Submission Series Planned for Feb 21
For those that have been taking part in the Local Edmonton and Calgary Tournaments, we are moving the next one to Feb 21.
There is another event planned on the 28th that couldn’t be moved. Sorry for any confusion but we look forward to seeing you next month in Edmonton or Calgary.
Some people asked:
Can beginners compete? Absolutely, we have divisions for beginners
If I missed past events can I still compete? Yes, it only affects those trying to rank in their division.
If you have a question please ask here and I’lll add it to the page.
Good luck in training.
Getting Rid of Competition Nerves Part 2
At my school we give the belts qualities. The White Belt Quality is Courage. The courage to try new things is always a challenge. Most people might think it’s more important for children to try new things, but it’s super important for adults too. We are all too comfortable to sit and relive our lives. We are still young… it’s a great time to start new things.
5. Set Mini Goals – Your first tournament can be a whirlwind of action. By focusing on mini victories you can build them into a giant victory. Can you defend a takedown, Guard pass, keep your base and not get swept and defend a submission attempt? Can you start to pass, control a position, stay on top, isolate an arm or start a submission? When in doubt follow this guide. Get on Top, Stay on Top, get past the legs. If you can do this you will likely be racking up points and be in position to submit.
1. You are never as good Competing as you are training – Most people are disappointed when they compete that they didn’t do the things they do when they are rolling at the club or they did things they normally wouldn’t do during training. The stress of competition changes you… this is why it is so important. BJJ is for Self Defense, and even if you are not worried about being in a situation to defend yourself, it teaches you how to deal with stress, which is something most of us deal with on a daily basis.
Getting Rid of Competition Nerves Part 1
With the next installment of The Submission Series coming up in a week and a half, it is natural for those new to BJJ competition, or those that have a specific goal in mind, to be nervous about the event. It is not uncommon for my students to get so nervous that they back out of the competition altogether, robbing themselves of a great opportunity for growth.
Through my years of competing I have had to deal with this alot, as a competitor, coach and now a parent of a student. The nerves are by far the worst part. I am going to give you 10 ways to conquer you nerves to keep you engaged in your match instead of freezing up.
10. Build a Gameplan – This has always been one of my favorites. I enjoy making lists of moves I know and how they connect together. It gives my confidence in my abilities planning out my movements and my opponents reactions. I also enjoy reading Sun Tzu the Art of War as it has several guidelines to build strategies that are extremely valueable.
9. Be Prepared – When you are at the gym, review your gameplan, drill your best moves under resistance and drill your weaknesses with less resistance until you feel comfortable. Cardio is also a very often ignored part of training. When you are nervous you are more tense and burn more energy. Don’t ignore this area.
8. Start Small – This is the reason I really like The Submission Series. It is a small event in my school, there isn’t a massive amount of people (like at the Mind Body Soul) and it’s less confusing. Plus the atmosphere is a very Grass roots vibe, everyone is very supportive. For many people, kids especially, this is the place to start. Build up some confidence on the small stage and work up to the bigger local event and then the larger events you would travel to.
7. Great Practice for Bigger Events – For those that have a ton of tournament experience, these small ones are where you get to introduce new moves your are trying to implement into your game. Got a new pass, sweep or sub you have been playing with at the club? Well lets test it at the smaller competition b=so you can clean it up for the bigger ones. I had one of my students work on a half guard sweep in a small competition. He did the move and average of 4 times per match… great practice and confidence building.
6. The More You Compete the Better it Gets – The first time is always the hardest. We remember many of our firsts, some are more fond than others but we often have to think hard about our 2nd day of school, our 2nd time we slept over at a friends house, our 2nd girl/boyfriend etc. Tournaments are very much the same, the more we do it the more enjoyable it becomes. Be committed to not compete just once, but to give it a fair try.
Stay tuned for the next 5 ways to help prepare yourself for the upcoming event. The next Submissions Series is scheduled for Nov 22 in both Edmonton and Calgary. There are divisions for Men, Women, Children 4 and up in Gi and No Gi. Beginners are always encouraged to come out. Please feel free to leave comments or questions.
Submission Series Starts Tomorrow
With the new season coming up now I am getting a lot of questions from the new people coming out. Please check out the F.A.Q. page and if you have a question please email me at myackulic@arashido.com so I can update the page.
To all those coming out tomorrow, good luck.
Remember we have beginner divisions for Gi and No Gi as well as womens divisions for Gi and No Gi.
For those a little nervous about competing i tomorrow, here is a nice article:
7 BJJ Tips to Calm Your First Tournament Nerves
Have a great day tomorrow.
1 Week Out
Next week will be the 1st Instalment of this Seasons Submission Series. Divisions for Children, Adults (Men and Women) Beginners as well as Experienced Competitors.
Custom Belts for Series Champions
This year marks our 9th Season with over 40 Submission Series tournaments in the books.
We are very happy to have this long running tournament do so well. Every year more and more Children and Adults come out and compete for the first time in these smaller tournaments or use them to practice their “B” game moves for bigger tournaments. We are doing our best to cater to both groups by having numerous divisions for both the beginner and advanced.
Fun yet Competitive for kids 4 and up
Do we NOT have a division that suits your needs??? ie Executive Divisions? As always I aim to please. If you are interested in a specific division please let me know and we will do our best to accommodate. At the last Mind Body Soul we had over 25 Executive men and over 30 Women come out to compete. If we keep interest high we can make these regular divisions.
