Grappling Industries: March 1, 2020

5 kids and 3 adults walk into a jiu jitsu tournament and turn heads with their ability to finish matches and score mad points. Nova Gyms had 2 kids and 2 Marquette University students competing for the first time at the March 1st Grappling Industries tournament at the North Side YMCA. While Nova Gyms is smaller than most gyms, our students come to every tournament with the skills and confidence to win gold. The 5 Nova Gyms kids placed second overall in the kids division, only losing by 2 points to a gym that had 3 times more competitors. Each kid scored top points with each match they competed in and only lost 4 out of 23 matches! Our 4 Marquette University team members placed 11 out of 37 in the adult division! Everyone was tired after this tournament, but ready to hit the mat again on Monday.

Everett and Palmer both received belt promotions at the tournament, which shows you how hard they train while at Nova Gyms and Coach Chris Martin couldn’t even wait until the next class to give them their new belts. Way to go Everett and Palmer.

KIDS

Nicholas kazmieczak (age 11)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (beginner) - Gold

isaac quintanar (age 10)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (beginner) - Bronze

natalia suber (age 10)

Gi - Gold

cooper wiza (age 9)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (intermediate) - Bronze

everett fischer (age 7)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (beginner) - Gold

Adult

Palmer blas (age 20 )

Gi - Bronze

No Gi (intermediate) - Silver

Tyler blatnik (age 27)

Gi - 4th place

nick kallas (age 21)

Gi - Bronze

No Gi (beginner) - 4th place

matthew leonard (age 21)

Gi - Bronze

No Gi (advanced) - Gold

Absolute Gi - Bronze

Absolute No Gi - Bronze

Grappling Industries: February 1, 2020

Win or Loss, Nova Gyms stands behinds its kids. Isaac competed in his first tournament and persevered to come home with 2 medals, Gold and Bronze. Listening to his coach kept him focused and determined to do his best. Doing your first tournament can be nerve racking, but Isaac kept his cool and his smile shows it.

NAGA: November 9, 2019

NOVA Gyms kids program is bringing its A game to every tournament they participate in. Tournaments are used to learn and grow from, especially when you are going against kids older than you. Our students challenge themselves every day at practice and it shows with how well they perform at the tournaments they sign up for.

raina roche (age 13)

Gi - Intermediate 14yr old bracket - Bronze

No Gi - Intermediate 14yr old bracket - Bronze

colin furhman (age 9)

Gi - Expert 9yr old bracket - Silver

No Gi - Expert 11yr old bracket - Silver

lorelei roche (age 6)

Gi - Intermediate 6yr old bracket - Silver

No Gi - Intermediate 7yr old bracket - Bronze

Grappling Industries: November 2, 2019

Marquette University NOVA BJJ team had a great showing at today’s tournament with 8 competitors; 4 of them competing in their first tournament. NOVA kids also had a first time competitor; Lillian Holland, and a belt promotion for Caleb Wilder. OSS

Kids

LILLIAN HOLLAND (AGE 7)

Gi - White - 7th place

No Gi - Beginner - 5th place

CALEB WILDER (AGE 7)

Gi - White - Gold

No Gi - Beginner - Silver

COOPER WIZA (AGE 8)

Gi - Grey - Bronze

Colin Furhman and Cooper Wiza each score a podium spot, Colin gold and Cooper bronze. NOVA Gyms kids compete and win together as a team.

No Gi - Intermediate - Silver

COLIN FURHMAN (AGE 9)

Gi - Grey - Gold

No Gi - Intermediate - Gold

JAZLYNN KNUTSON (AGE 13)

Gi - White - 5th place

No Gi - Intermediate - 4th place

ADULTS - we are marquette!

izaac mendoza (age 18)

Gi - White -175lbs - 6th place

No Gi - Beginner -170lbs - Bronze

jada vignos (age 19)

Gi - White -150lbs - Gold

No Gi - Beginner -150lbs - Bronze

palmer blas (age 20)

Gi - White -145lbs - Gold

No Gi - Intermediate -145lbs - 4th place

emmanuel echeverria (age 20)

