1. Hi Tony can you please introduce yourself to BJJ community of Eastern Europe? 

My name is Tony Gonzalez, 45 years olds, from San Diego California. Both my parents are from the Philippine Islands, so that makes me full blood Filipino. I am the founder and co-owner of the Ultimate Training Center est.2004 (visit Ultimatetrainingcenter.com) located in Corona Ca. We offer Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,Kick boxing, and Crossfit training. It is not uncommon to witness professional fighters, sports figures, celebrities, police officers, fire-fighters and the general public training here. I am the head Strength conditioning and Crossfit trainer here at UTC and specialize in Sport Specific Strength Conditioning. My training is both science and practicality based

2. I first heard about you as being Marcus Buchecha’s personal trainer. How is it working with such a great athlete? 

I was first approached by Marcus to help with his conditioning before the 2012 Abu Dhabi World Pros. Since then, it has been very common to receive requests from other BJJ stars such as Tarcisio Jardim, Nivaldo Oliveira and Lucas Leite. Training an athlete of Buchecha’s caliber is not as easy as it might seem. It would be too easy to administer say a Crossfit style W.O.D. and that would be ok in the early stages of the training cycle but maximizing performance in your desired objective (either strength or conditioning) doesn’t mean simply incorporating the opposite and hoping for the best. Imagine an endurance runner tossing in a bunch of strength training leading into a running event or a large out of shape powerlifter slamming out a bunch of cardio leading into a meet. In both aspects the athlete will likely reduce their performance. CrossFit has done an excellent job at incorporating training across the strength and conditioning spectrum (or broad modal domains in CF language), but at the same time its athletes are not in “Peak” shape for any specific points within those spectrums. Specific training is necessary closer to competition to maximize peak performance. This is where it helps to be creative and to KNOW first hand the mechanics performed in a Jiu Jitsu match.

3. Can you tell us about Buchecha’s S&C program? Do you think it’s possible to achieve great competition results at a high level with just training Jiu-Jitsu and not lifting weights?

My priority goal for Marcus for this years Mundials was to keep him explosive in the later matches. ( check out his match against Bernardo Faria) I typically train Marcus 3-4 days per week. A BJJ fighter could condition 4-5 days a week and still train on the mat 6 days a week. They must definitely listen to their bodies and be aware of signs of over training.They must not neglect recovery time and recovery procedures such as ice baths and massages. Nutrition is very important for Jiu Jitsu fighters and I would love to discuss this in another interview. I believe all Bjj fighters should strength condition, more athletes today are realizing how important it is to be stronger and faster.

4.What’s next for you and team? If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free.

I would like to mention how lucky we are at UTC to have Marcus as our Jiu JItsu Instructor and being part of a great family..Checkmat. I’ve always said Checkmat has given my Jiu Jitu new life and for that I am very thankful. I received my brown belt from Marcus this year and am now preparing for the Master/Senior Worlds. I am very blessed in life and I thank GOD and my beautiful family for that. See ya on the mat! Osssss

Photo by: bjjpix

The evening started with Victor Estima vs JT Torres: This was a 20 mins footlock battle with reaping (since this wasn’t IBJJF rules). The whole fight pretty much consisted of leg entangled battle with both fighters exchanging footlocks and kneebar attempts. At the end it was declared a draw.

Mackenzie Dern vs Michelle Nicolini:

Mackenzie came out agreesive out of the bat attacking Michelle’s feet. The rest of the fight was an up and down battle with both fighters exchanging attacks. At the end it was declared a draw. This was the second draw of the night but since there weren’t any clear dominant positions achieved, it was a draw.

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu vs Brendan Schaub (No Gi)

Brendan Schaub pretty much spent the whole fight avoiding the ground fight and using his athleticism to stall and block Cyborg’s attacks and tornado rolls. This fight was reminiscent of the Randy Couture vs Jacare submission fight a few years back where Schaub did the same thing as Randy and just blocked. The crowd started taunting Schaub and Cyborg grew a bit frustrated. It was a pity that Cyborg wasn’t more aggressive in his attacks and didn’t try different sweeps or moves to end up on top. The fight was decided a win for Cyborg by Judge’s decision.

At this point the crowd were clearly frustrated from having watched 3 frankly boring fights. The agony was not over but the crowd became excited with the anouncement of  Metamoris III: Eddie Bravo vs Royler Gracie:

Andre Galvao vs Rafael Lovato 

The fight started with some grip fighting. Galvao attempted a few flying triangles. There were some close throw attempts and Galvao eventually passed Lovato’s long legs, and threatened to take his back. The fight was declared a unanimous decision for Galvao. 

Rodolfo Vieira vs Braulio Estima

Braulio avoided Rodolfo’s superior judo game and pulled guard right away, and started to work his famed spider guard game. He had a unusual grip on Rodolfo’s skirt. Rodolfo’s passing game was held at bay by Braulio’s grips but he was eventually able to pass the guard, after a 10 mins, but Braulio got back to guard. At the end of the match Rodolfo got around Braulio’s guard and threatened a very close armbar while Braulio ended up with Rodolfo’s foot. The fight was declared a win for Rodolfo by the judges.

Kron Gracie vs Shinya Aoki 

Both fighters were feeling each other out in the first few mins then Kron jumped closed guard and immediatly started to go to work. Kron threatened a guillotine and they rolled over a few times but Aoki defended. Kron then reaplied another guillotine and as they rolled almost out of bounds, Kron mounted and finished Aoki. Kron by guillotine choke.

All in all it was a frustrating night for Jiu-Jitsu fans. It seemend like the fact that they had judges who would decide on the winner at the end of the fight, changed the way the fight went, like the fighters were not going for the kill, and were careful not to lose positions. Metamoris 1 was much more exciting because they knew that if the fight ends without a submission, it would be a draw.

Photo by: bjjpix

Written by James Jayme

A lot of people today are complaining about seeing high level competitors stay on double guard positions for the whole duration of the match, trying to rack up points than to finish an opponent. The first Metamoris Pro answered the clamor for a submissions centric jiu jitsu tournament. After so many years of adding one restrictive rule after the other, Metamoris brought back the essence of what jiu jitsu is. The first Metamoris Pro was such a success that the BJJ community asked for more. Now that the dusts have settled regarding the 2^nd Metamoris Pro, was it really as good as its original billing?

Here’s our list of hits and misses of the recent Metamoris 2.

Hits

20 minute time limit

Old school practitioners jiu jitsu matches were designed for the long hours of grappling. In fact, classic matches of Helio Gracie involved 2 to 3 hours of grueling chess match waiting for the opponent to make mistakes. The early Ultimate Fighting Championships were also programmed the same way. With no time limit, the more technical guy, despite being physically disadvantaged, has a stronger chance of winning.

In contrast to IBJJF competitions, the 20 minute submission-only matches were less restrictive. Reap whatever knee you can, it doesn’t matter who sweeps who. The point is, to get the sub. The first Metamoris proved that 20 minutes is enough for two willing competitors to get a submission from each other. In fact half of the fights in the first one ended with a submission.

Galvao vs. Lovato

After the lack of convincing finishes in the first 3 matches, Andre Galvao and Rafael Lovato Jr raised the benchmark for the rest of the fighters that night. From the opening salvo until the end, it was a back and forth fight between the two men. Galvao and Rafael Lovato tried to win the grip fight battle followed by attempts to establish a dominant position via numerous takedown attempts.

Galvao then pushed the pace with his devil may cry flying submissions. Though Rafael Lovato wasn’t caught in any danger, whatsoever, the gutsy performance by Galvao and the willingness of Lovato to engage reclaimed the essence of the Metamoris.

The Ladies

If there was ever a fight of the night pot money on the line, Ralek would’ve been poorer because of Michelle Nicollini and Mackenzie Dern. Michelle Nicolini versus Mackenzie Dern was the second fight that night. From straight up leg hunting to tenacity all throughout the 20 minutes, the only surprise was that no one ended up with the sub victory. In fact, there was a close call when Nicolini attempted a toe hold at one point in the match. Though it ended as a draw, it was an exciting match all throughout.

Metamoris 3 Announcement

Just after Brenan Schaub glided throughout the 20 minutes, Ralek’s announcement made an impression that Metamoris is here to stay. Featuring Royler and Eddie Bravo, this fight is ten years in the making. Finally, we are going to see whether or not Eddie Bravo’s Abu Dhabi performance against Royler years back was a fluke or legit.

Impassable Guard vs. Unstoppable Passer

On paper, Braulio Estima and Rodolfo Vieira is the most intriguing matchup in Metamoris. Estima managed to increase the anticipation to this Metamoris match by performing well during the Mundials. On Braulio’s part, his spider to knee bar transition, just a week before raised a lot of questions whether or not he can finish the young passing machine from GFT.

As for Rodolfo Vieira, with a dominant run in his division and the inevitable finals with Buchecha, he also had an equally impressive performance in the Mundials. After all the hype and speculation, Rodolfo and Braulio on fight day didn’t disappoint at all.

