Grappling Industries is consistently pushing the boundaries for the traveling competition circuit with their permissive rule set, round-robin format, slick production, and constantly expanding number of locales. On November 17, Grappling Industries will do something no other circuit has ever done: they’ll be putting on an event on the same day, in the same city as the IBJJF.
The event’s early bird pricing ends this upcoming Saturday so I asked Marcos Flores’ thoughts on this momentous occasion for his company:
“NYC was our first U.S city and it means a lot because the local competitors choose us more and more as we truly developed not just Manhattan but the rest of the state too more than the IBJJF.”
Grappling Industries is expanding into Europe in the near future, and Flores gave us his thoughts on whether or not GI will ever overtake the IBJJF.
“To be honest I don’t think we ever will and furthermore that is not our goal. To be a very successful event you don’t need to beat IBJJF. Our goal is to bring the best event we can to each city. I want people to leave being happy with their experience. In 2019 GI will produce almost 150 events in 4 countries across 3 continents. I am proud of what we have done in a short period of time and I know with the group we have now the sky’s the limit.”
As for why competitors should pick GI over IBJJF on November 17, Flores keeps it simple:
“I have always considered GI the place for competitors to get the most experience. Since we have all round robin you have a chance to get the most amount of matches and truly test your skills against multiple competitors win or lose. Most event the only way to get 4 matches is be in a 16 man bracket and win 3 of your 4 matches. With GI you only need a 5 man bracket and you get 4 matches win or lose. To me that is getting the most for your money. It’s not always about gimmicks of belts or swords but getting a medal in a division that you were truly the best since you had the best record.”
Learn more about Grappling Industries’ upcoming events here.
