2009 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships Day 3

Sunday was a great day for Street Sports at the Pan Americans as we delivered a variety of great performances.

Starting off the day, Daniel Rodriguez steamrolled the Brown Belt middle weight division and captured the gold medal! Winning every match by submission (with the exception for the first on points), Daniel proved he is a force to be reckoned with at brown belt now. Congratulations, Daniel!

Kane Tsay also brought home a medal at Brown Belt! Competing at lightweight, Seniors 1, Kane managed to fight off some very tough opposition in his first tournament as a brown belt to bring home the bronze. Way to go, Kane!

Ending the day on Sunday, John Rickel competed in the black belt absolutes. John fought 3 time world champ Fabio Leopoldo and took him to the end of the time period, and finally losing by points. Congrats to John for a valiant effort against a very seasoned black belt!

Daniel Rodriguez

Kane Tsay

John Rickel

2009 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships Days 1 & 2

Congratulations to all the Street Sports athletes that competed on day 1 of the Pan Americans this year. We didn't bring home any medals the first day, but we did give 'em hell!!!

Congrats to: Charles Martone, Eric Luchtemberg, Michael Ripberger, Ruben Lomeli, and Roberto Zeinum.

Special thanks to John Lamonica for sponsoring our team and for taking these very unbelievable photos!

Charles Martone






Eric Luchtemberg




Michael Ripberger

Interview with John Lamonica

I recently caught up with John Lamonica after a training session at Street Sports to ask a few quick questions about his experience with Jiu Jitsu and his decision to sponsor our team at the Pan Ams.

Thanks to John for his time (and please ignore my very amateur interviewing skills)!

Lamonica's Pizza to Sponsor Street Sports

John Lamonica, owner of Lamonica's NY Pizza in Westwood, has been gracious enough to sponsor athletes from Street Sports Jiu Jitsu competing in the 2009 Pan American Jiu Jitsu Championships.

In addition to providing entrance fees, John has upped the ante and provided some additional incentives for those that bring home a medal.

John Lamonica is not only an avid jiu jitsu player himself, but he's also a photographer and has even had some of his tournament photos featured in Gracie Magazine.

From all of us at Street Sports, thanks John!

Street Sports Jiu Jitsu in Malibu

Street Sports Jiu Jitsu is pleased to announce jiu jitsu is coming to Malibu!

In conjunction with Malibu Fitness, black belt Raphael Carrao (who is endorsed by Renato Magno) will be teaching group classes and privates at the gym.

Current Malibu Schedule

Tues: 7 - 8PM
Thurs: 7 - 8PM
Sun: 12 Noon

Call Rapha for more information: (310) 907-6231

Malibu Fitness
29575 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
Jiu Jitsu Malibu

In Memory of Helio Gracie

The world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lost its founding father last Thursday when Helio Gracie died at the age of 95 in Itaipava, Rio de Janeiro. Helio lived a full life and succumbed to natural causes.

We at Street Sports wish to pay our respects to Helio and the Gracie family. If it were not for our hero Helio, Street Sports Academy would not exist, Renato would not be here in the US, and all of our students would not have the gift of Jiu Jitsu in our everday lives.

We remembered Helio Gracie with a bow and a moment of silence on our knees on Saturday.

Helio Gracie

Street Sports 10th Anniversary Photos

Kitty Martone was able to capture some great moments from our 10 Year Anniversary and she was good enough to share them with us.

View the whole 10 year anniversary gallery here (over 200 photos).

Street Sports 10th Anniversary Belt Ceremony

Congratulations to Renato Magno as Street Sports Jiu Jitsu recently celebrated it's 10 year anniversary! To commemorate the occasion the belt ceremony was extra special this year and was attended by what seemed like at least 120 students, family and special guests.

The day was extra special for the following grapplers as they finally received their black belts:

• Tim Roth


• Bob Jeninnas


• Rob Dixon


• Adam Treanor


• Matt Cable


• Francisco Arias

In addition to those belts, 30 other students also received promotions.

We have made the belt ceremony PowerPoint available online as a memento of the historic occasion. Included in the slide show are old photos and other material we did not get to go over due to time constraints.

Be patient, after you click on the link, it might take up to a minute for the file to start downloading:

Street Sports Kids Martial Arts Program

Professors Renato Magno and Ricardo Wilke have designed a chidren's jiu jitsu program offered on Monday and Wednesdays from 5 - 6 PM. Additionally, Street Sports also offer a juniors program for teens (13 - 17 yrs) from 6 to 7 PM.

About the program:

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a very practical and comprehensive ground fighting system invented in Brazil and now gaining popularity around the world. Brazilian jiu-jitsu emphasizes "technique over strength" and not anger or aggression.

Children learning jiu jitsu will gain valuable self defense skills, and additionaly increased discipline and confidence, physical fitness, self esteem and focus. Jiu jitsu can help kids deal with stressful situations without getting emotional and can position them not only become great achievers in martial arts, but in every aspect of life.

In a safe and nurturing environment, Street Sports kids learn how to deal with punches, kicks and other wrestling holds by using their opponents weight and momentum to their advantage. They will also learn how to gain advantageous positions using throws, take-downs and other wrestling-like controls. Children that learn jiu jitsu will be able to defend themselves in real world self defense situations even against much larger opponents.

If you have a child between the ages 8 and 13 or a teenager, stop in for a free introductory class!

Kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Photos:

US Open BJJ Results

Congrats to Street Sports athletes Scott Singer, Adam Treanor and Reuben Lomeli on their performances at US Open XII.

Adam Treanor won bronze at brown belt while Scott Singer took home the bronze at purple. Way to go guys!

Jiu Jitsu Tournament On October 25th

Street Sports Black Belt, Chris Lisciandro, is running a tournament at his school in Sherman Oaks on October 25th and 26th, 2008.

The tournament is open to white, blue and purple belts and is an excellent opportunity to gain some competiton experience. See the flyer below for more details.