News

July 24th 2010

Congratulations to Francis Heely for winning his 5th amateur fight in Ohio. Francis is currently uindefeaqted.

Medaling at the Rupture Clothing Northeast regionals on Saturday were Erik Faust, Dave Lafferty (gi and no-gi), and Mark Colantuna.

January 9th 2010

At the OntheMat Northeast regionals in King of Prussia, BCBJJ members, represented 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu for the first time. The following acheiving podium placings:

Erik Faust 1st place Executive Blue Belt Middleweight

1st place Executive No-Gi advanced

Jeff Gianocova 1st place executive blue belt super heavyweight

2nd place Blue belt super heavyweight

Joseph Kuhn 1st place White Belt Super heavyweight

Shane Mock 3rd place Brown Belt open

Derek Lengle 3rd place No-Gi beginner

November 15th 2009

Two of our teen competitors brought home podium places at this weekend's NAGA North American Championships. Dylan Ekis took 3rd in No-Gi and 2nd in Teen's Intermediate Bantamweight and Dmitryi Poltauvskyi had a perfect day, taking first in both Gi and No-Gi Teen's Expert Middleweight.

September 26th 2009

Good job to our medalists at the Grapplers Quest event held in Lancaster over the weekend. They are:

Erik Faust 1st place WB Gi welterweight

Dylan Ekis 1st place Teens lightweight Gi and No-Gi Intermediate

Dmitryi Poltauvskyi 3rd place Teens Expert Gi

ark Colantuna 1st place Blue Belt Heavyweight (30+)

Jeff Giacanova 3rd place Blue Belt Super Heavy (30+)

Ricardo Pena 3rd place Blue Belt welterweight

Jonah Fritz 2nd place Teens Beginner Cruiserweight

Ricardo Pena will be making his amateur MMA debut on Sept 25th at the Ninth Street Slaughter event at Club 1402 in Reading, see him for tickets.

September 1st 2009

Congratulations to every one who was promoted recently. Dave Lafferty and Dmitryi Poltauvskyi to Blue Belt, and Ryan Owles, and Stephen Cunningham to Purple Belt.

August 2nd 2009

Three of our members entered the Annual NAGA Battle at the Beach in Wildwood NJ, all coming home with medals yet again:

Stephen Cunningham 2nd Blue Belt Masters Gi (Welt wt)

3rd Masters Intermediate No-Gi (Welt wt)

2nd Purple Belt Masters Gi (cruiser wt)

Erik Faust 1st Masters Beginner No-Gi Middle wt

2nd Masters White Belt Gi Middle wt

Dylan Ekis 3rd Teen Gi Intermediate Bantamweight

July 25th 2009

Congratulations to Michael Siani on his promotion to Brown Belt by David Adiv.

For the fourth straight tournament, all Berks BJJ team members medaled at the Red Rose Rumble held at LFMAC in Lancaster. They are:

Erik Faust 1st place White Belt Over 30

Ryan Owles 1st place combined Super-Heavyweights

Jeff Giagnacavo 2nd place combined Super-Heavies

Dave Lafferty 1st place White Belt Middleweight

Chris Grady 3rd place Blue Belt Middleweight

Dave Riddle 2nd place Blue Belt Heavyweight

June 21st 2009

Competing at the Diamond State Games in Newark, Delaware, the entire Berks BJJ team came home with podium finishes. They Are:

Stepeh Cunningham1st Place - Masters Blue Belt 170-179
                                   2nd Place - Masters Blue Belt Absolute
                                   3rd Place - Blue Belt 170-179
Ryan Owles                1st Place - Blue Belt 205-220
Jeff Giagnacavo          1st Place - Blue Belt 220+
Dave Lafferty               1st Place - White Belt 170-179
Erik Faust                    1st Place - Masters White Belt 160-179
                                    1st Place - Masters White Belt Absolute
Shane Mock                 3rd Place - Brown Belt 160-179
                                     2nd Place - Brown Belt Masters

April 2009

At the NAGA world championships this weekend in Newark NJ, the Berks County BJJ team put in an awesome showing which helped team RGDA accumulate enough overall points for 2nd place for all teams at the world's largest grappling tournament. Congrats to our podium winners:

Ricardo Pena 1st Welterweight Expert No-Gi

1st Welterweight Blue Belt

Lucas Ortiz 1st Kids Expert 70-79 lbs No-Gi

Dmityri Poltauvskyi 2nd Lightweight Teens Expert Gi

2nd Lightweight Teens Expert No-Gi

Dylan Ekis 3rd Bantamweight Teens Int No-Gi

2nd Bantamweight Teens Int Gi

Stephen Cunningham 3rd over 30 Middleweight Int No-Gi

3rd over 30 Middleweight Blue Belt

Erik Faust 3rd over 30 Light Heavy Beginner No-Gi

3rd over 30 Light Heavy White Belt

March 28th 2009

Congratulations to the following people on advancing to the rank of Blue Belt at the Rosendo Diaz workshop recently: Jason Howell, Dave Riddel, and Jack Allen. And also to Dyaln Ekis for receving his yellow belt.

