Who's the next big thing at YOUR academy?

Oliver Geddes

Oliver Geddes

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So yeah. We've done a lot of talking about ourselves on this forum (none moreso than me, probably. >_<), so let's give props to the training partners you have who are just way ahead of the curve. The blue belts who are smashing browns, the guys who just seem to be learning at a rate that you can't match, whatever.

Perhaps more importantly, also explain WHY you think they're smashing people, and getting as good as they are as quickly as they are.

We spend a lot of time questioning people's promotions, even when we don't know them, so maybe we should get to know them. Then when we question it, at least it's fair. ^_^

Oh, and if the answer is 'me', then...pick the SECOND best next big thing at your academy. ^_^

Okay, rules clear?

Go!

Take care,

Oli
 
guys that train a lot more and travel overseas to compete.
 
There is this 20 year old purple belt at my gym that seems to submit all the browns at least once during class. His guard is incredible but his top game is a little weak compared to his bottom work. He never seems to rest for one second. That is what strikes me as incredible. He is always moving independent of where he is. Thank god I have 3 years to reach him. By then he'll probably be killing me anyway or a BB but who knows? Maybe I'll catch up.
 
We have a 14 year old kid (green belt) who is regularly tapping blue belts. He's a very flexible kid and can be put himself into some of the weirdest positions you've ever seen. He seems to be able to grab a triangle at will on all of the whites and blues. When he gets his blue belt in a couple of years he will destroy any division he competes in. I don't foresee him being a blue or a purple belt very long. He could honestly compete at purple belt level right now and do just fine.
 
There is a young kid at my gym named Josh, here is a vid of him in action:


He has started competing against the adults now to give him more of a challenge.

I think he excells because he is a student of the game (always coming in with new material to try, and very keen to learn).
 
We have a 16 year old kid at my gym who has a bit of a way to go as far as technique, but is definitely coming along and loves to train and learn new things. He's a yellow belt because of his age, but if he was an adult he would be on the cusp of blue, if not a blue. Best of all for him, the kid is incredibly athletic and already has the strength of a full grown man, and he trains harder than I've ever seen from someone his age. And on top of that he has a fighter's intensity and toughness. I make a concerted effort every day to encourage him to keep training, because I know he has the potential to do great things if he continues to develop his technique.
 
We have a blue belt who loves to compete. He does a lot of the us grappling comps and usually takes gold.

Very athletic, very strong and technical. Hopefully we can get him out to the pan ams or mundials this year.
 
If you go by weight, I'm next probably...behind Abe Wagner.

But in all seriousness, I think the next big thing in our school, BJJ-wise, is Drew Dober.

He trains relentlessly, has very good discipline, he's very athletic and fit, and he moves very fluidly. He's a studier of judo, wrestling and BJJ, so his take down game is very good.
 
We don't have one :(

I mean, no one seems to be improving at a rapid pace. I thought one guy might have been. He did well with me in rolling and he has only trained 8 months, but I made a point to roll with him every couple of classes and he really isn't. Maybe I had an off day the first time around.
 
Well, we have a French guy at white belt, who is blue quality and has really learned a lot recently. We have 3 purples, all three of which are nearing brown belt. As far as blue, there are a few contenders other than myself.

One is another French guy. About 80 kilos and very technical and smart. However, he just had a child a few weeks ago. There is another guy "Yoga Rob" who is a solid blue and gives people fits due to his flexibility and unique game. He very well might make it to purple soon.

We don't have any browns or blacks, but we're due to get a new instructor to our school in the coming weeks. That should add to development.
 
At my academy we have a few. The top two would be Sean Roberts and Beneil "Benny" Dariush. Sean comes trains back and forth between Orange County, CA and Dublin/San Francisco, CA. Benny is now a purple belt after only 3 years of training and is an absolute BEAST. He's 21 and trains everyday at least 3 times a day. He only trains 1 time on Sundays. He trains BJJ with the gi twice a day, Muay Thai or MMA once a day. He placed in the American Nationals, Pan Ams, Worlds and Nogi Worlds at blue AND purple belt. On top of being super good, he's an extremely friendly and humble kid.

Beneil Dariush 2010 HL

 
The next big thing in terms of what?

I'd say my current coach (Andreh Anderson) is, in terms of getting much deserved recognition for being an amazing instructor. I've only been with him for a year but my game has seriously exploded under his tutelage, and I was "decent" before coming to him...but really, and I mean really, he is awesome.
 
