Best moments of Chicago Open; Photos & day two recap

White belts wait in the bullpen / Photo by Erin Herle

The second day of the 2013 IBJJF Chicago Open left the kids, the white belts and the no-gi divisions to thrive. The competition had a total of 297 white belts signed up from juvenile to senior 1 so a majority of the day was spent with supportive coaches and plenty of practitioners getting their feet wet with experience. Sometimes a white belt is someone who has trained for a short time and is first trying out a tournament and often times the white belt can be an experienced grappler with many competitions on their resume already. If you’re lucky you’ll even witness a grappler with knowledge in another discipline that will create a mixture of skill on one mat.

The kids divisions were represented by many ages, weights and academies. The girls did well against the boys, the young ones showed excellent technique and much heart was displayed out there from all. Check out this little guy who was able to fend off his opponent’s attacks only to end up in closed guard– a place many people fear:

Crying in closed guard / Photo by Erin Herle

The no-gi divisions were much less filled than the gi divisions on the previous day, however the level of talent shown was not minimized. In the black belt divisions, some competitors accepted a medal on the podium despite any matches since they were the only ones in their bracket. In the lightweight division Philipe Della Monica gathered his medal and signed up for the open where he was able to get to the finals with teammate Orlando Sanchez. Orlando, like in his gi weight division, had no one in his bracket either so he was able to finish his first fight and get to the finals. Leonardo Correa faced Philipe Della Monica in their first round of the absolute where Philipe was able to get the choke and finish. Orlando and Ezra Lenon faced off in their first absolute match where Ezra tapped to pressure on his ribs. Orlando took the gold because as Philipe joked, “who wants to fight someone as big as him?”

The team trophies were divided by gi and no-gi divisions. For the gi division, the academy results are as follows:

1. Brasa – 210
2. New Breed Jiu Jitsu – Chicago – 133
3. Gracie Barra – 122

For the no-gi divisions the academy results are as follows:

1. Gracie Barra – 112
2. Brasa – 82
3. McVicker’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu – 50

You can see all of the results by clicking here for gi and here for no-gi.

See the best photos of the two days below:

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