Braulio started playing spider guard. Unlike the usual foot on the bicep, Estima looped his foot to Rodolfo Vieira’s lapel. Becoming a puzzle all throughout, it was a technical showcase of continuous pressure cooker guard passing and crafty guard recovery. In the end, it took Rodolfo Vieira 19 minutes to finally figure out the puzzle and almost take home the arm in a buzzer beater fashion.

Misses

Injuries

Ryan Hall and Bill “The Grill” Cooper would have been an exciting opener for Metamoris. After Ryan Hall getting injured and Bill Cooper failing to meet pre-fight requirements, instead, it was replaced by Victor Estima and Keenan Cornelius. Because of all the hype surrounding Keenan Cornelius, it was actually a good replacement. Just after Keenan Cornelius pulled out because of an injured knee, JT Torres became the last minute replacement.

Brendan Schaub

No one really expected Schaub to survive against Cyborg so he really proved everyone wrong. He managed to poke around Cyborg’s head and not get into his guard. His unwillingness to compete grapple in a grappling match gave him a draw. Refer to the video below for the a3 minute summary of their atrocious 20 minute fight.

Watch the Cyborg vs Schaub fight.

One Submission Finish

There was really a reason why Metamoris was called a submission-only tournament. We are supposed to see finishes. Though some would argue that it is really difficult to find a submission against high level practitioners, the first Metamoris, which was equally composed of high level jiu jitsu black belts, managed to produce 3 finishes out of the 6 fights. Only Kron managed to finish his fight with Shinya Aoki. But really, was it such a convincing win when half of Aoki’s body was already about to fall from the stage? You can blame it on the matchup. They say styles do make fights and definitely, it showed particularly well in the recently concluded Metamoris 2.

$20 Tag Price

I wouldn’t pay $20 for an event not delivering what I was actually looking for—submissions. Also, when you can already see the whole event on YouTube after just an hour, what’s really the point of ordering the event?

Verdict

Based on the reactions of people online, and on the points we have established above, Metamoris 2 wasn’t as good as the first one, but it still lived up to what we expected, which was high level BJJ. Metamoris was a breath of fresh air for people who are disappointed by some limitations brought by IBJJF. 

written by James Jayme

I’m a Filipino BJJ practitioner from Manila. I started practicing Judo in 2008. After discovering my flawed newaza, I decided to join New Breed back in 2010. Now, I am practicing the Gentle Art under professor Mike Ancheta with Hevtek United-Ancheta Jiu Jitsu. I compete every once in a while in local tourneys in under -70kg division. I work as a freelance writer, SEO manager and an overall web guy by day. I am also the founder of Manila Kimonos and blogger for OSS and Roll (Ossandroll.blogspot.com).

Photo: Graciemag

Vanessa English is a up in coming BJJ player from Nottingham, UK who took gold at this year’s World Championships at purple belt. In this interview with BJJ Eastern Europe, she talks about her training for competitions, training with Victor Estima and what’s next in 2013:

1. Hi Vanessa, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe?

Hi, my name is Vanessa English, I’m a 24 year old grappler from Nottingham, England. I train at Gracie Barra Nottingham under professors Victor Estima and Gareth Neale. I’m currently ranked #1 of my division (purple light-feather), according to the IBJJF rankings, and this year have won two major titles including the European championships and the world championships.

2. Please tell us about your Jiu-Jitsu story.

I first started training BJJ only 3 and 1/2 years ago, I’d been training traditional jiu jitsu before this and when I moved to the midlands for university I had to move to a different gym, here they taught both traditional ju jitsu and Brazilian jiu jitsu. After a few sessions of traditional ju jitsu my instructor suggested for me to try Brazilian jiu jitsu, so I did, and remember being completely amazed by it (mainly after being tapped out a large number of times!). It started off with one and sometimes two classes a week, then three or four, and now I train 3 times a day haha!

Photo: Mike Calimbas Photography / https://www.facebook.com/DSLRmike?fref=ts

I competed a lot at white belt, and had a lot of success in the UK, and the same at blue belt I guess. After six months of being a blue belt I went to compete in the world championships, I came away with bronze. Shortly after this something pretty crazy happened, something I hope itsn’t going to be a one off thing, but then again not many people get the privilege of participating in such an event. In 2011 the ADCC was held in Nottingham, a female fighter hadn’t made weight, and I happened to be there to fill in!! I got knee barred by Luanna Alguzuir pretty quickly, but I lived to tell the tale haha!
So here I am at purple belt, ranked #1 in my division, I was the first adult in the UK to win the world championships, and I’m feeling pretty happy…to be continued!!!!…

3. You recently became world champion at purple belt at this year’s IBJJF Worlds. Please tell us about the training leading up to the tournament and how did your matches go. What did it feel like to win gold?

I already train a lot, unfortunately I’m not training full-time, but on the days I don’t work I’m training 3 times a day. I’ll do classes midday, then either conditioning or drills in the afternoon, followed by classes in the evening. Leading up to a competition I increase intensity training a little by sprinting, stair running and a bit of crossfit. I do love doing Bikram yoga too, especially just as I begin getting my head into training mode, it makes me feel detoxed and ready to go.
At the tournament I had four matches all together. My first fight I won by submission, a choke from side control, this is one of my favorite submissions. The second fight I won by a number of points, but my third match in the semi-finals was the toughest, this girl had just beaten the favorite to win. I managed to win by only one advantage. We were level pegging towards the end and I was determined not to let it go to referees decision, and I managed to secure the head in half guard within the last 20 seconds or so. Then there was the final. In the final I managed to submit, which I was really happy with, and again I used the same choke from side control. As soon as the girl tapped I was overwhelmed by a feeling of happiness, I stood up and shot my hands up in the air towards my team supporting me. I remember my coach Victor shouting to me ‘you’re a world champion Vanessa’, at this moment my head hit my hands and I sobbed with happiness for the next 20 minutes. I have never cried with happiness, at least not like that. It was the best feeling I’ve ever experienced, and I want it again!

4. Please tell us about your BJJ academy and team in the UK, and your instructor (s).

I train in a small academy in Nottingham under Victor Estima and Gareth Neale, Gracie Barra Nottingham, we have around

Vanessa with Instructor Gareth Neale and Victor Estima

90 students I think. Our academy has such a great atmosphere, lots of friendly people and fantastic instruction, it’s a great place to spend all your time haha! Our team is growing pretty quick, and we have lots of great fighters here, male and female. In fact, in our school we have three female world medalists, which I feel is pretty special.
Victor Estima is a great competitor and also instructor. He has great success in the black belt division, including his Nogi world champion title and Gi European title, and is always a great fighter to watch. His classes are always full of energy and he always puts his all into it, he’s a passionate guy, with lots of inspiring, wise and kind words to give.
Gareth Neale is Victors first black belt, receiving his belt under a year ago, and already holds the British title within his category. Gareth competes regularly at international competitions and is a competitor to look out for. Gareth’s instruction and coaching is also fantastic. Gareth has a diverse range of martial arts knowledge to share with his students, including his training in sambo, free style wrestling, muay thai, JKD and filipino boxing.

5. How would you describe your bjj style and game?

I guess I like to be light, fast and spinny when I’m on the bottom, but on top I play a much slower game, trying to close my opponent down by using my ‘weight’ haha!

6. What’s next for you and your team in 2013?

Our academy has only been running a short while, and our competition team has been slowly coming together, going from strength to strength. A number of us will be competing at the Rome Open and Nogi Europeans, we have the Nogi British championships this year too, and a few of us will be going over to Amsterdam to support Victor with his super fight against Lucas Leite on the 10th August. Exciting times ahead.

7. If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free
I would like to thank my professors Victor Estima and Gareth Neale, my sponsor Tatami fight wear, and all the guys and girls who train with me and help me prepare for competition.

8. Thanks Vanessa and all the best!

Thank you!

Arbi Muradov is a Chechen BJJ black belt under Felipe Costa. He has been at the top of the Belgian BJJ scene for several years now. Arbi has been teaching classes in Russia and has even single handedly set up a new Brasa division in Chechnya.

Hi Arbi, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe? 

Hi guys, my name is Arbi Muradov, Im from Chechenya and I’m 27 years old. I’m a BJJ black belt under Felipe Costa.
I train in Belgium under Brasa but now live in Grozny, Chechenya and teach there at Fight Club Berkut.
I fighting in lisabon and i take 3 please in purpl im belgium kampion and nederland
I have been previously training wrestling and now I like training BJJ. Here are some of my sport accomplishments:

Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Master of sports of wrestling. Champion of the Chechen Republic. Belgian Champion Judo, winner of the International Judo Tournament. European Championship winner in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

I have 3 fights in MMA and all wins. In BJJ, I fought everywhere and have many wins. I’ve never fought at the Mundials but next year I will go for sure.

Arbi (left) with Felipe Costa and Wim Deputter in Grzony, Chechnya

Please tell us about the BJJ scene in Chechnya, and the other Caucasian countries. How do you see it evolving in the next few years?

BJJ in Chechnya and Caucasus is growing very fast and I think those countries will have very strong BJJ fighters we will get better and stronger in he next few years.

