Pan American Brazilian Jui-Jitsu Tournament Starts This Week

The Pan American Jui-Jitsu Championship – the largest Brazillian Jui-Jitsu tournament in Northern America – will be held Thursday March 29th through Sunday April 1st at The University of California Irvine and a crowd of Santa Cruzans are competing.

This is one of the most prestigeous BJJ tournaments in the United States; and it is a proving ground for every aspiring Jui-Jitsu super star.

Competitors have the honor of competing against the best BJJ combatants in the world, with a huge percentage of competitors coming from Brazil, Europe and

Winning the Pan Ams can lead to great publicity, sponsorship and for Santa Cruz native Luke Rockhold a contract with MMA organization Strikeforce (he is now current Strikeforce World Middleweight Champion).

This tournament is held annually and if you are a serious BJJ advocate then this tournament is like Christmas. I competed in the Pan Ams last year as a white belt; it was my second tournament as a BJJ competitor, and though i did not place it was one of my most significant martial arts experiences to date.

The stadium is filled with thousands of competitors from all around the world, the majority being from Brazil. The best teams in the world are here with one goal in mind, a gold medal.

You can hear chants through out the stadium in English and a lot of the time in Portugese, as teammates compete and crowd favorites step onto the mat.

You will find almost every BJJ superstar here from Andres Galvao, Rolles Gracie, Roger Gracie and in the past former UFC Middleweight title contender Damien Maia.

This tournament can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and winning can do wonders for your BJJ and MMA career. The tournament begins this thursday and you better believe Santa Cruz is there with competitors from Claudio Franca BJJ, Farley's Kickboxing Academy and Kaijin BJJ. Good luck to everyone competing this coming week including my teammates from Claudio's and FKA.

Osssssss!!

(Editor's Note: Check out video of Dustin Moore in battle to the right>)