Las Positas College Wins Bay Area Collegiate Jiu Jitsu Championship

There was an underlying buzz of nervous tension permeating the dojo. Athletes, separated into several amorphous pods on the mats, were limbering up and reviewing their respective game plans in preparation for the Bay Area Collegiate Jiu Jitsu Championship hosted by Daruma Dojo in Milpitas.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art and a competitive sport where combatants grapple for a controlling position, the ultimate being an inescapable submission hold. As the impending victor gradually increases the force applied to the submission hold, his or her opponent signals defeat by “tapping out”.

Every spring, BJJ Clubs from local colleges and universities meet on the mats in a local tournament to see which club will take home the gold. This year, the tournament was based on a team vs. team format, with each club producing teams of five.

Each team faced-off in a king-of-the-hill format where the winning athlete (determined by successful application of a submission hold) stayed on the mat to face the next challenger. If neither athlete accomplished a submission before five minutes elapsed, then both were eliminated. The team with an athlete remaining on the mat was declared the winner.

There were six men’s teams and two women’s teams in total. San Jose State University (SJSU) was represented by three men’s teams and one women’s team, and coached by Alberto Juarez, SJSU BJJ instructor and founder of Daruma Dojo, with locations in Milpitas and Sunnyvale.

Stanford University brought two men’s squads and one women‘s, and was coached by Prof. Isaac Morena, an accomplished competitor in his own right who trains at Heroes Martial Arts in San Jose.

Las Positas College (LPC) in Livermore provided one men’s team, and was coached by Dr. Russell Jensen, chemistry professor at LPC and founder of Ground Rules Academy Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Pleasanton.

All of the rounds were tightly contested, with nearly every match-up requiring all team members from each side.

The men’s finals came down to Stanford’s “Team Bill” versus LPC’s “Team August”. Many of the competitors, having already endured several matches, were exhausted from repeated all-out efforts. Stanford surged ahead, eliminating the first four LPC athletes while still fielding their second competitor.

But the LPC team had surprise in store. LPC’s anchor, Naeem Salemi, was an accomplished wrestler as a student at Granada High School in Livermore. He was also relatively fresh from quick submissions in earlier rounds. One by one, Salemi methodically chipped away at the Stanford roster as tension mounted on the Stanford side of the mat.

In the final match to determine the championship team, Salemi drew upon his wrestling prowess to quickly secure a controlling position. The Stanford athlete was forced to roll belly-down to avoid an onslaught of shoulder locks, which allowed Salemi to advance position and secure a tight strangle hold. In silent anticipation as spectators held their breath, the last Stanford competitor reluctantly conceded victory with a tap on the mat. The room exploded in a thunderous uproar as the LPC underdogs came through in an absolutely thrilling upset.

All of the athletes, some with very limited jiu jitsu experience, showed tremendous heart in the face of an extremely daunting challenge and should be proud. Win or lose, there are always more lessons to learn in BJJ, and no doubt the teams are already hard at work preparing for next year’s Bay Area Collegiate Jiu Jitsu Championship.