Okay I’m fresh off the plane from California and If I plan to remember all the goings on from our In-House Tournament now would be the time to sit down and start writing.
On Saturday, December 5th we hosted our 2nd annual Kids In-House BJJ/Grappling Tournament at Ivey League MMA.
Great times were had by all and WOW what an amazing turnout! We ended up having 85 kids take part, that’s double the number of kids we had last year.
We invited over 20 teams from all over the east coast but in the end only 4 academies stepped up to the plate and sent teams.
Those teams were:
York MMA in York Pennsylvania
Crazy 88 from both locations in Elkridge and Owens Mills Maryland
Camp Springs from Camp Springs/Temple Hills Maryland
Ivey league MMA in Annapolis
Even though only 4 teams showed up I’d like to remind everyone that these aren’t your average kids competition teams.
These are teams that are top ranked on the east coast and in the United States with kids that’ve won pretty much every major competition out there.
Shoot we had two kids competing (Elijah Dorsey and Rico Stenton) that are #1 ranked in the world right now! That’s really cool and we were honored to have them here at IL.
Results:
To be totally honest I don’t have the full results in front of me but I can tell you about a few stand out performances we had from Ivy League.
Two names come to mind, J’Elle and LA Morris. This brother and sister combo really shined on the mats, with both taking 1st in their respective divisions.
I was working on a different mat but was lucky enough to watch J’Elle hit a few nasty double leg takedowns that pretty much floored her opponents.
I’m glad I wasn’t her opponent because she keeps up a fast pace that’s enough to give most people a heart attack.
I didn’t see LA’s matches because he competed downstairs but from what I’m told it was the same story, lots of fast, explosive takedowns.
I think It’s safe to say if the Morris kids stick with it, the sky’s the limit. But you know how it goes, only time will tell.
Another kid that really impressed me was Orange Belt and Kids Team Captain Jacob “Juji” Miller. Man this kid wrestled 6 matches in the span of like 45 minutes.
I don’t care who you are or how good your skills are, that many matches in such a short time is brutal.
And these matches were anything but easy. He had tough battles against some of the nations best kids, current and past Pan Kids Champions included.
He didn’t win them all but man this kids got some serious heart. He got stuck in some nasty chokes and had to fight tooth and nail to escape.
He kept on going despite the fact that after 3 or 4 matches, he was flat out exhausted. When you see a kid with that much toughness you can’t help but be impressed.
Reviews From Parents Came Back Positive, Thanks to….
Overall it was a great tournament that was a joy to be a part of. It ran on time (mostly haha) and smooth thanks to Miss Chrissy.
All the credit really should go to Miss Chrissy Smith as she did all the planning, marketing and organizing for this event.
She worked her tail off and it showed. If this task of planning a tournament was left up to Miss Teresa or myself it wouldn’t have been nearly as smooth.
And one last thing…
Win or lose, I’m proud of all the kids who competed and gave it their all. It takes a lot of guts to get out there and compete.
I respect that and trust me when I say this, having the guts to compete, and a willingness to try even though you might not win, that’s what separates those who become great champions from those who do not.
Seeing the little guys and gals fight so hard out on the mats makes all my hard work, long hours and teaching totally worth it.
What’s next?
Next up for the kids is the NAGA PA, than t’s the big dance…Pan Kids California 2016. When do we start training for that? We already have my friend, we already have 😉
–Danny Ives
