Wrap-Up

• The boys have a collection of photos from the IBJJF Houston Open Championships. Check out Andre Galvao apparently getting bored of an arm bar attempt and just walking away.
• Ladies, have you ever wanted to train in Brazil (ANSWER: yes) but were a bit put off by training with dozens of sweaty dudes? Well, the lovely Kyra Gracie has a camp for you. No, seriously … she has a camp for you. Send our girl an e-mail for information about that.
• Jits magazine has an outtake from the Rodolfo Vieira documentary, in which he breaks the heart of the ol’ U-S of A and states that he does not plan to move here any time soon. Some say he’s just playing coy.
• Speaking of our boy, Senhor Vieira thinks that top-level Jiu Jitsu competitors should get paid more, which is understandable. As the sport grows, this seems inevitable but let’s be real here – it’s all about the sponsorships.
• Since I know you want to teach in Abu Dhabi – and trust me, you do – there are some things you need to know. These are those things.
• I think every Jiu Jitsu practitioner wonders, at some point in their career, if they could pull off a win in MMA. Go ahead and add these techniques, courtesy of Greg Jackson, to the arsenal of your imaginary career.
• I’m a huge fan of the Mendes Brothers (or the UberMends, as I call them) and you should be too. By the transitive property, I’m a fan of what they’re a fan of. They are a fan of these Jiu Jitsu matches.
• Speaking of the UberMends, they did damage at the last ADCC, and probably because they train like beasts.

Budo Stuff

• The Beej is doing a great job of taunting me with the release of Darcepedia (that’s Darcie, if you’re nasty). Here’s the latest addition to that list.
• IBJJF TV premiers today and features footage from the Houston Open Championships. Watch the Budo Facebook for more information.

• Dave at the Jiu Jitsu Lab has done a case study in Garcia vs. Drysdale. Peer review it.

• DSTRYR has patches for sale. I know you read ‘em, so go show them some love.

• You know who Draculino is, right? If not, don’t admit that. Just smile and nod people. Smile, nod and watch this documentary.

• Renato Laranja – never mind the string of Mundial victories and never mind the fact that his “defeated” list is a who’s-who of Jiu Jitsu. This mockumentary has all the real victories, including “Joe Hogan”. I’m done here people.

• Are you a guard player? Are you tired of those pesky guard passers (of which I aspire to be)? Well, learn an attack to foil those pesky passers (why did I just do that to myself?)

• Cobrinha has a training camp coming for the Pan Ams. If you’re in the area, you could do a lot worse.

• Would you like a Shoyoroll gi – ANSWER: YES. Well, allow me to one up you with a Shoyoroll give-a-way. The boys at Gi Reviews are delivering hard with this one

Budo Videos Stuff

• The boys are off to Texas this weekend to cover the Houston Open and left me to hold down the fort (my tent in the front planter). There’s no live stream, but expect content for IBJJF TV. Also, a little birdy told me to expect the Atos boys will be Berimbolo’ing through this tournament.. Oh dang, Texas is on fire … or will be … but was, no really, it was literally on fire. It’ll figuratively be on fire this time.
• Do you know who’s in Texas? Chuck Norris. Do you know who’s also in Texas? Draculino. Coincedence? Probably, but that doesn’t mean the boys won’t be heading down to fill an episode of Rolled Up with the man who trained the big names at Gracie Barra (Braulio, Roger, Romulo).
• Our intrepid writer and competitor, Erin Herle posted a nice write-up on her experience at the 2012 IBJJF European Open Championship. I’ve buried it by posting this article (sorry girl! I ain’t mad ‘atcha!), but it’s well worth the read.

Come to his tournament, he does not like to be disappointed

Our good friend, Gokor Chivichyan, is holding a tournament in Los Angeles on Feb. 11. It’ll be for both gi and nogi, and there rules allow for a lot more techniques than an IBJJF event – READ: reaping, heel hooks and neck cranks. Check the site for all of the rules.

If you don’t know Gokor, you should.  No, seriously … you should. He’s a great guy, a great instructor and the current or former coach of Rhonda Rousey, Manny Gamburyan and Karo Parisyan. I hear they’re kinda great.

