RECENT NEWS

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NOVEMBER 10, 2007

PROMOTIONS:

Congratulations to Barry Walton on being promoted to PURPLE BELT by Gustavo and Chris. Very well deserved! Congratulations to the new BLUE BELTS too - Josh Shiflet, Bill Sanderson, and David Necessary. Also very well deserved promotions after a lot of hard work.

By sticking together and training hard, we've been able to see a lot of progress from these guys and it means a lot to the club to have such a strong foundation of senior level purple belts and blues belts at the club to help develop, guide, and teach everyone else. Congratulations to everyone!

SEMINAR:

Gustavo put on one of his best seminars to date on November 10th. Just when you think there's nothing to learn from working a basic technique or there are no new variations to a technique, Gustavo puts on a seminar like this last one. Pictured are some of the attendees at this last seminar. There's more to come in 2008!

Information you should know:

T-SHIRTS: New academy T-shirts will be on sale in the next couple of weeks. These T’s will have a new logo and a cool new look. There will be black and white T’s for sale in all sizes.

Cost: $20

HALLOWEEN – Academy closed!
The academy will be closed for Halloween. If you usually attend on Wednesday, switch it up this week and attend a Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday class to make up the day.

Don’t forget that Gustavo’s is just a short drive away in VA Beach. Everyone at Top Game is welcome to train with Gustavo and his team any time at no charge. Take advantage of it, if you can. Come along for a beach training trip the next time.

October 11th, 2007: Hanging with former UFC Champion Jens Pulver

The guys took a break from competing in the recent Mission Submission tournament to catch a photo opportunity with former UFC Champion Jens “Little Evil” Pulver (pictured front center in black shirt/hat).

UFC Champ Aaron Barr with Matt Serra

UFC Champ Charles Slade with Matt Serra

August 18th, 2007: UFC Champion Matt Serra loses belt… twice!

UFC Champion Matt Serra managed to lose his Championship Belt twice in one night to Top Game Academy students Aaron Barr and Charles Slade at a recent seminar held in Richmond, VA.

Serra didn’t even put up a fight, but politely handed over the belt for these great photo opportunities. Serra put on a great seminar.

Good luck to him in his first title defense against Matt Hughes in the near future.

March 31st, 2007
Pan American Championships 2007

Congratulations to Chris Mahan (Instructor) for brining home the light weight brown belt division SILVER MEDAL at this year’s 2007 Pan American Jiu-jitsu Championships. Held annually in LA, California, the Pan Ams are where competitors from all over the U.S. and abroad come together to test themselves against the best in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Chris fought three times in route to winning the silver medal, facing and defeating an opponent from Pedro Sauer’s academy in Utah in the opening round. Next Chris faced a very game Max Masuzawa of Max Jiu-jitsu Academy in Tokyo, Japan in the semi-finals, winning a close decision. Chris lost in the finals to Sam Joseph of Hollywood BJJ on points, earning the 2nd place finish and the silver medal.

Pictured (left to right) – Dave Kenworthy, Chris Mahan, Gustavo Machado, Jeff Edwards, Brad Mayhugh, and Barry Walton.

March 2007
Top Game Academy – Promotions

Be sure to congratulate the four new purple belts at the Top Game Academy – Richmond, VA. Brad Mayhugh, Dave Kenworthy, Chuck Mayhugh, and Jeff Edwards were all recently promoted to the rank of Purple Belt by Gustavo Machado and Chris Mahan. Everyone went through a very rigorous grading ceremony in Virginia Beach, VA. Testing consisted of a marathon session of continuous sparring with fresh opponents rotating in every six minutes for an hour or more. At the end of training, they were awarded the rank of Purple Belt and “welcomed” to the new rank in the traditional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu way. Well deserved!

Gustavo's Richmond Affiliate Attendees, Gustavo Machado and Rolls Gracie Jr. Center.

January, 2007
Rolls Gracie, Jr., son of the famous Rolls Gracie, who was viewed by many as leader, innovator, and best fighter of the Gracie Jiu-jitsu Family, gave an excellent seminar in Virgina Beach. Gustavo invited Rolls Jr. in for a seminar at the Virginia Beach Headquarters. Rolls passed on great techique and a few really good stories.

Chris Mahan pictured with Virginia Police Officers.

Defensive Tactics Certification Training (Defensive Ground Fighting)

December 2006

Top Game Academy Instructor, Chris Mahan, concluded 2006 Defensive Tactics Training with Chesterfield County and various regional police officers, with a recertification seminar. Training included carry along techniques, weapon retention, ground fighting tactics, and cuffing techniques.