HUGE congrats to RONIN ATHLETICS Founder, Christian Montes, for his performance at today’s The Good Fight: Baltimore BJJ Championship!

Christian is bringing home 2 Golds (gi & no-gi divisions) and 1 Silver (gi absolute)!

In his purple belt, gi (170lbs and under) division Christian won 2 matches—armbar from mount (after a 9-0 lead) and a 2-0 points victory via “old school” sweep in the final match—for the GOLD medal!

In the gi absolute, Christian went 1-1 to grab the Silver Medal, and in his no-gi advanced division final, Christian, was up 5-0 on points, and won the Gold via DQ for getting slammed out of a triangle from his guard.

Due to a slight back injury issue from the slam, Christian was unable to compete in the no-gi absolute, but with 3 medals around his neck, we’re certain he’s still pretty psyched.

Congrats, Christian!

Congratulations to the three RONIN ATHLETICS Competition Team members who jumped into the mix at last weekend’s World Grappling Games: OTM 2010 Northeast Regional Championships in Philadelphia!

Results:

• Christian Montes: Silver Medal!
• Josh Bonacci: Silver Medal!
• Roger Dardis: Fearless!^*

Thanks to OTM for putting on a great show!

Great job, Team!

* – with no one in Roger’s advanced division, he stepped up to compete against a 6′4″, 220lbs Black Belt… twice!

Congrats to Christian Montes, for his Silver medal victory at this past Saturday’s NAGA Southwest Championship in Fort Worth Texas!

After hopping a plane from NYC to Austin and then driving three hours to Fort Worth, Christian decided to not cut weight and to instead compete in the 170 lbs division.

At the end of the weekend, Christian brought home the Silver for the Mens Masters Expert Purple Belt Middle Weight division, got stranded in Texas due to flight cancellation/NYC blizzard conditions, enjoyed some good food and made some great friends along the way.

Congrats and welcome back, Christian!

A huge congrats goes out to RONIN ATHLETICS founder/head instructor, Christian Montes, for his competition victories at this past Saturday’s US Grappling GrappleMania NC!

All of us here in NYC have been hearing for a while now just how great US Grappling tournaments are run and we’re definitely glad Christian made the last-minute decision to hop on a plane and head down to Raleigh/Durham to jump into the competition.

At the end of the day, Christian had some very tough matches and came home with Four Medals overall!

Results:

• 1st Place – Advanced No-Gi (30+) – 160–179.9 lbs division
• 1st Place – Master’s Gi Purple Belt 160–179.9 lbs division
• 2nd Place – Men’s Advanced No-Gi 160–169 lbs division
• 2nd Place – Master’s Gi Purple Belt Absolute

Many thanks to Andrew Smith and US Grappling for running such a top-notch tournament. Our entire Team is definitely looking forward to attending future ones!

Congrats, Christian!!!

Congrats to Team RONIN ATHLETICS competitor, Roger Dardis, for his recent victories at the ACOM Submission Grappling Tournament held on Saturday, Dec. 5th in Patchogue, NY.

In the Advanced < 190 lbs. division…

Roger’s first match went the distance and into overtime where he eventually secured four points for the win.

Roger’s second match was a tough battle where he found himself six points behind late into the match. Determined to get the victory, Roger threw on one of his trademarked armbars with only a few seconds remaining and finished his opponent for the GOLD!

Ready to test himself further, Roger entered a completely stacked Absolute division but was out pointed/eliminated in his first match by a very tough and seasoned brown belt competitor.

Congrats, Roger!

Angelo takes GOLD and SILVER at NAGA Florida!

Only one week since winning gold (gi) and silver (no-gi) medal victories at the NAGA: NAGC in Newark, NJ, Angelo hopped on a plane, deprived himself of food and liquids, made weight, and jumped right into the competition at the NAGA Florida on Saturday, November 21st.

Moving up to the no-gi intermediate division (because of last week’s previous wins), Angelo brought home the Silver medal for the no-gi, intermediate flyweight division, and the GOLD for the white belt, flyweight divisions!

James H. fighting The Good Fight

Congrats to James H. for throwing caution to the wind and jumping into a very tough competition at this past Saturday’s The Good Fight!

In his first blue belt match, James went the distance ending in a 0-0 tie, but because of the rule-set, the ref gave the nod to his opponent (because James pulled guard once, which TGF considers “being defensive”). Soon after, in the “consolation match,” James turned up the heat scoring a 10-0 victory, finishing his opponent with a cross collar choke for the win!

James then began his no-gi division and was up/controlling the match when things took an unexpected turn… shooting in for takedown, James caught an elbow just below his right eye… 2 hours of waiting and 17 stitches later, James was already preparing himself for the next competition!

Good work, James!

Josh B. and Chris F. Promoted to Blue Belt!

Congratulations to Josh B. and Chris F. for earning their long overdue blue belts this past Saturday! Both of these RONIN ATHLETICS athletes have proven themselves time-and-time-again as dedicated students of the art and forces on the competition mats and we’re extremely proud to see them move up the BJJ ranks!

Congrats, guys!