• The Researchers over at the Jiu Jitsu Laboratory made a stop on the excellent Flow Podcast. You should make a stop too.
• Braulio, as usual, makes a series of good points regarding training and pursuing Jiu Jitsu. It’s a bit of a reiteration of his appearance on Rolled Up, but still worth your time. Really, him reading a recipe book would probably be worth your time.
• Check out the results of the European Opens.
• Remember last week when I mentioned that Dstryr landed a sponsorship with Nabisco? Yeah, they landed another with Redbull, which explains their curious enthusiasm. We’re onto you Dstryr.
• Gracie Mag posted an article about how even when you win – say, sweeping the 2012 European Open Championships - you kind of lose. Or you don’t win as much as you thought as you win. I’m leery to toss out percentages, but I’m going with 10 percent.
• Watch Satoshi do his thing. Just … watch.
• The Abu Dhabi Pro Championship trials are coming. Expect big things this year.
• The boys over at Gi Reviews have a preview of the Shoyoroll batch 12 gis. Won’t lie, I’m kinda geeking out over The Ring gi.

Budo Stuff

• The release of the Guam episode of Rolled Up draws near! Check one of the two previews here!
• We should be able to get our grubby hands on the Darcepedia in March. I may literally die of anticipation.

Other standouts included Michelle Nicolini taking both the female medium-heavy division and the open division, Vitor Estima taking the much contested middle weight division and Gracie Barra taking the team gold home (for the first time in a while).

In company news, a little bird told me that Budo Videos will be present for the Euro Opens next year!

Image courtesy of Gracie Mag / Photo: Raphael Nogueira

]]> http://online.budovideos.com/bjj-news/ibjjf-european-open-championships/feed/ 0 http://online.budovideos.com/bjj-news/friday-wrap-up-for-lack-of-a-better-name-edition/ http://online.budovideos.com/bjj-news/friday-wrap-up-for-lack-of-a-better-name-edition/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:41:10 +0000 danegrace http://www.budovideos.com/online/?p=2642 Budo’ers, I have an admission to make. I am doing you, the collective many, an injustice. I really should coin a better term for the Budo Blog audience but I am in a difficult position. The Budo Videos audience is diverse and the mavens over at DYSTRYR have laid claim to the term “grappler”. This creates a unique challenge in that while Budo’ers suffices, it does not do justice to the collective might of this humble blog’s audience. I have toyed with the term “Beeple”, but it rang entirely too resoundingly of the sort of mishap one would encounter while potty training an unruly toddler.

“Little Jimmy! You BEEPLED in your big boy pants yet again. Damn you Jimmy, DAMN YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!”

I am sure you empathize with my hardships. On a side note, the above is a relatively accurate retelling of my “toddlerhood”, but that is neither here nor there. To date, you remain unnamed. Authorial validation: unacquired. Further joke possibilities: endless.

Audience monikers aside, I am clearly a dedicated host and thus being the case, I offer you a metaphoric trip to the land of Europa. For those of you currently residing in Europa, join me in the former colonies only to join me (yet again!) in a trip to Europa. Really, that’s twice as many trips our humble continental audience is afforded and you should revel (further) in your smugness (if you aren’t already smug, go ahead and become so and multiply that sensation by 2n, where n is your height divided by 0.5). The short version, the IBJJF European Championships will take place this weekend and you will be delighted with a recap this Monday.

Again, I am a dedicated host.

The Wrap-Up

• The Jiu Jitsu Lab didn’t post anything this week, which is perfectly acceptable. They are, after all, scientists (in real life) and they apparently read this blog. Achievement: Shameless Plug’itude.
• DYSTRYR got sponsored by Nabisco Wheat Thins. This is a big deal because we all want Jiu Jitsu to grow as a sport and subsequently a market segment, and Nabisco (which is owned by Kraft Foods) is trading at more than $38 per share, which is very impressive. DYSTRYR landing the sponsorship that is, not Nabisco. Well Nabisco too – everyone wins.
• More Kurt Osiander, that is all.
• Toquinho has amazing leg locks. This is why. Pro-tip: it’s because he’s practices.
• Eventually you’ll find yourself lacking on the physical conditioning front. It’s cool. It happens to everyone. I have Crossfit. The Beej has Kaizen, and now you have this article. You’re welcome.
• Speaking of conditioning, it turns out that Jiu Jitsu and grappling falls under the greater auspice of human movement. I’m not sure if you knew this, but our boy Erik Paulson is a big fan of mastering everything ever, and he hosted an expert in gymnastics.
• Incidentally, the Russians are not playing with you any more. They ain’t playing. Not even a fraction of one percent. They are, in fact, not playing.

