NAGA Maryland BJJ Tournament

Baltimore Martial Arts students competed at the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) in Landover, MD. on Saturday October 8th, 2011.

Baltimore Martial Arts junior copetitors Justin Pyle and Ben Metzler competed in the junior advanced division. Both young men had very tough matches against nationally ranked competitors. Justin, the one man army, succumbed to some submissions but put on a good effort. This was Ben Metzler's first NAGA tournament. He had one win and three losses. Oscar Heredia competed in novice and had some very tough matches. Two losses came at the last second and one loss was decided by an advantage. Oscar took off for the summer but he is back in training and going hard.

Ian Rathmell was alos away for the summer but decided to compete. He was very brave in all of his matches and showed determination throughout. Wins didn't happen for Ian or Oscar but showing up made them winners in my eyes.

Baltimore Martial Arts junior competition team will be in training for more upcoming tournaments. Our team has not been doing as many NAGA tournaments as we have in the past. Lately we have been participating in the Junior Grappling tournaments which offer a double elimination format thus allowing our kids to compete in more matches. Justin Pyle Jr has had as many as 17 matches (maybe more) in one day. The next Junior Grappling tournament will be held in Virginia Saturday October 15th. The Junior Grappling 2 day National Championships will be held in Fredericksburgh, Virginia November 12-13. This event will award competitors that have accumulated points throughout the 2011 BJJ competitive year.

Turnout for NAGA Landover appeared to be half of what it was last year. This photo was taken at about 10:30 AM while the rules discussion was taking place. This discussion took about an hour which for many who are familiar with the rules can be lengthly. Im not sure why the turnout was less. Some people commented that it was due to the economy. Maybe you have an opinion???