Year End Kid's Rankings

I don't represent the OJA in any capacity but I have been playing around with the OJA's published results for my own amusement, and hopefully yours, compiling current rankings for both GI and NOGI.  I don't make any assurances about the accuracy of what follows, cutting and pasting ain't easy!

It is so impressive to achieve a top ranking in the kids division as these brackets are some of the biggest at every tournament.  The kids competitors and parents are so dedicated to the sport showing up consistently to nearly every event.  I don't know if these kids feel the pressure to perform at every event in order to make it to top of the rankings, they certainly don't show it.  They are a pleasure to watch and even those who did not make the short lists below should be proud of their accomplishments and having the courage to step on the mats and compete.
 

Kids I (Ages 5-6) GI White Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Alexandra Morra	Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts	500
2	Jack Smith	MMA World Academy	450
3	Cedrich Andal	Pound 4 Pound MMA	360
4	Emily Perry	Team Renzo Gracie	310
5	Liam Herries	Ascension	310

     Should mention that Shimeh Chavez of Gringo BJJ and Ty Leblanc of Team Renzo Gracie also scored 310 points this season.

Kids II (Ages 7-8) GI White Belt 

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Alyna Eastmond	Ascension	760
2	Matthew Serrano	Judokaa Martial Arts	730
3	Alyvia Eastmond	Ascension	640
4	Sherwin Miller	Gringo BJJ	510
5	Zak Salem	Judokaa Martial Arts	460

     This was the largest rankings group with 198 individual competitors scoring points over the course of the season!  The Eastmond sisters, Alyna and Alyvia from Ascension attended every event to lock in 1st and 3rd in the rankings.  Also attending every event this season Matthew Serrano split the sisters to rank 2nd.
 

Kids III (Ages 9-10) GI White Belt 

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Rachel Lauren Pojrazov	Judokaa Martial Arts	670
2	Marie-Eve Miville	Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts	500
3	Maya Hingco	Judokaa Martial Arts	500
4	Brandon Dion	Judokaa Martial Arts	460
5	Ethan Layne	MMA World Academy	460

     The girls continue their success in the Kids III division with Rachel taking 1st, Marie-Eve 2nd, and Maya 3rd overall.  In this age group the girls are often competing in the same bracket with the boys.
 

Kids III (Ages 9-10) GI Colour Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Brayden Audit	Pura BJJ	500
2	Arista Marania	Judokaa Martial Arts	420
3	Peter Terzis	Gringo BJJ	400
4	Blayne Helou	Mamute Martial Arts	360
5	Jack Laws	Ascension	340

      Brayden Audit from the small team of Pura BJJ out of Hamilton holds down top spot in the Kids III Colour division.  Great sign for the future of the kids program at one of the smaller clubs in Ontario as this is arguably the toughest kids division to win in.

Youth (Ages 11-12) GI White Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Kayla Banfield	Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts	500
2	Petar Mijacevic	Judokaa Martial Arts	380
3	Alexandre Gariepy	Therien Jiu Jitsu	360
4	Aidan Barclay	Mamute Martial Arts	340
5	Lily Matheson	Judokaa Martial Arts	330

     The girls continue to impress with Kayla Banfield convincingly holding top rank in the Youth White division.

Youth (Ages 11-12) GI Colour Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Nicholas Jamieson	Ascension	580
2	Miranda Marania	Judokaa Martial Arts	560
3	Jeremy Pare	Team Renzo Gracie	480
4	Kai Woods	Pound 4 Pound MMA	400
5	Jordan Del Vecchio	Judokaa Martial Arts	380

     In a tight race Nicholas Jamieson from Ascension earns 1st in the Youth Colour division followed closely by Miranda Marania in 2nd.  Noah Kales of Gringo BJJ also scored 380 points this season.

Teen (Ages 13-15) Male White Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Jayden Miller	Team Renzo Gracie	400
2	Brett Challice	Team Renzo Gracie	380
3	Kamran Tayyab	Toronto BJJ	280
4	Rowan MacLean	Gringo BJJ	280
5	Mitchell Christie	MMA World Academy	250

     Team Renzo Gracie dominated the Teen White division with Jayden Miller and Brett Challice taking 1st and 2nd by a good margin.

