Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy Pride Tournament results

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Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy Pride Tournament results

Savarese BJJ Academy, a Lyndhurst Martial arts Academy’s Pride Tournament results were outstanding. Professor Chris Savarese’s team had a great showing at the Pride Tournament in NYC yesterday. Pride is a really tough and well run tournament.

Congrats to “The Beast” Sean Yadimarco on winning his bluebelt division, continuing a fantastic run over the last 2 years. He has been men’s divisions at only 16 and 17 yrs old since last year. Furthermore, Babatunde Ojo had his best day of competing yet, finishing 2nd in his bluebelt division and 3rd in the Absolute division (no weight limit). Those results came on the heels of having a bad day at his last tournament. Savarese told him his day was coming because Ojo has been awesome in the training room for the past couple of months. Congrats to Ojo for staying mentally strong and learning from defeat like we are supposed to. The entire Academy is so proud of you. Also on the top of the podium was our little man Damien Moreria, winning his yellowbelt division. Love this kid, Damien is the smallest kid in the training room every night and never complains, he just trains. We knew he would be a special kid years ago when he would come to class early before everyone and do agility drills with the cones before class.

Congrats to Brian Procel and Corey Peirone for stepping up and testing themselves as well. Sorry to Ariana and Kayla Zeppetelli for having no one in your divisions but we’ll jump right in to another soon.

Kids shine too!

Also congrats to both Tiankees, Leo and Lorenzo, for taking 1st place in their kids divisions. They were the only 2 kids to step up on the kids team for this tournament. 

Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy Pride Tournament results

Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy Pride Tournament results

Your first year of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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Your first year of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Your first year of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is always the toughest. I liken it to a totem pole. You are at the bottom in the beginning and the longer you stay, more people join after you and you start to move up. If you can make it through that first year, odds are the you will train BJJ for the rest of your life. Futhermore, you will become a better and more patient person through your training.

What to expect

Frustration! Bruising! Soreness! You will think you will never learn or remember all these techniques. Therefore, the frustration sets in. In addition, you are scred of all these people more experienced than you. But, you must tell yourself “All of these people here have been where I am now at some point. If They can do it, so can I.” That is one of the first lessons that really needs to sink in. The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” can apply here. Pateince is one of the first lessons to be taught in BJJ. You must build a foundation, learn all the fundamental movements and submissions in order to progress. Most of all, it is super important to just enjoy yourself and have fun!

Remember the benefits!

You will experience many benefits from training jiu-jitsu. Besides the obvious, learning how to defend yourself, you will become leaner, stronger, learn how to focus better among other benefits. Consequently, you will learn how to eat healthier, live and sleep better and gain like minded friends for life. Some of my best friends are my training partners and you will meet friends from all around the world through BJJ.

Another lesson

One of my favorite sayings that applies to BJJ and life is “Win or Learn”. Learning how to grow from losses, in competition or in training, humbles you and teaches you how to grow from it. Losing is one of the most difficult moments a BJJ practitioner will ever have to go through but losing is the fastest way to success. Once this is learned, the sky is the limit for your growth on and off the mats.

 

Great things happening at Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy

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Great things happening at Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy

Great things happening at the Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy Savarese Jiu-Jitsu. February is usually a quiet month but a lot of things are going down.

Competition Team excels again!

Great job to all the Savarese BJJ and Training 4 Life guys who stepped up and competed this weekend. Very small team yesterday but congrats to Corey Peirone for winning his first BJJ tournament yesterday!! I am so happy and proud of your persistence, perseverance and no quit attitude. Enjoy that medal, a lot of blood, sweat and lumps went into it!. Congrats to Brian Procel who continue to grow in his brownbelt, beating an opponent who weighed over 60lbs more than him by over 10 points and then going nose to nose w a top competitor in the area. Congrats to Baba Ojo for stepping up again, your time is coming brother, just look to Corey’s example and he will tell you it’s all worth it. And also to T4L Ralph Jaquez who did had a great showing but took away a much more important victory by defeating smoking. Great job everyone!! You make me proud not just by winning but by not being afraid to fail.

Congrats Sean “The Beast” Yadimarco 


Also I wanted to congratulate Sean Yadimarco on an awesome wrestling season finishing w/ a record of 28-5 and 84 career wins. That is a great season and you should be very proud of what you accomplished wrestling at Clifton but I must admit that I am super excited to have you full time at BJJ and see how far you will climb!