What is next up for you and your team in 2013?

Next is getting ready for Lisbon, European championships.

If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

Yes, I want to thank my sponsor Booster fight gear and my club in Chechya, fight club Berkut.

Thanks Arbi and all the best!

Thank You.

photo: Tatame

Two years after Having temporarily stopped his career due to knee surgery, 2013 will be a special year for Rodrigo Cavaca. After his great achievement – when he closed the category of ultra heavy with his student Marcus Buchecha in Abu Dhabi World Pro – the leader of Checkmat reached his dream and also managed to compete at the Worlds, only this time, the title went to his his student. He talked to Tatame (translated interview from Portuguese) about his goals and the success of Buchecha.

“The biggest dream of my career was closing the Worlds with Buchecha. I did not know when it would be, but I knew I would one day realize it. I came very prepared for this event, coming from good performances during the first half of the year. I knew this would be the year, so I talked to everyone who was with me I would close with my boy, and, thank God and everyone who helped me, we got it, “said Cavaca.

What about Buchecha, Cavaca is full of praise and has stated that he will be the best in Jiu-Jitsu history. Owner of two world titles absolute, the young fighter is according to his teacher, has not yet reached the pinnacle in his career.

“Buchecha will be the best in history. He’s still getting a lot better in the coming years. I created this kid and always praised him and said that he was not in his prime yet. I said he had more to give, and he grows every championship, “said Cavaca.

“In 2011, when he lost the final of his first Worlds at black belt to Léo Nogueira, I warned him that he was not ready for the title. The following year, in 2012, before the fight with Rodolfo, I said, ‘You remember last year when I told you that it was not your time? So today I’m here to tell you that your time has come. You will be absolute world champion, because I know you more than anyone ‘. And he became world champion. ”

With the first half of a magical career, Cavaca is already targeting another goal. According to the black belt, his focus now goes to the ADCC, 19th and 20th of October, in China, to get the medal that is missing in his vast collection.

“With the Worlds dream achieved, I have several seminars and workshops throughout Brazil and the world. In addition, I’ve begun preparing for the ADCC, it is the only title that I don’t have on my resume yet, and, as this year is wonderful for me and my team, why not go for one ore victory? “.

Written by Raphael Levy for Jits.fr (translated from French)

With two colleagues, I was doing a few years ago my first pilgrimage to Rio. And like many gringos before me, after a few weeks of frantic workouts, I ended up injuring myself. In Upper, the headquarters of the Nova Uniao academy in Flamengo, a little old man who came to his gym workout noticed my discomfort when he saw me holding my arm. As a father would do for his son, he motivated me and gave me some medical advice to put me back on my feet as soon as possible. I learned later that this old man was none other than Roberto Leitão, one of the highest ranking masters of Luta Livre. 

I met him again on June 15 during a workshop organized by Thomas Loubersanes and Laurence Cousin Fouillat in Toulouse during his tour of France. I hardly had the chance to talk with Roberto about any thing else than medical issues, so I had the chance to catch up this time.

Roberto Leitão is a Luta Livre Mestre internationally recognized for his technical level and teaching methods. He is also a Judo black belt 4th Dan, he trains Luta Livre for over 60 years. And in 60 years, he never missed a single training day.

Born in Santa Catarina in southern Brazil, Roberto has spent 75 of his 76 years in Rio de Janeiro. This keen interest in engineering and in combat. He studied and became an engineer in mechanical engineering while making the rounds of all the academies of the country where they train grappling or Luta Livre. His experience in both areas lead to him teaching at university but also in the academy.

One feature of Mestre Leitão is that he never stops. His brain is still active. He tells me he keeps a notebook on his bedside table on which he writes when he wakes up in the middle of the night, the technique or position he dreamed to be able to study the next day.

A man of his age should spend his mornings reading a book and the afternoons doing crosswords you tell me. No way. The schedule of Roberto would make most us embarrassed. A typical day begins at 5:00 am with a breakfast. At 6 AM he spends the next 3 hours at the gym running, breathing and keeping his back muscles active. From 9 to 10, He goes to the young guys training, to see them train and give some advice. From 10:00 to 12:00 every other day (because every day is really a lot), he goes to the hardcore training…

Do not worry, he relaxes in the afternoon and evening by indulging in his other passion: engineering and abstract painting.

These days are admired indeed. But it is indeed for his experience that the athletes of the world call him to ask for advice:

“I am always available to give advice, I play the role of ‘Grappling consultant’. Jose Aldo regularly asks my opinion, I often get calls from Vitor Belfort and Lyoto Machida before their fights. Saint-Pierre (note: GSP) calls me ‘Mister Encyclopedia’ “

The list of stars who know the number of the direct line of the Mestre is long. He is aware of the struggle to hold information that few people in this world hold. In the context of a meeting as important as a title fight in the UFC, it is better to have Roberto in your corner.

The teaching approach is very scientific. He does not hesitate to use the whiteboard and markers to present a technique to use even complex database of sketches of force vectors to demonstrate the usefulness of some of his movements. From his bag, He leaves us a document translated into several languages: these are the basic principles . Concepts which he said must be known and assimilated by all combatants and he does share with anyone who asks him. He has decades to put on paper and they still continue to evolve.

Below are the ten basic principles of combat (detailed explanations of Roberto Leitão from the site of theNational Committee of the Luta Livre ).

1. If I don’t know, I will not allow.
If you do not know what it is that your opponent is attempting to do, do not let him do
it. A strong opponent with little knowledge in grappling who obeys this principal will be tuff to
defeat. Grappling is a continuous process. You have to block your opponent’s steps. This is the
most important principal.
Unexpected attacks are dangerous ones.
Executing a technique always requires a variety of elements to come together. Generally speaking these
elements include things such as leverage, base, positioning, timing, momentum, and control points or grips. If
you can deny your opponent crucial elements for his technique, you can stop the technique.
Even if you do not know what your opponent is trying to do, you can discern the steps he is taking to
make it happen and thwart those steps.

2. A systematic repetition is always dangerous.
If you continue to show your opponent the same move you will give him the opportunity
to anticipate it and counter it.
Keep the element of surprise on your side.

3. Every part of our body must work.
It is natural that you concentrate your attention to the parts of your body that are involved in one situation while forgetting others that could give you a big help. Put them to work!
It is easy to concentrate on one element of a technique at the expense of others. For instance in executing
an arm bar you might become so focused on having the proper grips with your own arms that you forget about
putting your hips at a correct angle and how you should be employing your legs. Use everything. I find this to be
particularly important in passing the guard and for escapes. Use your torso and all of your limbs including your
head in executing movements. This correlates with the principal of maximum efficiency espoused by Judo.
Keep in mind that your torso and upper legs are the strongest parts of your body. Beginners tend to concentrate too much on what they are doing with their upper body at the expense of their core strength.

4. We must keep our forces at the same level of our opponent’s.
If you are with one arm going against two arms of your opponent, something is wrong. If
you are matching the strength of your arm against you opponent’s leg, something is wrong.
This is not about meeting force with force. It is about avoiding situations where you may be overwhelmed
by force.

5. An intelligent movement is a continuous movement.
Keep moving. Use your opponent’s momentum and movement to your own advantage.

6. If you control the space you control your opponent’s actions.
Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Use your body to block you
opponent’s movements.
Blocking your opponent from moving by putting yourself in the space where he wants or needs to go is
easier then trying to control him moving him outright.

7. If you support properly, you support strongly.
Use the mat and your opponent’s body for support, not your own strength.

8. If you did not conquer the position, be suspicious of it.
“If there is a beautiful fruit on the side walk, it belongs to somebody or it’s spoiled inside.”
I am unfamiliar with the saying, but the meaning is clear enough. Be wary of what appears to be free. In
the context of grappling positions you may be headed into a trap. Players will appear to give something only so
they can take something better.

9. Don’t show what you are feeling, only what is convenient for you.
If you opponent doesn’t know how you are feeling about a position, he will not know what
he should do.
Don’t telegraph your intensions. In grappling that usually happens when you start making pressure the
way you want to go before the moment arrives. It also can happen because you tense up the muscles you are going to use, or because you change your breathing. On the other hand you can fake your opponent into believing he
knows what you are going to do by any of those means and thereby coax him into reacting in a way that suits you.

10. You must always do something.
If you don’t do anything your opponent will be more efficient in his attacks but he does not
need to worry about yours.
Don’t allow your opponent to dictate the fight and don’t be passive.

Yesterday, twin brothers Joao Miyao and Paulo Miyao were promoted to BJJ Black Belts by their Professor Cicero Costha in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The academy hosts other famous black belts such as Leandro Lo and Luiza Monteiro. 

The brothers are known for their guard game which consists mostly of berimbolo and back takes. At the last World Championship, in Long Beach, they closed out the brown belt light-featherweight division. Paulo Miyao won the absolute, defeating Keenan Cornelius, which is an amazing feat since he competes at light feather.

The brothers won everything this year: European Open, Pan, Brasileiro and Worlds, it only made sense that Professor Ciceropromote them to well deserved black belt.

