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Alexander Crispim Dominates Fight at War of Heroes 8

November 14, 2010 By 2 Comments

Congratulations to Alexander Crispim (of Pleasanton) for his unanimous decision victory at the War of the Heroes Fighting Championship (FC) 8 last night, November 13th, at the Santa Clara Convention Center.  This event was presented by USMF, Fairtex and XFight Promotions and was a hybrid event, both MMA and Muay Thai.  It was incredible the support you all gave Crispim by having over a hundred of our teammates present for this fight.

Alexander Crispim, now 6-2, fought an MMA battle against Chris “Dark Lotus” David (13-8-2) from Sickness.  Crispim dominated all three rounds by controlling the match through his stand-up, wrestling,  jiu jitsu, multiple submission attempts and overall passion to get the win.  It was a very exciting and fast moving fight.  Chris David was a tough opponent with a lot of experience and Crispim has nothing but respect for this fighter.

Alexander Crispim would like to thank everyone involved from the Crispim BJJ Team in Pleasanton, the BarraBrothers around the world and the UFC-gym team in Concord.  Crispim’s coaches are largely responsible for this victory and he would like to thank Allan Maravilla (stand-up coach), Josh McDonald (wrestling coach), Rob Gibson (physical preparation coach), and Kurt Osiander (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Coach) for all the time, energy and commitment they gave to him for this fight.  Special thanks to Marty Armendarez for sharing his extensive MMA knowledge with Crispim and the overall MMA training he provided.  In addition, thank you to the Crispim BJJ Team for helping at the Pleasanton academy while Crispim was training and all of your support, kind words, belief and faith in Crispim during his training.  This is just another example of how our team is truly a family and comes together to support each other.  Crispim says… “I love the Crispim BJJ BarraBrothers Family!!!!!”

Crispim would also like to thank his multiple training partners from around the Bay Area.  Thank you to Team Alpha Male of Sacramento and Fabio “Pateta” Prado for opening their doors and welcoming Crispim to train with them.  Also, thanks to Chris Cariaso of Fight & Fitness in San Francisco for the great training and sparring.  Thank you to Mr. Charles King of King’s Boxing Gym in Oakland for ALWAYS being a true inspiration for Crispim.   As soon as Crispim saw and trained again with Mr. King, his training completely changed, that day,  because of the wonderful spirit that Mr. King passes to people and the positive encouragement that Mr. King has given to Crispim over the years.  And finally, thank you to all the BarraBrother family who Alexander Crispim trains with on a daily basis and for the all emails, calls and positive messages from his BarraBrothers around the world.  Even though they may not be geographically close, this family is always united.

The Crispim BJJ Team has had an incredible year so far and every day, we are getting stronger, better and more united.   Here’s to an even more successful future……

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Bryant “The Rock” Pangelinan is a World Champion

November 9, 2010 By 3 Comments

Alexander Crispim and the Crispim BJJ Team in Pleasanton would like to congratulate Bryant “The Rock” Pangelinan on his incredible victories at the World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship this weekend.  The Rock competed in both his Brown Belt division and in the Absolute division.  He earned the GOLD MEDAL in his division and the SILVER MEDAL in the absolute division (approximately 16 competitors in this division).  This is such a prestigious title and we are so proud to have The Rock as part of the Crispim BJJ jiu jitsu team.

Alexander Crispim met The Rock  years ago while training at Fairtex in San Francisco.  He immediately saw a huge potential in his skills, abilities and drive.  Crispim loves training with him because The Rock trains hard and pushes himself to always do the best he can.  The Rock is the epitome of what a brown belt in jiu-jitsu should be.  He is respectful, he teaches, he encourages others, and is always a positive influence at the Crispim BJJ academy and to all of the team.  In addition, his skill level is extreme and his power is second to none.   The Rock is highly determined, motivated and very passionate about jiu jitsu and again, we want to congratulate him on these accomplishments of achieving World Championship level in the Brown Belt division.

Here is some background on Bryant “The Rock” Pangelinan:

“I started wrestling back in elementary school and wrestled all through high school and college.  I did a lot of training with many  high level wrestlers in college including,  US Silver Medalist Mat Ghafari, the US Army team, and many others. My career in high school was 127 wins-23 losses in four years.

