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!

For the past two months, RONIN ATHLETICS has been on fire with exciting news, competition victories, special guest visits, much deserved promotions, and (as always) incredible and functional training!

So, in no particular order…

COMPETITION:

A proud shout-out goes to the RONIN ATHLETICS competitors who made the trek down to the NAGA Battle at the Beach 10 in Wildwood, NJ on Aug. 01.

Results:

• Angelo Vicari - GOLD, Mens Gi Masters White Belt Feather Weight
• Justin Choi – Bronze, Mens No-Gi Beginner Lightweight

So, congrats to all the competitors and supporters who went down and put it all on the line. Great job, guys!

SPECIAL GUESTS:

August brought two incredible friends/competitors/instructors to our mats and the energy was off the hook!

Ryan Hall:

On Thursday, Aug 13th, our long-time friend and grappling phenom, RYAN HALL, dropped in for an exciting night of training and coaching!

Ryan wasted no time getting onto the mats to work with our students in both the no-gi Fundamentals class and the BJJ gi class, dropping choice bits of knowledge and devastating beatings! :)

It’s always a great thing when old friends drop in and this time was no different!

Many thanks, Ryan!

Dave Ginsberg:

Two nights later, on Saturday, Aug 15th, our good friend and one of RONIN ATHLETICS’ BJJ black belt mentors, DAVE GINSBERG, made the trek down from Boston to work with a group of our students and the experience was outstanding!

Dave’s workshops are always something that every serious grappler should experience and this time Dave tailored the night around working and rolling with each individual student, paying special attention to individual progress, needs, games, and strategies.

After crushing the life out of everyone back-to-back (a feeling that we can’t even begin to describe in words…seriously!), Dave, closed the FOUR HOUR workshop with some much deserved promotions, words of encouragement, and wisdom.

Many thanks to Dave for the incredible visit!

PROMOTIONS:

The gym saw a number of promotions these past two months and each person who moved up in the ranks should feel extremely proud and confident of their new color!

So in no particular order… huge congrats go out to:

• Derek Hill – Purple Belt
• Mike Medel – Purple Belt
• Manny Villafane – Purple Belt
• Matt Weber – Purple Belt
• Tom Apgar – Blue Belt
• Dan Dillon – Blue Belt
• Fabio Tellez – Blue Belt
• Oz – Blue Belt
• Carlo – 3-stripe Purple
• Erik – 4-stripe Purple

Congrats to everyone! Pics coming soon!

We’re very happy to announce our enthusiastic congratulations to Team RONIN ATHLETICS competitor, Liz Milizio, on her recent promotion to BLUE BELT!

Liz began her combat sports training at Ronin Athletics and in just a short time has proven herself a fierce competitor with incredible dedication and technical understanding of the game., We are definitely proud to have her make history as Ronin Athletics’ first female blue belt!

This promotion is also extra exciting as it rides on the coat tails of her recent GOLD medal at the 2009 GQ Copa Atlantica, where Liz defeated all her opponents without a single point being scored against her and for her dominating submission victory (Americana from the mount) to take 1st!

Expect great things from Liz in future BLUE BELT competition!

Congrats, Liz!

Huge congratulations are in order for Sensen Lin on his promotion to BLUE belt and Zak Koonce on his promotion to PURPLE belt!

These two “home-grown” athletes began their BJJ careers at RONIN ATHLETICS and their hard work has definitely paid off!

Both Zak and Sen were awarded their new ranks on Sunday afternoon by our good friend and one of our black belt mentors, Dave Ginsberg with an emphatic nod and a, “yes!” from RONIN ATHLETICS Head Instructor, Christian Montes.

Congrats Zak and Sen!

Huge congrats to Francis Dimayuga on his recent promotion to BLUE belt!

Francis has dedicated a huge amount of mat-time at RONIN ATHLETICS developing his skills and has committed himself to building an extremely technical jiu-jitsu game.

Congrats, Francis!

Huge congrats to Sidney Negron, Jon Maresco, and Matt Weber on their recent promotion to the rank of blue belt!

All three athletes have dedicated a lot of time developing solid skills and have been committed to testing themselves in competitions throughout the area with some seriously impressive results!

Stay tuned for more information and photos.

Congrats guys!