Jeff Blachly Wins & Some Brazilian JuJitsu Belt Promotions

We’ve got a good amount of news for this time of the year here at Ivey League Mixed Martial Arts.

Between MMA events and belt promotions we do seem to keep busy. Read on for all the latest news and goings on here in Annapolis.

First up, big congrats go out to our heavyweight fighter Jeff Blachly! Jeff won his debut fight at an event called “Strike Off”, which took place on February 28th in Annandale Virginia.

The fight was nothing shy of an absolute war and by the third round it was crunch time for Jeff. Thankfully, he did a ton of strength and conditioning work with Coach Dave Miller.

Because of these sessions, Jeff was in amazing shape. Being in shape made all the difference as he was able to out-last his opponent and ended up scoring a TKO with only 40 seconds left in the fight!

Jeff now stands at 1-0 in his pro MMA career. He ended up signing a 3 fight contract with strike off and will be fighting again in June 2015. Keep an eye out for that.

New Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Belt Rankings

In the last few weeks we saw two students move up in rank, one to Purple belt and the other to Gray belt.

Longtime student and kick-butt person Drew Lubienski received his BJJ Purple Belt from Danny Ives on February 26th.

Drew’s been training with Danny and Ivy League on and off for over 7+ years. He never misses a class and can be seen taking notes on the sidelines using a dry erase board.

Oh and most people don’t know this but Drew is the oldest student here at Ivey League at the ripe age of 54!

And let us be clear: even at 54 years old, Drew gets in there and goes toe to toe with guys in their prime and more often then not, wins or does pretty darn well.

So if you’re seating there thinking you’re too old to take martial arts classes think again. Drew is living proof that age is nothing more then a number.

Also moving up in BJJ Rank was youth student and part time warrior Austin “Ghost” Hartman.

Ghost, as we call him, has been outstanding, both on the mats and in high level grappling competitions.

In his short time training with us he’s one almost every major east coast tournament including the NAGA.

Not only that, but more important is his attitude. This kid works super hard, never makes excuses, is always helpful to new students and on top of that, he always rocks a big smile!

*Side-Note. Miss Chrissy Smith deserves a lot of credit for Ghost’s rapid progress. She works with him in the classes and through private one on one lessons.

There’s no doubt that those private lessons have paid off in spades. Great work Miss Chrissy! We’re delighted to see Ghost move up in rank.

Moving forward into the spring…

As for the future don’t worry we’ve got stuff going on. On March 21st we’ll be hosting two separate seminars, one for adults and the other for kids.

Oh and this upcoming Friday night we’ve got the night of the ninja youth sleep over! That event sadly is 100% sold out!

Sorry parents but do keep an ear to the streets because we’ll be holding another sleep over soon enough.