Billy Crafton Jiu Jitsu

Reflecting back on the year that was in 2022, it’s a great time to look back on some of the best moments last year...

I had the chance to train with Craig Jones, clearly a highlight, as was our trip to Kazakhstan for an AIGA international tournament, where Craig and I competed with some of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s best.

We showcase some of these highlights with Craig Jones in a 3-video playlist over on the Billy Crafton Jiu Jitsu YouTube channel,

It starts with an early 2022 training session and then follows with two videos from the Summer 2022 AIGA international tournament in Kazakhstan.

With the tournament videos, the first one shows the complete livestream of the match, including Craig Jones making it look easy vs. Eldar Sayidov.

In the second video, I compete against the remarkably strong Abil Karimkhanov. There was unfortunately a glitch in the live feed, which cut off most of the video, so we added the separate match video on its own here to allow full viewing.

Press PLAY on the video above to get started, or click here to check out the full video playlist on the Billy Crafton Jiu Jitsu YouTube channel. Hope you enjoy the clips, let me know what you think.

Last month, I joined Craig Jones and Seth Belisle representing USA at an AIGA Champions League event in Kazakhstan. Billy Crafton vs. Abil Karimkhanov (Kazakhstan), Seth Belisle vs. Aidar Tuleibaev (Kazakhstan), and Craig Jones in a revenge match vs. Eldar Sayidov (Russia) were just 3 of several matches that took place at the epic international event.

Check out the first video in our eight video training series over at the Billy Crafton Jiu Jitsu YouTube channel. This first vid features Regis Lebre and Billy Crafton demonstrating how to control the distance when sitting up in guard, one of the easiest ways to prevent your opponent from getting pressure on you in a match.

”I’ve been competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments for quite some time, many years, and one of the most popular ones, which you can still easily see the results pop up for online, is the IBJJF’s American National Jiu Jitsu Championship of 2009.

Back then I represented the University of Jiu-Jitsu, which overall took 1st place in the entire tournament. Participating in the White Belt Master — Medium Heavy class, I took First Place, out-battling David Shilling Machado (who took Second Place), as well as Carlos Rosario Efren Alejo Agoge, who tied for Third Place.

Now as a black belt, it’s great fun to look back on the early days as a white belt, and it’s also a great reminder of how, as you continue to rise up through the ranks, the matches get more and more difficult.”

In this video, see Billy Crafton versus Gerogry A at the IBJJF World Master Jiu Jitsu Championship of 2017. In the second of three videos from the 2017 IBJJF World Master Championship, this match propelled Billy Crafton to the next round versus Humberto Carrilho, in Billy Crafton’s quest for a Jiu Jitsu championship in his class.

This intense match took nearly seven minutes, and although Billy Crafton took a while to get the first point, the second point quickly followed.

n the end, Billy defeated Gregory 3 points to 0, advancing to the next round.

As someone who often competes in Jiu Jitsu tournaments, it can be easy to forget why Jiu Jitsu exists in the first place — self defense. Ryan Hall showcases that in this video, perfectly. Although Ryan of course transitioned to MMA way back in 2012, don’t think for a second that his Jiu Jitsu isn’t still there. He proved that it most certainly still is.

The video may make you uncomfortable, but rest assured, thanks to Ryan, the situation never escalated too far. The most disturbing part takes place starting at about 1:05, when the drunk guy talks about his time at the mental institution, and how he will “bite your f**** nose off.”