Chris Romanchick Seminar

If you are near Pittsburgh, stop by and meet the famous Turkey Sandwich! Chris Romanchick is doing a seminar for us at on January 10, 2009. Chris is teaching a no-gi seminar on his rubber guard. The seminar costs $30 (payable to Chris). Give me a call at 412-477-5881 to preregister because space is limited!!!

Rudy Fischman BJJ Black belt:

I'd recommend this seminar. Chris has one of the trickier and more confusing guards I've seen. he's either completely insane or a genius.

Drew Vogel Balance purple belt and multiple Grappler's Quest champion:

Nice, good to hear Turkey is giving away some of his tricks for a decent price. I've trained with Chris since I was a white belt and I can honestly say that the rubber guard is one of the most constant themes in his training and he has used it both in the gym and in competition with great success. Instead of emphasizing the flexibility aspect of the rubber guard, Chris is very good at explaining proper hip positioning for the best leverage. Definitely check out this seminar.

Rich Komar Balance brown belt and former NJ SWAT instructor:

Chris has a great guard game. Just watching him you can learn a lot, guys in Pittsburgh should really take advantage of him being there. I'm sure he could probably work some private lessons into his schedule too.

Winter holiday schedule

Special Open Mat Friday, December 26th at 12:00 PM!

No regular practice from Wednesday, December 24th to Sunday, December 28th.

We will have practice on December 31 and January 1st. Got to start the new year right!!! Have a good holiday break!

Ultimate Force 2008

Very good day! Members of Team Balance Pittsburgh, the Panther Grappling Club and IUP MMA Club participated in the Ultimate Force grappling competition this Saturday. We had the following students place:

  • Paul Dieseroth - 2nd place (blue belt)
  • Ed Latimore - 2nd place (white belt)
  • Jon Van Hoose - 3rd place (intermediate no-gi)
  • John Krukar - 1st place (intermediate no-gi)
  • Mark Donnelly - 1st place (advanced no-gi)
  • Ace Brown - 1st place (beginner no-gi)
  • Ed Latimore - 1st place (beginner no-gi)

There were some video recorded from the tournament too. It was a long day, but we had a lot of guys do well. Everyone fought their heart out and seemed to have lots of fun. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Western PA BJJ Championships 2008

Team Balance Pittsburgh and the Panther Grappling Club made an appearance at Keystone Oaks High School for the Western PA BJJ Championships. Congratulations to everyone who competed. As you can see, numerous members got themselves some nice shiny hardware to wear around their necks. Medals or no, everyone who competed did great, and should be proud. Here are some photos from the event:

2008-10-04, Western PABJJF tournament