Matthew Barvo is the owner and head Jiu-Jitsu instructor at Team Beast Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He began his Jiu-Jitsu training in 1999, and has over five years of instructing experience.

Matt is currently training to compete in the No-Gi Panams and No-Gi World Championships. He has cross-trained in Muay Thai Kickboxing, Judo, and Mixed Martial Arts. He is also Boise State University’s only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor.

Team Beast BJJ offers classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu, Fight Fitness and Self Defense. Their training center has over 4,000 sq. ft. of grappling mats and an assortment of over 20 punching bags.

So if you live in or near Eagle, Idaho, stop by and check out Team Beast BJJ & MMA. There can’t be too many people teaching Jiu Jitsu in Eagle, short of going into Boise, so if you want to learn Jiu Jitsu, learn from the best you can, and visit Team Beast.

Matt Barvo, Team Beast BJJ, welcome to USAJJ!

————————–

06/12/2010 Edit

Mr. Barvo’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lineage is under investigation by our officials. Thanks to all of those that pointed out the ongoing Bullshido happening over at : http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=95870

We’ll post our findings as we collect them.

Master Kazeka Muniz

Here is some great news if you live in Lancaster or Palmdale California. Master Kazeka Muniz, member of the Black Belt Council, has opened a new academy in Palmdale, CA.  The new school is named Premium Fitness and it is set to bring some much needed Jiu Jitsu love to the surrounding area.

Master Kazeka Muniz obtained his black belt in Jiu Jitsu from Carlos Gracie Jr. of Gracie Barra academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has trained alongside such world class jiu-jitsu fighters as Renzo Gracie, Ryan Gracie, Roger Gracie, Marcio Feitosa, Draculino, Soca, Pe de Pano, Gordo, and the Machado Brothers.

Master Muniz has lived in Krasnoyarsk, Russia and Tbilisi, Georgia (former Soviet Union) training with world and Olympic champions Adam and Bouvaisar Saitiev under world-renown coach Alexander Karniashvili. Master Kazeka Muniz was the strength and conditioning coach for 4 Olympic gold medalists in wrestling from Cuba. He is still welcome to train with both the Cuban and Russian Olympic wrestling teams.

In 2004, Master Muniz helped create England’s number one MMA gym, the Wolfslair, and was the wrestling coach for former UFC Light heavy weight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Ultimate Fighter Season 2 champion Michael “the Count” Bisping.

The Kids Jiu Jitsu class at Premium Fitness

Premium Fitness is a huge gym with plenty of room and equipment for training. And there are a LOT of things to train in. Premium Fitness offers Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, No-Gi Jiu Jitsu, Freestyle Wrestling, Kickboxing, and of course, a combination of them all for the MMA program.

A lot of attention is placed on the childrens classes as well. Master Muniz offers a Kids Jiu Jitsu and a Kids Wrestling class. It’s never too early to have your child involved in a healthy form of exercise, and starting at a young age will set patterns and behaviors that last a lifetime.

So if you’ve been looking for a  Jiu Jitsu academy in Palmdale or Lancaster, CA, look no further. Master Muniz can teach you what you want to know, and he does offer a free week pass. There’s a reason he is such a highly respected member of the sport and one of the governing bodies for this Jiu Jitsu organization.

Master Sylvio Behring and USA Jiu Jitsu

Master Sylvio Behring visited the National Training Center this week, and it was incredible! Hopefully you were able to come and meet Master Behring for yourself.

It was a busy trip for Master Behring. He and our National Tournament Director, Chris Stolzman, both took a trip to Ft. Meyer and to Ft. Belvoir. At Ft. Meyer, Chris was honored to assist Master Behring in teaching a class on Master Behrings Progressive System to the Army Combatives class.

At Ft. Belvoir, Master Behring was presented with a Challenge Coin by the base commander, Colonel Kevin McKenna.

We had a full turn out for the seminar!

Monday and Tuesday evening’s, Master Behring taught his Progressive System to over one hundred people over both nights. Everyone had a lot of fun, and learned a lot. For those of you who didn’t make it, we will be putting up a video shortly.

We would like to thank everyone who was able to come. But we would especially like to thank Master Behring, and we were honored he was able to visit our Jiu Jitsu organization.

Commissioner Papa John Gorman, Tournament Director Chris Stolzman, and NTC GM John Eidman have all been working long and hard to get this off the ground and in action. And while many of the details are still being ironed out, we are urging people to start pre-registering now. Many schools and teams have already committed, including New Breed Academy, Behring Jiu Jitsu, and KnuckleUp.