I first picked up jiu jitsu when I was still in college, at Relson Gracie’s academy in Hawaii in 1995-1996, but it wasn’t until after my last wrestling tournament in 2003 that I got serious about it.  It was then when Josh McDonald and I were still coaching wrestling together that he told me I should come down where he was training (at Cesar Gracie’s and Fairtex).  I had to learn jiu jitsu very quick, be it that some of my first partners were Jake Shields, Dave Terrell, The Diaz Brothers, and Gilbert Melendez.  I earned my blue and purple belts through Cesar Gracie.  Through the years I won the California Open No Gi Advanced Division in 2004 in Half Moon Bay, I was a finalist at the Gracie Open in the No Gi Advanced Division twice (I took 2nd in 2005 and I won it in 2006 defeating a Machado black belt when I was still a blue belt).  I won the No Gi Worlds in 2008 as a blue belt as well.  One of the nicest things about that victory was that I was the first ever World Champion grappler from my native island of Guam.
http://www.fokai.tv/blog/?p=1211

I met Alexander Crispim while training at Fairtex in San Francisco, and not only was it his teaching that drew me towards him, but mainly our strong friendship. He has pushed me to do better and always allows me to be the best I can be.   And… he gave me my new favorite other nickname “Dente de Sabre” …the Saber Tooth hahahahaa!!!

I train because wrestling/grappling has been part of my life for almost 28 years.  I couldn’t imagine not doing what I do. ”

Crispim BJJ Team- please take a few moments to comment on this post and wish The Rock congratulations.  The Rock, We can’t wait to see your next battle!!

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Crispim BJJ Team Brings Home The Medals

October 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

We would first like to thank Charles Gracie for inviting the Crispim BJJ Team to participate in his jiu jitsu tournament today in Tracy.  It was an honor to be part of his event.

We would also like to congratulate all of our competitors who showed up, fought hard and had a great time today.  Many of our competitors today were the Crispim BJJ kids team and for lots of them, the FIRST tournament they ever participated in.  The kids made us all very proud with their determination, courage and skill.  Every single one of them did great and their results are as follows:

1st Place-  Aaron Zagar

2nd Place- Niko Castillo, Brendon Beliso, Dustin O’Shea, Marcus Rivera

3rd Place- Jaco Kong, Aidan Magcale, Nico Jimenez

Congratulations to all of our young fighters!!  Great job!

We also saw HUGE success with our adult team members.   We had 5 1st Place victories:

Brooke Goldsworthy

AJ Ting

Joseph Spiegel

Mark Ward-  Crispim BJJ/UFC-Gym

Justin Steele-Crispim BJJ/UFC-Gym

Great job to all of our competitors, you represented the Crispim BJJ Team well.  Also, we would like to thank Hayden O’Shea for his help with coaching our kids and for settting such a great example as both a competitor and a coach.  Also, thanks to Daniel Elias for his help in teaching and coaching.  And last, but not least, thank you to all of our team members and their family and friends for showing up, cheering them on and supporting them with their competition.

If you took pictures or video today, please forward them to info@CrispimBJJ.com and we will add them to this post over the next few days.

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Brooke Wins 1st at the US Open

October 21, 2010 By 5 Comments

Alexander Crispim and Crispim BJJ  are very proud to announce that Brooke Goldsworthy won 1st place in her division and 3rd place in the open division last weekend at the US Open in Santa Cruz.  This was Brooke’s first tournament in years and her FIRST tournament as a Blue Belt which she earned on July 31st of this year.  She tapped her first opponent in a matter of seconds and won her next fight by points.  Brooke is an incredible competitor who possesses great strength, technique and a huge desire to learn and train.  She does all of this with a smile on her face and such a positive energy all the time.  The Crispim BJJ Team is very proud of her accomplishments and are very happy to have her as part of the team.

We would also like to take this opportunity to share with you a little about Brooke’s history, goals and reasons for training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“I was definitely an active and strong little girl, but my involvement with organized sports was very limited. The first time I competed athletically was at Chabot College. I became a member of their track and field team as a hammer thrower with the hope of receiving a scholarship to further my education. I was fortunate enough to achieve my goal and was awarded an athletic scholarship to Fresno State College. Although I was never passionate about Track and Field, I loved being part of a Division 1 team and the camaraderie that came with it.