Teen (Ages 13-15) Male Colour Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Ever Dekkema	Gringo BJJ	550
2	Navjot Dass	Matador BJJ	340
3	Jalen Kato	Gringo BJJ	300
4	Alex Blanchard	BTT Canada	280
5	Jake Holz	Team Renzo Gracie	280

     Ever Dekkema of Gringo BJJ had a break out year on the mats this season earning a 1st place ranking but also competing across the USA in IBJJF and teen invitational tournaments even earning a sponsorship from Five Grappling by winning their year end North American Invitational Championship.

Teen (Ages 13-15) Female White Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Isabella Griffin	Team Renzo Gracie	280
2	Kimran Atwal	Warrior MMA	200
3	Brooklynn Leblanc	Team Renzo Gracie	180
4	Payton Patterson	Team Renzo Gracie	180
5	Holly Smith	Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts	150

     Team Renzo Gracie is back to form in the Teen Female White division with three of the top five slots, Isabelle Griffen in 1st, Brooklynn Leblanc in 3rd and Payton Patterson in 4th.  Splitting the group is Kimran Atwal from Warrior MMA taking 2nd.

Teen (Ages 13-15) Female Colour Belt

Rank	Competitor	Team	Total
1	Tia Rahmoun	Ascension	330
2	Diana Ciaramella	Pura BJJ	300
3	Isabella Griffin	Team Renzo Gracie	260
4	Lia Rahmoun	Ascension	260
5	Mackenzie Lagrove	BTT Canada	230

     The twins from Ascension, Tia and Lia Rahmoun were standouts in the Teen Female Colour division with a 1st and 4th place ranking but also with a 13th and 19th place ranking amoung the Adult Female White division.  Again the small team of Pura BJJ is represented well by Diana Ciaramella with a 2nd place ranking.  One of the greatest parts of the younger divisions is seeing a competitor progress from one division to the next whether age or rank.  Sometimes this keeps them from appearing at the top of the rankings as their points are split over two divisions but not the case for Isabelle Griffen who earned enough points early in the season to win the White Belt division and then continued to succeed in the Colour division to also earn a 3rd place ranking in a single season.

   Any kids competitors you know have a great season this year, tell their story in the comments below!

Year End Team Rankings

I don't represent the OJA in any capacity but I have been playing around with the OJA's published results for my own amusement, and hopefully yours, compiling current rankings for both GI and NOGI.  I don't make any assurances about the accuracy of what follows, cutting and pasting ain't easy!

With a new tournament season about to start we can look back at how last season's rankings finished up.

Unofficial Rankings GI Only - Full Listing 

Unofficial Ranking NOGI Only - Full Listing

For those who are not interesting in sifting through all the details, here are some of the highlights.

Team Rankings

Team Renzo Gracie ran away with the team titles with Ascension and Gringo BJJ rounding out the top three.  The other teams will have to make a huge effort this year to get their competitors out all season long if they hope to topple Team Renzo Gracie in 2015.  Honourable mention to Body of Four, they are a small team at the tournaments but they fought hard and captured sixth place in the team rankings.

Team Adult GI Ranking

Rank	Team	Total
1	Team Renzo Gracie	1147
2	Ascension	567
3	Gringo BJJ	542
4	Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu	464
5	BTT Canada	404

Team Kid's GI Ranking

Rank	Team	Total
1	Team Renzo Gracie	867
2	Ascension	767
3	Gringo BJJ	599
4	BTT Canada	502
5	Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts	489

Team Adult NOGI Ranking

Rank	Team	Total
1	Ascension	230
2	Team Renzo Gracie	209
3	Gringo BJJ	172
4	BTT Canada	160
5	Troop BJJ	112

Team Kid's NOGI Ranking

Rank	Team	Total
1	Gringo BJJ	180
2	Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts	134
3	Ascension	116
4	Team Renzo Gracie	109
5	Mamute Martial Arts Academy	82

In a follow-up post I will take a look at the individual standings.

Feel free to leave a comment about the rankings below or to give a shout out to your team.

Tournament Rankings Update

I don't represent the OJA in any capacity but I have been playing around with the OJA's published results for my own amusement, and hopefully yours, compiling current rankings for both GI and NOGI.  I don't make any assurances about the accuracy of what follows, cutting and pasting ain't easy!

So with three tournaments in the books this year lets have a look at where we stand.  (You can find links to the full Google Doc versions of the rankings on the side bar to the right.)

