Copa De Marianas Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament rolls out mats this weekend

The sister event to the Marianas Open, a good midseason training event for jiu jitsu players - and now in its eleventh year - the Copa De Marianas Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament has added a new competition bracket that is already drawing international attention. With the addition of a no-gi division look for more of Guam's grapplers to shed the gi and come out to face some serious competition.

Steve Shimizu told KUAM Sports, "Right now Tetsuji Kato a super surprise for us. I met him in Japan at the Asian Open and he goes 'Hey I want to try the Copa De no gi' - so he's coming out this weekend to test his skills and see if he still gots it".

Of course Kato an MMA legend who has fought the likes of Anderson Silva and Demian Maia. The no gi division will pit BJJ belts of all levels against one another. Women's brackets and an absolute division for brown and black belts will also be featured at Copa.

You can go to marianasopen.com to find out more about weight classes, rules and entry fees. Kids comp starting promptly at 8am Saturday. Shimizu wishes to thank the tourney's sponsors, including Calvo's Selectcare, Aloha Maid, Verona, Fokai, 76 Circle K and the Bank of Guam.

Shimizu says the Copa - and the Marianas Open - owes its growth in big part to Guam's exploding grappling scene. Shimizu said, "Since we started 11 years ago, the sport has grown tremendously. It's been evolving every year. It's incredible."