After college I became a teacher and married my best friend, Steve. We were living in Brentwood, and I was looking for a fun way to get fit again. My brother told me to check out Ralph Gracie’s in Antioch, so I did. I trained with Ricardo Barros for 10 months in 2004. During that time, I fell in love with BJJ, and it became my passion.

When Steve and I decided to expand our family, I stopped training BJJ. I got pregnant with our first baby boy, moved to Livermore to be closer to family, and became a stay at home mom. Jake was born in 2005, Cole was born in 2007, and Trent was born in 2009. I know this sounds crazy, but even after I brought my 3 angels into this world, there still wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about BJJ. When Trent was 6 months old, I knew our family was finally complete, and it was my time to get back on the mat. When I knew that we were going to move to Pleasanton, it didn’t even cross my mind to check out any other BJJ facilities in the area. I was beyond excited to train with Crispim. I didn’t think Crispim was going to remember me from back in the day, but he did, and he welcomed me with open arms. I was elated, and couldn’t be any happier. Every day I feel grateful for having the opportunity to train at Crispim BJJ in Pleasanton. I know it is the absolute best academy that I could ever ask for! Crispim’s passion and knowledge of BJJ is powerful. I feel confident learning from him and trust that he wouldn’t teach us anything that he didn’t believe in 100%. Daniel teaches incredible brazilian jiu jitus as well. He is always very professional and patient with all of his students. As for the rest of the people that train at Crispim BJJ in Pleasanton, they’re simply awesome. I couldn’t ask for better training partners. Everyone at the academy is inspiring, kind, supportive, and helpful! The overall vibe is just cool and I seriously love the BJJ camaraderie! I feel blessed to have a place where I can truly appreciate the art of BJJ and everything BJJ has to offer. I can’t say whether I like the physical challenges or mental challenges of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu better. It’s the combination of the two that drives me like nothing else can.

I feel like I just got my feet wet competing, and want to further explore the competitive side of BJJ. When I threw the hammer, I concentrated solely on how I moved my body. When I compete in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match, I have to think strategically about the moves of my opponent and myself. The dynamics of competitive BJJ are exciting and challenging on so many different levels. It has piqued my curiosity and has made me want to learn more. Thanks to Alexander Crispim, I’ve been given the opportunity to look at my training with a new set of eyes and start to reflect on in it from a competitive perspective. It is challenging and fun–So as long as I’m having fun, I’ll continue to compete!

People ask me how I find time to train. I just do. It’s a priority and my husband supports me 100%. My family reaps the benefits of my training too. I’m healthy, happy, energized, and able to care for them without feeling like I’m running on empty. BJJ is definitely a lifestyle for me. It’s become part of the balancing act and that is a beautiful thing!!”

Congratulations Brooke on this incredible accomplishment and your dedication and passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  The Crispim BJJ Team is very proud to have you as such an important part of it.  We are excited to see what is next for you!!! And Team, please feel free to post your comments on this article and show your support for Brooke and her future competitions.

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US Open & Crispim’s Fight

October 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Hi Team,

A couple of notes:

Crispim BJJ in Pleasanton will be closed Saturday and Sunday for the US Open Jiu-Jitsu Tournament in Santa Cruz.  We have several team members competing and many going to show their support.

We wish all of our competitors from Crispim BJJ and UFC-Gym much success!!  You have all been training really hard and are ready for this!!!

Also, most of you have probably heard by now, but Alexander Crispim will be fighting at the Fairtex and USMF War of the Heroes FC8 at the Santa Clara Convention Center on November 13th.  His opponent is Chris David from No Limit Fight Team and his record is 13-8.    Please come to the academy as much as possible to help Crispim train for his fight. We will have tickets at the academy early next week.

Finally,  we wanted to remind all of you that the Charles Gracie Jiu-Jitsu tournament is Saturday, October 30th in Tracy.  We have registration forms at the academy.  If you are interested in competing, please pick up a registration form and return the form and your payment to either Michele or Crispim no later than October 21st.   They will NOT be accepting any registration after that date- No exceptions!   Thanks team.  Let’s keep training hard.

