Attention Jiu-Jitsu Players, under a week left til...

In under a weeks time the most talented men, women, and children training in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will ascend upon the mats of the 3rd annual New England Open.  Returning to Springfield, MA's Central High School, the New England Open will be a smooth and enjoyable experience.  
With the hybrid sports of submission grappling and m.m.a. gaining impressive amounts of popularity it is extremely satisfying to see that traditional arts are bringing high level and high visibility competitions to the masses as well.  Gabriel "Gladiador" Santos is one of the organizers for the event and probably the man with the most visibility in the local MMA and BJJ community of Western MA at the moment.  His mission is to bring high level competition and competitors together in a manner that respects both the sport and those who live to play it.  To ensure this mission is achieved Gladiador is officiating along side two other well known Black Belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu players you might be familiar with.  Danilo Cherman and Rafael Formiga



Rafael is a hard man to pin down, in more ways than one, but you'll have to watch this video of him from a 2008 competition held in New Jersey that really drives home the feel of what you can expect to see and experience in a space like Central High School.  This was great.  Thanks to Rafael's student Jeffery Leach for posting this link on 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu's Nibiru Forum.

This following video is from the 2010 Grapplers Quest, featuring Danilo Cherman in the Absolute No Gi Division

And finally we have Gladiador in the cage at EFI's October 27th, 2007 event.  While Gladiador was beating this guy on the mat I was celebrating my own victory.  I celebrated turning 27 with my family and wondering what life was going to throw at me next.  Here's to victory in life and on the mat.  Osssuu.....
 

Get yourselves ready for a great day of competitive Jiu-Jitsu action.  Contact any of these dedicated men via the numbers on the poster above.  Make sure you let them know New England loves its Jiu-Jitsu.

Joe Leonard is a student of Team Ravenous Mixed Martial Arts.  A friend and supporter of the Gabriel "Gladiador" Brazilain Jiu-Jitsu Training Center in West Springfield, MA, it's members, and the Santos family.  A contributing author here on WesternMassMMA.com, a volunteer television producer for Frontier Community Access Television, and co-founder of The Web MMA Training Center in Greenfield, MA.
Please feel free to leave comments, ideas, and criticisms below.