Openmat News

OPENMAT Goes to the MMA EXPO!

2010-06-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend OPENMAT Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu put its positive vibe on display at Toronto's annual MMA Expo in Mississauga.

A special thanks goes out to Jodi, Tiffany, Jocelyn, Jason and Allen who volunteered their time, offered up rides and most importantly helped to spread the word to Toronto why they think OPENMAT is such a great place to practice martial arts!

As some of you may have already noticed there have been a lot of new faces around the club this week. Please help us in welcoming these new members to our family by introducing yourself and saying hello!

Congrats OpenMat Competitors!

2010-05-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend OpenMat students showed just how fun competing can be! Congratulations to all eight of OpenMat's students who took to the mats on both Saturday and Sunday (Josh E., Dan, Jodi, TIffany, Allan, Phil P., Jocelyn, and Carlos Q.) at the Ontario Open BJJ Championships. Everyone fought with great skill, heart, and as important - attitude! To top off both days a number of OpenMat students made their way up on to the podium! Congrats to Jodi who took home Silver and Gold medals, Tiffany who took Bronze, Allen C. who won Silver and Carlos who also took home a Silver! OpenMat head instructor Elliott Bayev also competed in the no-gi advanced division on Sunday, taking his division and showing us all why he is such a well-respected competitor on the Jiu-Jitsu world stage. Of course, the day wouldn't have been the same without all the OpenMat students and supporters who came out to cheer on all our competitors. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great weekend!

Make sure to check in with both our Facebook Fan page and YouTube Channel for discussion, photos and video footage.

Stripe and Belt Test This Sunday!

2010-05-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

OpenMat will be holding our next stripe and belt tests on Sunday, May 16th. Most who've been training consistently over the last few months will be moving forward. Requirements are being handed out in class this week, and extra practice time will be offered during some intermediate classes - inquire in class for details. Test times will be finalized early next week. If you are unable to attend the grading, please let us know as soon as possible.

Note: there will be no classes Sunday May 16th.

New Wrestling Classes!!!

2010-05-10T18:13:00.001-07:00

Beginning Wednesday, May 12th, OpenMat will begin offering Wrestling classes twice/week, taught by Val Ostanov, a BJJ Brown Belt with more than 20 years of Greco Roman and Freestyle Wrestling experience. These no gi classes will focus on takedowns for BJJ and submission wrestling competition, laying a foundation for those interested in MMA. Class times:

Wednesday

7:30- 9:00 Wrestling (Open to intermediate+ students)

Saturdays

3:00-4:00 BJJ Beginner/Intermediate flow

4:00-5:30 Wrestling Foundations (Open to all students)

5:30-6:00 Openmat

Elliott Kicks Butt at the Pan Ams in California!

2010-05-10T18:12:00.001-07:00

Head Instructor of OpenMat and Shawn Williams Brown Belt, Elliott Bayev, made his debut in the brown belt division last month at the at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan Ams in California! Elliott had an awesome performance, defeating his first opponent 12-2, before getting caught in the quarter finals!

Visit our YouTube Channel to watch all the action!

Renzo Gracie Black Belt Shawn Williams Opens His New School 5 Star Martial Arts, Elliott teaches the inaugural class!

2010-05-10T18:11:00.001-07:00

During his competition trip to Los Angeles last month, Elliott was honored with the privilege of teaching the inaugural class at his instructor Shawn Williams' new school, 5 Star Martial Arts. For those who don't know, Shawn is one of the most highly acclaimed instructors in North America, one of Renzo Gracie's first black belts, and the creator of OpenMat's amazing beginner and intermediate curricula. Congratulations and best of luck to Shawn from all of us - can't wait to see the new school grow! Look for OpenMat to host Shawn for another awesome seminar sometime this summer!

OpenMat students shine at the Ontario Open in Whitby

2010-04-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Congrats to all our competitors and supporters who made the trek out to the Ontario Open BJJ Tournament Whitby this past weekend. Everyone fought great and as important, displayed the awesome attitude and spirit that makes OpenMat what it is.

Click here to see the results page from the tournament!

Competitors
Josh E.
Dan M.
Jodi P. Silver and Gold
Tiffany B. Bronze
Allan C. Silver
Phil C.
Jocelyn B.
Carlos Q. Silver

IMPORTANT REMINDER: There will be no class this Saturday April 24th and Sunday April 25th, 2010

2010-04-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

It promises to be an exciting weekend as a number of our students will be competing at the Ontario Open BJJ in Whitby!