How will they fare at black belt? In the opinion of many, they will make a immediate impact. Both brothers have already competed with and beaten established black belts in competitions like in the Brazilian qualifiers for the World Pro (ex: this year’s black belt world champion Gabriel Moraes was defeated by Paulo.) We won’t have to wait long to see them shine at black belt:

“They will have great fights as black belts. João and Paulo will debut in the new division next Saturday, in São Paulo, when we will be able to see if they are ready for it. Last year, Paulo was graduated brown belt by me before João and now we decided to have their promotions at the same time. I’m very happy with that. They are two very skilled kids that train a lot and have a lot of determination. They came from the countryside and they are doing great in what they like to do the most. Now, they travel the world thanks to Jiu-Jitsu. It’s a honor to have them here with us.” explained Cicero Costha.

What did Paulo Miyao have to say about his new belt: “For real, I’m not anxious to compete in the new rank at all. I’ll try to do my best, as usual.”

We’ll follow their evolution closely. They have the whole summer to “fit in” their new belt and come the first big gi event of the year: Europeans in Januray, they should be ready.

1. Hi Rodrigo, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe?  

Hi Bjj Comunity of Eastern Europe, my name is Rodrigo Pagani, 3 degree black belt under Saulo Ribeiro (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Association). I’m from Niteroi(Rio de Janeiro-Brasil), started trainning bjj in 1992 when I was 15 years old at Gracie Humaita and never stoped since than. I am 3 times World Champion as Master(Black belt), 3 Times Brasilian National Champion(Black Belt) and 3 Times Rio de Janeiro State Champion straight(Black Belt) with over than 70 matches as a black belt and over then 100 matchs as lower belts

Rodrigo Pagani Seminar at team Kristian Cestaro in Moscow

2. Please tell us about your Jiu-Jitsu story and how you trained with Saulo and Rickson in the States. (please share some anecdotes)

When I started training bjj I’ve started at Gracie Niteroi with Royler and Master Caique, who was Rickson”s student , and it was the beginning of UFC. So I was a huge Rickson’s fan and I always wanted to train with him. So I’ve quit my Economic College in Brasil and run after my dream. I was very lucky and went to California to train at Rickson Gracie Academy in 1996 ,where I spent the hole year over there. I became o very close friend of Rockson Gracie (Rickson’ son who died) and by the end of this year after compete and win several competitions in America , including the first Pan Ams, I’ve got graduated to the rank of purple belt under the Legend. In this same year Saulo has been at Los Angeles also to compete the Pan Ams, so I’ve started my friendship with the one who would be my main mentor in my bjj journey. The one who really showed who to compete well e be a champion, the one I owe everything, my Master and Friend Saulo Ribeiro ,since then.

3. I’ve been watching your classes on BJJlibrary and love the way you explain all the details and concepts. How did you and long did it take you to develop your instructor skills?

When I went back to Brasil, I’ve started to train under Saulo , at Gracie Tijuca , because there was no more Gracie Niteroi and as I had quit my College I’ve decided to work with jiu-jitsu to make some money. That’s when Rolker Gracie opened his school in Niteroi and invited me to be his instructor. That was very important for me because was when a joined my first group of students in 1998 and since that year I’ve been teaching bjj as a official profession, that means I’ve been a bjj instructor for 15 years already,always competing and teaching. And that’s time enough to learn how to do it.
I’ve learned bjj from so many good people that it wasn’t that hard to became a good teacher, I’ve just started to show my students what I’ve learned . About BJJLibrary , Saulo invited me to be the first one to show my jiu-jitsu there what made very proud to have the chance to show my work to the world.

4. Please tell us more about your Curu-Curu guard, how does it differ from Leandro Lo’s modified spider guard or a classic x guard?

As I’m only 66 kilos , I’ve need to find out a way to sweep bigger guys, and I’ve used to do X-Guard, but was very hard to me because I’ve always had to stand up with the guys leg to take then down and it was very hard to me to do it and I’ve used to get really tired after that. Another big difference is that in X-guard I have only one direction to seewp my opponent while Curu-Curu gives me many directions to do it, becoming everything easier for me. The grips are also different and that it what makes Curu-Curu so particular in my way of thinking. About Leandro’s spider guard I think it is just similar but we work in a totaly different way. Actually , I’ve been with Leandro about one month ago at Xande’s Ribeiro Academy in L.A and we had talked a lot about both sweeps and exchanged many experiences.

5. Please tell us about your academy in Niteroi.

I’ve just finished one brand new Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Niteroi, I spent 3 years to finish it but now it is amazing and we have the offical Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Headquarter in Brasil. People from all over the world will be very welcome to show up and learn jiu-jitsu in a wonderfull environment, The Charles Darwing National Park, full of nature, animal and birds, far way from the craziness of the big cities, a real blessed place to train and learn our bjj. 5 minutes from Itacoatiara Beach, the nicest beach in Rio de Janeiro State.

With Saulo and Xande Ribeiro

6. You are currently in Russia for a seminar at Kristian Cestaro‘s academy, what are your impressions about Russia, Russians and Russian BJJ?

My student kristian Cestaro is doing an amazing job here, his students are evolving a lot, but a think they still need to learn about jiu-jitsu culture, because the sport is very new for then, and I feel they are still a little innocent, but when they start to compete more, everything is going to be set.

7. What is next up for you and your team in 2013?

I’m not competing this year because me and Saulo are growing the Association in Brazil and I’ve been traveling a lot for Seminars , so it is impossible for me to do business and have focus on competition the way I like to do. But I’ve been competing my whole life and it is fair enough for me to rest a little bit from competitions, my students in Brazil are competing hard and my black belt Renato Vieira is living in San Diego , training at University of Jiu-Jitsu under Saulo and competing in high level on the major league (IBJJF), what already makes me very happy. But for sure next year I will be back on the mats to Compete.

8. If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

-I would like to say thanks to my Master Saulo Ribeiro, who is the one who support me the most, to my brother Xande Ribeiro who is always helping me a lot, to the Do or Die/Hyperfly Team, to my students in Niteroi for the love they give me,to my friends from UNIJJ for belive in my jiu-jitsu and to my wife Fernanda Pagani, who take care of everything while I’m traveling to work and spread my Jiu-Jitsu around.

The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère, L.E.) is a military service wing of the French Army established in 1831, unique because it was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces. Commanded by French officers, it is also open to French citizens, who amounted to 24% of the recruits as of 2007.
The Foreign Legion is today known as an elite unit whose training focuses not only on traditional military skills but also on its strong esprit de corps. As its men come from different countries with different cultures, this is a way to strengthen them enough to work as a team. Consequently, training is often described as not only physically challenging, but also very stressful psychologically. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is now being instructed in the legion. Many Brazilian BJJ players are legionnaires and have been instructing the art for the past years. BJJ Eastern Europe sat down with BJJ black belt Leopoldo Dos Passos, Legion BJJ instructor: 

Hi Leopoldo, please introduce yourself to the BJJ community of Central-Eastern Europe:

My name is legionaire Leopoldo dos Passos, 31 years old, half of my life dedicated to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
I was born in Brazil, the land of football, but my real passion I only discovered at 15 years of age: Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It was with the AOA team, of Professor Herman Gutierrez, I started in this martial art.
Today, I have a black belt obtained by following the footsteps of my teacher Gustavo Henrique, from Alliance Jiu-Jitsu / Donostia, currently in Macéio, Brazil.
In deciding to leave Brazil to go to Europe, I stayed in Germany, Italy and Spain.
After seeing these countries, I engaged in the French army, serving France under the green and red flag of the legendary French Foreign Legion.

How did you go about teaching BJJ in the French Foreign Legion:

I wanted to go from fighting on the mat to fighting on enemy territory.
The Foreign Legion welcomed me to make me a fighter worthy of the name Legionnaire, and I saw that I could offer more to the Foreign Legion … That’s when I offered my skills as a teacher of Brazilian jiu-jitsu – and I realized that having learned the “art of war” in the Legion, that I could teach “gentle art ” to Legionnaires.
Since my arrival in my regiment in Saint-Christol d’Albion, I took over regular training at night, according to my availability. I struggled with how to bring together the largest number of followers of other disciplines by promoting the Brazilian jiu-jitsu as I knew it. The modest dojo was filled with wrestlers, judokas and sambo fighters. Besides those of MMA, boxing, Thai boxing, karate, etc …
Thanks to the confidence, goodwill and sportsmanship of the Llegionnaires, Brazilian jiu-jitsu has become accepted and practiced by the officers, NCOs and other ranks. This is a bigger challenge than I conducted in order to integrate the family spirit among practitioners. As we often say at the Legion: “The Legion is a big family” – I saw this family extended to Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the Legion too.
Such success has surprised me. But that was the goal!
Throughout the Legion, we can count about a dozen officers in each belt-knowing that Legionnaires come and go in the institution constantly, always carrying a variable number. But the white belts are really a “legion” …

What are the recent events that you have planned?

