Danny Alvarez coaching his students at the IBJJF Houston Open in February. Photo: Erin Herle
The registration for the IBJJF Dallas Open is coming to a close. The annual tournament hosted its first event in 2011 and has grown since then, catering to academies throughout Texas and further.
Some of our GMA academies will be present bringing anywhere from 5 to 40 competitors. Getting ready for both the upcoming Dallas Open and the fast approaching World Championships, we asked them about their preparation:
Danny Alvarez of Alvarez BJJ – Arlington, Texas
“We should have 30-40 competitors by the end of the deadline for registration [which is Saturday April 27!]. I have been pumping this thing up every day since IBJJF announced they were coming to Dallas.
Last year Alvarez BJJ, representing Nova Uniao, had so many competitors compared to the other NU affiliates and scored so many points that Bruno Bastos let us take home both the first place kids trophy and the adult team trophies to display in our academy. It was a great day for us and I expect this year to be even better!
I am excited for the simple fact that I know that all our competitors are so much better than last year. We work so hard all year round but we have really kicked it into high gear since the new year. I think we have done at least 10 competitions already this year. We have goals to make 2013 the best year yet and we are off to a great start. We have so many new students that have now joined our competition team and they are doing great and getting better every day as well. We have been doing a lot of positional drilling and live positional training to help us prepare. We play a lot of pass and defend from the closed and open guard. Some days its seven, eight or nine minute rounds with at least four to five rounds per class. One thing is for sure, our competitors will be in shape and will be ready to push the pace come May 5.
I go over Strategies and Scenarios a lot on how to score points advantages and of course finishes. We spend a lot of time on these things because I don’t want my competitors going out there trying to “wing it.” They all know to bring their “A” game and the tournament is not the time to bust out something new they saw on YouTube. I really just expect great things come May 5 and feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning! Be on the look out for the Alvarez BJJ patch because they will be all over.”
Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes of Gracie Barra Houston – Webster, Texas
“The preparation for the Dallas open is following the same protocol as the other big tournaments here in the state of Texas: Hard training morning and night! Also, to complement that, we have special drilling classes and stand up training.
As the Director of Gracie Barra in the state of Texas, the Dallas Open represents a very tough and exciting challenge for us. However, the city of Houston is our home base, where the state headquarters is located.
In the Houston Open, GB Texas won the tournament in all its four editions. This year, besides the Houston Open, GB Texas won the State Championships in March. There is a branch of GB in Dallas (Southlake area) and some of our other schools of Houston who will be there to compete as well.”
Justin Rader of Lovato Jiu-Jitsu – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
“The IBJJF Dallas Open Jiu-Jitsu tournament is sure not to disappoint. With many top competitors competing in past years, this one looks to be no different.
This is looking to be one of the biggest teams the Lovato Jiu-Jitsu Team has ever taken to one of the IBJJF Open tournaments. All the guys have been training very hard, and I’m very excited to see our team in action and coach them on May 5! We’re coming in strong and we’re gunning for that first place spot on the podium as a team, that is our goal!
I think one of the divisions I’m most excited to watch is the black belt middleweight division, with names like Leonardo I. Iturralde Aguirre, Albert Hughes, Nic Nikolaisen, Jacob Mackenzie, Marcus Vinícius Costa Antelante, and Carlos Diego Ferreira Neves. This division could be anybody’s! Other names to watch for are Mackenzie Dern, Gabriel Vella de Freitas, Rafael Lovato Jr., and I’m sure others will be signing up!”
Jason Ebarb of Texas Punishment Crew – Beaumont, Texas
“We’ve got about six guys making the 4.5 hour drive to Dallas. I will be there to coach. Some of our guys are using this tournament to tune up for worlds and to test their game plans which is always beneficial to make any time sensitive adjustments and to make any weaknesses stronger during preparations for worlds. Thats not to say we don’t have good local tournaments to do the same thing but we are always excited to see the IBJJF make it to Texas and be able to compete in such a prestigious organization in our own backyard and not have to buy a plane ticket. The IBJJF reputation always brings in a different scene of back patches and competitors to the mat from all over and that is very valuable when trying to progress and prepare. It’s a unique opportunity that we encourage our students to take advantage of.”
Paul Halme of Peak Performance BJJ – Keller, Texas
“We are getting very excited for the Dallas Open. With a team of over 20 hard working competitors, we are looking to make a push to get on the team trophy podium!”
—
The tournament will be held on May 5 at the Texas Women’s University Kitty Magee Arena 1600 N. Bell Ave, Denton, TX 76209
Registration ends Saturday April 27 so hurry and go here to reserve your spot: http://www.ibjjf.org/dallas2013home.htm
