Grand Prix Worlds Results

This past weekend we all went down to Houston for the Grand Prix Worlds Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments. The tournament was in a super nice facility. I believe it was the Don Coleman Coliseum. Anyway we had five competitors from Galveston BJJ show up to test their skills.

First up was Aubrey Randell and Billy Sanders. This was Aubrey's first tournament doing BJJ but it didn't show! He was able to listen to the my instructions very well and score three takedowns in his matches. Aubrey made it to the finals in the beginner NoGi division. In Billies division NoGi division he was able to make it to the finales as well. But he came up short and took the silver medal for Galveston BJJ. But in the Gi division Billy was able to work his half guard and come up with the big win. He only had one fight but he did very well and took home the gold.

The only match I didn't get the submission. 

Next up was the Blue blets. Ralp "The Plexin Texan" Garcia and Mike Harmeling here the two Blue belts representing Galveston BJJ. Ralph and Mike both did well in their GI divisions. They did not do any NoGi this time around. Ralph ended up having three fight total and winning two of them. In the finals it came down to the last 30 seconds. Ralph was on top but couldn't hold his opponent. He was able to sweep Ralph and win the match by 2. The final score was 4-6 2 advantages going to Ralph. A very tough fight! Mike won hid first match and lost the second by submission.

Last but not least I was up to fight. I was registered for Purple belt heavy weight and the Purple belt open weight class. Two days before this tournament I had pulled a muscle in my lower back which caused me to barely be able to walk. But I didn't let that stop me. In my weight division I had two fights and in the open weight I had two fights. I won all but one of the fights by submission. So I ended up taking double gold at the tournament.

Final medal count:
Evan Gideon, Gold Purple belt Heavy Weight, Gold Purple Belt Open
Ralph Garcia, Silver Blue Belt Medium weight
Mike Harmeling, Bronze Light Feather
Billy Sanders, Silver Heavy weight NoGi, Gold Heavy Weight Gi
Aubrey Randell, Silver Feather NoGi
Out of five competitors we brought back 3 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze medals.

Michael's Blue Belt Promotion at CSI: Combat Sports Institute

This was the first but not last promotion here at CSI: Combat Sports Institute. Michael Harmeling has been a dedicated student coming to classes five to six times a week for the past six months. He works a full time job and has a family that backs him 100%. His wife Sabrina Harmeling and daughter Isabella Harmeling are at all the classes to show support. Their family has everything it takes to become future champions.

We are very happy and excited to have this family here at CSI: Combat Sports Institute. This is just the beginning to a long successful journey for both the Harmeling family and Galveston BJJ. Congrats to Michael and his family for all the hard work and dedication.

BJJ in Galveston

Come check out the new BJJ school here on Galveston Island!!! BJJ in Galveston Texas is very new. This is the very first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym opened here. It was formally known as a Relson Gracie school but Joe is no longer teaching here. Now I am running the academy and we are going to our first tournament this weekend in Houston, TX.

The tournament is held by Martial Arts Mania. This is going to be the first tournament I have been to held by these guys. So ill make sure and let yall know how the tournament held up. Hopefully the Refs wont be to bad! I hate going to those tournaments where the Refs really suck. Galveston BJJ will have around five people competing total.

Hopefully we will see some familiar faces at the tournament. Good luck to anyone going and make sure to train hard! We will see you there!

Galveston Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is Now Open!!!

If you didn't know now you know!! Galveston BJJ is now up and running. Galveston BJJ has teamed up with Nutrition Demond and is now having classes 5 days a week every week. They are located at 4605 FT Crockett Blvd Galveston, TX.

This is a video of the BJJ Basics class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. In this class we went over the Lloyd Irvin Mouse Trap. If you ever get to side control this submission series will benifit you! This series is probably one of my favorite submission series to do. It is simple and super effective. Plus there is no better feeling then controlling a bigger stronger opponent and submitting him with a straight arm lock from side control. Check this video out!

Galveston Now Has BJJ

Galveston island now has legitimate BJJ! Lone Star BJJ is now the number one gym in Galveston, TX. The new gym is going to be opening in October. Everyone is welcome to stop by and train! We are going to be having MMA, BJJ, Judo, Wrestling and everything else you need for Mixed Martial Arts.

You can get started early on your free private lesson. Give this number a call and set up your lesson immediately. (443) 618-8887
You can e-mail Lone star BJJ at galvestonbjj@gmail.com

Do not wait to get started on your training. Lone Star BJJ is ready to get you in the best shape of your life!!

