As members of Team Serra, our confidence grows consistently. We have all had the privilege of learning from the best BJJ practitioners on Long Island, and our team is growing stronger everyday. Over the past few months, we have seen many hard-working students receive promotions, our membership has gone up, and the general morale of the team has been outstanding. Everyday, we should be proud to be a part of such a prestigious team, and we should let it show in our training and in our competitions.
On Saturday night, our fearless leader will be stepping into the octagon in one of the most anticipated fights in a long time. When he does, all of us will be with him, and all of us will be proud. As Matt encompasses what it is to be a confident Jiu-Jitsu fighter, he will show all of us how dedication, love, and honor will help you overcome anything in life. He has trained extremely hard for this fight, his confidence is sky-high, and he will prove once again that Team Serra is still the most dominant force on the mat.
On June 6th, there is a Long Island Pride tournament being held right here in the Islip. We should follow Matt’s example and take the confidence that we have gained on our mats and put our skills to the test. We have black-belts as our instructors, we have proven and accomplished champions as our training partners, and most importantly, we have pride and honor. Now, let’s go get some Gold!


“Jiu-Jitsu is the measure of what you can endure in life.”
-Renzo Gracie

I agree. Lets get out there and compete. Dont sit out because you are afraid to lose, go in there and try it. I lost my first 5 matches in NAGA but each loss showed me something else that I needed to work on. This tournament is in our backyard,and we took second place overall at the last LIPRIDE tourney. Lets all get involved so we can win this one.

The tournament has been moved to OYSTER BAY HIGH SCHOOL.

Do Team Serra proud boys!

I will actually be making my jiu jitsu tournament debut at this one. If my sorry ass can get out there and support the school then the rest of you should as well. Feel free to give me a few pity taps next time you see me to give me confidence.

Great posts guys:

You can't go wrong with following Matt's example. One of the things that impressed me most about his recent fight w/ Hughes was his mentality and confidence. There he was on the ground w/ arguably the best "ground and pound" fighter in UFC history completely relaxed and in control of his breathing. His confidence in his training and technique helped enable him to completely shut down Hughes' offense.

I also agree about the value of competing win or lose. While it's not for everyone (and we certainly won't pressure anyone who doesn't want to), I'd urge anyone who is on the fence to go ahead and make the decision to compete. While it's always nice to win, I've learned much more from my losses and have never regretted competing. You can progress more from training for and competing in one tournament than from months of regular training.

Evan, you'll do great in your first tourney, especially with such a strong team behind you!!

Evan, if you compete the way you train, you'll be just fine. Just have fun with it, treat it like a day of training and look forward to celebrating afterwards, win lose or draw...