Budo Videos Stuff

• You need a rashguard and frankly, at this price, you don’t need to be choosey.
• Remember when I said that more episodes of Rolled Up are coming? Yeah, there’s an episode of Rolled Up on the way.
• Ronis Gracie opened a school. I may or may not have interviewed him about it (HINT: I did).

Well, Budo’ers, I have run precariously close to becoming a legitimate Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journalist. Allow me to enumerate the reasons why:

1. Yesterday I attended the grand opening celebration of Ronis Gracies new academy, the Gracie Gym, located in Westminster, CA. That’s right, I was live and on location – applause please.

2. At the aforementioned event, I conducted an interview all. By. Myself.

3. The whole bachelor’s degree in journalism thing.

Speaking of an interview …

For people that don’t know you that well, could you give us a summary of your history in Jiu Jitsu?

I started Jiu Jitsu like everyone else in the family, really young. Just playing around on the mats and everything. I started to take it more seriously when I was nine years-old when I started competing, I started training every day and really thinking about my future. So, that’s how it started. I competed a lot in Brazil when I was young. When I was about 13, 14 I kind of stopped. For a few years I trained off and on, but then I got back to training when I was 19. So, I lost several years of good training. But I started training again and I got back to the same level. Today, I teach and I also compete. That’s what I really like to do. I love teaching, I’m very passionate about teaching and sharing what I know with others. But I really like competing too because I feel like I am fortunate to be a part of this family and I need to keep representing – to give something back. Not to just take advantage of the name.

Being a Gracie, is there a sense or need to compete and push the art or your skills forward?

There’s definitely a pressure, but the pressure actually helps me. I try not to think about the pressure when I’m competing because in a way, it really can bother you. It can distract you a little bit and make you nervous. I believe the pressure makes me train a bit more, it makes me train better. I don’t want to join a tournament if I’m not 100 percent sure that I could win. Every time I join a tournament, even if I end up losing – no problem – but if I know that I’m going [to try to] win for sure, then I feel good.

That’s a really good point because, for me, competing is mostly mental. It’s dealing with the pressure and the excitement. Do you have any techniques or do you do anything to help you get mentally ready for a tournament?

It’s funny that you ask that. It’s a mental game, it’s something you have to practice with yourself. Day-by-day, try to relax and do things on your own to get your mind ready. There’s nothing special that I do, I just try to relax and get calm. I do a lot of, I wouldn’t say exercises, but relaxation activities. I try to be alone in a place where I feel close with nature, where I’m comfortable. Usually I go for walks or runs in the hills. But by doing exercise in nature by myself, I think it helps me a lot to get my mind ready.

So, do you think it’s important to take time to calm and focus yourself?

Oh yeah, definitely. I think it’s a matter of training – the way you train. It’s not how much you train, it’s how you train. Sometimes people train so much, they train everyday, but their minds aren’t ready for that. You get in really good shape, but you might end up losing to the guy who trained less than you because he trained his mind as well.

Let’s talk a little bit about this facility. Could you tell us a little about your facility?

Yeah, man … it’s great. This is a big step in my life, this is the first time I’ve opened up a school that I own. I’ve been teaching for a couple of years but in someone else’s schools. This is the first time that I’ve actually owned the school. It’s just a different feeling, you know. It feels like owning my house, my home. The facility is great and seeing everything now, coming into place, it makes me very happy. This is where I’m going to be doing a lot teaching and I love training too.

Will you be the primary instructor?

Yes, I’ll be the primary instructor.

Will you have other instructors?

Yeah, I’ll have other instructors.

Do you plan to have seminars here?