Team Rankings

Ascension is currently running away with the team rankings in first place in Adult GI, NOGI and Kid's GI only losing out to Gringo BJJ in the Kid's NOGI rankings.

Gringo BJJ features in the top three in all four categories with Team Renzo Gracie, and BTT Canada rounding out the top three.  Judokaa Martial Arts and Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts feature prominently in the kid's rankings.
 

Team Adult GI Rankings:

1	Ascension	359
2	Team Renzo Gracie	294
3	Gringo BJJ	289

Team Kid's GI Rankings:

1	Ascension	428
2	Gringo BJJ	331
3	Ishi Gogyou Martial Arts	292

Team Adult NOGI Rankings:

1	Ascension	230
2	BTT Canada	146
3	Gringo BJJ	144

Team Kid's NOGI Rankings:

1	Gringo BJJ	90
2	Team Renzo Gracie	75
3	Judokaa Martial Arts	64

With the first two tournaments of the year being hosted by Ascension clubs they have pulled out to an early lead.  The other teams will have to work hard to get their competitors on the mats and the podium for the balance of the season to make up the difference. 

Check out the complete listing by following the links in the side bar on the right to the Google Docs version of the rankings with all of the individual competitors and see where you stand so far in the season.

Obviously the competitors who have been showing up consistently to the tournaments and accumulating points are currently sitting at the top of the rankings.  Still lots of time left in the season to make up lost ground and reel in the leaders.

Review: Red Star Stamp Gi A2 vs A2L

The Company

Redstar is a Canadian fightwear brand.  Their products are designed and developed in Canada and manufactured in Pakistan.  Redstar has maintained a consistent presence in the Jiu Jitsu scene sponsoring individual competitors, tournaments, and events as well as providing prizes.

Construction

The Stamp GI is constructed from a 450 gram pearl weave fabric with 12 oz canvas pants.  The jacket is constructed from a single piece with no seam in the back.  The collar has a foam rubber core with a twill fabric cover and six rows of stitching.  The collar is quite thick but not overly stiff.  One item to note in the jacket is there is no reinforcement patch in the arm pit.  It seems to be more common now to omit this reinforcement.

Side Vent Reinforcement

The side vents have the standard triangle patch reinforcement with double row stitching in contrasting red thread.

Skirt Taping

The bottom of the skirt is folded and reinforced with branded taping and double row of stitching.

Sleeve Cuff

The sleeve cuffs are reinforced with a plain white tape and triple stitched with the contrasting red thread.  The taping is soft and not scratchy.

 Draw String

The pants have a rope style drawstring with four loops in a contrasting red color.  The rope has a little elasticity.

Draw String Opening

The opening for the draw string has a rectangular reinforcement with a double row of red contrast stitching all around.  You can see in this photo the back of the pants are slightly higher than the front.

Inside The Pants

Inside the pants the major seams are triple stitched twice over with the same red contrast thread.  Standard triangle reinforcement patches have been added to the key stress points.

Knee Patches

The knee reinforcements start around mid-thigh and extend down to mid-calf with double row contrast stitching.  Personally I would like to see the knee patch extend further down the pant so it remains on the mat even when kneeling and the pant legs ride up.

Pant Cuff

The pant cuff shares the same branded reinforcement tape as the skirt as well as the double stitching.

Fit

I purchased the A2 gi first and prior to ordering I contacted Redstar with my measurements to get a recommendation on sizing.  They promptly recommended the A2 size saying it would fit as delivered but I should wash in cold and air dry to avoid any shrinkage.

Out of the bag the A2 jacket is the best fit for a gi I have ever owned.  The sleeves come nicely down to my wrists and there is no bagginess under the arms or across the body.  The sleeves are tapered and fitted leaving little extra material to grab.  The styling of the gi is with a shorter skirt that just overlaps the top of the pants.

I found the pants of the A2 gi just short of my preference.  If I tie them riding low over my hips then the cuff of the pants is just above my ankle bone.  I know many people like to wear their pants this way but I prefer to tie them around the waist.

Regardless of the pants being a bit shorter than what I like, I use the A2 as my competition gi and have worn it twice at the IBJJF Toronto Open and have had zero issues at the gi check.  The fit is perfectly legal.