Ontario Open BJJ

Those of you interested in coming out to Whitby to cheer on our OpenMat competitors, please drop a note on our Facebook fan page or send us an email if you need a ride.
Good luck to all those students competing!

Our regular schedule will resume on Monday April 26th, 2010.

See you on the mats,
Steve

Head instructor Elliott Bayev made his debut at the Jiu-Jitsu Pan Ams

2010-04-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

Head instructor Elliott Bayev made his debut at the Jiu-Jitsu Pan Ams last weekend in Los Angeles! Fighting in the Brown Belt division, Elliott won his first fight 12-2, losing his second fight to the 3rd place winner. A number of top fighters in his division were impressed with Elliott and congratulated him. Next stop, Mundials!

Elliott take Silver Medal @ the Abu Dhabi Trial in Montreal!

2010-03-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Elliott, who fought great last weekend at the Abu Dhabi Pro World Championships Canadian National Trials. Elliott dispatched two brown belts and a purple in less than four combined minutes, then faced Shane Rice, a Rickson Gracie black belt and one of the top featherweight competitors in the world. Elliott and Shane had an awesome back and forth match with Shane catching Elliott in the last 30 seconds.

Video coming soon to Facebook Fanpage near you!

Renzo Gracie Black Belt Shawn Williams gives 2-day Seminar @ OpenMat

2010-02-27T09:48:00.000-08:00

It was another busy weekend here at OpenMat BJJ as Renzo Gracie Black Belt Shawn Williams made the journey from Los Angeles to give a two-day seminar here at our Toronto club! While this may have been Shawn's first ever trip to Toronto, OpenMat students made him feel like he had come home. Shawn's positive and reflective teaching style was a compliment to our already inclusive and friendly environment we have all built here at OpenMat. Whether a BJJ novice or a purple belt, everyone who attended left with a ton of new concepts to put into practice and no shortage of ways to improve upon their existing BJJ strategy. Don't forget to check in with our Facebook Fan Page to see all the great photos from this truly special weekend!

See you on the mats,
OpenMat

OpenMat holds its first ever Blue Belt Ceremony!

2010-02-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

It was a truly magical day here last Sunday as OpenMat celebrated it's fist ever Blue Belt ceremony! Friends and family were in attendance to show their support for our new Blue Belts. As anyone who has been doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for some time comes to learn, the transition to blue belt is a significant step toward a deeper understanding of this beautiful art we practice.

The ceremony started with a touching and inspiring speech from our Head Instructor and Shawn Williams Brown Belt, Elliott Bayev. It was clear how special each moment was as each student made their way up to receive their blue belt from Elliott. Of course our existing Blue Belts received a great surprise as they were all awarded stripes toward Purple Belt!

Of course no Blue Belt ceremony would be complete without a celebratory roll followed by some delicious cake. If you weren't able to attend don't worry, our resident videographer superstar Billy recorded the entire event, so keep an eye out for highlights.

See you on the mats!

Jiu-Jitsu For Haiti: 2 Days, 2 Workshops for a Great Cause

2010-02-23T14:56:00.000-08:00

Saturday February 13th OpenMat BJJ hosted two of three February Jiu-Jitsu For Haiti beginner workshops. A big thanks goes out to all the OpenMat students who came out and showed their support for this great cause all the while showing a few newbies the ropes! Don't forget that Jiu-Jitsu For Haiti raffle tickets are still available and can be purchased in class ($5 for 1 ticket or $20 for 5 tickets). Friends of OpenMat have donated almost $2000 in prizes including:

Apple iPod Nano Video (8GB) ($150 Value!)
1 of 3 $25 gift certificates for Metropolitan Ice Cream (yum)
1 60 Minute Massage Therapy Session ($85 Value)
1 of 3 30 Minute Massage Therapy Sessions ($50 Value, each!)
1 90 Minute Naturopathic Initial Visit and 1 30 Minute Follow Up Visit (Total Value $235!)
1 60 Minute Chiropractic New Patient Exam and 1 30 Minute Follow Up Visit (Total Value $120!)
1 Pair of MMA Gloves ($60 Value!)
1 of 3 OpenMat BJJ Gameplan DVDs! ($40 Value, each!)
1 of 3 Free Months of Training at OpenMat BJJ ($150 Value, each!)
1 of 3 Private BJJ Lessons ($150 Value, Each!)
and more!

Don't forget there are no regular classes today, Shawn Williams is here!

2010-02-20T09:42:00.001-08:00

Shawn Williams Seminar @ OpenMat BJJ!

