Under 66kg division

We have a newcomer from Russia, Gairbek Ibragimov, who gained recognition for his victory over Fabricio Andre in the AIGE grappling promotion.

77kg Division

The ADCC 77kg division was filled with top-tier competitors like Oliver Taza, Davis Assari, Tarik Hopstock, and Natan Sap. However, it was Tommy Langaker, an ADCC Veteran from Norway, who emerged as the winner after securing 4 submissions in 6 matches. Langaker’s improved performance this year on the mats suggests that he could be a real threat in the ADCC 77kg division.

88kg Division

In first place, Taylor Pearman from England won all six of his matches, six of which were won by leg locks. Pearman had an outstanding performance throughout the tournament, which included a submission against the favorite Adam Wardzinski in the semi-final round.

+99kg Division

The champion here came out to be the Scottish BJJ brown belt and world champion in powerlifting Mark Macquen.

Womens Divisions

At under 55 kilos, Margot Ciccarelli from Italy showcased her improved No-Gi skills with a dominant performance, defeating ADCC veteran Julia Maele in the Semi-Finals.

Aurélie Le Vern, weighing below 65 kilos, became the first person to represent French Guiana at the World Championships. This was just three weeks after she won gold at the IBJJF European Championships.

At the trials, Nia Blackman from the UK won gold in the over 65 kilos category. She is a brown belt but already one of Europe’s rising stars.

The confirmed invitees for the ADCC 2024 World Championship

66kg Division:

Diogo Reis(Brazil), Owen Jones(England), Dorian Olivarez(USA), Ethan Thomas(Australia) and Gairbek Ibragimov(Russia)

77kg Division:

Kade Ruotolo(USA), Jozef Chen(South Africa), Elijah Dorsey(USA), Kenta Iwamoto(Japan) and Tommy Langaker(Norway)

88kg Division:

Giancarlo Bodoni(USA), Santeri Lilius(Finland), Jacob Couch(USA), Izaak Michelle(Australia) and Taylor Pearman(England)

99kg Division:

Kaynan Duarte(Brazil), Luke Griffith(South Africa), Paul Ardilla(USA), Declan Moody(Australia) and Marcin Maciulewicz(Poland)

+99kg Division:

Gordon Ryan(USA), Heikki Jussila, Dan Manasoiu(USA), Josh Saunders(Australia) and Mark Macqueen(Scotland)

Absolute:

Yuri Simões(Brazil)

Female Athletes:

Ffion Davies(Wales) under 60kg, Amy Campo(USA) over 60kg, Margot Ciccarelli(Italy) for 55kg, Aurélie Le Vern(French Guiana) for below 65kg and Nia Blackman(UK) over 65kg.

Except for athletes, it is worth mentioning the name Dima Murovanni, BJJ coach of 4 ADDC 2024 trial medalists:Margot Ciccarelli, Marcin Maciulewicz, Taylor Pearman and Jozef Chen.

The post The current ADCC 2024 Line-up! Contenders and Invitees Post European Trials. appeared first on BJJ World.

Craig said that Volkanovski has been training very hard and is highly motivated to prove his dominance in the division. Craig was impressed by how hard Volkanovski trains, especially compared to himself as a jiu-jitsu athlete. This time, Volkanovski has taken it up a notch again, leaving Craig even more surprised.

Craig acknowledged that Illia is a talented fighter who hasn’t yet faced the top fighters in his division. Therefore, it is difficult to gauge how good he could potentially be based solely on the caliber of opponents he has faced so far.

Regarding Craig’s expert MMA opinion, for his final prediction, Craig thinks Volkanovski will finish Topuria by flying triangle in the first round. He says he pushes Volkanovski every fight for it although he knows his legacy is on the line but says to him, “just think about my instructional sales”.

Unfortunately, Volkanovski did not listen to Craig and ended up losing his belt as Illia knocked him out before he could attempt a flying armbar. But at least you can learn a lesson, listen to Uncle Craig.

Craig In Kazakhstan

Craig has two upcoming events: his Karate combat debut against Phil Rowe in Mexico City on February 23rd and a UFC fight pass invitational match against Rafael Lovato on March 3rd. To prepare and focus for these events, Craig went to the mountains of Kazakhstan. He has close friends there because of the ADCC trials held there in the past, but he went there mainly for the adventure as Craig admits that he wants to do the bare minimum and enjoy his bonuses as much as he can. He received the contract for the Lovato bout while he was in the mountains, but he didn’t even read the rules or the weight division he was fighting in. While in Kazakhstan, Craig delved deep into Kazakhstani culture during a photoshoot. He said he is working on filming a travel series for martial arts, filming “wild stuff,” and that Kazakhstan is definitely on the map.