On June 15, 2013, I organized the first seminar of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in Marseille. For this occasion, I took advantage of the arrival of my teacher Gustavo Henrique, who has been in Spain, and I called the Legionaries of 1 ° Régiment Etranger, in Aubagne, and the 2nd Regiment Etranger Engineering in Saint-Christol d’Albion. This course was to discover the different practice and the true nature of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the flexibility of the art, all the mastery of the human being and the family spirit in our team. Some elected officials have come to know this art from Brazil.

What’s next?

My next goal is to make the first tournament of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the Foreign Legion. Probably in January 2014, following a technical course, the Legion regiments will meet on the mat in a friendly and competitive spirit. I rely on my superiors to lead this event.
to be honest, it is not easy to reconcile the life of a sportsman with the hard life of a soldier, much less when the soldier belongs at the top of the elite. Whether it’s in French territory on overseas peacekeeping mission, by parading to the Champs Elysées, the Legion always represents!
It is with all my jiu-jitsukas Legionnaires that we prove that the art of war and gentle art can walk together.
I thank God for giving me everything I have in my life, the Foreign Legion to welcome me under his flag, my teacher Gustavo Henrique for showing me the way, my superiors and fellow legionnaires who train, my family and my friends. OSS!

By Guillaume Huni

When competing in BJJ past the age of 30, you have the option to enter some tournaments in the master or senior divisions. For IBJJF tournaments, they have set up age divisions for the 30+ and over. Master is for athletes aged 30 (or turning 30 on the same year as the competition) to 34, Senior 1 is for athletes aged 35 to 39, Senior 2 is from 40 to 44 and so on every 5 years.  A question we hear often is “How is a masters & Seniors competition different from regular, adult competitions (18 to 30 yrs of age)?” 

Many things have to be taken into consideration when looking at answering this question. One thing for sure is that the top competitors compete in adult, just look at today’s stars like Buchecha, Rodolfo etc.. Some top BJJ athletes can technically qualify for masters (Braulio, Xande for ex) but still choose to fight the young guns in adullt. 

BJJ legend Comprido Medeiros, photo by: Mike Calimbas / https://www.facebook.com/DSLRmike

The differences between Masters and adult competition could be summarized to 3 main areas: Belt level, life cycle, and motivation.

Belt level:

As a blue and purple belt I competed in some major IBJJF tournaments in the adult division. I was basically a late 20′s working guy competing against 18-23 yr old studs who trained 2x a day. It was tough but not impossible to win. I then started competing in IBJJF tournaments at Masters as a brown belt. Although it was still very tough, I was able to get among other wins, a third place at the Europeans after beating two tough guys on the way there. This year I competed in my first IBJJF tournament in the black belt master division and the competition level immediately went up 3 notches. Not only would I be facing some guys who had been black belts for 5-10 years, I was also facing some legends of our sport who were still active in competitions. So in a nutshell Master& senior at white, blue, purple and brown can be seen as slightly easier than adult for the respective belts. At black belt master& senior the level is still very high (although still below adult black belt where all the elite athletes compete) due to the fact that you have BJJ legends still competing and black belt is the belt that you keep the longest of all.

Life-Cycle Differences:

High level BJJ competition can be considered to be a young person’s sport (up to around 33 yrs old on average). To have a chance at world class success, you will need to have started in your teens. There are exceptions but they are rare. By the time you reach you early 30′s, your high level BJJ career is often over due to life eventually getting in the way. Some athletes have a hard time to accept that their best days are behind them. Think of how many times Saulo Ribeiro has retired from high level competitions, only to come back when he still had the fire in him.

For those who have accepted that fact, comes the master and senior division. Some athletes will come back to competition in the early 40′s once they have gotten their initial parenting duties taken care off. Staying in shape and keeping up with the young guys in the academy becomes their motivation.

Motivation:

When looking at black belt senior divisions (from senior1 and onwards) at big IBJJF competitions, you will notice that most of the competitors are the ones that started BJJ later on in life. Very few were elite BJJ players in their youth.The usual explanation is that those athletes lost motivation for competition and winning and do not feel the need to prove themselves again. Others may not want to compete at a level so far below their prime’s best.

There also some BJJ players in the senior divisions who were never elite players in their youth but were just below that level. They started training early and never quit, even though they never won major tournaments. BJJ is in a big part of their life. Some had to take big breaks due to injuries, jobs, or family obligations, but they always return to BJJ and to competition.

There are also those who are less competitive or don’t have the time to train like a madman but still compete at big events like the Pans, Europeans etc..to have the chance of meeting up and socializing with friends or old rivals.

As Rickson Gracie said: “Jiu-Jitsu is for life.” whether you like to compete or not, the most important is to be able to train and have fun.

Ghalia Baggily-Ogden Smith is a BJJ brown belt teaching in Beirut, Lebanon. In this exclusive interview with BJJ Eastern Europe, Ghalia talks about very interesting BJJ journey that took her from the UAE to Warsaw to Lebanon, and talks about her plans for BJJ in the region:

1. Can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe? 

Ghalia Baggily (Ogden-Smith), 38 years old, BJJ Brown Belt, Jordanian, work in Events management.
I train at home with my training partner and with our Drill to Win Galvao book.

2. Please tell us about your Jiu-Jitsu story.

In 2004 when BJJ was just starting in Jordan i joined the guys’ class along with other three girls. As soon as I was awarded the blue belt I had to move to Dubai for work.
In Dubai, I trained under Carlos Santos, Olavo Abreu and Suyan Queiroz until I was asked by the dojo owner not to attend classes anymore. “Females are not allowed in my dojo” he told me. This upset me very much and made me feel like I was doing something wrong. But my coaches were adamant about finding a new location which they did a couple of months after. Throughout my training in Dubai I learnt a lot about the BJJ and the BJJ lifestyle and made amazing friends who encouraged me and made me feel proud.

Ghalia and Daniel Hilal

I then got married to an Anglo Lebanese guy whom I met in Dubai who happened to have an Aikido black belt. Tarek, my husband, had to convert to BJJ before meeting me in church. I was awarded the purple belt shortly before I moved to Warsaw.
Warsaw was an interesting experience partly because I had to train in low temperatures which was very difficult for a desert girl and partly because it was the first time I train with girls. Two of them were in my weight category and it was great

3. Please tell us about your experience teaching and spreading Jiu-Jitsu in Lebanon.

As soon as I moved to Beirut in 2010 I called the Ministry of Sports to ask for a list of dojos. To my dismay I discover that not only the Lebanese have never heard of BJJ but also that I have the highest belt in the country.
Two months later a 22 years old blue belt Daniel Hilal introduces himself to me and together we start a team and together we suffer to try to find a dojo that will take us in. why would anybody take two weirdos who preach an unknown sport?

4. How do you view the BJJ scene there?

The scene in Lebanon is still small but growing slowly. There has been a few seminars but never a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament. There hasn’t even been another team other than us until now.

5. You’ve trained in the UAE, How do you see Jiu-Jitsu developing there in the next 5-10 years? Will local talents make it to world class levels?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the UAE is already big as it has the highest concentration of black belts in the world and the most funding for tournaments,
They already have local fighters at world class level (they do training camps at top academies and compete in the highest level tournaments, and some medal in them)
The only difference is they have a school program which exists nowhere else in the world, which will add to the level of local talent within the next years.

6.Please tell us about your BJJ academy and team in Lebanon.

Daniel and I rented our own small dojo and called our team Orfaos ( Portuguese for Orphans) We have around 10 students two of which have recently been promoted to blue belts.

7. How would describe your bjj style and game?

My BJJ style is a mix of old school with new school. BJJ evolves so fast and we all have to keep up

8.Who are BJJ players that you admire?

Daniel Hilal , a purple belt self taught true athlete. I admire his persistence, his dedication to the sport, ongoing motivation and clarity.
I met a lot of coaches, students and champions but never a self taught player/ coach who trains with a chair and a punching bag and sometimes with just a kimono tied on a window. Very inspiring.

9. What does it mean for you to be the highest ranked Arab woman in the BJJ world?

It means pressure.
And this pressure never seems to go away but gets heavier and heavier by the belt.
The pressure to encourage other women to join the sport, pressure to keep evolving, to meet everybody’s expectation and the pressure of juggling my family, work and BJJ to make it all work somehow.

Ghalia with Mario Sperry and Minotauro

10. What’s next for you and your team in 2013?

We are now in the process of creating a BJJ committee under the big umbrella of the Lebanese Jiu Jitsu Federation. Hoping to raise some money to send at least two of our students to compete in World Tournaments and to promote the sport throughout Lebanon.

11. If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

Unfortunately we have no sponsors to thank but I would like to extend my gratitude to the encouragement of Suyan Queiroz, Olavo Abreu, Carlos Santos , Mohamad Jihad, Roberto Atalla and Faris el-Dahdah

12. Thanks Ghalia and all the best!

My pleasure

Peter Lakatos is a StrongFirst Girya Master Instructor with Pavel Tsatsouline, Expert 2 Krav Maga instructor with Eyal Yanilov, blue belt Brazilian jiu jitsu practicioner with Carlson Gracie Jr., and a creator of Primal Move. Peter was born and lives in Budapest, Hungary. In this interview with BJJ Eastern Europe shares his views on strength training for BJJ players which he has put into practice with the beasts at Carlson Gracie Team Hungary:

Hi Peter can you please introduce yourself to BJJ community of Eastern Europe?