The location for the tournament in Las Vegas has been narrowed down to two venues, and once one is decided on, we’ll be sure to post it immediately.  Once we have a better idea of the number of people who will attend, we can work out all the rest of the details.

Also at the tournament, we will be posthumously presenting an award to founder Helio Gracie for his dedication and perserverance in making Jiu Jitsu what it is today.

Sorry for the scant details, but we wanted people to know this is finally happening. So mark your calendars for August 7th, and start training now. The first USA Jiu Jitsu tournament is now official!

Philip Smith and SmithBJJ Club

Phillip Smith was introduced to Jiu Jitsu in 1996 at Warner Air Force base in Robins, GA. In 1997 Smith began to train with Romero “Jacare” Calvalcanti. After several years training in the sport, and a brief hiatus to earn his Master’s Degree in International Relations, Smith trained under and received his Black Belt from Roberto Traven. He still trains with and is affiliated with Roberto Traven and the Brasa team.

Under the Jiu Jitsu Professor LLC umbrella, Smith owns and operates his academy, Smith Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, in McDonough, GA. Here, Smith has 26 students and four other highly decorated instructors, including a law enforcement specialist and MMA trainer. His top student and fellow instructor Chris Haraszti won his division in the Pan American with no points scored against him.

Smith feels that the future of BJJ is with the children involved in the sport. To further this end, Smith has developed his own children’s program, Dragon Power-Jitsu.  The core of the program is based on developing coordination, self-discipline and agility, as well as setting a solid foundation for Jiu Jitsu. It also incorporates activities from other sports, so that the child is well rounded and prepared for any activity he may be involved with. Smith also likes to include the parents in the training session, and often invites them to join their child on the mat.

Smith joined our Jiu Jitsu organization because he shares our vision of Jiu Jitsu in the Olympics. He feels we are more disciplined and organized than other organizations and will succeed in our dream. Working from that perspective, Smith joined because he wants to be involved from the beginning.

So Phillip Smith, we welcome you to USA Jiu Jitsu and thank you for sharing our vision!

Donnie Tinsley and Team Sprawl and Brawl

Donnie is a 3rd Dan Black Belt in TKD and a Blue Belt in Jiu Jitsu under Morrison Butler. Donnie has been studying martial arts for over 15 years. He started practicing TKD in high school with his parents as a family hobby. Donnie really got into martial arts because, although team work is important, once he’s in the ring, it’s on him, win or lose. Donnie got into Jiu Jitsu after sparring with a wrestler and realized how critical ground technique was when he lost.

Now he operates at the Tae Kwon Do Institute of Self Defense, which has locations in Elizabeth City and Hertford, NC. The Tae Kwon Do Institute is the longest running Martial Arts School in Northeastern NC. With over 20 years teaching experience in the Martial Arts, they offer programs in TKD, submission wrestling, Thai boxing, and MMA to people of all ages. He has about 55 students under his wing.

Donnie is also the co-founder of Team Sprawl and Brawl, the first amateur MMA team to bring Championship recognition to North Carolina. Team Sprawl and Brawl was founded in Elizabeth City June of 2000 by Donnie Tinsley & Mike Kellar. The team has members that practice at both Elizabeth City & Hertford locations. Donnie welcomes all people to join their team.

And as if he isn’t busy enough, Donnie is the owner of Coastal Combat Circuit, which is his organization to host tournaments all over the NE North Carolina area. While just by itself it’s great that someone is bringing MMA and no-gi tournaments to this area, Donnie also contributes a percentage of ALL profits to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation from all of his events. The CF Foundation puts the largest percentage of its donations to research of all other CF charities. Donnie has two students with CF and feels this is a great way to help people with the condition.

Donnie joined USAJJ because of the sense of community and support. There are not many choices in his area for martial arts, especially Jiu Jitsu, and as a member of our rapidly growing Jiu Jitsu organization, he and his students now have more options for learning and competing. He also thinks that our goal of getting Jiu Jitsu in the Olympics is a great idea.

So once again, Donnie, welcome to USA Jiu Jitsu!

Grand Master Sylvio Behring

Master Behring will be teaching a seminar at the NTC on Monday, March 22nd and Tuesday, March 23rd from 6 PM to closing time. The best part is the price of the seminars: They’re FREE! That’s right, free. You can come learn from one of the greats of our sport for free. This is an unbelievable opportunity to learn Master Behring’s own style of Jiu Jitsu.