Gi - White -185lbs - 6th place

No Gi - Beginner -185lbs - Silver

Matthew leonard (age 21)

Gi - White -175lbs - Gold

No Gi - Intermediate -170lbs - Silver

jose marquez (age 21)

Gi - White -185lbs - 5th place

No Gi - Beginner -185lbs - 6th place

doug peters (age 22)

Gi - Blue -185lbs - Silver

No Gi - Intermediate -185lbs - Bronze

andrew salinas (age 23)

Gi - White -175lbs - 7th place

No Gi - Intermediate -170lbs - 6th place

Gi Absolute - White - 4th place

No Gi Absolute - 5th place

Grappling for Good-Tap Out Cancer: October 19, 2019

Sisters, Raina and Lorelei train together and win together. They are not afraid to take on opponents that are older and bigger than them. To these girls, it is a way to put everything they have been learning in class to the test. Can they compete against older kids, YES! Can they compete against kids who out weigh them, YES! Does it stop them from competing, NO!

Kids:

Lorelei Roche (age 6)

Gi - Bronze

Raina Roche (age 13)

Gi - Bronze

Grappling Industries: September 22, 2019

1 competitor = 1 winner. Marquette University student Andrew Salinas was NOVA Gyms only competitor for the Sept 22, 2019 Grappling Industries tournament. Being the lone NOVA competitor didn’t stop Andrew from obtaining a medal and great experience to take back with him and learn from it. He continues to take on challenges at every tournament and only gets better with each passing day. Way to make NOVA proud!

adult

ANDREW SALINAS (AGE 23)

Gi - White -170lbs - 7th place

Absolute Gi - White - Silver

Absolute No Gi - 9th place

Grappling Games: August 18, 2019

First time competitors show how comfortable they are on the mat. Caleb Mueller and Scott Shockley both take gold. Scott is no stranger to rolling on the mat, as he’s is a black belt in Judo. Scott brings his experience and knowledge to NOVA Gyms by implementing judo into our BJJ adult and kids classes weekly. This new discipline helped Caleb Mueller dominate his opponents with ease.

Kids

Caleb Mueller (AGE 13)

Gi - Novice without submission (10-13yr old bracket) - Gold

Gi - (16 yr old bracket) - Silver

Silver medal still puts a smile on Caleb’s face.

Caleb WIlder (AGE 6)

Gi - (6-8yr old bracket) - Silver

No Gi (beginner) - Gold

Adults

Scott Shockley (AGE 44)

Gi -Seniors - Gold

Black belt Judo/White belt BJJ competitor Scott Shockley takes GOLD in his first BJJ tournament.

Tom Thompson (age 47)

Gi - Masters/Seniors - 4th place

Newbreed: July 13, 2019

Nova kids travel and win in packs. Training multiple times during the week sets our kids up for success. Win or lose, our pack learn and grow as a team every day.

Kids

Liberty Thompson (AGE 6)

Gi - Novice without submission - Bronze

No Gi - Novice - Bronze

Lorelei Roche (AGE 6)

Gi - Beginner with submission - 4th place

No Gi - Beginner - Bronze

caleb wilder (AGE 7)

Gi - (8-9yo bracket) Beginner with submission - Bronze

No Gi - (8-9yo bracket) Beginner - Silver

raina roche (AGE 13)

Gi - Solid grey or grey with black stripe-Middleweight - Silver

No Gi - Intermediate-Cruiserweight - 4th place

Grappling Games: June 22, 2019

7 competitors all coming home with new medals to hang up - 2 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze. Not bad for a days work. As a team NOVA ranked 9th overall with 46 points. Our kids did a stand up job (no pun intended) by scoring 34 points to be ranked 8th overall!

Father (Ron Wiza) and son (Cooper Wiza) both competed at the Grappling Games tournament held on June 22, 2019 in Oak Lawn, IL and each came home with medals. Ron Wiza received a silver medal after competing against someone more than half his age in the adult division.