One thing I wanted to do, but I didn’t have time to get people from my family – my cousins, my uncles to come for the opening today. But I really want to hold another party where we’re going to have a free seminar and I’ll have my uncles and cousins to come in here. And every year we’re going to have seminars with Gracies and other Jiu Jitsu champions. We’re going to have a lot of seminars.

Let’s talk about Gracie Elite for a little bit. For people that aren’t familiar, could you give us a run down of what Gracie Elite is?

Gracie Elite is the competition name for the main Jiu Jitsu schools represented by the Gracie Family. It was created in 2010, it’s something new. But it’s not meant to open schools or franchise. It’s meant to get the family together, unite them again, because the family is spread all over the world. Everyone has their own academies, Roger is in London, Renzo is in New York, Ralph is in San Francisco – the family is spread all over the world, and we need to get everyone together to represent a team. So, the name speaks for itself – the elite from the family.

So, this is Gracie OC but you’ll compete under Gracie Elite?

The name of the school is Gracie Gym, Gracie OC, Gracie Gym OC – whatever you want to call it. And yes, every time we compete, any time anybody competes, we’ll be under Gracie Elite.

What do you think makes this school unique?

I think what makes us unique and different than the others is that anyone that comes here is really going to be in touch with the Gracie Philosophy. They’re either going to learn from me, or other instructors. The other instructors teaching here aren’t going to be instructors that I don’t know. They’re going to be someone that I’ve known for many years, that grew up with me and are almost Gracies. They don’t have the last name but they grew up with the family.

It’s a place that is 100 percent connected to the source.

How was it that you decided it was time for you to open your own school?

It was recently, you know, it was the beginning of last year. I never really thought about opening a school because I thought that’d take a lot of time from training. I’m still young and I still have a lot to do and I was giving a lot of priority to my training and competing, but then I thought, “Why not? Why not do it now. You can do today what you [plan to] do tomorrow.”

I actually think this is really going to help my training. I realized that I don’t think it’s going to stop me from training.

How did you link up with Gracie Elite?

For me, I represent my family. The name I’m going to represent is the Gracie name. I feel that I was born into this family and I need to represent that name. I competed for many years under Gracie Barra, and the whole family was competing under Gracie Barra. Then a couple of things changed and then the family came up with the Gracie Elite Team. But I’ve competed for Rilion Gracie, it depends on the tournament, where the tournament was but I’ve always represented the family.

Well, thank you! That’s all of my questions.

Dulce diet for the win, apparently.

Wrap-Up

• The IBJJF European Opens competitor list is up, and it’s a who’s-who of BJJ.
• The Mendes Brothers are holding a seminar in San Diego, CA. If you haven’t gone, you want to. Trust me, I was at their last seminar at Robot Fight and Fitness in Santa Monica (a really, really cool facility – I was jealous of their toys) and everything they taught represented a paradigm shift in Jiu Jitsu. I am not overstating this.
• In BJJ, there is this very troublesome concept of high percentage versus low percentage. Well, the scientists over at the Jiu Jitsu Lab (they’re scientists to me – DON’T JUDGE) have waxed over this subject and it’s something to behold. So … you know, behold it.
• The boys at DYSTRYR have piqued us to this documentary of Rodolfo Vieira from Jits Magazine.  Both are great sources and I suggest you follow them … and reread it here … for some reason. Why do I do these things to myself?
• The boys at the Gracie Academy have clued us into a newfound hero in the Jiu Jitsu community. All hail Paul Harris.
• I’m a huge fan of sweeps, and to the point that my submission game has suffered. I really should work on that, but instead I watched this video of 51 sweeps. You’re welcome.

Budo Videos Stuff

Let’s be real here, Budo peoples. There are only two things to even consider on Budo Videos. One, the 2011 World Jiu Jitsu Championship DVD and the Darcopedia. Go ahead and let the Beej know that we’d like this sooner than later.

Then, you receive a text message … from the Beej … of him with the other Budo and standing in front of crystal blue waters that frame (you guessed it!) what appears to be a tropical paradise. Sure, you know he’s there to film an episode of Rolled Up. Sure, it’s a very popular show with a very loyal following but part of you wants to perform a Mortal Kombat styled fatality. Then pull up a lounge chair and drink a tasty beverage from a coconut.

