UFC-Gym Students Take Home The Medals

On Sunday, August 29th, nine of Alexander Crispim and Jesus Mojica’s students from the UFC-Gym in Concord competed in the Grappling X Tournament in Elk Grove.  Out of the nine who competed, SEVEN took home medals.  These white belt students all started training Jiu-Jitsu since the UFC- Gym opened in November and later and in their very short time for training, they have all progressed phenomenally.   These guys were competing against other white belts who have been training for 1-2 years and they didn’t let this affect them in their focus on victory and success. 

All nine of these competitors showed passion, skill, and an incredible implementation of the positions and strategies that they have learned from Alexander Crispim and Jesus Mojica.

The results are as follows:

GOLD MEDALS:

Rafael Garcia

Brett Baraquil

SILVER MEDALS:

Mark Ward

John Bon

Andres Morra

Rudy Villalobos

BRONZE MEDAL:

Justin Steele

Crispim, the Crispim BJJ Team in Pleasanton, and the UFC-Gym Team would all like to congratulate all nine of the competitors in their success!! Keep training hard and way to represent.

Anthony Diwa Brings Home The Bronze

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

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)

New Classes at Crispim BJJ in Pleasanton

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!

Crispim BJJ Belt Promotion & 1 Year Anniversary

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!!

Daniel Elias Earns 2010 Reader’s Choice Best Personal Trainer

Alexander Crispim and Crispim BJJ are proud to announce that Daniel Elias was awarded the Pleasanton Weekly’s 2010 Reader’s Choice Best Personal Trainer.  The entire team at Crispim BJJ would like to congratulate Daniel on this amazing accomplishment!!

Daniel teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing and fitness at Crispim BJJ in Pleasanton.  Daniel is also available for small group and private training.  For more information on Daniel, please click on this link.

Again, congratulations to Daniel and we are so proud to have you as a huge part of the Crispim BJJ team! 

Also, we had an incredible day yesterday (Saturday) at our belt promotions and 1 year anniversary BBQ.  We will be posting a blog on the event, along with pictures within the next few days.  Congratulations to all team members who were awarded new belts and stripes.  Well deserved!!  And thank you to Samuel Braga, 3x World  Jiu Jitsu Champion,  and Diogo Gomes (Black Belt)  for being part of our celebration.  Samuel Braga will be teaching our Sunday classes today so come to the academy for some great training from this World Champion.

Crispim BJJ Trains in Downtown Pleasanton

This past Wednesday night, Alexander Crispim and many of the team members of Crispim BJJ were at the 1st Wednesday Street Party in Downtown Pleasanton.  We had a lot of fun and met many new people.  Quite a few of our young teammates volunteered their time to do demonstrations and showcase their skills and abilities.  We were very proud of them and they all did a great job.  We thank all of you who came and supported our team so that we may help others see, learn about and experience Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.   And thank you to all of the Pleasanton residents who stopped by and are interested in learning more about our programs.  Please come by and visit the academy and try some classes.  

This is just another example of how incredible our team is and the phenomenal support that each of you offers our academy and team.

Crispim BJJ will be at the 1st Wednesday in Pleasanton

Crispim BJJ will be at the 1st Wednesday Street Fair in Downtown Pleasanton on Wednesday, July 7th.  Come by our booth and watch some demonstrations, learn about our academy and programs (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, MMA, and Fitness) and meet our instructors, Alexander Crispim and Daniel Elias.   It will be a lot of fun!!
Also, we will be having our 1st Anniversary and Belt Promotions BBQ Party on Saturday, July 31st at the academy.  As we get closer, we will post more information about the days festivities, but… you can expect great food, lots of friends and family, and a team picture.   We hope everyone will be there.

Alexander Crispim Wins at Tachi Palace Fights

Alexander Crispim earns an unanimous decision at the Tachi Palace Fights last night.  He was called five days prior to the event and asked to take on Enoch Wilson (13-6-1) and prior PFC Champion.  Crispim agreed to take the fight and was able to dominate all three rounds.  Two of the judges scored it 30-27 and one scored it 29-28 for Crispim’s Unanimous Decision Victory.

The majority of the fight consisted of Crispim taking down Wilson and really capitalizing on his wrestling and jiu jitsu skills.  Crispim tried to finish the fight several times, including a clearly painful foot lock he got on Wilson, but Enoch Wilson proved to be a very tough opponent. It was a great fight and very exciting to watch.

Crispim would like to thank all of his family, Crispim BJJ team, UFC gym team, training partners and coaches.  “Without every one of these people, I would not have the training, support and successes that we are all achieving together.”

This fight brings Crispim’s record to 5-2.  Now Crispim wants to focus on his training and his team’s training for the Worlds Jiu Jitsu Tournament coming at the beginning of June.  We will soon be announcing some specific tournament training so please watch the website for updates.

Finally, you will notice some new features at the top of our website.  We will be rolling out instructions soon on how to use these new capabilities.

Alexander Crispim to Fight Wednesday!

Hello Team,

As you know, Crispim’s fight at Cage Combat was cancelled at the last minute due to issues with his opponent which left him frustrated and disappointed.  He wanted to fight and give all of you who had supported him a great show and properly represent Crispim BJJ and the UFC gym.

Well… he got a call yesterday asking him to fight at the Tachi Palace Fights in Lemoore against Enoch Wilson.  Crispim took the fight!  He says that he is ready to go to battle!   GOOD LUCK CRISPIM!!!

Also, just a little note… we will be adding some pretty cool new features and abilities to the website.  Please watch for them over the next few weeks. :)