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Josh McDonald Wins at His Debut at Strikeforce

October 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Alexander Crispim and the Crispim BJJ Team would like to congratulate Josh McDonald for his victory at Strikeforce in San Jose on Saturday, October 9th.  This was Josh’s debut at Strikeforce and he won by unanimous decision against AKA’s Ron Keslar (5-3).  Josh’s current record is (8-4).

We are very proud to have Josh as part of our team and our wrestling coach.  Again, congratulations to Josh.  We can’t wait to see what his next challenge is.

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Anthony Diwa Brings Home The Bronze

August 18, 2010 By 1 Comment

Alexander Crispim and the Crispim BJJ Team would like to congratulate Anthony Diwa on earning third place in the 2010 Las Vegas International Open IBJJF Championship this past weekend in his division.

Anthony’s performance was impressive and he represented our team well.   Anthony is a skilled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and is on his way to a world championship.  Crispim says, “From the beginning, I knew that Anthony was going to be good in BJJ.  He has always been very devoted and dedicated to doing everything right and perfect.  Anthony can’t get enough training.  He is always on time, or early, to class and is always asking others to stay late so that he can train longer.  Anthony wants to understand the positions, the implementation, and the strategies, and through attention to details, questions and a lot of practice, he is always pushing himself to improve and to become a better BJJ practitioner.   Anthony is extremely patient with the newer students and is always there to help his teammates learn and succeed.  He has all of these qualities and a lot of discipline and respect for others.  Anthony is a “true” Martial Artist.  I am really proud to have Anthony as part of the great Crispim BJJ Team that we are building.”

Here is a little about Anthony and how he became involved in BJJ…

“I discovered jiu jitsu by accident in January of 2006 during my senior year at UC Davis. I meant to attend the Sanshou Kickboxing class at our campus recreation center, but I had the times mixed up and ended up in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class instead. Until that time, I never had an interest in jiu jitsu. I even thought it was boring and always hated when the MMA fights on TV ended up on the ground. Not to mention it also looked kinda strange, two guys rolling around on the floor and all.  

Anyways, the instructor who was a Cassio Werneck blue belt at the time, showed us a few moves.  We practiced them and then it was time to spar, or as we Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners like to say, “roll.” At that time I weighed a solid 185. Physically, I was at my strongest and I thought I was tough. My opponent kneeling before me was a small, weak  looking guy who weighed no more than 125 lbs. I almost felt sorry for the kid because I was about to smash him. When the instructor started the clock, I attacked with all of my might trying to do some damage to this skinny and weak looking 125 pounder. I honestly thought he was no match for me, but within 20 seconds, I found myself trapped on my back with my arm being hyper-extended with no way to escape. In shock and panic, I just yelled and he let go. By the end of our 6 minute round, I was completely gassed out and exhausted.  I recall tapping about 5-6 times by this little guy during our 6 minute fight. I cringed at the thought of what could have happened if this were a real street fight.  Every joint in my body would have been dismantled and many bones would have been broken, not to mention I could have died by being choked to death!  I couldn’t believe what just happened. I just got my ass kicked by a scrawny, skinny, 125 pound guy who doesn’t even look like he trains. That was one of those life changing moments, and I’ve been training ever since.

I met Crispim in September of 2006 after graduating and moving back home and have been training mainly with him ever since.  I was always drawn to his teaching style and the way in which he motivates us.  He is very passionate about not only jiu jitsu but also about being a great coach and instructor, which is another entirely different skill set than just being a good jiu jitsu fighter.  On second thought, I think “obsessive” about being a great coach and instructor is a more accurate description of him. In November of 2007, after 23 months of consistent training I was awarded my blue belt. Then, near the end of 2009 I was awarded my purple belt.

Jiu Jitsu was the perfect thing that I needed in my life. I always liked strategy games and before training jiu jitsu, I was a strategy video game playing guy spending hours every day online playing games like Warcraft,  Starcraft and Chess.  I also had a passion for physical exercise and even majored in Exercise Science in college. So… Jiu Jitsu was the perfect thing for me as it is the game of human chess. I also needed something to channel my energy into. In my life, I need to see progression and an ultimate long term goal being worked towards every day.  Jiu Jitsu was a perfect fit and fulfilled all of those needs. 

