September 2008 - News ArchivesRENZO GRACIE DOCUMENTARY ANNOUNCED! The festival will debut the Mixed Martial Arts documentary “Renzo Gracie: Legacy,” the life story of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu master and the American patriarch of one of the world’s fastest rising sports, as well as “Kassim The Dream,” the story of Ugandan-born boxing world champion Kassim Ouma, a kidnapped child soldier and his struggles to break free and regain his life as a professional athlete, will lead the fight films track for the festival. “Philadelphia is a city whose fans and teams are always battling for recognition, and we felt that the city that gave us ‘Rocky’ and Smokin’ Joe Frazier would really take to a track of new films on MMA and boxing. These two are certainly amongst the most compelling,” said festival founder and president Stephan Hartman. “Given MMA’s rising popularity worldwide and its recent approval for competition in the state of Pennsylvania, the debut of the life story of such a living legend as Renzo Gracie was a perfect fit. We also think the story of Kassim Ouma, both as an athlete and a person, is one that fans will really be blown away by. It is our pleasure to lead our first series of festival announcements with these two amazing life stories of two incredible fighters.” Each film will include a series of events involving the stars and makers of the films, who will be on hand to discuss all the elements that went into making these landmarks. Already, nearly 100 films have been submitted for review ranging from the traditional sports to Mixed Martial Arts, Extreme Endurance Racing and even Pin Trading. The remaining list of 10 films, many to be seen on a big screen for the first time, will be released in the coming weeks. Additionally, the first 10 films also include a series of classic films by director Mark Ciardi, including “Invincible,” “Miracle,” and “The Rookie.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kQedvwqI7Y
Also click here to see another fantastic Renzo Gracie video, which was largely filmed at our old Academy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdK8rvESWJw
Prof. Almeida couldn't be more proud of his father, and the great news came to us just in time to close an amazing week of many achievements.
Congratulations to an AMAZING father and a HUGE influence all over the world regarding raising awareness toward such important subject! Your kids and grandkids will benefit from his efforts more than you can think of.
While 2 hours to get from Hamilton to Manhattan would normally be difficult, the thought about battling rush-hour traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike at 4:00 PM on a Friday afternoon wouldn't keep him from being there for his mentor and best friend. Looking at his always present and loyal student Tom DeBlass (who happened to have spent Friday afternoon at his house planning his training schedule with his teacher), Ricardo grinned: "Mestre Renzo is the only man alive that can get me out of my house on a Friday night, and on such short notice . . . are you coming?" Always eager to see what surprises Renzo might have up his sleeve, Tom laughed and replied, "I'm not missing out on that, I can't wait! This should be good!" As Ricardo, his wife and Tom drove closer to Manhattan, a familiar sight greeted them: a long line of cars stretching from the Holland Tunnel, extending for miles. Worried that he would leave Renzo waiting for him at the Academy, Ricardo called to let him know he was running late. Instead, Renzo responded with, "don't worry my brother, traffic will be lighter after that bridge – I'm right behind you!" It turns out that Mestre Renzo was actually running late as well. Even with 15 years of life in the United States, Renzo still sets his watch to "brazilian time" – but somehow, he always makes it in the end!
After finally arriving at the Academy, and greeting long time friends and Renzo Gracie's students, he made his way to his favorite corner on the mats, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to get some great training in under Renzo's watchful eye. As the class ends, Renzo in that same great mood he's always in, steps on the mats and starts to speak. The packed house knows that something special is about to happen, and begin to gather on the mats.
After telling some heart-warming stories of when Prof. Almeida first lived with Mestre Renzo and his family upon first arriving in the U.S. in 1997, Renzo continues: "A long time ago we were in Japan for a huge event (Pride FC) and one of the fighters got hurt. They needed a last minute replacement and Ricardo said he would like to give it a try. I asked him 'are you sure you want to do this?' Ricardo told me, 'if you tell me I'm ready, I'm all over it.'"