I don't like the idea of spilling the beans about my teammates, but one of the purple belts is a beast. He fights in the adult category as a pesad
 
I train with a guy who's 22 and is currently a brown belt. He ended up competing against Ian McPherson (brown belt world champ) at a comp in Georgia a while back. He had Ian in danger the entire match but ended up losing by a point. They met up again at another comp. Daniel (the guy form my school) was pretty much dominating. Ian tried an escape that actually ended up torquing Daniel's knee and making him tap. If you watch the vid, you will see what I mean. It's a pretty strange ending to the match. Just a crappy ending to a great match. I think Daniel is going to go VERY far. Here's the video of his last match with Ian.

 
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There's this hot chick that started last week. Like 120lbs, curvy and looks so good when shes gassed. Everyone wants to sub her from the back!
 
JoshGrrrr said:
I train with a guy who's 22 and is currently a brown belt. He ended up competing against Ian McPherson (brown belt world champ) at a comp in Georgia a while back. He had Ian in danger the entire match but ended up losing by a point. They met up again at another comp. Daniel (the guy form my school) was pretty much dominating. Ian tried an escape that actually ended up torquing Daniel's knee and making him tap. If you watch the vid, you will see what I mean. It's a pretty strange ending to the match. Just a crappy ending to a great match. I think Daniel is going to go VERY far. Here's the video of his last match with Ian.

Click to expand...


Strange ending for sure. Didn't look like anything. Also, at like 5:10 it was like Ian wasn't even doing anything. Just let himself get swept like it was practice. Odd.
 
I second Sean Roberts and Benny. Cant argue with their results in competition. Sean was on the purple lightweight podium at worlds and Benny is the purple belt middleweight Pan Ams silver medalist, open weight silver medalist, worlds silver medalist, blue belt world champion.....ect ect...all after 3 years. He was going up against people who were purple belts when he first walked through the doors at the gym! He has never not medaled at a confederation tournament...and hes done quite a few.

Sean learns physical movements very quickly. I remember we would be at the same private lessons with he and I and he would go and use the move in a tournament that weekend whereas I would take weeks or months to get it functional. He would make up his own stuff and catch guys 2 belts higher than him in tournaments. I remember as a blue he went up against a black belt in a superfight at a local tournament and applied some calf crusher he made up (as far as both of us and our coach knew at the time anyway). If sean hadnt have been a blue belt, he likely would have tapped as he was in quite a bit of pain and started freaking out to get out. He also spends a heck of a lot of time on the mat. Sean obsesses over things such as attempting to solve a rubix cube in world record time, magic, ripping phone books in half, holding his breath for 3 min plus under water ect....jiu jitsu is his biggest obsession of them all and his gift for hyper focusing and physical learning make jiu jitsu just the thing for him.

Benny is going to hate me writing this but oh well. Thats what he gets for smashing me every day. He has some physical gifts such as his flexibility and a toughness that you rarely see in guys. His flexibility allows him to do things some cant and helps him avoid injury, but it would mean nothing without his work ethic. Today for example I trained 3 times AM early PM and PM...youd think that is a lot right? Benny was with me for all my training and did 2 more training sessions. Many times he will come fresh from training with Romulo, Mamute, Jerry and all the GB black belts and the drive back to our gym ready for more with the best our gym has to offer. Let me tell you something too...romulo does not do anything light to state it mildly. You know everybody there is really putting the pressure on him.

He is the one who taught me what it takes to be a Worlds champion. I used to think that you just train hard every day...3 hours at the gym at night. LOL @ that(though im sure there are people out there that can do that). 2 times a day at very least might on a good day put you in the running and 3 might make you a more serious contender.... im laying on the floor training through a small fracture on my collar bone and cant even adjust how im sitting because everything hurts so bad as a result of this lesson....kinda wish I hadnt learned it. haha
 
We have a guy who is only 20 who just won the Welterweight belt up here in the AFC(Alaska Fighting Championship). I feel like he might do bigger and better things then Alaska. His only losses are to a former UFC fighter and a current UFC fighter.
 
Fedorzilla said:
Strange ending for sure. Didn't look like anything. Also, at like 5:10 it was like Ian wasn't even doing anything. Just let himself get swept like it was practice. Odd.
Click to expand...

I think maybe he thought he was close enough to the edge of the mat that he thought the ref would make them go to the center if he escaped and stood up. Who knows. I noticed that as well.
 
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