This is, of course, coming from a guy that writes about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu semi-professionally. Don’t minimize my hardship.

The Wrap:

• Chael Sonnen provided at an MMA seminar what appears to be an insight into what I consider the greatest campaign of hype and marketing MMA has ever seen. Why post it here? Because I think his points address a much under-emphasized aspect of BJJ competition and competition in general: psychology.
• Kid Peligro interviewed the unstoppable rampage in the women’s division, Gabi Garcia. Props to Dystryr for the link.
• It’s been published (by me, actually) that I’m a fan of a little profanity in BJJ technique videos, to which our boy Kurt Osiander is an ace. By the way, this video features A) profanity and B) a pretty delicious arm triangle escape.
• The Jiu Jitsu Lab has delivered a great breakdown of Cobrinha vs. Rader at the 2011 NoGi World Championships.
• Scarlett Johansson and an arm bar – that is all.

Budo Videos Stuff:

• The ADCC 2011 DVD is up for order – not preorder, order-order.
• The boys are in Guam, filming for Rolled Up. Like I said, new episodes are a-comin’.

Why do I mention this? Well, it’s been a slow news week and I realized while compiling my usual slew of links that this edition was pretty weak, and so I’ll leave you with what, in my mind, is the biggest news story in BJJ: Our boys are currently out in the world and filming an episode of Rolled Up (see inserted photo). To answer your question, I elected to stay behind to help man the offices and I made this transition so seamless that the rest of the Budo employees are unaware that I’ve left my “office” (four-man Coleman tent) at warehouse C (the planter in front of it) or I’m actually in the employ of Budo Videos. You know what they say, the best ruler is he that is not seen nor known of. Nor paid to be a ruler. If I were Caesar, my name would be Probonocis.

In response your other question, expect the episode to be up in February. Producing an episode of Rolled Up is a delicate process that requires elements of alchemy, Zen, psychology, zoology and the culinary arts – or at least I assume so. I’ve never actually seen the boys put one together.

• Cobrinha continues to prove that he understands Jiu Jitsu far better than you (READ: me). This side-control video is clear evidence of this.
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral: Gracie Barra black belt, head instructor of Gracie Barra Cerritos, former Strikeforce champion and now One FC fighter. On a related note, I tried to write a series of accomplishments next to my name in a similar manner and it did not go well. Tears may or may not have been involved.
• I’m a fan of Kurt Osiander, if only because I’m a big fan of accidental profanities in Jiu Jitsu videos – and our boy KO delivers (though not in this video). In this video, he also delivers a pretty sweet arm bar.

Budo Stuff

• Big discount (coupon code: “badboy”) on Bad Boy kimonos for a limited time.  That makes for a nice gi at a really affordable price and the opportunity to pretend like you’re 1990s era Vitor Belfort whenever you roll.

BJJ News

• The Jiu Jitsu Labratory Awards for 2011 are up. There’s no joke here, trust me – I looked for one. They just nailed it.
• Middle Easy’s Jason Nawara’s book Kettlebell RX is up. If you need a KB, I know a guy that knows a guy who works in a Russian import business. He can hook you up.
• I’ve been meaning to bring this up with Budo Jake (or the Beej, as I’ve come to call him – he’s not a fan for some reason), but Chokeball is about to leave Jiu Jitsu competition in the dust – sorry IBJJF.
• Minotauro will overcome the lingering effects from his bout with submissiolescence and hopes to return in six months.
• Knee-on-belly sucks. That is all.
• Getting out of knee-on-belly makes it suck less. Learn how to do so.
• The new IBJJF rulebook is up. Get it. Read it. Learn it. Don’t get disqualified by the stuff in it.

Budo Videos News

• The ADCC 2011  DVD set is up for preorder. I’ve been told that the sheer amount of grappling on this set violates no import-export restrictions, but it has been known to make villagers uncomfortable. They are a squeamish bunch, those villagers.
• The Tatami Terere Signature kimonos are in stock and shipping soon (if not already).
• NoGi Industries headwear will heavily discounted for a limited time. This is great if you have a head, train or compete in NoGi or really, really like the first four letters of Minotauro’s name.

Upcoming Events

• Christmas.
• The post-Christmas weight cut.

