Westmoreland County BJJ Champions Train In Greensburg, Pa.
On May 5th, 2013 the Pennsylvania Combat Sports, resident Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach, achieved another competitive martial arts goal. Casey Leonard, a BJJ Brown belt under Professor Vicente Junior, was able to earn “double gold” at the 2013 IBJJF International Dallas Open. Winning both weight class, and the open weight division, is a highly sought after goal for many high level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors.
This goal was first conceived just over a year ago at the 2012 IBJJF New York Open, when Casey won double gold as a purple belt. It was on the podium at NY Open that Vicente Junior would also promote him to brown belt.
“It was on that day at the NY Open, where I first set the goal of becoming a brown belt double gold champion.”
Knowing that the skill level of opponents would be much higher, there would be no good way to determine when (or even if) this goal might be achieved. The one thing that was certain, was the necessity to compete and train BJJ at a much higher level. In addition, a regimented approach to strength training would tap into CrossFit programming, with a major emphasis on speed and conditioning.
Competing in some NAGA (North American Grappling Association) events helped by getting a feel for what brown belt competition would be like. Casey would also make the trip to Los Angeles for the 2013 IBJJF Pan Ams, which is one of the biggest events on the international Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu scene. Winning his first match and losing his next by a slim points margin, he learned a lot from the experience.
More valuable lessons came from the 2013 NY Open, as Casey would come away with two silver medals (weight class and open division).
“It’s sort of a bracketing process. Every event and every match, is showing you what needs work once you get back to Greensburg. Little adjustments, and even some big ones, are what’s happening between tournaments. Always thinking about how to implement the new tweeks to my game and earn the win.”
The real secret to success, according to the BJJ coach, is having quality coaches and training partners who share the same goals and mindset.
“Right now it’s a really exciting place (Pennsylvania Combat Sports) to be for competitors. There are folks hungry to get on the top of the podium and represent the academy. The energy is awesome and people are focused. Having VJ (Professor Vicente Junior) as our lead instructor has also played a huge role in the development of our team ”
While this recent double gold showing was a great boost to morale, the overall scheme for 2013 IBJJF competition remains unchanged. A fairly busy event schedule still lays ahead with late summer and fall being the peak.
“The time for enjoying these wins will end once I get back on the mats this week. There’s really no time for all that. It’s about preparing my students and myself for the next event, and developing our BJJ game.” Essentially, its back to the grind on Monday.