Avant Guard

Last week, Denny promoted one of the school’s most diligent students, Alan “Chong Li” Chang. Alan was new to jiu jitsu when he started training in 2008, and he’s made impressive gains since then. He had this today about getting his blue:

“I started jiu jitsu in search of a few tricks for self-defense. I ended up being introduced to a comprehensive system of ground fighting, good friends, and a great new way to stay in shape. Getting my blue belt from Denny helped confirm that I’ve made some progress since I first started training. But, if anything, it just motivates me to keep hitting the mat and improving a little bit each day. I still have a long ways to go, but I know it’ll be a good time.”

Keep up the good work, Alan!

Here’s the footage of Denny’s matches at the FILA No Gi Grappling Worlds in Poland. The first video shows the quarter-final and semi-final matches against Italy and Germany; the second video shows the final match against Poland. (Note: Poland’s ironic attempt at mission control at 3:59).

Quarter Final and Semi Final Matches
Final Match

I’m not even sure what to editorialize here; the results speak for themselves. The untouchable Denny Prokopos swept the 65kg weight division, winning the first round against Italy by Rear Naked choke, maintaining momentum in round two against Germany by triangle, and taking the final round against Poland, 3 – 0. He did all of this without giving up a single point to his opponents.
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I can’t wait to see the videos either. Check Avant Guard for updates.

Although, at some point, I think we have to figure out when we’re actually supposed to wear these things… Well, meanwhile, it’s a not a bad problem to have.

Congrats to Gerald Strebendt and Scott “Einstein” Epstein. Gerald is Eddies first brown belt. He’s been with Eddie since before Eddie thought of opening a school.

Einstein showed up for the first class to train with an instructor who was, at the time relatively unknown, and he’s been one of Eddies most dedicated students ever since, competing under a 10th Planet banner, pretty much whenever possible.

The two, along with Denny and Sean, demonstrate that, with black belts spanning the pacific coast, 10th Planet has arrived and it’s here to stay.

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

Pete “The Greek” Letsos will be teaching a seminar this Sunday at 10th Planet. Letsos is renown for his highly technically top game and guard passes, as well as his ability to apply a significant amount of pressure in all of his techniques; this will be the focus of his seminar.

Although he has not competed in about four years, due to injury, he has already accumulated an impressive list of accolades – member of the Black Belt Carlson Gracie Team, four-time Arnold Gracie Champion, three-time CBJJ Pan American Medalist, two-time Relson Gracie National Campion. Letsos has also spent years training with top competitors like Andre Galvao, Kenny Florian, Bibiano Fernandes, and Frenando Terere in Brazil, and he trained and taught with BJ Penn in Hawaii.

At $50 per person, this seminar is a great value! Please come by and show your support for 10th Planet, San Francisco and for one of jiu jitsu’s finest. Email Denny at prokopos300@gmail.com to reserve a spot.

Details:
When: Sunday, January 17th @ 12pm – 3pm
Where: 333 Valencia Street
Cost: $50