His voice swelling with pride, Renzo continued: "I knew he could do it, so he had my blessing. Guys, it was Ricardo's 1st professional fight and the opponent was a very tough Japanese fighter, who I had fought around that time and it went to a draw. His name is Akira Shoji." The students listen on intently -- after all, who wouldn't want to gather around Renzo Gracie and hear one of his tales? And as Renzo announced, "Ricardo went out there on a couple of days notice and beat the hell out of that guy!" applause and cheers washed over the Academy. "Another great memory I have also happened in Japan in the Pancrase event. Ricardo fought a real tough guy for the championship, a guy named Nathan Marquardt. Ricardo submitted him with our signature submission, the guillotine with the arm in. I clearly remember looking at him from his corner and screaming 'Cachorrao, go for it! Just go!'. He looked at me with that look 'do you really think I should' and I screamed even louder 'just do it, go!' He went for it and the rest is history."
Lost in the good memories, Renzo finally gets to his surprise: "Well guys, I'm sure most of you have seen the Pancrase Belt, but the fighters don't get to keep the belt! It's worth a LOT of money because it's made of pure platinum and there's a huge diamond right in the center. In fact, so many security guards were around us while Ricardo had the championship belt, I was almost suffocating! After the fight, we were walking around taking pictures with fans and having a blast, but in my mind, I was already looking for an exit sign or something so we could take off with that belt!"
As he paced the hallowed blue mats, Renzo wondered aloud, "Guys, how can they give you something you've worked so hard to get and take it away from you that same night? I knew Ricardo wasn't thrilled about that, even though he didn't mention anything. So after much dedication to this project, I was able to get my student a surprise."
In fact, the belt was better than the real thing – to receive the belt directly from Mestre Renzo was a perfect way to receive the belt, and the look on Ricardo's face was priceless as his teacher put that belt around his waist. The attendees happily started applauding, cheering, hitting the mats with their hands, and an overwhelming noise washed over all in the room.
In fact, this was a lesson Ricardo Almeida had learned from Renzo – who knew how to fulfill an unspoken wish of one of his many students, even five years later! Thank you, Mestre Renzo. There's no way to repay all of your contributions to the sport and to people's lives. You are a true legend, a flawless mentor and a true gentleman.
Coach Haz Ibrahim's Brusnwick BJJ Academy Grand Opening!
Our coaches are unstoppable! The latest addition to RABJJ Association, Brunswick BJJ, is now at a new location. Under the ownership and head instruction of our dear Coach Haz Ibrahim, a Brown Belt under Prof. Ricardo Almeida, and tons of help from his lovely fiancee Stephanie, BBJJ has is now at a great new location and students will be accommodated in a brand new facility. There's nothing like the smell of brand new mats and fresh painting, and we were there to support Coach Haz's newest accomplishment. The Grand Opening was fantastic, with BBJJ students in attendance as well as some of RABJJ's students and longtime friends of Coach Haz. It is a day to be remembered, and we wish Coach Haz and his beautiful bride-to-be Steph all of the success in the world, which will be inevitable for them! For information about Brunswick BJJ's location, schedule and hours, please visit:
Here are some pictures of the Grand Opening, and huge congratulations from the whole RABJJ Family! Best of luck, Coach Haz!
Blue Belts Promotions of the Month!
Congratulations to all of the RABJJ Association students who got promoted this Saturday! RABJJ Headquarters students, SJBJJ students (Prof. Bongiorno) and OCBJJ students (Coach Tom DeBlass) were promoted by their respective intructors under the watchful eye of Prof. Ricardo Almeida at the Hamilton Academy. Prof. is tremendously proud of his unbelievable students who now have become unbelievable teachers! Congratulations to the following Blue Belt warriors:
John Fitzgibbon (RABJJ) Kent Porter (RABJJ) Pete Conboy (RABJJ) Anthony Hollo (RABJJ) James Ball (RABJJ) David Moraski (RABJJ) Mike Savino (RABJJ) Lou Gonzales (SJBJJ) Jeff Samalonis (SJBJJ) James Doleberry (SJBJJ) Kim Mako (OCBJJ) Thanks Prof. Bongiorno and Coach Tom for the pictures. Enjoy!
Our special guests will be announced soon! It will be unbelievable!
These will be the promotions, and we couldn't be more excited for the following dedicated students.
Black Belts:
Yes, that will total 17 Ricardo Almeida BJJ Black Belts, all equally skilled
Date: Saturday, November 22nd 2008 Important: Ladies and gentlemen, get your cardio in check, as we'll post later this week As you can imagine, it will be a fantastic ceremony! Make sure you register to attend, space is limited and we want to make sure every RABJJ Associated School has room for their students to attend as well.
Enjoy a few pictures from previous BB ceremonies.
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