Codella Academy Repping At 2011 Pan No Gi Championships!

This weekend two of our warriors, Chesley "Chez" Budgell and Joe "Thiago" Peteroy will be traveling to City College, NYC, and putting it all on the line for the chance to medal at the 2011 Pan No Gi Championships! At this amateur level ( no cash prizes) this prestigious event ranks just below the No Gi Worlds which is usually held in California (Nov 5, 2011). Needless to say this a big deal on the east coast and draws  the toughest competitors from all over; all the major BJJ squads will certainly be flying their flags on Saturday!

I had the opportunity to interview Chez and Joe yesterday at our academy with the hopes of gaining some insight into their preparation and mindset not only for this event but for competitions in general. For those of us who have competed in the past or are considering to compete in the future, we will all  come away from these interviews more enlightened about what it  truly takes to participate in tournaments. You will also, without a doubt, be fired up about being a part of the Codella Family and be reminded that everything that you need to compete at the highest levels is right here: awesome training partners, quality instruction, inspiring leadership, excellent conditioning facility, and as Chez mentions in the video, "a support system that understands and cares..". Enough said!!

Here is the link 2011 Pan No Gi Brackets to view the brackets Chez and Joe will be competing in. Point of interest, Joe's first match is against a Marcelo Garcia purple belt who he mentions in his video having lost to at another tournament. Time for redemption indeed!! Joe's division: Purple Adult Medium Heavy and Chez' division: Brown Master Light. There are also some big names competing at the black belt level: Caio Terra, Davi Ramos, Kayron Gracie (Master Carlos Gracie Jr's son), Clark Gracie, Lucas Lepri, and Warren Jefferson (Gracie Barra).

***I want to apologize in advance for some video quality flaws, such as the camera instabilty. My objective was to share these videos, unrehearsed and unedited, before Saturday. I am confident that the content quality and the insight gained from these videos will make up for it. Stay tuned for Part II- Post Comp videos!

Thank you again, Chez and Joe, for sacrificing time from your training to sit down with Cagside at Codella's.We wish you both the best of luck, God Bless; and we look forward to hearing about your results and experiences!

War Codella BJJ/Team Renzo Gracie!!