Editor’s note: English is Nino’s second language and this transcription has been edited for clarity. I’ve tried to indicate with brackets where I’ve substituted words. Other minor substitutions were made for the sake of clarity, but I’ve done my best to assure that the integrity of the interview remained intact.

BJ: So, tell me a little about your first black belt.

NS: My first black belt was Shogun, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. I taught him for about two years and after he won’t the tournament in Pride I gave him a black belt because I thought he was at a really high level. My second black belt is Ben Kim, he’s a really nice guy. He works with me, he helps me teach kids’ classes and he’s at a high level. He’s at such a high level because I don’t like to [easily] give out a belts, especially a black belt. I’ve been teaching Jiu Jitsu a long, long time and I only have two black belts [under me], and I felt so proud to [have graduated] him because he’s trained with me for almost three years … it’s different when someone trains with you for two years but [only] two times a week or three times a week or five times a week. But to train every day, sometimes two times a day, three times a day. He’s really different than just a normal guy who trains only three times a week. But I think he learns fast. He’s so flexible, so strong … I think he’s [at a] strong level for black belt.

BJ: You have a very distinctive style with your flexibility and your omoplatas, do you think Ben has those same qualities?

NS: [He has] the same qualities … he’s so flexible, he’s so fast too. It’s easy to teach someone like him because his body is perfect for Jiu Jitsu. The guys who have flexibility are one step ahead of guys who don’t have it, and [he learns quickly]. I like to teach [people who are] like [this].

BJ: A Nino Schembri black belt, what qualities do you look for in a black belt?

NS: Especially, respect. I think I like them [to have] respect, honor. But of course, their level. I think someone that’s a black belt [should not be at] purple belt or brown belt. It’s a different level. Many guys have a black belt but don’t in my mind feel like a black belt – some guys. Because I got my black belt under Carlinhos Gracie … when I was with him I trained a lot to get my black belt under him. I like to teach the same style that Carlinhos taught to me. I try to do the same things for the guys that got a black belt [under him], it’s not easy. It’s another level. You have to prove a lot. But at the same time, [whether or not they] competes or not … it’s the same to me. I think, you have to have technique to be a black belt. Oh, if you do tournament or an MMA tournament [to get promoted], you prove nothing. I think the technique has to be strong internally, you don’t have to prove anything in the tournaments.

BJ: You talked a little about Carlos Gracie Jr., do you think he has the same qualities that you look for in a black belt?

NS: Yes, yes because black belt is different. I remember I trained a lot for my black belt – especially black belt. The guys have to train a lot and you have to be quality to be a black belt. You have to have good Judo, you have to have self defense. In my mind, a guy with a black belt [has] to be able to play on the bottom, to be able to play on the top, you have to have a good mount and escape from the mount. Jiu Jitsu is not all attacking. Attacking is easy, you have to know how to protect and resist. I learned a lot after I got my black belt, especially in defense. Up until I got my black belt I used to always attack, attack and attack! But as I get older I don’t have the same physical ability as when I was 20 years old, but I think I have more skill especially in defense situations – protecting the neck, when somebody mounts. And for black belt, knowing how to attack and how to defend, how to protect myself is very important to me. Attacking is easy, but when guy is attacking you and you have to protect [yourself] and you’re in a I defense situation, you have to relearn techniques, step-by-step. When you attack and you don’t get the submission, that’s Ok. But if you’re defending and you make a mistake, the guy will submit you. You have to [know defenses] step-by-step. I learned this from Carlinhos Gracie and Renzo Gracie.

BJ: Some people talk about a black belt being a beginner. Some people talk about a black belt being a master. Which one do you think it is?

NS: Every day I learn. I learned a new position from [Budo Jake] in the Omoplata, my best area, for when someone does not tap. I think everybody has to learn for their whole life. Master, professor, or black belt, grand master, I think – what should I call this? – you should have a respect for learning. If somebody says, “Oh, I know everything!” – they’re wrong. I don’t like these kinds of people. You know some guys say, “Oh, I only teach! I never learn.” No, you guys have to learn everyday with every [type] of person. Every day I learn with my students, with Ben, with white belts. I think you have to be open minded and keep learning. After I started to teach, I learned more and I {still] have an open mind to keep learning. I want to keep learning my whole life.

