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Last week, typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines. It was the strongest storm in recorded history. Needless to say, it wiped out almost everything in it's path. Thousands of casualties, and probably billions of dollars in damages. They are still digging out from last week's earthquake, and now this.

We are doing a benefit Grapplethon event on December 7th for the disaster relief. The Philippine Red Cross is on the scene, as usual, and could definitely use the help. I've got extended family there, and it seems like the Philippines is extremely well represented in BJJ and Submission Grappling, so there's a lot of people we know that are affected by this. As a result, we decided to do something to try and help a country that's suffered more than it's share.

If you're not familiar with the concept, a Grapplethon is a 24-hour grappling marathon roll. You can get more information on the concept at http://www.grapplethon.org/p/about.html. The idea is to have someone training at all times during the 24 hours. We wIll charge a fixed amount to participate, in this case, $30, and then people are welcome to solicit pledges from co-workers, family, and friends based on how many rolls you get, or how long you can go, etc. I'm feeling that "a dollar a roll" is a reasonable ask. If you aren't a Jiu-Jitsu person, a "roll" is a 5-10 minute "live" sparring session with another person. How tough it is really depends on the participants, but it can be extremely draining and painful when your opponent is way better than you are. So, if you think it sounds like an awfully hard dollar, you are probably correct. If you'd rather do it based on time spent, $6-$10 is probably fair for an hour. We will also be doing T-shirts for the participants, and you will recieve one with your donation of $50 or more. There will also be prizes available for the participants, and if you are interested in a sponsorship opportunity, please reach out to griff@edmondsbjj.com and we can discuss it directly.

Right now, the event will be taking place from 6pm on December 6th until 6pm on December 7th at Gracie Barra Edmonds, located in Edmonds, WA (20 minutes north of Downtown Seattle)

No politics, or drama. Everyone is welcome, regardless of affiliation. I'm serious. Leave your beef at the door along with your ego. All donations collected will go directly to the Philippine Red Cross. If you would feel more comfortable donating directly, the link to their donation page is located at http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate.

If you can't contribute directly, then please consider contributing by using your own platform to raise awareness of this issue in general, as well as the event in specifics. In other words, please share this page and campaign shamelessly :)

Thanks for reading. More to come soon...

Griff Sombke

Gracie Barra Edmonds