2010-02-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

World-renown instructor, Shawn Williams will be coming to OpenMat BJJ for the first time! For those who aren't familiar with Shawn, he's a 2^nd degree Renzo Gracie Black Belt, a multiple time NAGA, Grappler's Quest and International Pro-Am Champion, head instructor at Hollywood Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in California and my (Elliott) instructor.

When I first visited Shawn's academy four or five years ago, I was instantly struck, not only with the technical instruction – some of the best I'd ever witnessed – but also the atmosphere and energy of the place, which in many ways has been an inspiration for the awesome vibe we have at OpenMat. Shawn will be coming to meet everyone and help improve our games, covering takedowns, guard passing and the infamous Shawn Williams Guard! You don't want to miss it!

We're limiting this seminar to 30 participants (1/3^rd of the spots are already taken!) and keeping it open exclusively to OpenMat students until February 15^th, so be sure to registers ASAP!

Cost: $75 per person, per day.

Day 1: Simple Takedown Set-Ups and Passing The Guard

Day 2 – The Shawn Williams Guard!

Dates and Times:

Saturday, February 20^th, from 3:00-6:00

Sunday, February 21^st from 1:00-4:00.

Space is limited so get your spot now!

Tournament News: Ascension BJJ Open 2010

2010-02-03T14:50:00.000-08:00

OpenMat students compete at Ascension's 2010 BJJ Open in Scarborough. Congrats to everyone on great performances! Stepping up to compete is a victory in itself, so long as you're having fun and are open to learning from the experience, of course!

To see more photos make sure to check out our Facebook Fan Page!

Medals are always nice too... congrats to

Results

Fighters: Gill, TJ, Kyle, Brian, Dan, Dmitri
Brian: White Belt Silver
Dan: Blue Belt Bronze

Dmitri: Silver gi blue belt
Silver gi absolute
Gold No gi blue belt (armbarring all of his opponents!)
Gold No gi blue belt absolute

As well a special thanks to all those who came out to show their support and take pictures and video for OpenMat! As usual all of our competitors showed

Shawn Williams Coming to Openmat for Two Seminars on February 20 & 21st

2010-02-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Renzo Gracie black belt Shawn Williams of Hollywood Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is coming to Toronto! For those of you that don't know, Openmat became an affiliate school of Hollywood BJJ less than a year ago and the impact that Shawn's curriculum has had on student life here at Openmat has been nothing short of miraculous!

Whether you are brand new to our sport or have been training for years you don't want to miss this seminar.

Email us classes@openmat.ca now to reserve your spot today.

Shawn Williams Coming to Toronto in February

2010-01-23T17:46:00.000-08:00

Shawn is a second degree Renzo Gracie Black Belt who runs Hollywood BJJ and is an awesome Jiu-Jitsu practitioner widely recognized as one of the best instructors in America.

Openmat now offering classes 7 day a week

2010-01-23T17:44:00.001-08:00

Check our schedule for more information

Lead Instructor Elliott Recieves His Brown Belt

2010-01-23T17:42:00.001-08:00

Big congratulations to OpenMat BJJ's Head Instructor Elliott on receiving his Brown Belt from Shawn Williams! Elliott spent nearly two weeks training and studying with Shawn at Hollywood Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, working on his own game as well as learning Shawn's Intermediate Curriculum. This past Monday night, Elliott's last night at the academy, Shawn offered a warm goodbye in front of the class and surprised Elliott with the promotion. A 2nd Degree Renzo Gracie Black Belt, Shawn is recognized as one of the best instructors in North America and it's truly an honour to receive such a powerful endorsement from him.

Tournament News

2010-01-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

Pan Ams 2009
Head instructor Elliott Bayev takes silver at the Pan American Jiu Jitsu championship in New York!

Joslin's 2009
Big congrats to all our students who fought on Sunday, November 8th at Joslin's Canadian Open - the biggest tournament in Canada! For many, it was their first competition and a major breakthrough on a number of levels. Great work TJ, Giovanni, Tiffany, Brandon, Kyle, Josh, Dan and Brian! Competing is, itself, a victory as it teaches you much about yourself and your game and, as Shawn puts it, is a stepping stone towards bigger and better things.

Congratulations to Gill and Tiffany who competed in their first tournament in August and fought amazingly - not only in the the tournament, but in training on the way there. Gill took home a Silver and Tiffany took a Silver and a Gold - GREAT work girls! Thanks to Jodi for taping and hosting.