Anyone goin to Absolute Fighting Champs in Ft. Lauderdale today?

**wingchundo** · Posted On: 12/10/2005 12:25pm

Looking to see if anyone's going. My wife, apparently, is not interested in seeing sweaty men roll around and bludgeon each other to death. I, however, plan to join a local BJJ club, so it appeals to me immensely. Especially the sweaty part.

The event is at the War Memorial Auditorium on Federal Highway between Sunrise and Broward Blvds. Tickets run $20-$40 and events start at 7 p.m.

Lineup includes Alex Schoenauer from the first TUF.

Here's the card:

Rich Clementi (Pictures) vs. JZ Cavalcante
Fabiano Capoani vs. Matt Horwich (Pictures)
Per Eklund vs. Carlo Prater (Pictures)
Thiago Alves vs. TBA
Crafton Wallace vs. Diego Vitoski
Mike Bruno vs. Scotty Johnson
Mark Burch vs. Aaron Cudworth
Mario Rinaldi vs. TBA
Alex Schoenauer (Pictures) vs. John Mierzwa
Bobby Johnson vs. TBA
Steve Kinnisen vs. J.C. Pennington
Javier Gil vs. Jorge Santiago (Pictures)

Let me know if anyone's going, we could meet and greet.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 12/14/2005 7:33am

Did you end up going? I was going to but couldn't at all cuz of work. How was it?

BTW, do you know anything about Javier Gil? He is the director of American TKA school, which has a MMA/Vale Tudo class which I'm very interested in.

Also, what BJJ school are you going to enroll? Cuz I'm in one, and maybe we may know each other already from the mat.

Have a good day.

Luis.

**wingchundo** · Posted On: 12/14/2005 8:03pm

Hey elnyka,

Yeah, I did end up going with guy from work. It was a lot of fun, great event. Tickets were $20-$40 and some stranger dropped us a voucher that gave us $5 off, so we went with the $30 seats. Excellent view.

Crowd was excited, respectful, seemed to understand the game.

The matches were all pretty quick, I think only one went the distance. Most ended in the first round, but were exciting.

The skills exhibited were pretty good. It was a nice mix of standup/clinch/grappling. Nice subs, nice GnP.

Honestly, the last fight, the "co-main event" was the worst in the bunch. Lotta circling and then you couldn't see the quick sub from the crowd.

All in all a great night though.

I'm going to be attending the BJJ Center on Commercial Boulevard early next year (when my pocketbook recovers). It's taught by Pablo Popovitch, who I've heard great things about. Saw a vid of him competing at ADCC and I was impressed. I've watched the advanced class and they seemed like a good bunch of guys who know their stuff.

Where do you roll? It's doubtful we've met, I'm just getting back into MA after moving here 6 months ago.

Take care

-Brian

EDIT: forgot to mention, the Schoenauer fight never happened. Not sure if it got cancelled or it was just an error in the card.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 12/14/2005 10:35pm

Yep, I'm rolling on that same Popovitch's school. Pablo is good; he really knows his stuff, but the contracts are a bit pricey. Incredibly good quality but expensive.

I asked about Javier Gil cuz he has an academy off Pine Island Rd and 595. His school offers MMA/Vale Tudo classes as well as Muay Thai. Plus it has a JJ class (not BJJ, but traditional JJ). What I find interesting about the JJ class is that the instructor is also a Judoka (so I assume he is into sparring.)

In any case, I'm going to check Javier's school, and if I like it, I may leave Pablos' school and take the Muay Thai classes. I have the greatest respect for Pablo and his team. The guy is freaking impressive, but the cost of his classes is pushing the little budget I have.

Anyways, if you enroll at Pablo's school, and I'm still there, then I'll see you in the mat :)

**wingchundo** · Posted On: 12/15/2005 7:46pm

Hey, let me know in this thread how the MMA class looks, the price is the only reason I'm NOT rolling with Pablo's crew right now. If Gil has better contracts, I might join you there instead.

I'd really like to learn BJJ. But I'd much rather plunge into Vale Tudo if I could.

Keep in touch and let me know what the prices look like.