My name is Peter Lakatos- Blue belt under Mihaly Sztraka, Carlson Gracie Hungary, Krav-Maga expert 3 instructor by Eyal Yanilov, StrongFirst Kettlebell Master instructor under Pavel Tsatsouline. I have been invited to teach a kettlebell seminar to Carlson Gracie Hungary Team, 6 years ago. Since then we are in contact, but I did not start BJJ then. Later I started to learn no-gi from Gabor Fodor – black belt in CGTH – and our Master Mihaly Sztraka always asked me when I start gi bjj, because that is the real jitsu. One day I gave a try, and boy he was right. That was 2 years ago, since then I train 4-6 times a week. I have no interest in competing, since I am 43 years old.

Strength wise started to train powerlifting age 21, best lifts without bel or strap was 230kg squat, 200kg bench and 210 deadlift – currently I weigh 76 kg. In 2005 started to train with kettlebells, and 2006 joined to Pavel Tsatsouline, became master instructor 2 years ago. Since than I am teaching kettlebell certifications around the World. Did some crazy lifts before, like 60kg kettlebell turkish get up, 60kg kettlebell one legged squat, 15 times kettlebell snatch with the 48kg, 40kg kettlebell bottom up press – all at my current bodyweight.
Main goal to become a bit better today, than the person I was yesterday, in all aspect in life, and bjj became part of my life.

I first heard about you as being the strength coach for Carlson Gracie Team Hungary. How is it working with BJJ athletes?

First of all they had to understand, they have to reach an entry level strong status to became really very well conditioned. Strength does not necessary means they are huge or muscular as a body-builder. That would be contra-productive for BJJ. While there is many correlation between strength and size, tone can be strong, even freaky strong without being huge – think about the gymnast. Strength is the master quality, and all other variation of strength – endurance, strength-endurence, speed, speed-endurance etc – comes from that one master quality. If you are not strong, what to endure? Again, I mentioned entry level, not being the strongest man on the whole world. Those guys who are interested in our program, train 2-3 times with our StrongFirst kettlebell instructors, and the focus is strength, raw, primitive strength only.

Carlson Gracie Team Hungary

I’ve read your recent article where you said that BJJ players should mainly focus on strength training and leave the conditioning part to BJJ training (rolling). Can you elaborate on that?

Nobody ever got beaten up, just because he/she was too strong. BJJ is a skill, more and in better quality you practice, better you became in it. Same with strength – it is a skill, must practice in good form, often enough to get better and better in it. In preparation for a competition, we aim to reach a strength level it can transform into other forms of strength – mentioned above – but we don’t use machines, weight trainings or even running to reach for example strength-endurance, but we play with the intensity with the BJJ sparrings. In an age when everybody speaks about sport-specific training we say: nothing is more sport-specific for for BJJ than BJJ itself. I think normally 2-3 strength trainings are enough for the guys, and we focus on deadlift, squat, modified presses and pull ups, also kettlebell swings, turkish get up. We keep our strength training very simple – when your main sport is very technical, keeping the strength training simple also means safety issue.

I saw a youtube video of Marcelo Garcia saying that he trains his conditioning by rolling hard. What do you think about that? How would that compare to doing hill sprints for ex, regarding conditioning for BJJ?

Hard to argue with him…Because he is Marcelo Garcia…Conditioning is really beneficial only for a skilled athlete, who has the entry level bjj and strength skill. When skills are present, you can challenge the skills with time, speed, intensity. Today many people speaks about skills only. Skills are naturally first in BJJ, but strength does not only give you an option to dominate your opponent, also see as your body armor – protection agains injuries, just like mobility and stability.

Can you tell us about the effects for a BJJ player when lifting heavy/low reps or light/high reps.

Normally we have 4-6 exercises, 15-25 reps per exercises, and working in the 75-90% area of the 1 rep max. My job as a strength coach is not to make strength training fun or crazy – but effective. The above numbers are guidelines only – based on the athletes personal experience and also the goals – if you cant gain weight through your strength training I will use a bit different strategy, if you can gain weight – well, that is again a different approach.

Let’s say we have a BJJ player, average strength, average speed, above average technique. I like to compete and want to be in the best shape possible. I can train maximum 6 sessions a week (it can be BJJ or strength). What would you advise as a program to increase strength while still spending a lot of time live rolling? What types of exercises to do? How to develop explosiveness and speed?

First all all we guide our guys through a 7 point movement quality test, called Functional Movement System. We dont want to make them strong, we want to build the strength on good quality movements, so we check mobility, stability, motor control of the athlete. Our experience shows most fighters ankle, hip and thoracic area and shoulder mobility is far from good, and their knee, lumbar spine region and shoulder pay the price. We have several great correction procedure to fix these issues, and when things are working properly, we start to add strength movements in a step by step approach. As our sport contains many flexion type of movement, we add many extension movements, like the deadlift and the kettlebell swing. One more thought about explosiveness – when we have slow lift, it is the reason of the heavy weight, not because we want to lift heavy. But even in those heavy lifts, we think being lighting fast. That is a very important mentality to gain explosiveness.
I would say, spend as much time on the tatami as you can, so 2 strength training, 4 Bjj session per week. Regarding to the strength training, we would have a hard and a medium day, that means on the hard day you will be closer to your 1RM than on the medium day. Also, I would – if possible – have 1 hard BJJ day, 2 medium and 1 easy. Remember – you cant always train everything in high intensity – the price you pay is overtraining and injury, what takes you out from BJJ. Now, one must understand – explosiveness is a form of strength. Look at the sprinters. They are extremely fast, but we better understand, they are extremely strong too, and that strength gives them the opportunity to became lighting fast, plus one more thing: they are masters in relaxation/tension, what is basically sprinting. In kettlebell swing we practice high level of relaxation/tension, what has a huge transfer effect to any athletic movement, where explosiveness is important. Again, if I have to choose between plyometrics – like box jump – or heavy, explosive swing, I pick the swing any given day. Safety first.

What do you think of bjj players doing group crossfit classes as their S&C training? Is that type of training benificial for BJJ or is better to just focus on a good old fashioned basic lifting program (deadlifts, squats, bench ets)

I will lose a few Crossfit friend here, but hey – life is not easy… Crossfit is very complex, requires high skills in several sports from gymnastic to weightlifting, from running, sprinting to throwing. When you start timing exercises, your competitive athlete will compete with others, the timer or with himself. Now, when you have a very complex sport – BJJ – where injury might happen, dont add another component to your training, where you elevate the chance of getting injured. I dont recommend the Crossfit type of training in our case, I rather reccommed for strength a more like powerlifting approach, our in our case – Strongfirst approach, what is from Pavel Tsatsouline. And as we say, there is no school like old school – that is true for BJJ and true for strength training.

Do you think it’s possible to achieve great competition results at a high level with just training Jiu-Jitsu and not lifting weights?

As I understand that is what Caio Terra is doing, and I never argue over results, favorite colors or food. Being strong – what must be equaled with the competency in quality human movements – is not about helping more trophies, but being able to train for later years in your life. We know from research strength and health overall among older citizens also has a huge correlation.

What’s next for you in 2013?

Studying more about strength and coaching, learning BJJ as much as possible. Currently I am very much interested in the mental training part of BJJ, that is high on my list now.

If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free.

First of all thanks to my master Mihaly Sztraka and Gabor Fodor, Ferenc Pajor – the opportunity I can directly learn from them is priceless. Also I am very thankful for the support of Carlson Gracie Jr, and the whole Carlson Gracie Team Hungary and to our coaches in 360GYM, who helps me to do what I love to do – training.

Thanks Peter and all the best.

Thanks. Here’s some further reading:

http://www.functionalmovement.com/

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/growingstronger/why/index.html

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/conditioning_is_a_sham&cr=

The current absolute world champion Marcus “Buchecha”, 23 years old, was recently touring the world teaching and of course training Jiu-Jitsu. Here he is in Russia during his 3 day seminar at Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Russia:

In Moscow, Red Square

Paul Stolyar (black gi, second from right)

Ukraine finally has a BJJ black belt. Even though he lives in Australia, Paul (Pavel “Pasha’) Stolyar is proud to represent Ukraine. In this interview with BJJ Eastern Europe, Paul tells us about the BJJ scene in Brisbane, Australia, his positive addiction to competitions, and about his interest in the Ukrainian BJJ scene: 

1. Hi Paul, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe? 

Hi Guys, my name is Paul Stolyar (my Ukrainian name is: Pavel “Pasha”) I originally come from Nikolaev, which is an industrial city in Southern Ukraine. At the moment I work in Brisbane Australia and train in two clubs Southside MMA (where I teach MMA) under Vicente Cavalcanti and now I also often come to Axis Jiu Jitsu with Jason Roebig. It is very hard to list my titles as I have competed in everything locally and don’t consider any comps as too small and unworthy. But I suppose that I won Pan Pacific BJJ Tournaments in my weight in brown belt, and placed second twice in Open Weight in the same tournament. I won the state and national Australian championship a few times and plenty of other comps. I hate competing that is why I compete a lot

Paul Facing Kit Dale. Photo: Tigger photography

2. Please tell us about your Jiu-Jitsu story and the fact that you are the first Ukrainian BJJ black belt.

I started NO GI Grappling as part of my MMA Training in almost 7 years ago, then I broke my hand badly so NO GI grappling was the only thing I could do (grappled one handed for 14 months). The black belt has never been the goal for me, I missed out on having to climb the ranks, as I have never gotten a belt officially before my brown belt, I competed as a purple for a year and a half and did quite well (winning Pan Pacifics and the Queensland State Championship in NO GI), the first time I put on a GI was already as a brown belt 3 years ago, and only when I put on a GI and started appreciating it, then I started really appreciation and loving BJJ. It is pretty cool though to realize that I am the first one in my country to get promoted to Black Belt in such an awesome sport. However, as I said the belt was never the goal, but becoming the best BJJ fighter I can be is always the goal.