BJ: Are you having as much fun with Jiu Jitsu now as you were 20 years ago? Ten years ago? How long have you been training?

NS: I’ve been training 25 years.

BJ: So, are you having as much fun now as 20 years ago?

NS: I think so, I think so. Especially because of all my fans. When I say all my fans, I [include] all the Elvis Presley fans and then nobody has as many fans as me, nobody has as many fans as Elvis, nobody is better than the King. I believe this. Next year, I’ll try to come back to competition, but really I want to focus [on preparation] for a whole year because this is my life. I don’t want to do any more MMA but I can do Jiu Jitsu gi or nogi and I think it’s fun, I think it’s really, really fun and I’ll try to enjoy it.

Recently, Jake and I took a trip to Nino Schembri’s new gym in Lawndale, CA to congratulate our friend and newly minted black belt, Ben Kim. After training (which was so mind-blowing you should literally be in a seething rage born of jealousy right now) things got a little wild and Jake unleashed his interviewing fury upon the unsuspecting duo. The take away here: Be warned, Jake will interview the crap out of you with little warning or provocation.

I present to you our interview with Ben for your reading pleasure. Look for our interview with Nino Schembri on Thursday.

BJ: Ben Kim, second Nino Schembri black belt. How does that make you feel?

BK: Man, it’s the biggest honor of my life as to date. Man, you should have been here when he gave it to me, it was really emotional. You know, you joke around about when you see other people get it you’re like, “I can see why, but how would I feel?” and I think we were both choked up because we went through a lot in the past almost three years and so he’s the reason I got into Jiu Jitsu and so to get that from him was a dream come true, a dream come true.

BJ: And how many years have you been training now?

BK: I want to say, because I consider nogi Jiu Jitsu in the same family, you just got to learn how to deal with the collars. [I've been training] almost seven years. Three almost four years with the gi and then seven years total with nogi.

BJ: And how did your game change? I mean, we trained together at Gracie Barra, but you’ve become a smashing machine now that you’ve been with Nino. How has your game changed training with Nino?

BK: Gracie Barra, let me first off take my hat off to them, they gave me such a great foundation with the gi. You know, the greatest thing about training there were those morning classes when all the black belts would show up to headquarters and I saw everyone’s high-level game – incredibly high level. And I realized, you know, that I have to get to that level if I want to be at the high level with them. Only, every single person’s game there didn’t fit the body type or I guess the mentality I had with Jiu Jitsu just because I started my nogi (training) watching Nino. So, for me it was like, especially in the beginning, imitating what I think he would do in order to create my game. So, when the opportunity came to actually train with him, really just apprentice under him and watch what he does and then have him explain the things that I saw him do in videos but in person and make me feel it. Man, it tripled my attack because I’d been imitating him for so long and for him to give me every detail of what I was imitating and to fix it and then show me the next position, it just happened so fast. That was really what was so fortunate about it.

BJ: Do you think your game resembles Nino’s game position-for-position?

BK: Nah, I can’t say that just because he still smashes me man! He’s still Nino Schembri! He’s definitely much stronger than me and a lot more flexible than me. I think a lot of the stuff I’ve seen from him for his top game has become my top game. But, I think we go for a different sequence of attacks. Maybe the same attacks but we set them up differently. I can definitely say my game was inspired and was developed by him but it’s not his game. His game is a different level.

BJ: What do you think is one thing that people don’t know about Nino?

BK: I don’t think people know how humble he is, man. If I was him, if I had his ability, man, you joke around about “I don’t like that fighter or that guy because he’s cocky” but they’re cocky because they’re good. But Nino is the top in the world to me and I’ve seen everybody and I know he’s just incredible. His mind, just the way his body works. He don’t see himself like that. He does not see himself like that.  I mean, he’ll train if a class has just been done and only one white belt shows up. You know, it’s easy for him to be like, “Just jump in with the rest of them.” But he’ll warm up with them and take the time and make sure they learn the fundamentals. I mean, that’s a humble guy for what he’s accomplished. I don’t see that from everybody. I don’t think that everybody knows that and if I could reinforce that and if I could give him credit where credit is due. Because, he’s one of the best at Jiu Jitsu ever, and he‘s also one of the nicest guys.