On Friday March 27th at 6:30 pm we will be hosting a special workshop with Prof. Rosendo Diaz. All are welcome to attend, the cost is $40. Call Shane Mock at 610 621 9202 if you would like to attend.

February 28th 2009

At the New Jersey State BJJ Federation tournament all four members of Berks BJJ who went came home with medals. Congrats to Erik Faust, Jason Howell, and David Lafferty, all for 1st place, and Chris Grady for his 3rd place.

January 17th 2009

Special thanks to Armando Basulto and his team in North Carolina for helping Shane Mock take First place at the Budweiser World Cup in Charlotte NC this weekend.

2008 and older news:

November 16th 2008

Congratulations to the following Berks BJJ members on medaling at the semi-annual RGDA affiliate tournament today:

Dmityri Poltauvskyi- 1st place in Teens and 3rd in Adult 150-159

Jack Allen-2nd place WB 190-210

Rick Roth -2nd (over 40)

David Lafferty-1st place WB 170-179

Jeff Gianacova-3rd BB 225+

Matt Fiscus- 1st BB 210-225

November 9th 2008

At the North American Grappling championships in Camden NJ this weekend Stephen Cunningham and Dmitryi Poltauvskyi came home with medals. Stephen won first place in the Over 30 Blue Belt Middleweight and Dmityri 2nd in the Teen's Expert Gi division.

September 27th 2008

Berks BJJ member Jeff Giacanova competed and finished in 3rd place in the tournament held on the decks of the Battleship New Jersey in Camden today. Also congrats to Chris on winning 4 straight matches in one day.

August 17th 2008

Two Berks BJJ members came home with second place finishes at this weekend's PABJJ federation tournament. Congrats to Ryan Owles and Dave Rittel on a job well done.

August 4th 2008

At the 9th Annual NAGA Battle at the Beach in Wildwood NJ, Berks BJJ members Rich Roth and Ricardo Pena came home with medals. Ricardo took 3rd place in the Advanced No-Gi and Blue Belt Gi welterweight divisions. At age 49 Rich took 2nd place in the over 30 No-Gi Beginners Lightweight. Good job to both.

July 20th 2008

Congratulations to Keith Neff and Brian Fisher on the opening of their new academy. Check out their website at www.rgda-ephrata.com Keith is the founder of Berks BJJ and will continue to teach our Saturday class.

June 28th 2008

At the Grappler Quest Copa Atlantica 3 Berks BJJ members came home with podium finishes. Shane Mock and Jeff G had first places and Randy Frey had a second place finish.

June 1st 2008

Thanks to everyone who attended the Royler workshops. Well done to Jon K and Tuna, who were awarded their Blue Belts at the Lancaster stop.

May 3rd 2008

Well done to Jeff G, Ricky P, and Mark Colantuna for their first place finishes and to Jason for his third place at the Red Rose Rumble at the Lancaster academy.

April 6th 2008

Berks BJJ had 3 members make the podium places at the NAGA World Championships this weekend: Michelle Sanchez, 3rd place in the Ladies WB Middleweight, Terry Dull, 3rd place Over 40 Expert, and Dimitryi Poltavskyi, 1st place in Kids Intermediate. Also BCBJJ part-timer Randy Frey placed 2nd in both Gi and No-Gi divisions in over 40 Intermediate. Thanks to everyone who represents the academy in competition.

March 2nd 2008

Thanks to everyone who attended the Rosendo Diaz workshop. Please join me in congratulating Jeff Giaconova, Dan Fiore, and Matt Fiscus on their promotions to Blue Belt and also to RGDA Harrisburg instructor Greg Anderson on getting his Purple Belt.

Feb 15th 2008

On March 29th Paul LaPlaca will be putting his 2-0 Amateur MMA record on the line for New Breed Fighters at the House of Blues in Atlantic City NJ.

Also welcome to the RGDA association to Marc Unger's Rising Sun Karate Academy.

As the year 2007 comes to an end, check out www.NationallyRanked.com. Instructor Shane Mock is rated 6th in the nation among over 30 (Masters) grapplers based on tournament podium finishes for this year.

On Jan 12th 2008 the Vanilla Gorilla Ryan Owles made his MMA debut in Delaware for Combat in the Cage against Kevin Killian of Team Primal MMA . Although the decision didn't go his way Ryan fought well and will be returning to the Cage in the near future.

Nov 17th 2007

At the NAGA North American Grappling Championships Instructor Shane Mock placed second in the Masters Expert Cruiserweight Division.

Oct 6th 2007

The Vanilla Gorilla Ryan Owles placed second at the Grapplers Quest North American Championships in the No-Gi 180-189 lbs Int division.

September 23rd 2007

At the Battle at the Sun at the Mohegan Sun Casino, Paul LaPlaca won his second Amateur MMA fight by armbar in the second round to move to 2-0 with both wins by submission.

