Gabriela Lembcke wins gold and becomes the 2016 World Champion
Alliance BJJ Athlete (training out of Snow MMA & Fitness in NRH, TX) – Gabriela Lembcke becomes a world champion [pictured above: podium from the 2016 Worlds]
-28th July, 2016-
Firstly, we would like to congratulate Gaby on winning her first world title. After beginning her BJJ journey at Snow MMA just 8 months prior, Gaby was able to win the gold at the 2016 IBJJF World Championships (one of the two most prestigious championships in the sport of BJJ). Let’s relive the moments of that day, the 2nd of June 2016…
View the full results from the 2016 IBJJF Worlds here.
“Gaby’s work ethic and ability to assimilate new techniques was something special, but it was her tenacity and toughness that stood out the most,” says her trainer and coach, Samuel Snow. Gaby started off the World championship tournament by beating the 2016 Pan Champion, Fiona Ko, of team AOJ (Mendes bros’ Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy). Gaby won this very tough match, beating Fiona by a score of 4-2 . Watch the full match video here courtesy of FloGrappling.com (note: the score is displayed incorrectly on the screen by operator error).
[pictured in the 2 photos below: one of the takedowns Gaby used to out score Fiona]
Gaby’s second match was very tough as well, and she battled it out to win by points. Her preparation was solid, and her mindset unshakeable. Training this mindset before every major competition that year was something her coach had drilled into her time and time again- BELIEVE. Some days did not yield the proper circumstances for victory, and mistakes were made.
The pic below is from the Pan championship several months prior, where she competed in a higher weight class, losing to the eventual champ by just 2 points.
However, those frustrations pushed her in the right direction, and she pursued the goal of World champion with a white-hot passion on a daily basis. Her training was consistent, persistent, and grinding (Gaby would train 2 to 3 times per day on the mat, and another 3-4 times per week in the gym with conditioning and physical preparation, plus another couple of sessions per week running to help cut the weight she needed to compete in her category at Worlds).
Beyond the brutal and painful training sessions, she also had to diet strictly- something that she had never done before- constantly battling to keep within the limits set by her nutritionists and dietary coaches, Loren Walden and Douglas Frey. With the help of her teammates, Gaby went into the finals with a brilliant confidence and executed perfectly to win her match flawlessly (see video below).
Those teammates joined her daily in training and on the trip out to California as well: Shannon Walden, Christopher Sales, Kade Lawson and Amanda Johnson. This team from Snow MMA made history. It was the first team coach Samuel Snow had ever brought to the World Championships. Kade Lawson (Tarzan) would be the first to make history, winning the first ever match for Snow MMA at the Worlds when he defeated a competitor from Sweden and then an American competitor before losing his third, hard-fought battle against a very tough Brazilian competitor. Amanda Johnson (Ice Cream) had a great match and proved to herself that she was capable of competing on this big stage for the first time, pushing herself in support of her teammates by committing to the tournament late in the season. Christopher Sales (El Toro) had a rough go, losing his first match. He had performed brilliantly all year, winning virtually every single open and major tournament leading up to the Worlds and was a huge motivational force and confidence booster for our team. Shannon Walden was able to perform astonishingly well (watch her first match here). Dominating her first two matches, she secured the points and submission in her second match before losing the third by one advantage (she was near a 3 point score that would have won her the match if only she had had 4 more seconds on the clock). Win or lose, this team made history and put a smile on every face back home at Snow MMA in Texas.
In the finals, Gaby was able to takedown and pass her opponents guard before finishing the match by arm bar submission. [Check it out the full match video below]
On the podium, Gaby’s face lit up with the realization that all her hard work had paid off. What a feeling that must have been. She was now a World Champ. To top it off, her coach promoted her to blue belt on the podium to put the cherry on top, capping off a stellar 2015-2016 competition season.
Congratulations once more, Gabriela Lembcke, on the accomplishment of a lifetime!
[pictured below: Gaby at her celebration dinner with coach, Samuel Snow]
Snow Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness – representing the 11x World Champion team, Alliance BJJ in the Dallas / Ft Worth area. We proudly offer self-defense, Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Kick-Boxing, Fitness, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Mixed Martial Arts classes.
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