Avant Guard

Last Sunday, the Northern California Jiu Jitsu community united in support of the survivors of the recent Earthquake in Haiti. The event was a great success, raising money, awareness, and the skill level of many enthusiastic students. 10th Planet’s Denny Prokopos, who celebrated his 22nd birthday that day, “couldn’t think of anything better than to be doing what he loves for such a good cause.”

This weekend, February 21st, in San Jose, California, Heroes Academy in San Jose is hosting a “Mega Seminar” to support the relief effort in Haiti. The charity seminar will feature techniques by over a dozen jiu jitsu masters, including:

* Alan “Gumby” Marques (Heroes Martial Arts)
* Sergio Silva (Team Silva)
* Garth Taylor (Kaijin MMA)
* Mike Vann (Claudio Franca BJJ)
* Mike Roberts (Claudio Franca BJJ)
* Stan Kendricks (Triune BJJ)
* Odilion “OJ” Domingues (Triune BJJ)
* Sandro “Batata” Santiago (Sandro Batata BJJ)
* Julio Echeverria (Sandro Batata BJJ)
* Kurt Osiander (Ralph Gracie BJJ)
* Justin “The Machine” Holder (Ralph Gracie BJJ)
* Dave Clahan (Ralph Gracie BJJ)
* Chris Smith (Tiger Martial Arts)
* Mike Prudencio (One World BJJ)
* Mikyo Riggs (Marin MMA)
* Ricardo Barros (Ricardo Barros BJJ)
* Daren Uyenoyama (FTCC Combat Club)
* Marcos “Yesamo” Torregrossa (Cassio Werneck)
* Denny Prokopos (10th Planet)
* Felipe Lattari (Cia Paulista)

100% of the proceeds will go to Red Cross for Haiti Earthquake Relief.

Follow the link for more information. OnTheMat.com.

Sean Bollinger, instructor at 10th Planet, Riverside and one of Eddie Bravo’s top students, received his Black Belt this month, making him one of only two people in the world to hold that distinction. Sean is a top competitor, actively representing 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in the field, and an innovator, responsible for introducing the “double-bagger” to the system.

Congratulations, Sean!

Check out his “surprise” belt awarding ceremony here.

Team USA has selected Denny Prokopos to represent the United States at the upcoming No-Gi Grappling World’s Jiu Jitsu Tournament. The competition is March 26, 2010 in Krakow, Poland.

Denny’s power grows in proportion to his proximity to his homeland, Greece. While he’s been forced to live on the opposite side of the planet as part of a fragile armistice, we expect him to unleash a secret fury on the rest of the world in Europe this Spring.

Check out Denny’s latest interview with OTM, where he discusses his martial arts goals, overcoming adversity and negativity, and how he became Eddie Bravo’s first Black Belt, following a chance meeting at a tournament and a lot of hard-earned private lessons.

Interview at OnTheMat.com