Copa America Grappling Fl state finals. 4/28/12

Congrats to Rory Dooley and Steve Wagner, Congrats also to Jack Anderson for putting on one of the best matches of the day. Congrats to Anthony Milla best counter. Congrats to Brian David Ellingson who placed 2nd in Mens Purple Belt, Brian Pidgeon-Flanagan who placed 2nd in men's Gi blue belt and 1st  in Men's no Gi intermediate. Congrats to Red who placed 2nd in the Men's no Gi advanced, And to Justin Anderson for making a hug call and sacrificing him self so his teammate could advance taking 3rd in the Men's no Gi Advanced.

Special mention should go to Jack, Justin, and Red who competed in the Men's no Gi advanced absolute. This was a awesome experience. and a stark contrast from the rest of the tournament. The tourney had over 400 competitors. It was loud, people were arguing about who should have one and lots of coaches shouting . But when we got down to the Advanced absolute no Gi there was only about 20 of us in the room all brown belts or higher ready to conduct business. It was quiet no one said a word, every one watched in awe with out breaking the silence,We all knew we were in the presence of other great grapplers. no shouting out techniques, we all just studied the other grapplers intensely waiting out turn. It was a awesome experience. The guys did great holding their own against the other competitors.