But wait… there’s more. I like to try to offer more. Here is another video I thought was pretty cool. Hope it’s new to you:
Before you get too excited check out the comments section
For more info please check the Rules Page.
Great Beginner Video
I am sure many of you are training now with the Submission Series right around the corner. We are looking forward to having everyone out and want to remind everyone about the Beginner No Gi divisions and White Belt Gi Divisions. It can be a little unsettling to go and compete as a beginner so I wanted to post a video that might help you.
Adem Redzovic laid out a really nice video covering basic Principles of the Open Guard. The video is a little long, 27 min, but it is broken up into nice digestible chunks and covers 6 main concepts that are explained simply with for a beginner. I highly recommend watching this.
Good luck to all competing… everything you need to know should be on the pages here (check the top for Rules and such). If you are unsure, please leave a comment and I will help you out.
Love and respect,
Mike Yackulic
Ps. Beginner Gi, Children’s Gi and Women’s Gi are all Double Elimination. Please spread the word to everyone and Share this page on facebook
Women’s Divisions Added
We were very impressed at the last Mind Body Soul with the great turnout for the Women’s divisions.
Lets keep that energy going for the start of The Submission Series Sept 20. Divisions have been added (the same ones as Mind Body Soul) to give women a chance to compete in as fair a scenario as possible.
Divisions are:
White Belt (or under 2 years experience for No Gi) Under 130lbs, 131-150lbs, 151lbs and up
Blue Belts or higher (more than 2 years for No Gi) Under 130lbs, 131-150lbs, 151lbs and up
More divisions will be made if enough competitors show up… that includes experience levels (ie lots of purple belts)
Divisions larger than 8 will be split to ensure more accurate division.
GI DIVISIONS WILL BE DOUBLE ELIMINATION FOR WOMEN
Good luck in training and if you have any questions please leave a comment and I will reply right away.
Love and respect,
Mike Yackulic
Dates Set for the 2014/2015 season
We are just finishing up the details but they look pretty good barring any future conflicts.
Edmonton and Calgary dates will be the same unless otherwise posted.
Edmonton events will be held at Arashi Do North and Calgary events at MMA University.
Part 1 – Sept 20
Part 2 – Nov 22
Part 3 – Feb 28
Part 4 – May 2
Finals at the Mind Body Soul June 6
To place for the finals in June 2015 we will take your top 3 scores to see how you place.
We then take the top 4 competitors from Edmonton and Calgary to face off for the Custom Belts.
As in years past we will have the following divisions:
Children’s Gi and No Gi separated by Age and Weight
Adult BEGINNER No Gi and Gi separated by weight
Adult Championship No Gi (belt Division) and Color Belt Gi
We strongly encourage Beginners to come out as well as women. These are great practice tournaments for Beginners.
DOUBLE ELIMINATION – Will be for Children Gi divisions and Adult Beginner Gi Divisions only.
Please check out the rules page for your AGE or SKILL LEVEL.
Good luck to ALL competing, this is an OPEN tournament. ALL schools and Affiliations are welcome to come represent their School/Instructors
PS Keep up to Date by checking out our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BJJ.Tournies
Until then, keep training and check out this video by Andre Galvao:
New Season Starting Up
The New Season is right around the corner and I know you guys are itching to get back at it.
More info will be out shortly, but for now the Edmonton Event is scheduled for Sept 20 .
Until then here is something to keep you busy:
Submission Series Finals Match Ups
Here are the match ups for The Submission Series Finals.
| Under 140 | Edmonton |
vs. |
Calgary |
| Scott Davidson | – BY – | ||
| Blake Dixon | Sam Franchi | ||
| Jesse Atwell | Keegan Oliver | ||
| Kyler T | BJ Baldonado |
| 141-155 | Edmonton | vs. | Calgary |
| Ryan Williams | Chad Anheligev | ||
| Matt Good | Adam Higgins | ||
| Austin Ryan | Zack Snyder | ||
| Mike Davis | Allan Clarke |
We are missing some of the data for the 156-170 division for people from Calgary
| 156-170 | Edmonton | vs. | Calgary |
| Justin Glavish | |||
| Dominque Arsenault | |||
| Tyler Davis | Eric Andre | ||
| Chris Chapman | Alec Klonowska |
| 171-185 | Edmonton | vs. | Calgary |
| Dylan Ferguson | William Boerhuis | ||
| Landon Coderre | Matt Hilton | ||
| Marc Lanouette | Makenzie Duke | ||
| Tyson Neufeld | Matt Bagshaw |
| 186-205 | Edmonton | vs. | Calgary |
| Travis Marshal | – BY – | ||
| Alex Paul | Kurt White | ||
| Roger Alves | Lee Popp | ||
| Mark Dueck | Hayden Harrison |
| 206 and up | Edmonton | vs. | Calgary |
| Correy Payette | Justin Schmidt | ||
| KB Buhullar | Jordan Piski | ||
| Bernie St. Pierre | Harold Schmidt | ||
| – BY – | David Phuky |
If you see any mistakes please let me know. The #1 competitor from Edm will go against the #4 competitor from Calgary and vice versa. So Calgary competitors are listed in backwards order.
Good luck to all and see you Sat. Be sure to register:
Pre-Registration closes Wednesday June 18 at 11pm. So now is the time to make your plans.
You can register here:
thesubmissionseriesdotcom 