirit Award for his display.
EVELYN
Evelyn had a tough first match losing by submission and her second match was no less easy. After the initial 3 minute regulation match, she went into an 11 minute long sudden death overtime period. She did an excellent job of controlling her partner in her guard for the entire time and then finally hitting a double ankle sweep and pass just after the 11 minute mark. In that span of time, one could see that she was exhausted and on the verge of giving up, but she did an amazing job of sticking with it and was able to capitalize at the right moment. This was definitely the Match of the Day!
The FURNARI SISTERS
The Furnari sisters were our only students to compete in both gi and no gi and both did amazing. Both girls defeated some very tough opponents along the way. Caroline entered her first competition and went on to win gold in no gi and silver in gi. It's been an amazing to see Caroline's transformation over the previous few months. Olivia in her 3rd competition wins double silver. Olivia was barely edged out of gold in the gi final by a 2 points double guard pull difference.
ANDREW
Andrew makes his third competition outing showing much improved skill and focus. His first match was against an opponent who defeated him in a previous competition. This time around, Andrew displayed good control from guard and a number of strong and disciplined passing sequences before avenging his previous loss. In his second match, he stepped up to face a yellow belt and takes a loss, earning silver overall. Andrew receives the Most Improved Performance award.
JEANNE
This was Jeanne's 2nd blue belt competition and her first gold medal at blue belt. She had a dominant showing, executing a tomoe nage sweep and following through with a disciplined passing sequence. Congrats Jeanne!
SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS...
We believe that each of the competitors walks away from this weekend with a little extra spark of desire to improve and challenge themselves even more. Let's try to rally around these individuals in the next few days with praise and encouragement.
When a student signs up for a competition, their attitude toward training transforms and suddenly they become much more focused on improving. It is said that 3 months of competition training is equal to 6 to 9 months of regular training.
The sooner one commits, the more quality time you have to prepare. Not only does the student change, but their training environment (their teammates and coaches) changes to help prepare them as well. Compare this to someone who signs up 2 to 3 weeks before the event.
Deciding to compete comes at a risk. What if something comes up? What if the student loses motivation? What if they get sick? What if they get hurt? (Injuries are actually pretty rare). When we register to compete, we are deciding to do so in spite of these risks, with a focus instead on the great potential rewards.
To get a full amount and range of competition experience for any given belt level, aim for between 4-8 competitions. Committed learners should strive to enter at least 3 to 5 competitions per year.
Competitions provide clear and immediate feedback of what the student needs to improve. For some, its simply being read to go when the referee says "fight". For others, it's developing a specific skill set. Whatever the case may be, nothing provides more clear and direct feedback to a student than the results of a match.
How to respond to a student in the moments immediately following a match. What most parents, teammates, and coaches do is the most natural and expected, they swoop in to console and make the competitor feel better by showering them with positive affirmations. They rush to find excuses and rationalizations. The response from coaches is to give the student an overwhelming barrage of corrections on what the they should have done instead. Both of these responses sabotage the huge opportunity of the moment, which is to give the student a chance to have an authentic life experience. All we need to do is these moments is to provide a couple words of reassurance and encourage them to "take a moment to recenter" themselves. (I try to point out one positive thing and then say, "Take a moment to recenter yourself, I'll be here if you need me"). For many, what emerges is an intensified sense of determination and hunger. A parent or coach who rushes in to console runs the risk of exterminating that potential spark. We must have and demonstrate faith in the human spirit to grow and overcome challenges.
Thank you to everyone who supported the team this weekend. The truest sign of a champion is that they show up to class the next day, win or lose. So I guess that means, see you on the mat soon!
Sensei Jeff
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