Double Gold world champion: Gordon Ryan had an incredible weekend in los angeles at the IBJJF No Gi World Championships this weekend. He competed in both his weight class and Absolute divisions and won Gold in both – four out of seven matches by submission and defeating champion rivals Yuri Simoes, Roberto Cyborg Abreau, Jackson Souza and Patrick Gaudio along the way. It was a fine expression of the versatility of his game between submission and positional skill. For so long squad athletes were criticized as having only one skill – leg locks – this tournament did not allow our favorite leg locks but this was not a problem for Mr Ryan. His unrivaled mastery of back and armbar systems was on display along with his absolutely outstanding positional game. Nothing silences critics like success and this was indeed a tremendously successful weekend for this amazing young athlete who impresses me so much in so many ways but with his work ethic and insatiable desire to learn and experiment to gain knowledge above all else.
