Jeff Glover is one of the most charismatics and entertaining grapplers to have graced our sport. A product of Ricardo Miller‘s Paragon jiu jitsu academy, Glover has been known not only for his incredible technique and competitive record, but also for his laid-back and fun approach to jiu jitsu, one associated with the “Keep It Playful” movement that started in California. It was this jiu jitsu doctrine that led Glover into designing his own event, the Sunday Roll Out.
The Sunday Roll Out started very recently, but has had full support of many of the biggest grappling stars on the planet, people like Keenan Cornelius, Baret Yoshida, JT Torres or even the MMA star Chris Leben, who all showed their support for this innovative concept in jiu jitsu’s competitive landscape. We got together with Jeff and asked him a few questions regarding his event.
Jeff Glover: “I love the keep it playful movement. I’m not here on planet earth to be so serious. I’m here to have fun. Jiu jitsu is fun”
We have been reading great things about the Sunday Roll Out (SRO), what is the concept behind the Roll Out promotion?
Sunday rollout is my baby. Me and my partners are working hard to make this the funnest little tournament on the planet earth. The venue we host the tournament at has parties every Friday and Saturday, so the concept is on Sunday we roll out the mats.
You are the frontman of SRO, who else is behind you organizing the event?
My partners are Amber Fry and Bryan Dyer. Brian is my student and a world class famous DJ. We are bringing together the DJ EDM (E.N.: Electronic Dance Music) world and the jiu jitsu world together.
I see that you can either win by submission or by scoring 12 points, which is very different from the norm. What is the reason behind this change, and how has this rule affected the strategy of the competitors?
The rules are designed to prevent from boring matches. True honest no time limit matches is what we offer. Stalling will result in disqualification. Our average match time comes in at about 4 1/2 minutes.
We have had some very exciting matches so far. There is no scoring points and holding on for the time to run out in this tournament, which I believe is the biggest problem in competitive jiu jitsu today.
How is the tournament divided?
We do two different weight classes at Sunday Roll Out: 170lbs (70kg) and up, and 170lbs and below. The main reason for this weight class is because we are still small and need more competitors to have more divisions and weight classes.
With the great reviews the tournament has had, do you see it branching out from San Diego?
I would like to see a Sunday roll out in every big city in America. Then we can have regional championships.
What do you have to say to those boys and girls out there who haven’t experienced the Sunday Roll Out experience yet?
The concept is very new, we have a business based around the tournament not around teaching classes. Every week we have a guest seminar teacher*. Mostly I want to give back to the art that has given me so much.
One last question. What would you say to those who snub their nose to the “keep it playful” philosophy?
I love the keep it playful movement. I’m not here on planet earth to be so serious. I’m here to have fun. Jiu jitsu is fun. If you think I’m too playful, come train with me and see how fast I, whoop your candy ass.
Sunday Rollout in action with Keenan Cornelius’ workshop.
*Sunday Rollout also provides workshops, so far they have had the aforementioned Keenan Cornelius, ‘Franjinha’, and many others. On the next Sunday Roll Out, they will have JT Torres.
