Abu Dhabi World Pro Results/Recap/Analysis & Stop Saying BJJ needs Qualifying Events

It was a busy weekend in professional combat sports.
What with Bellator, UFC, and the World Pro in Abu Dhabi.
I missed the stream b/c I was competing in a Judo Tournament.
I did well, I won more matches than anyone else that day and beat some guys much heavier than myself. 

For some recap/analysis of the World Pro click HERE at Bloodyelbow.com
For some recap/analysis of the World Pro click HERE at UAEJJ.com

As I suspected, Roberto Satoshi pulled it out over JT and others and Claudio Calasans continued his dominance in his division. Satoshi cemented his skills against top fligth competition when he beat Langhi and Torres at the Euro 2012 and followed that up with his World Pro win.
Isaque Paiva showed that his triangle over Bruno Frazatto while not necessarily a fluke, wasn't necessarily his ascension to the pinnacle of the divisions. His loss to Caio at the Pans and his 3rd place showing at the World Pro means the GB black belt has some fine tuning to do against the tougher guys in his weight class.

Something else I'm beginning to see get repeated is that Sport BJJ is "too open" with too many guys in divisions.
There were 100 people in my division at the Pan Ams.
That equals roughly 7 matches to gold.
I think you should have to win 7 matches to call yourself the Pan American Champion.

There were other divisions with 4 competitors. Win 2 matches and call yourself a Pan Am Champion.
*****, please.
I don't think BJJ has reached a tipping point of "too many " competitors and here's why:

Few guys show up for the Pans that are not relatively serious competitors. I have friends who live in Southern California. They live 30 min's from the venue for the Pan Ams. Even they don't "just show up" to do the Pans.

BJJ is not a sport wherein guys award themselves belts then go compete at the highest levels of the sport.
Just like in Judo, due to the nature of competition and likelihood of injury the higher up you go....recreational players don't "just show up" for the Liberty Bell or Senior Nationals.

BJJ players look (from the outside) at Judo's system of qualifying and think it will help.
All the system has done is make it nearly impossible for poor(er) athletes to compete or qualify for international level tournaments. Even if I had airfare for Europe and other big Grand Prix tournaments, I cannot compete b/c I would need to qualify by winning a number of domestic tournaments. Those tournaments are dominated by players from Jimmy Pedro, Burris, and the Olympic Training Center (and San Jose State University).

All that money you see going into USAJudo and their ads saying if you buy XYZ type Gi or register your usajudo membership and you're helping "support Olympic hopefuls", well to hear Ronda Rousey say it, that's a bunch of bull****.

The other notable/famous people who might say something, ala Pedro, Burris, others, they all stay quiet b/c they're entrenched in that whole political/bureaucratic system of USAJudo. They're busy flying first class to coach Team USA and the 1-3 people in a divisions that get some money or hoping to land coaching gigs for Team USA. 
Now the IJF (another governing body of Judo) requires athletes to stay in certain hotels (more expensive than necessary) or athletes must pay a penalty for finding cheaper accommodations.


The less bureaucracy we have in BJJ, the better.
Let the Pans, Mundials, and others continue as they are. The World Pro, already only had basically a handful of guys at the top levels come from an outside/outlying gym.The Pro Trials are a great step in the right direction of making the sport more professional and having an added bonus to spice up the competition, which based on only 3 years of the World Pro's existence, it has definitely been successful in that regard.

Happy Traningz!

Profit Vs Non-Profit (BJJ & Judo): A Case Study - Part 1

(We're going to have to do more than the above, guys)

Part 1 of a Treatise:

Any time I've discussed this topic on forums, that is the unintended effect of Judo's mainly non-profit outlook, it has often been met with strong reactions.Understandably so, but this is important if we are to respect and follow through with Kano's goal of spreading Judo far and wide.

I'm going to put forth a simple thesis or position supported with my observations.
In a nutshell, the non-profit, "teaching and doing of Judo because you love it type" of mentality has hurt the long term enrollement, membership, and growth of Judo.
I find that often due Jiu-Jitsu and by extension MMA's newfound popularity in the American Martial Arts consciousness,the conservative, more traditonal Judo players would rather voice displeasure over sporting and martial differences instead of addressing the real problem: the long term stifling and perhaps even decrease in Judo's popularity in America.

Thesis:
The Non-Profit mentality of Judo (in the USA in particular), has hurt (more specifically) stifled the long term, overall growth of Judo. Further, the import of Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA when combined with Judo's non-profit mentality has led to a decline in the membership, competition, and growth of Judo.
--

I will define decline in:
Membership as losing players to Jiu-Jitsu
Competition as the loss of players between their beginning in regional tournaments and later competing in national level events
Growth of Judo as the difficulty in finding clubs in many areas of the USA and lack of high level training centers in most states

--
1) define the non-profit mentality
Judo taught by instructors who collect enough dues to cover the cost of a lease, or more typically utilize a YMCA, college campus gym, or are part of an umbrella program at a larger martial arts program.
Instructors typically teach for free or train/crosstrain in fitness/other martial art in exchange for teaching time on the mat. This includes but is not limited to monthly dues/fees Judoka set by the YMCA, the college campus, and/ore by the larger martial arts facility where they train.

Let's examine some of the signs or pathos that lead me to the belief that Judo at the regional and USA level is hurting:

1) the dwindling of enrollment as players progress in Judo. The number of black belts who compete at the regional level is low. at best, there is another black belt in my weight class or in the grouping of "light" competitors at the regional level. There are nights when our club (while still new) has 3 players who are not brown belt or above. Retention has been and will always be difficult in Judo due to the nature of the sport.

2) this dwindling of enrollment trickles down to tournaments – divisions are typically light, medium, heavy. If done by weight, perhaps 1-2, maybe 4 guys in a division/bracket as has been my experience ever since I began competing in Judo. I've been to state championships where a true weight class as defined by the Olympic committee has only 1 competitor, or at best 2 or 3. Even when combining multiple weight classes, tournament organizers will still then bracket double elimination, rather than round which would lead to the most matches possible for a bracket of competitors.
Longterm, for those that begin in Judo and wish to compete, the future competition does not look promising. Lack of advertising, t-shirts, merchandise. Never seen a vendor at a judo tournament at the regional level.  

4) This is also true of sponsorship. NoGi, submission grapplers and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors can often find sponsorship beginning at perhaps even the blue belt level.
Judo’s wish to eschew association with fighting and emphasis as an Olympic sport rather than self-defense, a martial art, and a combat sport has done little to foster sponsorship for the athletes paying to train, diet, obtain strength and conditioning, and most importantly travel to compete at larger national level tournaments.

- Even BJJ, a relatively new sport in America when compared with Judo, there are tyically at least 1-2 sponsors paying for the operating cost of the event, and vendors likewise catering to the body of competitors, coaches, friends, and family in attendance. Judo is and HAS BEEN an Olympic sport for decades. Yet, BJJ is often more recognizable to many people walking down the streeet, misconceptions aside.

5) This year was the first time I saw USA Judo with their email “validating” or acknowledging through mass communication in an active manner clubs and tournaments forthcoming. In the past, USA Judo simply posted tournaments on their website.
Historically, there has felt to be little if any connection between regional tournaments and their governing body to whom we pay our membership dues, pay for making our ranks official and the like.
The transition of judoka like Parisiyan, Rousey, and Rick Hawn is also affirmation of this.