Goodbye Steve!


And sadly, we say goodbye for now to one of our most consistent students, Steve McNicholas, who will be moving to England for a year for work but we know he will be in awesome hands w/ SBG and John Kavanagh.

Great things happening at Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy

Great things happening at Lyndhurst Martial Arts Academy

 

What a blackbelt is

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There is a never ending question of what a blackbelt is. A blackbelt in BJJ, or any other martial art for that matter, is not just about competition or success in fighting. It is about attitude and a willingness to give back to fellow students, the school and the community. Also, it’s about self control and discipline. Futhermore, it’s about dedication, physically, mentally and spitually. Abandonding the traditions of the martial arts reduces all martial arts to simple fighting techniques.

Respect

BJJ and other martial arts are built upon respect. Respect for the discipline, respect for the instructor, respect for the school and for your fellow students and training partners. One must also respect THE SWEAT AND KNOWLEDGE THAT EACH LEVEL OF LEARNING REPRESENTS.

Instructors and schools who who promote too quickly don’t help the students or the martial arts community in general. Especially when it comes to children’s ranks. Is it hard as an instructor to resist the temptation to promote people quickly? Sure it is. Sometimes parents can be pushy and smaller schools are afraid of losing the student. With younger students, it is certainly reasonable to create an atmosphere where quicker promotions keep the young student motivated. But part of what instructors must teach is patience and the value of a truly eraned belt versus one simply awarded. The value of something earned is ten fold.

Effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is effective because you can’t be a fake and train in the art. It is one of the only martial arts where you train live every class. One can can openly test the effectiveness of your skills against a resisting opponent. This process helps you understand where you are strong and more importantly, where you are weak. It has been said that only 1 BJJ practitioner in 10, 000 reaches blackbelt because going through the ranks is a long and tough process. That process usually weeds out the people who are not 100% commited to to Jiu-Jitsu. Many believe that a black belt  in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the hardest black belt to achieve in all martial arts.

Help Lyndurst martial artists realize their dream

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Help  Lyndurst martial artists realize their dream

You can help Lyndurst martial artists realize their dream. It doesn’t take much from each person who reads this. Donations as small as $5 can make a huge impact, if you can not donate all you have to do is share this link on your social media pages. (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter)

Savarese BJJ

Savarese BJJ has been servicing the local communities for the last 10 years. They have offered top notch martial arts instruction for Men, Women and Children in  a safe and friendly learning environment. Also, they have sponsored many youth Baseball and Softball Teams in both Lyndhurst and Paramus. Giving back to the surrounding areas is important to owner and head instructor Professor Chris Savarese who constantly donates to local events and fundraisers for the surrounding schools.

About the fundraiser

This upcoming Summer, the World Championships of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will be held. Savarese BJJ is venturing to raise money to help team members realize their dream of competing on the biggest stage of BJJ. The costs can be for many, a bit overwhelming and for some unaffordable. The goal is to raise $5K to help cover airfare, hotel and food. The Lyndhurst martial arts school appreciates any and all donations that can be made, no matter the size.

How can you donate

There are several ways you can Help Lyndurst martial artists to realize their dream. The first way is to visit the Gofundme page and donate their. If you would like to donate in person you can drop the donations at the academy. Savarese BJJ Academy 40 Park Ave (Back Building) Lyndhurst NJ 07071

 

To Gi or not to Gi

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To gi or not to gi, that is the question. With the growth of MMA is contributing to more and more people walking through the doors of BJJ academies nationwide, there is a controversy inside these BJJ walls when it comes to wearing the uniform (gi) or not. many Due to schools offering gi and no-gi classes, many argue over which is the best training method. One group says if you fight in a no-gi tournament, you should just train in wrestling and no-gi only. But, I still believe that training with the gi is fundamental for success in no-gi.

What is the answer?

To be successful, training with the gi is fundamental for no-gi and here is why. First, gi training is much more technical. When training in the gi, there are many more options to grab and use for submissions. Hence, the ability to defend those attacks must be wider as well. Without the gi, many times you can escape from a submission or a hold position by using the old “sweat pull out”. Due to the gi absorbing one’s sweat, a simple pull out will not work. I believe all BJJ practitioners should train in the gi for the first year or up until bluebelt because you need a foundation. Like the great Rickson Gracie always said “If the your house doesn’t have a foundation, the house will fall.” The gi provides that BJJ “road map”, a way to learn how apply submissions better and for a technical to escape submissions.