Adult:

Ron Wiza (age 39)

Adult Gi - Silver

Masters Gi - Gold

Kids:

Liberty Thompson (age 6)

Gi - Bronze

No Gi (novice) - Silver

Lorelei Roche (age 6)

Gi - 4th place

No Gi (beginner) - Silver

No Gi (novice) - Silver

Cooper Wiza (age 8)

Gi - Bronze

No Gi (intermediate) - 4th place

Damien Thomas (age 9)

Gi - Silver

No Gi (beginner) - Silver

Colin Fuhrman (age 9)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (beginner/intermediate) - Silver

No Gi (intermediate) - Bronze

Raina Roche (age 13)

Gi - Silver

No Gi (beginner/intermediate) - Bronze

NAGA: May 11, 2019

3 kids walk into a BJJ Tournament and all 3 kids walk out with GOLD!! Nova kids competed in multiple Gi divisions to obtain experience at a higher level. Lorelei, Raina and Colin were all able to hold their own and show NAGA what NOVA Gyms is all about.

KIDS:

LORELEI ROCHE (age 6)

Gi (White-intermediate) - Silver

Gi (White-beginner) - Bronze

No Gi (novice) - Gold

Check out Lorelei's day at NAGA Chicago 2019 #bjj4PEACE "On the road to Vegas":

COLIN FUHRMAN (age 9)

Gi (Gray-intermediate-9 yr old) - Gold

Gi (Gray-intermediate-11 yr old) - Gold

No Gi (intermediate) - Bronze

Check out Colin’s day at NAGA 2019 Chicago competition day #bjj4peace "On the road to Vegas"

RAINA ROCHE (age 13)

Gi (Gray-beginner-Male) - Gold

Gi (Gray-beginner-Female) - Gold

No Gi (beginner-male) - Gold

Watch Raina’s competition day NAGA Chicago 2019 #bjj4peace "On the road to Vegas"

Grappling Industries: May 5, 2019

What happens when you send 5 Nova kids and 1 Nova adult to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament? They dominate and win 7 golds! Caleb Wilder and Rex Schmitt were first time competitors and both boys came home with 2 golds each. OSS

KIDS

Damien thomas (age 10)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (intermediate) - Bronze

caleb wilder (age 6)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (beginner) - Gold

Rex Schmitt (age 10)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (beginner) - Gold

liberty thompson (age 5)

Gi - Gold

cooper wiza (age 8)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (intermediate) - Silver

Adult

NATHAN HAGEN (age 39)

Gi - Bronze

Combat Corner: April 20, 2019

NOVA Gyms kids took 7th overall during the April 20, 2019 Combat Corner tournament.

Kids:

Lorelei Roche (age 6)

Gi - Bronze

Damien Thomas (age 9)

Gi - Silver

No Gi (novice) - Bronze

Colin Furhman (age 9)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (advanced) - Gold

Raina Roche (age 13)

Gi - Gold

No Gi (novice) - Gold

Grappling Industries: January 27, 2019

The Nova team who trains together competes together. Winners all around. OSS

Kids

Raina Roche (AGE 12)

Gi - Bronze

No Gi (beginner) - Bronze

Adults

Ron Wiza (AGE 39)

Gi Adult (white belt -155 lbs) - 4th place

No Gi (beginner -155 lbs) - 5th place

Tom Thompson (AGE 47)

Gi Master (white belt -185 lbs) - Silver

Kyle Johnson (AGE 27)

Gi Adult (white belt -210 lbs) - Gold

No Gi (beginner -210 lbs) - Silver

Greg Fischer (AGE 35)

Gi Master (white belt -210 lbs) - Silver

No Gi (beginner -210 lbs) - Gold

Jon Thomas (AGE 44)

No Gi (beginner -210 lbs) - Bronze

Michael Harris (AGE 36)

Gi Adult (blue belt +230 lbs) - Gold

No Gi Adult (intermediate) - Silver

Karina Petri (AGE 32)

Gi Female Adult (white belt -150 lbs) - Silver

Andrea Wilson (AGE 27)

Gi Female Adult (white belt +165 lbs) - Gold