by Braus Fight
2016 is set to be a huge year for the BRAUS Team who are travelling far and wide to expand on their existing quality skills and challenge themselves with further experience. The local and global BJJ events card is again offering up an impressive array of opportunities for our brave martial artists. We’ve recently been catching up with each of our athletes and are excited to share some highlights for what they have planned for their year ahead!
Black Belt Alexandre Santos of Cia Paulista North Melbourne kicks of 2016 with his mind set on continuing to help people change their lives for the better through the art of BJJ. He will compete at state and interstate tournaments in Sydney and the Pan Pacs in Melbourne as well as jetting off to LA for the 2016 Pan Ams.
Focusing on the Queensland Circuit and making his Black Belt debut, Icaro Marques of Transform Martial Arts Byron Bay is excited to face some of Australian finest BJJ Black Belts this year. Icaro sees this year as one to gain further experience whilst continuing to build new champions from his dedicated BJJ students.
Black Belt Lineu Vilanova of Delariva Brisbane has had a small setback to kick off his year having had surgery as 2016 began. His mind remains positive and dedicated to his BJJ training, teaching and competing. He will spend a further month or two recovering before getting back in the game with his focus on local tournaments in Queensland before hitting the Pan Pacs in Melbourne later in the year.
Black Belts Gui Neves of Garage JiuJitsu Bondi and Brown Belt Joel Warren of Concept BJJ Melbourne, will focus on evolving their students this year. They’re esteemed skills, knowledge and BJJ way of life will undoubtedly continue to shape BJJ warriors and develop BJJ knowledge throughout the community.
Similarly Black Belt Paulo Henrique Polimeno and Brown Belt Ryan Creary of Flow Martial Arts Coolangatta goal for 2016 is on the growth and development of his existing BJJ students and the community. Like many of our athletes, Ryan will continue to juggle his commitment to his students while keeping his toes in the competition scene; competing in local and interstate tournaments with his eye firmly on giving the World Masters a try on his Brown Belt.
Brown Belt Anaru Grant from Tukaha New Zealand will spend his first year as a Brown Belt enjoying the new challenges. He is planning on competing in local NZ Nationals, but also further abroad at The Abu Dhabi Worlds, Floripa Open and the Pan Pacs.
Joining the boys at The Pan Ams will be Brown Belt Hope Douglas of My BJJ Sydney whose goals for the year ahead are to make it her most successful competition year yet. She will return to LA several times this year, competing in the Worlds Gi and No Gi.and continue to battle on home territory in states, nationals and the Pan Pacs. First stop for Hope will be the Abu-Dhabi trials held in Sydney this weekend where she will be defending her title and chasing that golden ticket to the main event!
From the other side of Australia, Brown Belt Rodrigo Costa of M1FC Perth sets his sights this year to the offshore tournaments, scheduled to compete in as many internationals as he can, including The Worlds, Abu Dhabi and The Pan Ams.
Recently graded Brown Belt Daniel Browne of Kimekai MMA Melbourne is planning to compete at the Asian Cup later in the year as well as hitting the local state, interstate and nationals titles hard, focusing all his attention on proving his brown belt worth. He’ll tie his year off joining our other BRAUS athletes at the Pan Pacs.
Having just recently returned in December from 3 months training in New York, Purple Belt Levi Jones-Leary of Garage JiuJitsu Bondi is returning to New York at the end of this month to continue his training. His focus for 2016 is continuing to broaden is exposure on training and tournaments abroad. Levi will be fighting to keep his championship title at No Gi Pan Ams, as well as challenging the Gi Pan Ams again, he’ll also compete at the Worlds in LA and Brasileiros in Rio and fight to maintain his championship title at Abu Dhabi World Pros.
The Abu Dhabi Worlds draws again Purple Belt Amaury Menezes of Legacy Martial Arts Sydney who speaks fondly of the Abu Dhabi event last year. This year Amaury will focus primarily on training with plans to attend a few months of intense training camp in Brazil with further goals to hit the Asian Cup later in the year.
Currently in training camp in Brazil, Purple Belt Matthew Diaz of Legacy Martial Arts Sydney will return to Australia next month to compete in local Sydney tournaments before jetting off again later in the year for the Asian Cup in Japan and then the Worlds in LA.
With his eye also on the Asian Cup in Japan, Purple Belt, Kain Karnis of Delariva Melbourne is concentrating on technique and conditioning for the year ahead. He will compete in at least one competition around Australia each month to sharpen his game before stepping into the international league.
Joining our Braus athletes at Abu Dhabi World Pros, Asian Cup and as many local and interstate comps as possible, will be Purple Belt Seb Pentreath of Transform Martial Arts Byron Bay. His top priority for this year is BJJ training over all else, he is currently looking into training camps in Brazil to support his focus and expand even further on his existing impressive skillset.
Purple Belt Jeremy Ong of Cia Paulista North Melbourne is dedicating his year to improving his game with particular focus on building his BJJ character and being ranked number one in light feather for his division. Jeremy will compete in local and interstate championships including joining other BRAUS athletes at the Pan Pacs in Melbourne later in the year.
Also from Cia Paulista North Melbourne, Purple Belt Tony No Akuma has committed his year to competing in as many Victoria tournaments as possible, including the Pan Pacs, before testing his skills on the international circuit at the Pan Ams. Tony’ mind is set to the future, with aspirations to be world champion and sweat on as many mats as possible across the globe.
Returning from injury this year, Purple Belt Arnaldo Cardozo of Gracie Barra Newcastle is focused on home-soil events for the year ahead with the exception of how he goes at the Abu Dhabi trials this weekend. Arnaldo is concentrating on getting back in the game, evolving his existing skills and rolling at any chance he gets.
Also chasing that golden ticket from the Abu Dhabi Trials this weekend will be Blue Belt Arthur Teixeira of Legacy Martial Arts Sydney. His goals for the year are on competing in the biggest comps around Australian with special attention on maintaining his title of No Gi Light Feather Australian National Champion.
Blue Belt Adam Watson of SKAMMA Fight Club Melbourne is scheduled to have a busy year ahead aiming to compete in as many local and interstate tournaments as possible, including Pan Pacs, as well as challenging himself abroad at Abu Dhabi, The Worlds and the Asian Cup.
It’s going to be a big one for our BRAUS Team and we wish them all the best across all their events and training. It’s exciting to see BJJs popularity continue to sky rocket on home soil. The determination, commitment and skills of our BRAUS athletes, as well as all other athletes in the community, is high level, providing a sensational spectacle for supporters around the globe. We look forward to seeing the sport continue to grow and our BRAUS Team continue to shine! Have a great year guys!! Until Next time……OSS