-Brian

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 12/15/2005 9:24pm

Certainly I'll let you know how the MMA class is. So far I know that is no-gi and it's a combo of different grappling arts (Judo, BJJ, dumong, wrestling, sambo)... seems like they go at it and take whatever work bests. According to them, the class is geared towards training people for MMA competitions. The Muay Thai classes seem mean-and-lean... Gil's school seems pretty serious about their stuff.

I passed by Gil's school in October, just before I enrolled at Pablo's school to get some info on the Muay Thai classes. The deal that they offered me back then was as follows:

2 free lessons w/o obligations
if I liked it, then it would be as follows:
$190-something down payment which included gear
$100 a month with a 6-month contract.
Two 1 hour classes, Tuesdays and Thursdays + Fridays for sparring/open mat stuff

The MMA/Vale Tudo class had a similar price and arrangment with the # of lessons.

I'm gonna discuss with Pablo cuz I really don't feel like I want to continue with the contract. Perhaps at a later time when I'm in a better economic situation cuz Pablo's school is just plain awesome. My hats off to him.

The other school I'm interested is Johnny Prado's Ki-Itsu-Sai Judo Club in Coconut Creek: http://ymcajudo.htmlplanet.com/

LawDog on this site has given me good recommendations about that school, plus it's $60 a month, no contracts, and apparently no limit in the # of days you can work out... though I'm not sure about that. According to their website, adults are encouraged to work with the kids class and continue the workout in the adult class... not a bad arrangement.

I'll keep you posted on this thread. Oh, and let me know if you find something interesting elsewhere. I'm all game for any school as long as it's good and I can afford it :)

Chat with you later!

**Pandinha** · Posted On: 12/15/2005 9:35pm

Let me know in advance when you are going again. I'll swing down and take in a show with ya!

**wingchundo** · Posted On: 12/16/2005 9:33pm

It's a deal Anthony. The show was great.

And elnyka, I was thinking about going the judo route as well. It all depends on price and schedule. My work schedule can be a pain to work around (Tues-Sat, 10-7).

Keep me in the loop on what you find.

-Brian

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 12/16/2005 9:47pm

Hey Brian. I actually came from the ki-itsu-sai judo club in Coconut Creek. It looks legit, mean and lean. The area looks a little bit beat down, not the clean-cut-looking dojo as Pablo's... BUT, I was impressed.

The adults weren't there cuz the instructors were in a meeting down in Miami... something regarding the olympics. Not only they have the mats, but the also have basic weightlifting equipment, and the people there were very nice and welcoming... and insisted in making it clear that this was a school that teaches hard, competitive judo (interesting).

The best thing is that you only pay $60 a month and you can go train w/o restrictions mondays-fridays 7:30-9:30 (adults) with a $45 registration fee. No contracts and you can bring your own gi.

I think I'm signing in on January, 99% sure. I will stop by on Tuesday night cuz I want to see how the adults train. So basically we have this judo school and American TKA... let's see what else we can find :)

-- Luis.

**Pandinha** · Posted On: 12/16/2005 11:02pm

Originally Posted by elnyka

Hey Brian. I actually came from the ki-itsu-sai judo club in Coconut Creek. It looks legit, mean and lean. The area looks a little bit beat down, not the clean-cut-looking dojo as Pablo's... BUT, I was impressed.

The adults weren't there cuz the instructors were in a meeting down in Miami... something regarding the olympics. Not only they have the mats, but the also have basic weightlifting equipment, and the people there were very nice and welcoming... and insisted in making it clear that this was a school that teaches hard, competitive judo (interesting).

The best thing is that you only pay $60 a month and you can go train w/o restrictions mondays-fridays 7:30-9:30 (adults) with a $45 registration fee. No contracts and you can bring your own gi.

I think I'm signing in on January, 99% sure. I will stop by on Tuesday night cuz I want to see how the adults train. So basically we have this judo school and American TKA... let's see what else we can find :)

-- Luis.

Gawd, I wish I could get back into Judo, I live in Coconut Creek. :(

My Doctor would flip if he found out, my L5 still hasn't fully healed. I had to peel him off the ceiling when I told him I wanted to get back into Boxing.