My Business Trip to Brazil

I have made it back from Brazil in one piece. The trip was short and sweet, well kinda bitter. But we made it and I have learned a tremendous amount of knowledge from this experience. Brazil was a awesome experience for me. The trip is something I have been looking forward to since the beginning of my BJJ career. The first two days down there was pretty much just all of the guys getting to know the area and enjoying the beach. Rio is a nice tourist place so you can walk straight to the beach from your hotel room and get a fresh Coconut. Trust me they are delicious!!




After the beach it was time for business off to Tajuca Tenis Clube. I have seen this place only in videos before and I have dreamed about competing on those mats. But now it was my chance. Walking through those doors and hearing the crowd was an experience I cannot explain. You just have to go there and feel the vibe for yourself. The people cheering for their teammates, the banging on the medal panels after their guy won, and the smell of competition in the air is one of the best experiences you can have.




After checking my weight and making sure I had some room to spare it was off to chow down on real Acai. This stuff is amazing if you get it at the right place. LOL!!! Some places put way to much sugar in the Acai. All you have to do is find the right place and keep going back.




Now that we were fully energised from the Coconut and Acai it was time to fight. Everyone went there in hopes to leave with the gold medal around their neck. But anything can happen when you go down to Brazil. The Team all together ended up bring back 5 Gold medals, 2 Silver medals and 2 Bronze medals. So we ended up doing good as a Team. Now we have turned our focus towards the Worlds in California. Everyone is getting prepared to go down there and win!!!

I Quit And I Am Never Going Back!!!

When I first found Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I knew we were meant to be together. From the first day I started I was hooked. I immediately started looking for a way to get out of my 9 -5 BS job. Don't get me wrong I actually enjoyed the job I had. It wasn't to bad. Slowly but surly I was making my way up the corporate latter and everything was going OK. But when BJJ walked in the front door of my life and yelled here I am, everything else stopped. It was like the whole world had came to a halt and crumbled before my feet. Then a light shined down upon me and a deep voice told me to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu forever. So what else was I supposed to do? Keep working at this job that kept me from training BJJ everyday of my life..... HELL NO!!! So I had to leave.

Everyday I worked at this company it felt like my life was slowly deteriorating right in front of me. I walked slower and slower everyday to work. When I ate lunch I stayed a little longer everyday. When I woke up in the morning I would take forever getting ready because I knew I had to go to work first before BJJ. I went from the hardest working person in the warehouse to the laziest person in 3 months. Some days I would just sit at my computer and watch BJJ videos for hours. Even if my boss was coming up to me I would just sit there and watch the videos. I didn't care what he thought about my work ethic. All I wanted was an excuse out of that place ASAP.

The excuse to leave came early. See I was offered a position to make a little more money and to move up in the company. So after we worked everything out. The time, money and what I was going to be doing they hired someone else. They didn't even hire someone inside the company. They decided to hire someone who had quit 6 months earlier. That wasn't the problem. The problem was they didn't even tell me about it. Now them hiring someone for the position was not a big deal. But hiring someone and then not telling me about it. Come on now we worked out the money and everything. How would that make you feel? To be passed up for a promotion after it was promised to you.

So now I had my excuse to leave.. And I was out the door!!! All I needed to do now was find a way to support myself. But I am not ready to go work for some business ran by the man. I am ready to start my own future. It was time for Evan Gideon to become Evan "OZ" Gideon for life!!! I found out quick not having a steady source of income sucks!!!! But after a few weeks I was able to convince the owner to hire me on part time and let me clean the mats to cover my tuition cost. Now I was finally living my dream. The dream to become a BJJ world champion.

Ever since I quit my job I have been able to train and compete all the time.. It is Awesome!! I did reach my goal to become a BJJ world champion and many other gold medals. Here are some of my achievements since I have quit my job.

Blue Belt:
2010 Houston International Medium Heavy Champion
2010 Pan Ams Medium Heavy Bronze medalist
2010 New York International Medium Heavy Champion
2010 World Champion Medium Heavy and Silver Medal in the Open Weight Class
And Multiple NAGA Gold Medals

Purple Belt:
2010 Chicago International Championships Gold Medal in the Heavy Weight Division and Bronze Medal in the Open Division
2011 Houston International Open Champion Gold in the Heavy Weight Division and Gold in the
Open Weight Division
2011 Pan Ams medalist
And Multiple NAGA Gold Medals

Now I am training full time and training hard everyday. Training non stop just so I can get my hand raised at the 2011 World Championships in California. This is what I live for! Live and breath BJJ. 2011 Mundials here I come and no one is going to stop me from standing on the top of the podium NO ONE!!!