While all eyes were set on Polaris 2 (results here), on the other side of the planet some of the world’s top Brazilian jiu jitsu athletes were going to war in IBJJF’s Asian Jiu Jitsu Championship in Tokyo – Japan. The tournament captured the interest of a few big names such as Mackenzie Dern, Rikako Yuasa, Andris Brunovskis, Rodrigo Caporal, Roberto Satoshi, Koji Shibamoto, Mike Fowler, Vitor Toledo, Isaque Paiva, to name a few. The tournament passed with no big upsets, below are the results: ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP MEN’s DIVISION Rooster Champion – Koji Shibamoto – Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy Silver – Tomoyuki Hashimoto – Carpe Diem Bronze – Masaaki Todokoro – Paraestra Bronze – Hisashi Ezaki – Paraestra Shibamoto is one of the most prestigious grapplers in Japan, a position he has held for quite some time. Koji came strong as ever and managed to impose his game over Hashimoto, this way successfully defending his title. Light Feather Champion – Kazuhiro Miyachi – Shooto Gym Roots Silver – Tsuyoshi Tamaki – Carpe Diem Bronze – Yuto Hirao – X-Treme Jiu-Jitsu Academy Bronze – Takuto Kako – Grappling Shoot Boxers After winning the Asian Jiu Jitsu Championship title last year as a brown belt, Kazuhiro Miyachi is working his way towards the top of the sport’s ladder with strong wins at this year’s tournament, including against the veteran Yuto Hirao. Certainly a name to keep in mind for the future. Feather Champion – Isaque Paiva – Saikoo Jiu-Jitsu Silver – Masahiro Iwasaki – Carpe Diem Bronze – Wanki Chae – John Frankl Jiu Jitsu Bronze – Ichitaro Tsukada – Damm Fight Japan The highly talented veteran Isaque Paiva cruised through the division. Paiva is one of the most underrated grapplers in the world. Though he is not affiliated with any of the sport’s big teams, Paiva continues to display masterful jiu jitsu in this talent deep featherweight division. Light Champion – Roberto Satoshi – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Silver – Choi Choi – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Bronze – Takuma Tokito – Purebred Omiya A surprisingly short division, understandably dominated by the phenom that is Roberto Satoshi. Middle Champion – Andris Brunovskis – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Silver – Rodrigo Caporal – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Bronze – Pedro Guaracy – Gracie Barra Bronze – Hansel Co – Peter de Been JJ A great display by Brunovskis‘s who went up a weight class, possibly to score more points for the team as Satoshi and Choi both competed for Atos. Andris had one of the toughest draws, going against a very tough Bruno Amorim in the very first round, but that didn’t stop Andre Galvao’s student, who put his omoplata game to work, submitting Amorim and Hansel, winning the final against the always tough, Caporal on points. Medium Heavy Champion – Marcelo de Toledo – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Silver – Akihisa Iriki – Team Legnum Bronze – Yuta Nakamura – T-Rex Jiu-Jitsu Academy Another clean sweep for team Atos with Marcelo “Colat” Toledo (brother of Vitor Toledo) earning the top spot. Heavy Champion – Vitor Toledo – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Silver – Howon Jung – John Frankl Jiu Jitsu Bronze – Michael Fowler – Purebred Jiu Jitsu Guam The day did not go Mike Fowler’s way, as the popular American grappler finished 3rd on a 3 men division. The big winner was Toledo, AKA “Gigante”. Another win for Atos. Super Heavy Champion – Marcos de Souza – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Silver – Leigh Burger – Will/Machado Usually a middleweight,Yoshio decided to try his luck in the 100kg division. The smallest division in the adult black belts, with the ultra heavies. Ultra Heavy Champion – Dany Gerard – Purebred Jiu Jitsu Guam Silver – Charles Gaspar – Impacto Japan Absolute Champion – Dany Gerard – Purebred Jiu Jitsu Guam Silver – Rodrigo Caporal – Atos Jiu-Jitsu Bronze – Hansel Co – Peter de Been JJ Bronze – Wanki Chae – John Frankl Jiu Jitsu A good win on the day of his birthday, French Polynesian Dany Gerard earned 2 gold medals at the Asian Jiu Jitsu Championship black belt division. Dany is an European and Pan American medallist as a brown belt who earned his black belt just recently. A perfect way to start his black belt journey. ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN’s DIVISION The women’s adult black belt divisions were slightly disappointing in terms of numbers, but the ones who showed up put on good performances. The highlight of the day was the battle between 2 IBJJF 2015 world champions, Dern and Yuasa. A match fully dominated by the Humaitá athlete. Feather Champion Mackenzie Dern – Gracie Humaita Silver Rikako Yuasa – Paraestra Light Champion Isabelle de Souza – Impacto Japan Silver Sarah Johnel Black – Nova Uniao Arizona Middle Champion Leanna Dittrich – Fight Sports (sole athlete) Absolute Champion Mackenzie Dern – Gracie Humaita Silver Isabelle de Souza – Impacto Japan Bronze Leanna M Dittrich – Fight Sports