A while after purchasing the A2, I found I needed another gi and decided to try out the A2L from Redstar to see how it would fit.

Out of the bag the A2L jacket fits very closely to the A2 however the sleeves are slightly long extending down to the base of my thumb.  Not a major issue but does make the sleeve more available to grip.

The pants are perfect for me.  I can tie them around the waist and the cuff is just at the ankle.

I have not used the A2L at a tournament but I am sure it would be perfectly legal as well.

Dimensions

I am consistently in between sizes being too tall for an A2 and too light for an A3.  Redstar has tailored their gi's to the tall and thin practitioners so the A2 is a pretty close fit for me.  For reference here are my particulars along with some detailed measures for the two gi's.

My Measurements

Height - 73"
Wrist to Wrist - 59"
Inseam - 31"
Outseam - 40"
Weight - 170 lbs.

Gi Measurements

	A2 Before Wash	A2 After Wash	A2L Before Wash	A2L After Wash
Cuff to Cuff	67"	64"	71"	68-3/4"
Shoulder to Skirt	31"	31"	31"	31"
Cuff Opening	6-3/4"	6-1/4"	6-3/4"	6-1/2"
Colar Thickness	1/2"	1/2"	1/2"	1/2"
Pant Length	38"	36"	41"	40"
Inseam	21-3/4"	21-3/4"	25"	25"
Waist	29-1/2"	20-1/2"	29-1/2"	22"
Cuff Opening	8-3/4"	8-1/2"	9"	9"

Performance

I cold wash and air dry my gi's.  After air drying the Stamp has the course rough feeling most gi's have after air drying in the collar and the jacket.  The pants also have the stiff canvas feeling after air drying.  In both cases any stiffness and roughness quickly disappears once you get moving around and everything warms up.

With the slimmer fitted cut of the gi there is no extra material hanging loose for your partner to grip and use against you.  The weave is very strong and I have not noticed any stretching of the sleeves even with a partner playing a heavy spider guard game.  The shorter style skirt of this gi means that the skirt will frequently pull out of the belt.

I have never felt constrained by the gi.  It is comfortable enough that I rarely notice the gi at all during rolling.  I also practice Judo with these gi's and the close fit is nice for not giving up grips easily however the collar is not as stiff as on a Judo gi and if your opponent gets a good grip on the collar it can be very difficult to break.

Bling

One of the reasons I choose this gi was because the decorative additions are embroidery rather than patches.  I find over time patches start to look worn and ratty so the extra durability of the embroidery was attractive to me.  Overall the Stamp is middle of the road with some decorations but still leaving plenty of open space to make it your own.

Close up of the embroidery on the arm, the Redstar motif with Jiu Jitsu underneath.  On more recent models the lettering has been changed to Redstar.

 

 

 

 




Detail of the embroidery running down the collar with the sleeve folded in to show the arm detail as well.  All the embroidery is clean and the threads tight.

 Brand patch at the bottom of the lapel.

 The same brand patch on the top of the pants.

 I liked this addition of a washing guide sewn into the back of the gi.  One thing that really impresses me about the Redstar products is how they retain their colour over repeated washings.  Follow the instructions on the label and your blue or black gi will keep its colour for a long time.  I followed the colour setting guide on the tag for my white gi as well to set the red contrast stitching and embroidery to keep everything sharp.


I've added several of my own patches to both the jacket and the pants and like the looking and styling a lot.

Summary

For me the at 6'1" Tall and 170 lbs I found the length of the pants on the A2 a bit on the short side for my preference but they are still legal.  The jacket of the A2 is a perfect fit.  The pants of the A2L fit more to my tastes however I found the length of the sleeves on the A2L a bit on the long side giving an easier grip.

The A2 is a white gi with the red contrast stitching, I followed the washing instructions to set the colour and the gi has maintained its sharp white with bright contrast stitching.  The A2L is royal blue and after following the instructions has maintained its colour very well even under the heavy use of wearing and washing 2-3 times a week.

I like to support companies that actively support the bjj community and Redstar certainly exceeds that criteria.  They frequently have promotional sales and preorder offers for their products so if you are patient you can get a substantial discount on your purchase.  If you can take advantage of one of their specials then the Redstar Stamp Gi is a definite value, hitting well above its price point in terms of quality, durability and fit.