ARTICLES
A Pugilist in the Land of the Ascending Dragon
Arnaud Lepont was born in Granville, a seaside resort town in Normandy, France. As an aspiring Mixed Martial Artist intent on making a name for himself in the cage, he would move to Paris and began training with Mathieu Nicourt, one of the early pioneers of the cage...
What McKinsey executivess have in common with BJJ champions
Article by Nykó Macá Photos by Luca Andreucci @lunivers.athletics Having sat on the board of a London and Berlin-based international organization I was privy to perspective from the likes of the sharpest minds - diplomats, political advisers, CEOs, foremost...
Yuki ‘Submission’ Takahashi
高橋雄己, Yuki ‘Submission’ Takahashi born April 11th, 1999, in Aichi Prefecture Nagoya is currently competing in both Submission Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts out of "和術慧舟會HEARTS" or ‘Wajiutsu Keishoukai’ HEARTS and "今成柔術" or Imanari Jiu-Jitsu. Having had impressive...
Raising the Black Flag in Okinawa
Michael Cates is a Black Belt under Ricardo Guimaraes of Gracie Humaita Team. He has lived in Japan for over 13 years and also holds a 1st degree black belt in Kodokan Judo. He has recently established his gym, Kuro Hata BJJ in Okinawa, Japan. BJJASIA: Firstly, the...
The History of Ju-Jitsu by Demian Maia
BJJ Hero, Demian Maia has taken it upon himself to chronicle the history of the gentle art. In the first part of this mini-series he begins in feudal Japan during the Nara period circa 710 AD. Certainly one for history buffs and students of the sport.Roberto Pedreira...
La Union – BJJ in the tropics
Flipsports has made a documentary looking at the BJJ Community in La Union. The purpose of this documentary is to showcase the amazing community in the province of La Union and to hopefully inspire others to give value to unity and togetherness especially on a...
Kenta Iwamoto – ‘The Japanese Grappler’
Kenta Iwamoto, (born February 13th, 1997) is a Japanese competitor who won the -66kg ADCC Asian & Oceana Trials as a purple belt in May of 2019 and would go on to compete at the 2019 ADCC in Anaheim, California. Though he would lose to Paulo Miyao at the event,...
Jiu Jitsu as a microcosm of life
"BJJ is a human war game, a measure of a man's ability to inflict violence upon another...…. if violence isn't something you know, you will forever be subject to those that do." A fascinating personal perspective from a black belt and the original Boondock...
Good Morning Grapplers of Asia (Part 2)
Good Morning Grapplers of Asia (Part 2) Jiu-Jitsu-Log (Manila,Philippines) BJJ is growing at an incredible pace in Asia and definitely so in the Philippines. As of this writing (November 2020), 87 academies are running in Manila alone. Imagine having an academy every...
Bohol Jiu Jitsu – Island Jits
Island Jits (Part 1) Bohol Island Jiu Jitsu (Bohol, Philippines) Beach, surfing, jits - these three images go perfectly well together. It is starting to be commonplace to have retreats that include these three elements in one weekend event. Today, we'll take you to...
Interview with Project Lifestyle Manila Founder Toffy Ilagan (Philippines)
The Philippines has long been a hotbed of Jiu Jitsu in Asia. The capital city alone (Manila) houses 85 academies as of this writing – the only two cities in the world with more academies running are Sao Paolo and Rio De Janeiro. Competitions are very frequent and at a...
Tomoyuki ‘Passport’ Hashimoto
Tomoyuki ‘Passport’ Hashimoto was born on the 20th of April, 1993 in Tokushima, Japan. He would earn his black belt in 2015 promoted by the legendary Yuki Nakai after his gold medal run at the Mundials at Brown Belt that same year. Hashimoto would go on to win notable...