10th Planet Pasadena, CA
Erik”Compella”Cruz
Erik “Compella” Cruz was born in the Bronx, New York City where he was raised until his family relocated to Los Angeles at age 12. At age 15 he found a boxing/kickboxing academy run by the world famous Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and began learning striking techniques. At age 17, Erik began training in Quantum Jiu-Jitsu at UC Santa Cruz and started gravitating towards the grappling side of martial arts. Erik also studied Tai Chi and sparred regularly with a small group of Jeet Kune Do students. He later met Muay Thai champion Chris Reilly at the Muay Thai Academy in North Hollywood, CA who introduced him to the Bomb Squad gym in Hollywood, CA featuring 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu with Jean Jacques BJJ black belt Eddie “The Twister” Bravo. Up to this point, Erik had only trained in a Gi and was intrigued by this no-gi, MMA applicable style of grappling and thus began mastering the 10th planet system of no-gi jiu-jitsu. Over 13 years later, now a 1st degree 10th planet black belt under Eddie Bravo, Erik continues to compete at local and regional tournaments. Having earned a CAMO record of 3-1(all wins via first round submission), Erik is no stranger to utilizing jiu-jitsu in an MMA environment. His approach to jiu-jitsu emphasizes a well-balanced, yet guard-ready game to prepare for worse case scenario situations that occur during a MMA or self-defense encounter. By nullifying your opponents attacks and counter attacking with submissions you can control the pace and ultimately the ending of the fight with the proper sequence of techniques. Erik was the founder and head instructor of 10th Planet Sylmar from 2008-2010. He has taught at several notable martial arts academies including: 10th Planet HQ, 10th Planet Sylmar, 10th Planet Van Nuys, 10th Planet Burbank, The Academy (Rigan Machado), Mejiro’s LA, House of Champions, Grabaka Gym (Tokyo, Japan), Endure BJJ (Yakota Air Force Base, Japan) and 10PJJ Amsterdam. Erik recently sponsored the opening of 10th Planet Geneva, Switzerland in June of 2017. Erik has been doing commentary for the Eddie Bravo Invitational since EBI 1 and continues to do so on UFC Fight Pass and PPV.
Eric Ramey
Eric Ramey, a black belt under Eddie Bravo, began his training at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City. He then moved to Los Angeles in 2009, where he continued his development under Eddie Bravo at 10th Planet Headquarters. Eric has been teaching at 10th Planet H.Q. since 2010. Well known for his extensive knowledge of leg lock systems, he’s a sought after coach amongst many in the 10th planet competitive community. Extremely methodical and precise in his instruction, Eric is regarded as one of the leading innovators in the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu System. He has taught seminars all around the world; including the U.K., Europe and across the U.S.
Lila Smadja-Cruz
Lila Smadja-Cruz is one of the top female competitors and pioneers representing 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. As one of 10th Planet HQ’s original and longest training students she is the 3rd woman to ever receive a brown belt from Eddie Bravo. Most recently she was a competitor in the first all-female EBI Tournament on UFC Fight Pass and can boast the second fastest submission ever at 23 seconds. She has dedicated her life to fitness and martial arts. Beginning in 2006, training first in Muay Thai and then jiu jitsu, she has since added spinning instructor, certified yoga teacher and certified personal trainer to her resume and coaches both kids and adults. In 2016 co-founded the original 10th Planet Women’s Self Defense program that has a mission of empowering women through the sport of jiu jitsu. 10PWSD is homed at 10th Planet Pasadena where Lila is heading up the Kids program.
10PJJ ADULT FUNDAMENTALS: At 10th Planet Pasadena, our fundamentals no-gi jiu-jitsu classes are designed to guide a new student from white to blue belt while also reinforcing all the basic skills used throughout their jiu-jitsu journey. Takedowns, Submissions, Positional Control and Sweeping are all key ingredients of the fundamentals curriculum. Rubber-guard, The Lockdown, The Truck, and Leg Lock concepts are introduced to be further expanded upon in the advanced classes. Every class includes takedowns, technique application, live drilling and sparring.
10PJJ ADULT ADVANCED (BLUE BELTS +): 10th Planet Pasadena’s Advanced classes explore the 10th planet system of no-gi jiu-jitsu through the extensive drilling of transitional movement combined with advanced strategies in implementing techniques. A blue belt or higher is required to attend, and you still have access to all the fundamentals and mixed level classes on the schedule. We follow the takedown, technique, live drill, sparring format of our other classes but with an emphasis on accuracy and speed. Mastery of the Rubber-Guard, Truck, Lockdown and Leg Lock systems are major components of the advanced curriculum.
10PJJ KIDS CLASSES: Our kids no-gi jiu-jitsu classes provide a disciplined environment for students ages 4-16. We introduce the grappling system of 10th planet jiu-jitsu in a safe, fun environment with an emphasis on character building and good citizenship. Fundamental concepts are built upon in training and developed further through regular sparring in class.
MIXED LEVEL CLASSES: Our mixed level classes are a combination of fundamental and advanced techniques aimed at bridging the gaps within a students skill sets in an effort to create a more complete grappler. It’s a great place to hone your technique, experiment with different styles of attacking and defending, and develop a wide variety of strategic approaches necessary in mastering the 10th planet system of jiu-jitsu.
10PJJ WOMENS SELF DEFENSE: 10PWSD is a self defense program based on the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu system of grappling and we are on a mission to empower all women with confidence and self defense skills.
10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Pasadena
2333 N. Lake Ave. #D
Altadena, CA 91001
Email: 10thplanetpasadena@gmail.com
Website: www.10thplanetpasadena.com