3. Please tell us about your academy in Australia and the BJJ scene there.

The BJJ Scene in Australia has exploded recently, there are many good schools now and there are many good coaches. Comps are always full of competitors and spectators. As to my club, believe it or not, Southside MMA started out as just a bunch guys training in the Church hall, a couple of them saw me competing in one of the state championship and asked me to teach their MMA classes, they had a BJJ Coach in there that later left and as a brown belt in NO GI (already a Australian BJJ Champions Cup Open Weight winner in brown belt) I had to start learning and teaching GI (and I hated the idea of GI at that time). I realized that at the time my skill was not good enough to teach the GI aspect of the game and so Southside MMA invited Vicente Cavalcanti (who was Aliance BJJ Brown Belt and now a Black Belt) that gave us a huge knowledge boost after only a few months of training we became second in the State in the Team Tally, and now Southside MMA academy won the Queensland State Championships two years in the row, not bad for a team that started out from a church hall in one of the worst areas in Logan.

4. How do you see the growth of BJJ in Australia?

A good question, I suppose it will be quite tightly related to the global growth of BJJ around the world. BJJ is really big in Australia at the moment (along with other types of Martial Arts) I truly hope it stays that way.

5. Please tell us about your Ukrainian roots. Do you follow the Ukrainian BJJ scene and do you plan to help develop it?

Well, my parents were both from the Russian part of Soviet Union, they moved to work in Nikolaev in Ukraine during the Soviet Era and that’s where I was born. I love Ukraine, I love my city, I love people in there and especially the nature of my region…even though I work in Australia at the moment I go back every year, and miss my home with every single heartbeat. As far as I know the Ukrainian BJJ scene is very young at the moment, but it is taking off now really fast, last year a visited a couple of clubs, and some fighters really impressed me. I am going back home in two weeks, and I will be doing a two day seminar GI and No Gi in my city. Last year the boys from Nikolaev MMA have organized a seminar for me and some athletes from other cities came for it too, which I though was pretty cool. I hope this year it is going to be as good as in 2012. I have learnt so much in the last 12 months. And my theory is share whatever I deem effective for myself, that way my own skill develops faster, I do have a few tricks to share.

Paul in Ukraine

6. What is next for you and your team?

It is hard for me to plan for anything, as I train hard all the time so I will be ready for the new challenges so I will be competing all over Australia and may be a few times overseas. Now as a Black Belt I will have to train a bit smarter, but I freaking love BJJ and love training so I think I will be fine. As far as my team…wow, the sky is the limit for my boys, I think me, Vicente Cavalcanti and Paulo Henrique Polimeno have set a very solid culture to train very very hard all the time so I guarantee that my boys will be ready for any of competitions coming up.

7. If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

WOW…I have so many people to thank, so please stay with me: my mom and my sister for awesome cooking and love they give me, Vicente and Paolo for coaching me, now I also train a lot under Jason Roebig at Axis Jiu Jitsu and he literally makes me feel like a freaking white belt all the time…really, so I want to thank him too. I want to thank my training partners Paul “Pops” Navruk for hours and hours of drilling, Aleksandar “Serbian Killer” Jovanovic, Mark “Pe Pequeno” Nienaber, Shen “Buddha” Lam, Nakia “the Budny Bear” Melody, Ted “Terere” Ferisa, Richie “I wear GI pants everywhere” Faataape, Zamir “Afghani Connect” Hussain… My main sponsors SUB Apparel and ONE for the constant support, Kelly Sirett from Elite Body Maintenance for the best freaking deep tissue massage in the world, and want to say thank you to my day job boss Kym Hyson for having my back when I need it the most…also, want to thank Kit Dale who is a top notch Black Belt, who raised the bar of Australian BJJ really high and pushed me to train harder.
Love you guys and I am truly blessed to have you as part of my life.

Paul teaching No Gi in Ukraine

8. Thanks Paul and all the best!

Not a problem at all, anyone is welcome to come for a roll in our club …much love
Pasha

After announcing his retirement from MMA , Renato Babalu plans to return to Jiu-Jitsu. At 37, Babalu has had 48 MMA fights – and only 11 losses – throughout his brilliant career. He is looking forward to returning to rolling on the mat. Renato, who lives in California – where he runs his academy, ‘Babalu’s Iron Gym’ is looking at competing again in Brazil. The BJJ black belt has revealed in an interview with tatame, that he wants to participate in a Jiu-Jitsu competition:

“I want to go back to the BJJ, to compete again, without much pressure. I want to fight those categories of black belt master, which is not as tough as adult, but you can have some good matches. I’m thinking of going for the Master & Seniors championship in Rio at the end of the month. It will be very cool to compete again, I feel like you’re relearning things: sweeps, mount… It will be a very good feeling.”

Babalu is refering to the Rio Open, which will be held on 25, 26, 27 and 28 of July at the Tijuca Tennis Club in Rio de Janeiro. It will be a good opportunity for the locals and other lovers of the gentle art to see a legend of the sport.

In October 2012, at Metamoris Pro 1, Roger Gracie put his gi back on to face the biggest name in Jiu-Jitsu today: Marcus Buchecha Almeida . The match ended in a draw after 20 minutes. The two meet meet at Metamoris 3, which has no date set yet, but should before the end of the year.

In an interview with tatame, Roger revealed that he received an invitation from the event organizers to face once again the athlete from Checkmat, but left an open answer, as his participation depends on the date of his next fight in the UFC and if the UFC will allow him to participate.

“I received an invitation to fight in Metamoris 3 and am still think of fighting Jiu-Jitsu, but it is difficult when it coincides with MMA. It’s hard to train for both. The invitation was to fight with Buchecha again. I did not say yes or no, I left it open. If I wouldn’t be fighting MMA, Then I’d say yes. I received an invitation for Copa Podio too, but it’s difficult, “said Roger

Gracie had picked up a staph infection days before his Metamoris fight, hindering his performance. he made ​​his UFC debut last July 6, UFC 162. After three rounds and a performance below expectations, he lost to Tim Kennedy. Later this year, he hopes to enter the Octagon again although he has already fought twic this year.

Roger vs Buchecha in Metamoris 1

Christian Graugart went around the world training Jiu-Jitsu and wrote a blog and great book about it (if you have yet bought it, you should, click here) In this interview with BJJ Eastern Christian talks about his latest news which include his new team BJJ globetrotters, and the birth his son:

1. Hi Christian, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe? 

My name is Christian Graugart, I am currently 31 years old (feel 30), holds the mythical black belt. I live in Copenhagen, Denmark where I also teach and train in my own gym, CSA.dk, which I have been running now for ten years. I don’t think I have any titles of interest, apart from maybe “gentleman” and “cat whisperer”.

2. What’s the latest with you?

First and foremost, I just became a dad two weeks ago, so that’s a bit of news there, I guess Jiu Jitsu wise, the news is, that I’ve been injured forever and feel like absolute shit, since I haven’t been able to train seriously for more than a year. I know I will come out on the other side of this, but sitting on the mat every day for months and months at a time, watching everyone else roll, is quite depressing. Hopefully I’ll come back strong in 2014.
Since I published my book a little over six months ago, my network of friends around the world seem to have exploded. That kind of resulted in the creation of a “team”, which I call “BJJ Globetrotters”. It’s not really an organization in the traditional sense, but more a group of people who share a common set of beliefs in regards of, how they think Jiu Jitsu politics and training should be. Basically, it is affiliation based on friendship and training, as opposed to business. For more info, people can check out www.BJJglobetrotters.com.

3. You were promoted to black belt last year and immediately jumped into the black belt competition circuit. How different is it competing as a black belt? Is there a huge step up in level from brown belt?

