May 24, 2009 in News by Gumby

We’re open on Memorial Day

To let you know, Heroes Martial Arts will have normal business hours on Memorial day.  This includes BJJ and Judo.  Come on in and get your roll on!

And thanks to our troops who keep us safe!

May 21, 2009 in News by Gumby

Two New Blue Belts

Two new blue belts were awarded at Heroes Martial Arts tonight.

Sirack Testation (we usually just cal him “Si”) and Pejmon Vosooghi (“Pej” pronounced closer to “Page” but he has a few other nicknames as well) have actually been training with Gumby for a good deal longer than Heroes has actually been open, and are carry overs from “secret warehouse” days.

In those early days, Si was often dwarfed by his training partners by as much as 100 pounds, but Si has always shown a ton of heart and his skills have grown considerably.  We’re always happy to see Si on or off the mat.
Pej has been around Jiu Jitsu for a long time now, and you’ll also recognize him as one of the owners of the San Jose OTM Fight Shop and promoter of www.NorCalGrappling.com.  Pej has really been focusing on his Jiu Jitsu training and has become and has is on his way to becoming a true martial artist.

Really proud of both of you guys and so glad to have you as part of the Heroes family!

May 17, 2009 in News by Gumby

Gumby on the FightWorks Podcast

Listen to Gumby, head instructor at Heroes Martial Arts, discuss the history of BJJ in Northern California, his own experiences in the early day and even give some advice to listeners!

The FightWorks Podcast

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan-Ams. The BJJ World Championships. For years these heavyweight jiu-jitsu tournaments have taken place in Southern California. As the seeds of Brazilian jiu-jitsu were already planted in Los Angeles by Helio Gracie’s sons, Carley Gracie, Cesar Gracie, and Ralph Gracie decided to cultivate their family’s martial art in Northern California.

With such a vibrant and active jiu-jitsu community in Southern California, sometimes Northern California’s contribution to BJJ in the United States is overlooked. Today on our humble BJJ Radio show, we explore the early days in Northern California and the contributions made by NorCal BJJ folks. Not only do early students of “the gentle art” in the California’s Bay Area include names like BJ Penn and Dave Camarillo, but we cannot forget that influential platforms for BJJ online like onthemat.com and BJJ.org (no longer in operation) began in NorCal.

The Mighty 600,000 receive their education on the Northern California jiu-jitsu scene from two Ralph Gracie black belts, Kurt Osiander and Alan “Gumby” Marques, co-owner of onthemat.com.

May 8, 2009 in News by Gumby

May Promotions

May Promotions

We keep training at Heroes, and hard work pays off.  The latest promotions (stripes) awarded are as follows:

White Belt 1st Stripe

Andrea Dizon
Paul Telles
Marc Pomestan
Mike O’Connor

White Belt 2nd Stripe

Dennis Ruth
Joey Ruiz
Eben Thomas
Eric Eugenio
Jeremy Portilla

White Belt 3rd Stripe

Randahl Ritchie II
Bobby Vasquez
Phil Canet
Joshua Perez

We have a stripe system for our white belts only.  Four stripes and then the student is eligible for their blue belt.  Philosophically, everY promotion from the white belt stripe through the colored belts (blue, purple, brown then black) will be roughly twice as difficult to accomplish as the previous ranking.  For a description of our ranking system and fundamentals, click here: Heroes BJJ Fundamentals Checklist (PDF Format)

May 4, 2009 in News by Gumby

Heroes in Action!

Check out Heroes Martial Arts Student Randahl Ritchie competing in the 2nd American Cup last weekend in Los Gatos!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ThcU2lFjuE]

Randahl went on to take second in the masters’ lightweight white belt division.

Congrats to Randahl, and to all the Heroes who have decided to step up and compete!