The post Craig Jones on The MMA Hour: Talks UFC 298, Kazakhstan & Karate Combat appeared first on BJJ World.

Nanjing was the first place he encountered martial arts, starting Muay Thai at 13.

He started jiu-jitsu at 15 years of age under the coaching of Guillaume Leclerc, saying “This was the first time I wanted to get good at something” as he had very little motivation with school success.

Jozef explains that he fell in love with jiu-jitsu because of the way it was presented to him. He differentiates it from other things presented to him, such as school, by stating that it was his decision and his alone to train in jiu-jitsu. This fact of not being forced to do it allowed him to enjoy the sport.

Jozef’s Development

It’s known that Guillaume Leclerc remained Chen’s main instructor from the kids’ belts to the purple belt rank—the moment when Jozef started adventuring in the international competition scene.

During COVID-19, Jozef’s Jiu Jitsu journey underwent a transformation. He was presented with an opportunity to focus more on Jiu Jitsu as he didn’t have any school obligations. He was fully immersed in the sport, except for the time he spent watching instructional videos. Jozef deliberately learned and searched for information from BJJ materials such as “BJJ Mental Models,” “BJJ Fanatics podcast,” and “Grappling rewind.” These resources gave him insight into many Jiu-Jitsu athletes and powerful motivation to progress.

Jozef has been learning jiu-jitsu under the guidance of his instructor Guillaume, who has been trained by Rob Bernacki. According to Jozef, Guillaume’s teachings have been immensely helpful in clarifying many conceptual ideas related to jiu-jitsu, such as base, frames, and levers. Now, Jozef has a better understanding of these concepts and is able to apply them effectively. For instance, it has helped Jozef conceptualize that base refers to the platform from which he generates and absorbs force.

Guillaume also advised Jozef to seek out information by himself, so that he’s in a position to learn more without being dependent on him, then to test the research with his partners and coach.

Jozef’s Jiu-Jitsu concepts in training

One of the first concepts Jozef learned is the “Ecological learning process”, which is the process that involves creating an environment that highlights specific skills. In a particular context, certain reactions are required to achieve a specific goal, which leads to the development of good habits and skills when interacting with a partner. Basically, having a desired outcome, such as maintaining defense or pressuring more, helps you design a game around it.

Training and Learning with the use of games

The first game principle that was taught for training Jozef is called “Crazy Turtle”. In this position, the person on the bottom starts in a side pin position, but without the chest to chest contact. The person on the bottom then tries to turtle, creating a situation where the person on top has to keep the person from “re-guarding” while being pinned, without using his chest.

According to Jozef, when the top person in a grappling situation is handicapped, they are forced to think more critically about the mechanics involved, such as frames, levers, and wedges, rather than relying purely on their physical strength. As the top player gains more experience in this situation, they become more adept at analyzing why their opponent is able to turtle up and what they can do to counter it.

Jozef suggests that everyone should incorporate this type of training in their routine. If you have an idea of what you want someone to do, you can design your game accordingly. Jozef implemented this approach in the context of ADCC by having someone start in Guard and their goal being to stand up while the other person tries to hold them down. According to Jozef, this approach forces people to think more about a given problem rather than just engaging in open round sparring.

Tracking your progress

Jozef has a unique way of learning. He journals everything he learns in class and then processes it to come up with his own thoughts and conclusions. He believes that relying solely on instruction doesn’t give him the “first-hand” experience that sticks to his mind. Similarly, he doesn’t write down anything from watching instructionals unless he has personally experienced it. To make the most of the instructional videos, he records the parts he wants to review and tries to apply them in his training. If he finds anything of value, he writes it down for future reference.

If you’re interested in progressing like Jozef, apply concepts and games to your sessions, and make sure you train with intent, check him out at https://bjjfanatics.com/products/engaging-without-regrets-by-jozef-chen

The post How Does Jozef Chen Train Jiu Jitsu? Jozef’s Beginnings, Training Concepts & Philosophies appeared first on BJJ World.