The Weight Factor

Weight is another factor. When you are wearing a gi, it feels like you have a backpack on. Take it off and you feel lighter and faster. Training in the gi for that first year will also help you learn to attack in combinations fasters.

Need more proof?

In conclusion, lets talk ADCC. The ADCC tournament over the years has been won primally by BJJ blackbelts who train mostly in the gi. In the last 3 ADCC tournaments in 2011, 2013 and 2015, every single division was won by a BJJ blackbelt.

Trio of Savarese BJJ students earn instructor certification

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A trio of Savarese BJJ students earned instructor certification this month.

In front of a full class, Professor Chris Savarese acknowledged this accomplishment by calling the 3 brownbelts, Brian Procel, Dan Lleonart and Anthony DelGuercioe to the front and presenting him with his certificate of completion. The process to complete this course requires a student to teach many classes and know the curriculum. Futhermore, knowing and being able to teach the history of Jiu-Jitsu to the other students at the academy is also a requirement.

Certification comes a great amount of responsibility. Hence, instructors who complete the course are held to a higher standard than other students.

Lleonart and Procel have been training for 9 years under Professor Savarese, the academy owner and Royler Gracie black belt (www.roylergracie.com). Del Guercio is training for 8. The three appear to be next line line at the Academy to become blackbelts. Professor Savarese has said that he is very proud of the teaching job they have thus far at the Academy.

About Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport and a self-defense system created by the legendary Gracie family.

Especially instrumental to the art’s development was Helio Gracie, the youngest of the five Gracie brothers. Because his physique was thin and frial, he was forced to adapt the techniques he learned. Many of those being that a smaller, weaker person could overcome an adversary of greater size and strength.

Helio Gracie would accept and defeat challenges of much larger, heavier, and stronger men in the prime of his career. Futhermore, Gracie fought many challenges in his quest to prove the superior effectiveness of Jiu- Jitsu. Finally, ground fighting emphasizes taking an opponent to the ground and utilizing ground fighting techniques and submission holds involving joint-locks and choke holds.

Savarese Jiu-Jitsu Academy

Would you like to try a class at the Savarese Academy? Call 201 933-5134 for a FREE trial

 

Lyndhurst Martial Arts School Promotes Students

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Lyndhurst Martial Arts School Promotes Students

Over the last few months Savarese BJJ, a Lyndhurst Martial Arts School promotes students to new ranks. The accomplishment of a new rank in BJJ is something that is a proud moment for student, teacher and team mates alike. Listed below are the students who were promoted. Congratulations!

Daniel Lleonart-2nd Stripe Brown Belt

 

Lyndhurst Martial Arts School Promotes Students

Daniel Lleonart Earns 2nd Stripe On His Brown Belt

Casey Walters- 1st Stripe Brown Belt

 

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Jack Zuckerman-Blue Belt

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Jess Laciura-2nd Stripe Blue Belt

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Kayla Zeppetelli-2nd Stripe Yellow Belt

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Eric Estevez-2nd Stripe Purple Belt

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Steve McNichols-Blue Belt

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Jenn Buonnadonno- Blue Belt

 

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William Pike-Blue Belt

 

 

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Carlos Dorjo-4th Stripe Blue Belt

 

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Andrew Kuntz-4th Stripe Blue Belt

 

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Caitlin McManus-4th Stripe Blue Belt

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Sean Yadimarco-4th Stripe Blue Belt

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Leo Alves-4th Stripe Blue Belt

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Elihud Santiago- 4th Stripe Blue Belt

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John Temones-1st Stripe White belt

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Ariana Zeppetelli-4th Stripe Blue Belt14720613_10153835157127633_543215711789000839_n

 

Anthony Del Guercio- 2nd Stripe Brown Belt14641925_10153835144732633_7898931341704482905_n

 

Andrew Zeppetelli- 1st Stripe Purple Belt14720572_10153835078647633_4359257648139169822_n

 

Babatunde Ojo-1st Stripe Blue Belt14716101_10153835073737633_4729996840842151397_n

No hiding in Jiu-Jitsu

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There is no hiding in Jiu-Jitsu. Also, the honesty of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is unmatched.  First, the mat is the ultimate BS detector.  Every day, people walk in talking their toughness, street fights, strength, athletic accomplishments etc, but the mats will tell all. Unless you had some type of grappling experience walking in, no other athletic experience will help you. Futhermore, for those who have been athletes, it may hinder you in the beginning. Your ego will take a hit because you are used to being good at anything athletic. None of that matters the second you train live for the first time. What does matter? Applying the technique, how you treat people and can you make it work against a fully-resisting opponent?

