September 10th, 2013
Los Angeles, California
Recently the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation hosted its annual American Nationals at California State University. This two day martial arts tournament is the IBJJF’s only US based National event, which is also run under the banner of the United States Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
Casey Leonard, the resident Brown Belt BJJ instructor at Pennsylvania Combat Sports, made the trip for this years American Nationals. Competing as a Brown Belt in the IBJJF's middleweight division, he would be facing some very seasoned competitors in his bracket.
When the dust cleared at the end of the day, it would be Coach Casey winning the Gold in his weight division and the Bronze for his Absolute (open weight class) division. Westmoreland County would have its first IBJJF National Champion!
"It feels awesome bringing a National Title back to Greensburg...as a team we've all worked hard towards getting on the podium in IBJJF tournaments this year. The win was just as important to our students and competitors, as it was to me. Its really a shared success given the nature of our school (PACS) and our mentality towards goal setting as a team."
With only a few months left in 2013, Casey is gearing up for a few more highlight events on the IBJJF calendar. To get on the podium for those will require more dedicated BJJ training here at Greensburg based Pa Combat Sports along with the expert guidance of Professor Vicente Junior.
There would be no time to sit and enjoy the American Nationals win from Los Angeles this past Saturday, as BJJ training commenced once again on Monday back in Greensburg...it was business as usual with little fan fare.
"We can celebrate at our end of the year awards banquet I suppose...there's still work to be done in the meantime."
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