Master Behring is the President of the International Black Belt Council. He is a 7th degree Black Belt. He is also the man who awarded former UFC fighter and BJJ World Champion, Fabricio Werdum his black belt. One of Master Behring’s many activities also includes coaching current UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva.

Master Behring was honored as the Best BJJ Coach in Brazil in 2003 and is currently regarded as one of the BEST BJJ instructors in the world. And next week he will be teaching at one of the best Jiu Jitsu organizations in the world.

Do not miss this seminar. Master Behring will be explaining his personal Progressive Guard System, which he has been invited to teach to the U.S. Army. This is your opportunity to learn this style from the man who invented it.

This seminar is open to everyone who has a love of Jiu Jitsu. If you can make it, it’s going to be an event that you’ll talk about long after it’s over. And of course, it’s FREE. Really, there is no reason for you not to attend. We’ll see you there.

Boyce's Martial Arts in Winchester VA

We would like to welcome Mike Boyce and Boyce’s Martial Arts to USA Jiu Jitsu!

Mike Boyce is an established instructor in the martial arts community. He has over 25 years of experience in several arts such as Taekwondo, Filipino Martial Arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Thai Boxing, Shotokan Karate, Silat and many other systems. He was trained by the world renowned Navy SEAL Frank Cucci and became an official representative of the Linxx Martial Arts System. He has a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Marcelo Alonso.

Mr. Boyce is also a certified Associate Instructor under Ajarn Chai Surisite (Master Chai) who is a world champion Thai Boxer and a Lumpinee Stadium champion.

Mr. Boyce joined USAJJ because he found other organizations lacked support and were not as student centered as he wanted. He feels his students will benefit the most from a relationship with USAJJ.

Of particular interest is Mr. Boyce’s philosophy about martial arts. He does not think martial arts should be about fighting. He thinks it is important to instill a sense of honor and integrity in today’s youth and hopes to firmly implant these ideals in his students. Students at Boyce Martial Arts learn in a non-competitive, supportive, and friendly atmosphere. Their organized and goal-oriented martial arts program allows individuals to focus and concentrate on achievement, and building and reinforcing a strong code of personal excellence.

Boyce’s Martial Arts has also made large gains in teaching disabled students. Currently enrolling two students with Asperger Syndrome, the school has had success with students with other disabilities as well. Mr. Boyce credits the success the school has had with these students to his wife Caroline, who is also an instructor, and the rest of his staff for making the effort to reach these kids. This is a noble endeavor, and really makes the point that martial arts are approachable by anyone.

If you live in the Winchester, VA area, stop by and check them out.

You can also take a look at their web page at Boyce’s Martial Arts.

Once again, congratulations to Mike Boyce and Boyce’s Martial Arts! USAJJ is proud to have you onboard!

USAJJ Commissioner PapaJohn with Royce Gracie

Washington, D.C.

According to USA Jiu-Jitsu Commissioner John “PapaJohn” Gorman, USA Jiu-Jitsu is an association for Jiu-Jitsu.

All of Jiu-Jitsu…

That means schools, academies, students, competitors… any and all organizations involved with jiu-Jitsu.

If you organize competitions, sell a product, for example…Mats, Gis, t-shirts, cleaning supplies and health related products to help the athletes….then USA Jiu-Jitsu is your organization.

USA Jiu-Jitsu has established a great insurance agreement with major insurance carriers for martial arts schools that provide needed coverage and incredibly reasonable rates. Member schools can obtain the insurance for $450.00 per year.

Additionally, USA Jiu-Jitsu Individual Members get $25,000.00 of additional health coverage for the cost of the individual membership.

“We are a service organization”, said Commissioner Gorman, “and as such, we want to bring the Jiu-Jitsu and related martial arts community together to provide more effective and cost efficient services for our members. As a group we can focus on solving many of the problems that plague our sport.”

He indicated that USA Jiu-Jitsu was in effect a consumer organization.

We are here to help our members solve their problems. If they are having difficulties dealing with billing and credit card companies, we want to assist them.

In addition, he said USAJJ can also evaluate and certify rank, credentials, and certify Instructors. Training for Tournament Directors and referees is also available.

As a non-profit organization, our job is help our members.

“That is our primary focus,” said PapaJohn, “We want our members to be successful”.