Earning your belts

Nothing is handed to you in BJJ, all your belts are EARNED if you are training at a reputable school. You can’t hide from yourself, can’t hide from hard work or the difficulties that your opponent is trying to force upon you. All these things make you realize there is no hiding in jiu-jitsu. Jiu-Jitsu will force you to be honest with yourself. It forces you to be honest, one of the best traits we can have. If we cannot be honest with ourselves, how can we be honest with anyone else. The humility that comes along with BJJ is priceless.

Enjoy the journey

What is the number 1 rule of BJJ? Answer: have fun. If you are not having fun, you will not be consistent. Consistency is one of the biggest keys to improving in BJJ. Do not foucs on “taps” or belt rank. Focusing of this will slow your progress. Forge character with martial arts training.  You can’t hide it. If your primary focus is on the next rank, your ability will top out. The momentary joy of Getting a new belt is a joy that fades quickly. As a result, sometimes you get “the blues” at a new rank. Don’t go for that. Go for the deepfeeling of constantly learning and improving. That feeling never fades.

 

The Importance of Attending Jiu-Jitsu Seminars

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The Importance of Attending Jiu-Jitsu Seminars

The importance of attending Jiu-Jitsu Seminars seems to have gotten lost in recent years. many BJJ practitioners across the country are missing out on great opportunities to learn from a different instructor and team that maybe we have not been exposed to in the past. From World Champions, from some of the best teachers of our art. Futhermore, at times we are granted access to the sons of the creators of our art. There are not many martial arts left that can say that. At the end of the day, we are all students and seminars allow us to widen our knowledge and add new techniques to our toolbox.  Some of my favorite moves I use now have come from seminars. I still use an armlock setup I learned at a Rolker Gracie seminar almost 20 years ago.

Change your mindset

Since the growth of the internet, the negative minds out there seems to be the most vocal (and shockingly have the most time…sarcasm). Do not let yourself be pulled into their world. Jiu-Jitsu seminars provide us with unique opportunities to learn from the very best. Think of something else you or your child loves to do. If I presented you with the opportunity to learn football from Peyton Manning, would you take it? Cooking with Gordon Ramsey and Wolfgang Puck? Basketball with Michael Jordan? Business with Warren Buffet? You catch my drift. Getting access those guys is hard. In BJJ, it is not. Get in the mindset of being better than you were yesterday. Another plus is seminars seem to have an extra energy and willing to learn to them. More excitement.

Don’t get spoiled

Back when I started grappling, there weren’t very many people teaching BJJ.  Seminars were important. It was our only access to the best teachers unless we traveled to Brazil, which many of us did. Times have changed and there is more access to better teachers in the US now but the lesson doesn’t change. All of us, teachers and students, should always keep the mind of a whitebelt and keep getting better. Too often I see students who are in the early phases of their Jiu-Jitsu skip out on seminars because they are “costly†they think that the seminar will be “over their headsâ€. Huge mistake. As a result, they miss out on a great opportunity that doesn’t come around again for sometimes a year. Sometimes, something said in a seminar or one small detail that is probably most important to you than anyone else in the room can have a major impact on your next couple of months of training.

Listen to your Professors

Finally, if a legend of the art or a current “big name†comes through your Academy and your instructors are highly encouraging you to go, listen to them. Due to their experience in the art, they are recommending this outside perspective for a reason.  Hence, we should trust them.

Tips for getting the most out of seminars

  • Bring a book and take notes (more information is being taught than a regular class)
  • Have questions ready! Almost all seminars I have ever attended had a Q and A at the end.
  • Don’t talk…drill! The more times you drill what is being taught, the easier to remember in the following days.
  • Talk your favorite training partner into going with you. You can drill together and have a smooth partner.
  • Be open to new ideas, don’t go in with an expectation of what YOU want to learn