One of my biggest regrets in life is that I did not discover Jiu Jitsu when I was much younger like the kids at our kids jiu jitsu classes. I really envy those little guys and  really get a kick out of watching them train and watching their reactions at the belt ceremonies.

As of right now my goals in Jiu Jitsu are just to enjoy my time in the purple belt division and try to win as many gold and silver medals as possible before moving on.  After much thought, I have decided on what kind of Jiu Jitsu guy I want to be. I want to be a jiu jitsu fighter with excellent wrestling skills.  I’m excited because not only do I have Crispim as my coach, but also Josh McDonald and Bryant “The Rock” Pangelinan  as my coaches as well.  To say these guys are excellent wrestlers and coaches is a HUGE understatement.  I honestly believe that I can become a world champion one day training with these three. I’m also excited because I always wanted to pick up some Muay Thai and striking skills and as it turns out, we now have an incredible Professional Stand Up Coach Allan Maravilla teaching at our academy as well. I’m pretty blessed and I look forward to training with these beasts!”

Again, Congratulations Anthony.  We are very proud of you and are very fortunate to have you on the Crispim BJJ Team.

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Josh McDonald Wins in 1st Round

August 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Alexander Crispim and the Crispim BJJ Team would like to congratulate Josh McDonald on his victory this evening at the Fight For Wrestling in Bakersfield.  Josh won by guillotine in the first round.

Josh’s commitment to his training and MMA is incredible and we are very fortunate to have him as an MMA Coach at our academy.  Crispim would also like to thank him for always being a great training partner and a great friend.  We are all very proud of Josh and very happy for him and his family on this great victory.

(In this picture is Alexander Crispim, The Rock, Josh McDonald and Gil Castillo)

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New Classes at Crispim BJJ in Pleasanton

August 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Hello All,

We just posted our new and improved class schedule!!  You will see a lot of new additions to the schedule including Muay Thai Fitness, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Kids Muay Thai and Professional Sparring.  The Muay Thai Fitness is a great addition to our fitness program and will use a mixture of kicking and punching on bags and pads.  It is an incredible workout.  Allan Maravilla will be teaching our morning traditional Muay Thai classes and Josh McDonald will be teaching the morning wrestling classes.  All of these classes started today.  Please come, try them out and have fun.

 In addition, the Little Fighters and Jr. Muay Thai classes will begin on Tuesday, August 24th.  These are classes for kids ages 5-14 (classes are divided by age groups).  These classes will focus on stand up skills (kicking, punching, etc) and will round out our already great kids program of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Now, Crispim BJJ can offer kids classes (BJJ and Muay Thai) five times per week.

We invite everyone to try these classes out and provide us with feedback.   Have fun training!

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Crispim BJJ Belt Promotion & 1 Year Anniversary

August 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Alexander Crispim and Crispim BJJ would like to thank the entire team for the wonderful party on Saturday.  We celebrated our 2nd belt promotion ceremony and our 1 Year Anniversary of the academy.  It was amazing the energy that was at the academy  and without each and every one of you, our team and academy would not be as great as it is.  

Today, we saw many of our adult team members get promoted after a lot of hard work, skill, energy, committment and passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  They are truly role models and important members of our team.   And, we also saw so many kids get their new belts and the excitement in their faces and pride in their walk as their names were called and their new belts were tied around their waists.  This is the next generation of Jiu-Jitsu athletes and we should be very proud of the accomplishments that they have made at such young ages.

We would also like to thank Samuel Braga, three time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion for flying in from Tennessee to be part of our celebration and also for teaching our Sunday morning class.   Also, Diogo Gomes, Black Belt, came and supported our team at the ceremony and party and we are very appreciative for both of their time and support.

We would also like to thank Aash and Carlos who provided the team with an INCREDIBLE BBQ.  I think we went through about 50 pounds of meat that day and everyone absolutely loved it!! 

Finally, thank you to each and every one of you for your committment to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the Crispim BJJ team, and the academy.  We are truly blessed to be surrounded by so many incredible people who selflessly give their time, ideas, energy and friendship to our team and academy to make it the best possible place to be.  Here is to another year of success, happiness, good health, friendship and great training!!

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