theres a huge difference between only having a group of great athletes vs having a school where its teaching system pushes people from all ages to excel and become the best version of themselves, producing high quality athletes every generation.

when we first opened AOJ in 2012 we quickly attracted a large number of kids that were the face of our kids team. people saw their results in competitions and their display of our style of jiu jitsu and it became a trademark for AOJ.

we knew that without a strong teaching system we would not be able to keep displaying young champions year after year. so we focused on developing a strong kids programs.

today, 9 years later – that group of kids have been dominating brown and black belt division – and AOJ keeps bringing up high level jiu jitsu athletes with new juveniles, green belts, and color belts // like Mick – 10 years old – in this video winning his last competition.

congratulations to all the young champions for their hard work and courage to step on competition mats and represent our techniques.

artofjiujitsu.com
#artofjiujitsu

🇧🇷 portugues nos comentarios

its not only about winning. the performance will only make us satisfied when we can truly display our skills through techniques or when our heart is tested to the point where we must test our will to win and mental toughness.

the thoughts driven by the possibility of failing and the lack of understanding of your level will make even great athletes crumble or freeze on stage.

I like to use small competitions as mental training for the high level athletes, normally giving them tasks that will test their confidence and push them out of the comfort zone.

in this video we see @johnatha connecting passes and using takedowns, movements that we see him using in the academy but were not seen in the lower belts because of his strong guard game – it will be required to develop strong confidence in this area to get to the level we want to achieve for his career and we have been working on it.

I am an advocate for organized and structured work, and that’s how we work. we set long term goals, short term goals, we accomplish a lot, and we do fail sometimes like everyone else, but we get better with any given experience because our dedication and work ethic is second to none.

@artofjiujitsu
artofjiujitsu.com

🇧🇷 portugues nos comentários

congratulations to my student @shelbymurpheyjj on winning world pro in the blue belt female division – 17 years old and she has been winning everything – her strong pressure pass was not displayed in the finals but I am very happy to see her using her guard to get the submission and bring home de gold medal. great work shelby! thanks to everyone who supported her during her trip to Abu Dhabi

@artofjiujitsu
artofjiujitsu.com

parabens a minha aluna @shelbymurpheyjj pela vitoria hoje no world pro na faixa azul. 17 anos de idade e vem vencendo todas as competições que participa.

chasing submission
artofjiujitsu.com

@artofjiujitsu

May God bless you and your family.

– Rafael Mendes

Português: Que nos lembremos sempre do verdadeiro significado da Páscoa.

Que Deus abençoe você e sua família.

—

To reveal the kingdom coming
And to reconcile the lost
To redeem the whole creation
You did not despise the cross
For even in your suffering
You saw to the other side
Knowing this was our salvation
Jesus for our sake you died

And the morning that You rose
All of Heaven held its breath
‘Til that stone was moved for good
For the Lamb had conquered death

And the church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel, shall not faint
By His blood and in His name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me

Praise the Father, praise the Son
Praise the Spirit, three in one

God of glory, Majesty
Praise forever to the King of Kings

the journey will always matter more than the destination. we strive for the best, but we face with courage whatever is in front os us as a lesson to become who we were born to be. great event last night, special congratulations to my student ashlee funegra for the amazing display of our techniques and for her incredible work ethic at 14 years old.

@artofjiujitsu
artofjiujitsu.com

a jornada sempre sera mais importante que o destino. lutamos pelo melhor, mas encaramos com coragem o que esta em nossa frente, sempre em busca da evolução profissional e pessoal. parabens especial a minha aluna ashlee funegra pela bela perfomance ontem, 14 anos de idade com uma etica de trabalho incrível.

some old footage of me playing top in light-feather weight division. back stepping, leg weaving and knee sliding with constant attacks that led me to side control. 90% of my submissions were a result of my pressure pass forcing the opponent to either turn away and give the back or turn into me which would always expose the opportunity to use brabo or baseball choke. in this video we can se both examples being applied.

artofjiujitsu.com
@artofjiujitsu

video de alguns anos atras em que estou lutando por cima na categoria pluma. fazendo o back step, leg weave e knee slide (nome das passagens em ingles que usamos na AOJ) – a combinação destes ataques em ambas as lutas do video me abriram a oportunidade da passagem e finalização. 90% das minhas finalizações eram resultados da reação errada dos adversários causada pela passagem com pressão que eu exercia por cima. na primeira luta do video meu adversário se vira de costas para evitar os pontos e abre espaco para a finalização nas costas, na segunda luta ele tenta virar de frente para mim (em uma tentativa de voltar de frente) e encaixo o baseball choke.

assistam as aulas no artofjiujitsu.com

watch the full class on artofjiujitsu.com
@artofjiujitsu

@johnatha black belt light weight champion at Orlando Open – working his way to the top of the division /// another great performance

@artofjiujitsu
artofjiujitsu.com

@johnatha vencendo o peso leve faixa preta no Orlando Open – trabalhando para chegar ao topo // mais uma grande performance

second competition in black belt division – @tainandalpra climbing up the middle weight division /// beautiful jiu jitsu

@artofjiujitsu

segunda competição na faixa preta @tainandalpra escalando a categoria medio preta /// luta muito /// o objetivo é o topo

artofjiujitsu.com

amazing performance by @coleabatejj at WNO tonight. professional /// also happy to see him applying everything we worked in training – his submission attacks leading to dominant positions got him a fast submission /// congratulation champ #icecole 🥶❄️ scary 16 /// parabens @coleabatejj pela vitoria no WNO hoje. também feliz em ver ele aplicando os conceitos e técnicas que trabalhamos neste camp. usando ataques de finalização para o colocar em posições dominantes e finalizar rápido /// parabéns campeão

artofjiujitsu.com
@artofjiujitsu

studying leg attack set ups + using opponents defense to create passes and submission opportunities

watch the full class on artofjiujitsu.com

working on submissions attempts out of scrambles and also using submission attacks to create dominant positions to end the fight.

watch the full class on artofjiujitsu.com
#artofjiujitsu

@zachkaina winning purple belt feather weight. amazing work zach, constantly improving and understand the different aspects of competition. on to the next.

to me its not about having one or two champions. its about creating an environment where people can maximize their true potential and feel inspired to work towards their own version of success. I feel happy to see people succeeding and achieving what they worked for and I feel inspired to walk everyday into a place where people are energetic, positive and grateful for the opportunity to live their dreams.

@artofjiujitsu
@believeandachieve