Debbie Roarty started training at Kioto Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when she was 36 years old. In just four years she has won 19 medals including 1st place at 2009 Grappler's Quest for her weight class in the women's no gi advanced division. The day she was promoted to blue belt she defeated every female, big and small, from all Kioto locations to be crowned 2008 Iron Woman. At 110lbs it is not always easy to find training partners her size but that does not stop her from giving the big guys fits. If it was up to Debbie she would be at a tournament every day of the week, but for now she has to settle for every weekend.
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Written by Debbie Roarty
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Friday, 09 October 2009 22:05 |
 While attending the Pan-American No-Gi Championship, Ryan, our instructor for Kioto Quogue, invited me to attend a No-Gi seminar Monday night with Daniel Moraes, 5-time World Champion.
I had never been to Quogue to train and now had the opportunity to make the journey. Ryan said the academy is still a work in progress and I think it looks great. I was a little intimidated not knowing anyone, being the only girl and I wondered if I would be able to keep up with everyone. Ryan, Kevin and the group of guys made me feel at home on the mats and I was paired up to practice technique with Kevin (Ryan’s brother) eventually easing my intimidation.
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Written by Debbie Roarty
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Wednesday, 30 September 2009 21:59 |
Grappler’s Quest submission grappling and BJJ competition was held at the Lancaster Convention. There were vendors/sponsors selling the usual gear and a huge screen displaying the UFC on Xbox 360. The Marines were also a sponsor and helped with this tournament. At their booth, the Marines had a pull up bar. Occasionally, I looked over to see kids and men do their thing. I saw one guy about 145 lbs. do 30 pull ups and he was given a free tee shirt.
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Written by Debbie Roarty
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Thursday, 24 September 2009 21:59 |
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Joe T.’s strength conditioning – this class is a must with proven results!
Since the beginning of August, I’ve stayed after open mat class on Saturday’s for Joe’s strength conditioning class that starts at 12:00 and ends around 1:00; it’s a grueling, exhausting hour (hard work always seems longer). Joe does an awesome job instructing the group to work hard and focus on cardio and stamina, as well as doing drills to improve technique (my fav, guy on bottom puts both hands under this belt and the other guy stands in your guard and tries to pass) and takedowns. I am very thankful to Joe and the team for the opportunity and their support to join them. I can feel the results after competing. Any of the guys looking to improve as a fighter, this class is a must!
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Written by Debbie Roarty
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Tuesday, 11 August 2009 19:57 |
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This weeks class started out as usual, we began our warm-up and then unexpectedly our professor, Milton Regis, did something out of the ordinary; he split the class into 4 groups sending each group to different corners of the mat.
Milton instructed one group to climb a thick rope about 11’ high, while the other groups either jumped rope, did sumo base three side steps and drop to a push up and the final group had to sit up against the wall with legs in a V and touch toes with the opposite hand.
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Written by Debbie Roarty
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Wednesday, 10 June 2009 15:07 |
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 Grappler’s Quest submission grappling competition was held at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown, NJ. The Mennen Sports Arena is a great venue for a tournament with 12 rings, a decent size warm-up area, booths of MMA merchandise and plenty of seating for spectators. This event had a decent turn-out in all divisions and there never seemed to be a let down in the crowd’s enthusiasm.
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