August 8th 2007

BCBJJ would like to welcome Mike Weissensee's LFMAC to the RGDA team.

August 6th 2007

On Sunday Sept 23rd Paul LaPlaca will be fighting in a USKBA amateur MMA Event at the Mohegan Sun casino in CT. More details to come.

August 4th 2007

At the 8th annual NAGA Battle at the Beach, Instructor Shane Mock again won the Masters Advanced Gi Cruiserweight division to win another championship belt.

June 9th 2007

Congrats to Dan "Treestand" Mohler on his promotion to Purple Belt at the Royler Gracie workshop.

June 2nd 2007

BCBJJ instructor Michael Siani will be fighting in Asbury Park NJ on the 8th at 1:00pm for Ed Hsu's Extreme Challenge. Tickets are $30 each and are available at the school.

April 22nd 2007

At the NAGA World Championships yesterday, Shane Mock brought home the championship belt for 1st place in the Masters Advanced Gi division. Congratulations to Marc Unger for his 3rd place in his division as well.

Feb 18th 2007

The Feb 17th workshop with David Adiv was a resounding success, the academy was packed to the ceiling! Congrats to D on his promotion to purple belt.

Feb 10th 2007

Paul LaPlaca wins by guillotine submission in the 3rd round at Combat in the Cage: "Adrenaline Rush" BCBJJ fighters are now a perfect 6-0 in CITC events.

January 19th 2007

Paul Laplaca will be fighting in the Combat in the Cage Feb 10th event in Rahway NJ. He will have tickets available for sale, contact him if you'd like to go.

2006 News Archives:

November 5th

Big Congrats to Ricky Pena, Edwin Gual, and Ryan Owles on their promotions to Blue Belt.

October 28th

Great Job by Ricky Pena at the ADCC trials amateur tournament. Ricky, at 15 years old, won 4 straight matches in the adult beginners welterweight division to take home the gold.

October 15th

Congratulations to Ryan "The Vanila Gorilla" Owles on winning his division at the Grappler's Quest Copa Atlantica. Ryan won four straight matches and did not have a single point scored against him all day.

October 10th

Congratulations to Greg Anderson on his long overdue promotion to Blue Belt and on the planned opening of his new RGDA academy in Central PA.

September 30th

On Nov. 11th BCBJJ's David Concepcion will make his MMA debut in Combat in the Cage. Location and opponent TBA

August 19th

BCBJJ's Derek Hopkins wins by KO at :58 seconds in the very first round to continue his unbeaten streak in the cage. Derek is now 4-0 and has yet to have a fight go into the 2nd round. MCA's Ricky Royce also won his amateur mma debut by 30-27 unanimous decision. Congratulations to both RGDA fighters and a big thanks to everyone who helped them prepare for their fights.

Unfortunately due to a rib injury, Dave Concepcion was unable to fight this Saturday at the Battle at the Pier. Best wishes to Dave on a quick recovery

August 5th

Congratulations to BCBJJ instructors Michael Siani and Shane Mock for their performances at the 7th annual NAGA Battle At The Beach. Michael placed 3rd in the purple belt lightweight division and Shane won 1st place in the Masters Advanced Gi division. Also congratulations to our friends from Hershey, Randy and Jim, on placing 2nd in their divisions, and also to Terry Dull for winning 1st in the over 40 no-gi.

July 29th

Members of our team joined with other RGDA representatives from The Modern Combat Academy and World Class Martial Arts to win the overall championship in the Soul Cup Championship at The Revolution Academy in Levittown PA. Our Berks representatives compiled a combined record of 13 wins and only 2 losses, one by DQ, helping to bring the Soul Cup to the Royler Gracie/David Adiv Team. Congratulations to Ricky, D, Derek and Mike S on a great performance.

July 28th

Dave Concepcion will also be fighting at the Battle At The Pier on Aug 19th, making his MMA debut. Go to www.combatinthecage.com for more info.

July 17th

On Saturday Aug 19th BCBJJ Blue belt "Dangerous" Derek Hopkins will step into the cage to put his undefeated record on the line at GHK promotion's "Battle At The Pier" at The Music Pier in Ocean City New Jersey. Derek is also now sponsored by Nemesis Fight Gear, so please support the companies that support our fighters.

June 24th

Congratulations to the following people on their promotions at the Rosendo Diaz workshop today. Keith Neff to Brown Belt, Don Connor to Purple, and Scott Rohrbach and Derek Hopkins to Blue belt.

June 17th

We now have open mat session every Sunday 10-11:30am. Soon we will have a Friday class at which time we will offer classes 7 days a week. A big thanks to everyone who has helped the club grow to this point.

June 11th

Team RGDA/Berks took second place in the PA State No-Gi BJJ championships in Scranton today. Thanks to Ricky P, Clint, Ricky R, and Dan for competing.

May 7th

Congratulations to Derek Hopkins on his victory last night in Combat in the Cage. He won by submission (arm bar) in the first round for the third fight in a row. Derek now has an unblemished 3-0 record in amat. mma.

April 22nd