Attention all Masters Fighters

First Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I am throwing this thread out to all of the BJJ fighters greater than 30 years old. I had an idea that a lot of "older" fighters either do not travel to tournaments because they figure there is a good chance there will be no one for them to compete against or...they enter the senior division for similar reasons. What if all of us masters competitors organized via the internet so we could know who was planning to compete, at what weight, belt, etc? I know that I would be much more likely to travel out of state if I had a good idea that there was going to be at least two other fighters in my division.

So what I would like to propose is that all of you over 30 fighters contact me regarding competing in this years Budweiser tourny in Charlotte NC on Jan 15 and 16th. If I can get, lets say 20 fighters to respond, we can match up fighters by weight. Maybe we can have four weight classes instead of six if it results in everyone getting a fight. I have spoken with Joe Hurst one of the promoters of the Budweisier and he is willing to help me match up fighters to get fair divisions. Joe has promised that the masters divisions will fight prior to the corresponding senior divisions so all masters fighters will still have the opportunity to compete in both divisions.

Any suggestions, comments to help make this work are appreciated. I know that if 20 fighters say they will make it only 15 may show up but even if we only get one fight in our division we can then compete in the senior division.

Can some of you let me know some other websites where I can post this so we can get maximum exposure? Maybe the responses are going to be that this is a stupid idea...Once I get the original responses I will post my contact information. Obviusly, if everyone thinks I am wasting everyones time I will just drop it.

One last idea I had was to try to contact the ranked NAGA fighters and invite all of the ranked masters fighters. What do you all think of this idea?

Again any thoughts critiques are appreciated. I hope to see all of you masters fighters on the mat in Jan. Regards,

Chris Toher, 140lb newbie blue belt; 47 years young

I'm 32 and none of the tournaments I've been to have had anything other than one division for adults. Is there a big difference?

We have a 30 and over division Masters" in Brazil at age 30 is Masters and age 36 and above is another division Executive or Seniors simply to keep it tighter for a competitor.

I think Chris is doing a good thing. At age 47 he still at Nationals and others had to compete against young guys still placing 2nd but in Jiu Jitsu and in Brazil the age groups are broken up.

Good luck with this.

Happy ThanksGiving and wishing all good health and Happiness.

Joe Hurst

Hey renee,
Most of the larger tourny's offer two adult divisions: under thirty "seniors" and over thirty "masters" some even offer an over 40 division I think it is called the executive division. The problem is if there are 250 competitors at a tourny only 20 may be over 30 and a lot of them only enter the senior division because historically there have been no competitors in their division over 30. From the NAGA rankings and posts I have seen on this website I am sure there are a large group of over 30 competitors out there. I hope we can all get together and kick some butt. What belt/weight are you? Would you consider competing at the Bud in Jan? What is going to be funny is that I am probably going to convince someone to compete and they are going to kick my butt....ha ha joke on me

Sorry, what I meant was, what is the difference between competing in a masters division vs. a regular division? Are the youngin's afraid someone is going to go Couture on their a$$?

I'm about 50% on going to the Bud world cup. It's at least an 8 hour drive for me. I'm 32 and compete at intermediate level about 190 lbs.

Hey mad lurker
would it help with your decision if you knew that there was some masters competition? Of course you can still compete in the senior class as well. I think it would help me make the decision to travel. I like to compete with the young guns but it is also nice if you travel a long way to have a chance to win your division. Yes masters guys can win with the young guys. My record with the 18-30 year group is now 8-4. Yet, I would still like the opportunity to compete with my peers.

i would make the drive down from Morgantown, WV for a Master's division. i have a 30 year old buddy from augusta that would compete under 150. just email me

dcunananmd@yahoo.com

i would compete @170

is there gi and no-gi?

free t-shirt for pre-registration ;)

Hey far east
Now thats what I am talking about!!! Yes there is gui and no gui. There is a link to the budweiser site at the home page here at MMA.com Yes there is a free shirt for pre registration. You can call me and leave a message at 704-331-1204. This is a big tourny so there will definitely be plenty of guys your weight in the 18-30 division. Hopefully we will continue to get responses and we can guarantee you some masters fights. So far we have a 190, 170, (2) 150, and renee r who I will ask what his division is. I am pretty sure there is another 150 here in Charlotte. He competed the last two years and he turned thirty this year. As we get more responses I will set up a chart with the belt/weight/number of responses.

Hey Renne R
You said you are 32. What weight and belt? Are you considering coming to the bud? I think I have about 10 over 30yrs old competitors that should be there. If this thread takes off and we get responses we could end up with 30-40 masters fighters. Now that would be cool. I am going to contact the NAGA masters fighters and invite them also.

Great Idea, I'm 41 and a purple belt under Ze Mario "Esfiha"!!

ttt

I'm 38 and a brown belt, I am planning on coming to NC for the tournament. I am also planning on competing at the 145 lbs weight class. I don't care if it is in the under 30 age group or master/senior/executive division...I am just interested in getting some matches!!!

Hey Chris,

This is Drew from Statesville. Haven't seen you in awhile. This is a gret idea. I hope it takes off.

Mad Lurker,

We're in the same wieght class, but I plan on doing the advanced division in no-gi. What belt are you?

Vdog,

What weight are you at?

GREAT IDEA but, what about the REAL OLD GUYS (and Gals)? Over 30 is masters, right? What about the 45 and over league? The "GERITOL" division. We are not many but we are out here. Should we be matching up against 30 year olds? To you young fellas believe me when I say this: There is a BIG difference between competeing at 30 and 45 years of age. Be nice to your elders! Im all for a national "Old Grappler Database"

I think people in their 30s should be able to compete against people in their 20s. I mean, are you going to tell Randy Couture that he can't fight in the UFC anymore because of his age?

hey jonpall
no one is saying that 30's cant compete with the 20 year olds. We are saying we want to be able to compete in both categories if we choose. I am 47 and i have placed in the nationals and the worlds in the 18-30 division. It is not fair to force someone who is in their 30's or even their 50's to compete with 22 year olds who may be current college wrestlers or whatever. That is like saying why cant a 145 pounder compete with the 170 pounders. If course he can but he should not be forced to. Does that make sense? Jonpall, ask some of your older teammates what they think. Actually tell them about this thread and maybe they can respond and hopefully compete with us at the budweiser.

Hey v dog
what weight and do you think you will compete in the budweiser? I am going to try to compile a list of fighters by weight and belt that say they may show up. Hopefully if we can get 10-20 to commit over the internet and another 20-30 just show up we will have masters matches for everyone.

Hey maximusumi
in the no giu division you will have plenty of competition. Last year there was 4 pro fighters in the 145 and something like nine intermediate fighters and a handful of novice all at 145. I do not know what the advanced division was like. As far as giu division there arent a lot of brown belts out there. Many of the top fighters now train only no gui. I am sure you will get a match, maybe you could move up to 155 if you have to. I am planning to move up to 155 if I have to but I am only a blue. you could try posting a thread indicating you want to compete in the bud and you would like to know if any other 145 browns are planning to go. Just knowing that their is another brown going may give someone the motivation to go. Hopefully someone will respond to this thread in your category. I will see you at the bud. It should be great.

Hey Rick T
I feel your pain my friend. I am sure that if there is another over 40 fighter with similar experience one of the promoters, Joe Hurst, will arrange for you guys to compete. Make sure you indicate your age on the application and verbally tell the registration person that you are looking for a 40 and over division fight. If not, fighting 30 and over is better than 18-30. I hope we will see you there. By the way, what is your weight/belt/experience?