April Newsletter
Upcoming Events:
Mock Tournament
We are hosting a FREE (in house) BJJ Mock Tournament on Saturday, April 7th for both youth and adults. The youth will compete from 9:30 am – 11:00 am and adults will compete from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm.
A mock tournament is in essence a practice tournament. It will only be open to Cellar students and will be done in a comfortable, pressure free environment. Students will sign up in a specific weight/belt/gender division and compete against other teammates. We will run this tournament with the same rules and procedures as the upcoming MNBJJF Spring Open. The purpose of this tournament is to help new competitors get better acquainted with BJJ tournament rules and get an idea of how local tournaments are run. We have done this in the past with youth students and it has been a huge success! This eliminates some of the uncertainty involved with competing for the first time.
Take a look at the divisions: https://www.mnbjjf.org/
If you have never competed before OR you want to get some of your nerves out before the MNBJJF Spring Open… we strongly recommend that you participate in this event.
*Registration is available at the gym!*
Advanced belts: If you would like to help with this tournament, please, let us know! We could use help with coordinators, refs and score keepers.
Grand Master Ajarn Chai Seminar
Grandmaster Ajarn Chai Sirisute is coming to teach a seminar in Minnesota on April 14th & 15th at the Minnesota Kali Group.
Ajarn Chai is the founder of the World Thai Boxing Association and is responsible for bringing Muay Thai to the United States. He had a total of 72 fights in Thailand before retiring from the fight game and moving to the United States in 1968.
The Cellar Gym is affiliated with the World Thai Boxing Association and follows their ranking system. Coach Chris, Coach Ben, Coach Ryan, Jen and Krista all earned their Kru under Ajarn Chai.
Fun fact: When Ajarn Chai first came to the United States, he trained the “Hells Angels” motorcycle gang. He had no idea who they were until the FBI told him. He then started training the FBI!
Register here: http://www.mnkali.com/classes/seminars
2018 MNBJJF Spring Open
The MNBJJF is back in action Saturday, April 21st, 2018 at Irondale High School in New Brighton, MN. This tournament features Gi and No-Gi divisions for Youth, Adult, and Masters. The MNBJJF has joined forces with the Midwest BJJ Federation; this event will count towards MWBJJF points and rankings!
WHO: AGES 4 AND UP! DIVISIONS FOR YOUTH, JUVENILE, ADULT, AND MASTERS!
WHAT: GI AND NO-GI DIVISIONS UTILIZING MWBJJF RULES (SAME AS IBJJF)
WHERE: IRONDALE HIGH SCHOOL | NEW BRIGHTON, MN
WHEN: SATURDAY APRIL 21ST, 2018 | COMPETITION BEGINS AT 10:00AM
WHY: TRAIN-COMPETE-REPEAT. THIS IS HOW WE GROW AS INDIVIDUALS AND ATHLETES!
HOW TO REGISTER: ALL REGISTRATIONS WILL BE PROCESSED THROUGH SMOOTHCOMP
The Cellar Gym is the 3 time undefeated champion of the “Overall Team Points” award. Let’s work together to defend this title! Registration closes on April 16th. Don’t wait! Register today!
More information: www.mnbjjf.org
To register: https://smoothcomp.com/event/428
Other Upcoming Competitions:
The Cellar Gyms Fight Team has another busy month ahead. Mark your calendars and look out for tickets to come support your teammates!
April 27th:
Legacy Fighting Alliance is returning to Minnesota on April 27th at the newly renovated Armory in Minneapolis – 500 South 6th St, Minneapolis, MN 55415. Nate Richardson is returning to the cage along with Caleb Merth making his Professional MMA debut. Joining them will be Tom Krenzel and Kenn Glenn. It should be a fantastic night of fights
April 27th – 29th:
The Muay Thai team is headed to Pheonix, Arizona to compete at the US Muay Thai Open West. Good luck team!
A Look Back At Last Month
On March 7th – 11, We had 5 BJJ competitors travel along with Professor Mauricio to compete at the 2018 IBJJF Pan Ams Tournament. Everyone did an excellent job and we are very proud of each of their performances!
Andy Young started off the group with a 12 point win in the his first match. Unfortunately, he lost his second match 0-0 via referee decision.
Rob Schmidt was the second to go and made Cellar history! Rob had 3 submissions en-route to win GOLD in the Master’s White Belt Middleweight division! Rob is the first Cellar student to ever win Gold at Pan Am’s.
Michelle Donovan is a two time medalist this weekend. First, she won SILVER in the Master’s Blue Belt Light Featherweight division! She had two quick submissions and unfortunately, lost her final’s match 0-0 via referee decision. Michelle also competed in Blue belt open class and won BRONZE! This is a huge accomplishment because open class divisions allow the top 3 competitors in each weight class to compete against each other. Michelle had to face women with up to 100 pounds on her.
Kenn Glenn competed at Pan Ams for the first time as a brown belt, but came up short in his preliminary match. Kenn is a leader and an inspiration; both on and off the mat. We have have the utmost respect and pride for him in testing himself against the best in the sport. We look forward to seeing where this experience catapults him in his jiu jitsu journey!
Lemmy Sturua competed as a Black Belt at Pan Ams for the first time. He did a fantastic job and won his first match 5-0! He lost his second match by a very questionable toe hold.
Congratulations team!
What Is New In Youth Martial Arts?
The Youth Martial Arts program is continuing to grow like crazy! The kids are learning so much and look better everyday.
In Youth BJJ, the kids are getting ready to compete at the upcoming Mock tournament and the MNBJJF Spring Open. They are working hard and looking very sharp! We are excited to see how they do!
In Youth Muay Thai, we recently had a rank promotion. The first group of orange ranks were awarded to our 6-9 age group. Starting in April, we will be requiring all students to wear shin guards in class. This is to help protect their shins when working on the bag and doing drills with their partners. We will also begin separating the class by rank for a portion of each class. The higher ranks will begin working on light sparring drills and learning more advanced technique. We are excited to see this program progress!
Youth Martial Arts Open House
Invite your friends and family to check out our Youth Martial Arts Open House this spring! It is extremely important that we teach our children how to keep themselves safe. At this open house, we will discuss how our youth programs can teach safety awareness, bully prevention strategies and self-defense techniques.
Kids will get a chance to try out a FREE class (or two) and parents can get more information about our Martial Arts classes, summer camps and after-school program. We will also have free refreshments, games and more!
This event is for ages 3.5-15 years old.
When: Saturday, May 5th
Where: The Cellar Gym
Schedule:
9:30 am Ages 3-5 BJJ
10:00 am Ages 6-9 BJJ
10:30 am Ages 10-14 BJJ
11:00 am Ages 3-5 Muay Thai
11:30 am Ages 6-9 Muay Thai
12:00 pm ages 10-14
Striking Training Tip
In the spirit of the upcoming Ajarn Chai Seminar, check out a training tip to help you with your stance and movement!
[video_youtube video_id=”0o2s3zBJVxY”]
Jiu Jitsu Training Tip
Here is a tip on keeping control while in side control from Keenan Cornelius. Keenan Cornelius is a BJJ Black Belt from the Atos Jiu Jitsu team. He won 4 Gold medals in a row (the Grand Slam of BJJ) as a brown belt and has been very successful ever since. He claims that this is the secret trick to leave your opponent no chance of escape!
[video_youtube video_id=”D9TghApIj0M”]
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