For me personally, there hasn’t been much of a difference. Lots of the brown belts I competed with are black belts now, so it is many of the same faces. And in both divisions, I still have a chance of meeting someone I can potentially beat and someone, who will absolutely wipe the mat with me. So to me, the challenge in itself of competing, feels the same, no matter who stands in front of me. The only real opponent is myself, anyway

4. Please tell us about your academy CSA.dk and your BJJ section there.

We started out ten years ago with just a handful of enthusiastic people trying to teach ourselves Jiu Jitsu, MMA and Muay Thai. Today, we have around 700 members and things are going really fast. I teach Jiu Jitsu classes there along with a bunch of other, talented instructors, who has been a part of the gym for a long time.
I think we have a strong group of a wide range of people there, everything from kids, to hobbyists and hardcore competitors. Most importantly, everyone seems to really enjoy every day on the mat there, and that is what counts for me.
We receive a lot of guests in the gym, people coming in from abroad to train with us, which is really nice. Eventually, we decided to try and gather all these guests at training camps, and we’ve now held two, very succesful camps, which is something we’ll definitely keep doing.

Christian training on the beach in Boracay, Philippines

5. What is next for you and your team in 2013? What is your competition plan in BJJ in 2013?

Well, my newborn son has cleared my calendar for the rest of 2013 pretty much, so personally, it will be sparse with competitions and such for me. I have a few seminars and such lined up and hopefully my body and schedule agrees, that I can attend a few competitions myself, just to keep it going. London Open in October is something, we have set our eyes on, of course, but also Swedish Open is a must for us every year. So, without having planned any of it, I think those will be the major competitions to focus on for us.

At the ten year anniversary party of my gym, I jumped in the cage for the second MMA fight of my career. It’s been ten years since I did it last time, and a handful of years since I even trained MMA. It was good fun and I think for sure I will be fighting again in 2014, maybe even at a bit more serious level.

Source: Tatame.

The list of participants of the second season’s of the Copa Podio middleweight GP no longer has room for anyone else. On the afternoon of Tuesday (23), the event’s organizers confirmed the 10th tournament name. On September 8, in the Tijuca Tennis Club Gym, Paulo Miyao will attempt to follow the footsteps of his teammate Leandro Lo , who was winner of the first season’s middleweight GP, while being much lighter than the other competitors.

While Paulo Miyao arrives to compete in the tournament, Romulo Barral is out. Concentrating on his no gi workouts, he is replaced by Felipe Pena. Thus, the 10 competitors for the Copa Podio middleweight GP are: Yan Cabral, Keenan Cornelius, Alexandro Ceconi, Diego Moreno, Jaime Canuto, Travis Stevens, Kit Dale, Renato Cardoso, Paulo Miyao and Felipe Pena.

“We brought together 10 big names in GP, ​​and they certainly will do a great show for fans of Jiu-Jitsu. I believe that balance is the hallmark of this tournament. I simply do not see a favorite, “says Jeferson Mayca organizer Cup Podium Jiu-Jitsu.

In addition to the GP, the next edition of the event still has two more major attractions. Cities Challenge, Diego Borges and Clark Gracie defend the honor of Manaus and San Diego (USA), respectively, while Leandro Lo will fight a still unknown opponent.

“We are giving some clues through the official website of the Copa Podio middleweight GP on Facebook. Very soon, everyone will know who will face Leandro Lo on September 8, “promises Jeferson.

Copa Podio- GP Middleweight
Sunday, September 8th
Gymnasium Tijuca – Rio de Janeiro

Cities Challenge (no time limit, submission only)
Diego Borges (Manaus) x Clark Gracie (San Diego / USA)

GP Middleweight (up to 86kg)
Yan Cabral / Keenan Cornelius / Alexandro Ceconi / Diogo Brown / Jaime Canuto / Travis Stevens / Kit Dale / Renato Cardoso / Paulo Miyao / Felipe Pena

Fight Special (10 minutes – No Gi)
Leandro Lo xa set

Poland’s Norbert Novak is an example of humility and hard work. Black belt under Braulio Estima, head instructor at Gracie Barra Birmingham, Norbert talked to BJJ Eastern Europe about his bumpy road to success in BJJ: “This is my story from Cleaning the mats to teaching the most successful gym in UK. I wouldn’t done this with out Braulio help;)”

1. Hi Norbert, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe? 

My name in Norbert Nowak I’m 29 years old I’m Black Belt under Braulio Estima since 2011. I’m from a small city in Poland and have been in the UK since 2005. I train and Teach at Gracie Barra Birmingham head quarters. Most of my victories was when I was purple and brown belt, but my biggest victory is holding the title of head instructor at gracie Barra Birmingham .

2. Please tell us about your Jiu-Jitsu story and how did you end up living and training in the UK

Before I began Bjj I did wrestling for over 10 years. l believe that l would’ve continued doing wrestling had l not twisted my knee on one of the sparring session. After surgery my knee injury was that bad that I was unable to wrestle anymore. That devastated me as l couldn’t believe that my wrestling career was suddenly over. A few months later when my knee had improved l was able to do normal things again. A good friend of mine introduced me to Bjj and MMA at a small club in Dabrowa Gornicza. At that time l was training under Roman Rudkowski who taught me the basics of brazilian jiu jitsu. I trained under him for a couple months and thought I was pretty good at it. Until i visited gracie barra Birmingham. I was invited to the Uk to visit my family as I was there I went to meet Braulio Estima and train with him. The very first time l attended l thought i was invincible but the guys whooped my ass…. In less then 30 min I almost cried on my way home, from what I learnt l couldn’t believe how much technique they had over me. From that moment on I promised myself that I would always train hard and be a better fighter. I wanted to show everyone that I can be a champion. After 3 years of working in a factory and training at gracie barra Birmingham I was given the opportunity to work for Braulio and train for free, which couldn’t have come at a better time as I thought I had to quit training because of my job at the factory. He didn’t want me to give up so he gave me jobs to do around the gym like cleaning the mats looking after customers and teaching once a week. I went from teaching 1 class a week to twice a week then became the head instructor at Gracie Barra Birmingham. Now I am teaching in one of the successful gyms in the country and training and teaching across Europe. I would not be able to do this without Braulio’s help.

3. Please tell us about the advantages of having someone like Braulio Estima as your instructor (in comparison to having just a regular BJJ instructor)

The advantages to have Braulio Estima as your Instructor are huge. Everything that I know is from Braulio and Victor Estima, both thought me everything I know. Its bit like dealing with a little baby. They taught me how to crawl, then walk and then when I was good enough, sprint. Its because of how much effort they put in to me now Im teaching at Gracie Barra Birmingham also because of that and what i know, Im able to do seminars around the Europe, in the past two years I been giving regular seminars in Ireland, Poland, holland, Spain, France and UK. Braulio Estima is a great instructor in fact he’s the best and I love when he teaches the classes because he always makes the technique look awesome. Another advantage is he brings great athletes into the gym like Otavio Souza, Romulo Barrel, Max Carvalho, Roger Gracie, Lucio Lagarto Rodrigez but also many guys from different gyms like cyborg, popovich, mendes brothers and I get the opportunity to roll with some of the greatest’s.

Braulio and Norbert

4. Please tell us about your academy in Birmingham and the growth of the network of academies.

Gracie Barra Birmingham is one of the successful Bjj gym in the country, we have over 250 students all from different ages and backgrounds. We train like one big family. Also our gym has some amazing fighters like Luke Costello, Chris Bowie, Nathan Roberts, Paddy Carmody, Bradley Hill, David Iverson, Steve Martin and many up and coming new talent. We have a great network of gym affiliations across the world, it’s like a home away from home.

5. How involved are you with the Polish BJJ scene? 

Everything started a couple years back when Piotr Kapral trained and taught at gracie Barra Birmingham. Over the last couple years our friendship grew more and more. He decided to go back to Poland and open his school affiliated to braulio estima. After a couple months Piotr invited me to do a seminar. After that I started visiting copacabana 2/3 times a year also i have pleasure to visit more affiliated gyms like copacabana Warsaw and kielce. The level in copacabana team is very high and they have strong female and male fighters. Every year around end of July we organise a Bjj summer camp in small town in north of the country. This gives us the opportunity to train 3 times a day, group activities and of course enjoy the seaside with all the new friends that you make. This year we have students from Ireland, holland and Belgium coming to join our summer camp and we are very thankful that it has grows to more numbers every year.

6. How would you describe your BJJ style and what are your strong points?

Because everything that I know is from Braulio I would call myself mini Braulio LoL. My favourite guard is Spider, anaconda, 50/50 and de la riva guard. but I love Passing guard to my Bjj style is a bit of Braulio and victor with a mix of my wrestling background.

7. What is next for you and your team in 2013? 

My goals for 2013 is to get really good at teaching, and pass everything that i know to my students to help them to get good at bjj and build their own style of fighting, and build up their confidence because not everyone wants to be a Bjj world champion. I would like to build with Braulio a stronger team to compete in major competitions also I would like to compete again this year hopefully at worlds no Gi

GB Birmingham

8. If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

Huge Thanks to my sponsors Stormkimonos.com to Violetta and Dean for supporting me all this years. Also I would like to thank Braulio, Victor, Piotrek kuba, Liam, Fergal and Jordy to all the students for all the support and faith;)