BJ: Nino also has a Chute Boxe background with Muay Thai and I see you have Muay Thai bags here. Are you trying to carry on that tradition?

BK: Yeah, I met him when he had come down with Shogun and watching him do what he did to everybody in that gym and I’m talking about high-level black belts, but from someone much smaller. I saw what Jiu Jitsu really was. I mean, of course, Chute Boxe is really known for its Muay Thai and its Jiu Jitsu, but watching his Jiu Jitsu made me realize, “Oh, you’ve got to have that for the complete package.” I know he brought in some King’s guys, because King’s is Rafael Cordeiro, bringing on that and he tried to do that more and I think in the next year he’s going to try and develop that. For me, I still want to focus on the Jiu Jitsu aspect at  this academy with him [and] let the Muay Thai pro’s teach his next generation of students. But, I’m here to learn. I’m not ready to teach anybody [Muay Thai] yet.

BJ: Any chance we will see you in competition any time in the near future?

BK: Yeah, I’d love to. I mean, the biggest thing about this black belt is that I want to honor him. I think he made a big statement to me by giving me this thing. He trusts me. I think the best thing for me to do is to go out there and trust myself and honor his name and try and show what he’s taught me. So, I’ll do my best.

BJ: Cool, we’ll be waiting to see ya’.

BK: Thanks brother, oh yeah, and one shout out too … I think the only reason I was able to excel so fast, besides training with Nino, is my generation of Jiu Jitsu students gets to watch all the best guys show their techniques because there’s a company like Budo Videos that loves Jiu Jitsu and is willing to … because I’m sure there’s a lot of work to put those DVDs together and get these guys in a room show off their best techniques. Of course, I think Jake does it because he wants to learn, but me watching all those DVDS and all the best guys share their moves you know really helped me excel and I’m very grateful to Budo Videos for that.

BJ: Awesome man, is there anything else you want to say?

BK: Yeah man, God bless. I only got here because of Jesus Christ, no doubt.

• A certain pair of enthusiastic brother’s needs to Bully Proof Pablo Popovitch’s Ford F-150. Apparently, his beast mode has so thoroughly been engaged that clinching with humans no longer suffices as training.
• I have long asserted that Monopoly (the board game) demonstrates striking similarities to the real world of finance. By this, I mean the rampant occurrence of theft, lies, slicing accusations of fraud and overturned cans of Pepsi while one slaps their cousin Logan for slipping Boardwalk and Park Place into his pile of properties while you were away grabbing Doritos. In a similar turn of insight, Jiu Jitsu Monopoly is strikingly accurate, save for the glaring exclusions of BudoVideos and the earth shaking insights of a certain BJJ blogger.
• Submissions submitted UFC 140 in a dazzling display of … submissiolescence. The highlights include: Jon Jones’ standing guillotine of Lyoto Machida and Frank Mir’s victory against the much under-realized threat of elbow ligaments. Unfortunately, the offending soft tissue happened to be located in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s elbow, whom I adore as a fighter (I wish him a speedy recovery).
• As a result of last Saturday’s submissiolescence, the world can watch Rener Gracie vibrate with previously thought-to-be impossible levels of enthusiasm in the Gracie Breakdown of UFC 140. His cup runneth over.

Budo News

• Look out for a new article on Nino Schembri’s new black belt, Ben Kim, on this here Blogowebsiteosphere.

BudoBlog  readers, I present to you the Friday Wrap-Up: a weekly collection of  BJJ articles, stories and information. This is my most recent attempt  in building this space into an Interweb behemoth. For reference, imagine that the Juggernaut and  Jeff Monson had a 22 year-old son that was conceived in a test tube, fed  nothing but Acai and Churrasco and enrolled it in kids BJJ classes at  the age of three.  In the off chance that such a child exists and I got any of the  previous information wrong, please A) don’t mention this fact to them or  B) apologize on my behalf. I hereby authorize you to beg and/or plead for mercy from him/her for me.

• Claudio Calasans Jr. (Atos) came up big at the 2011 IBJJF European Open Championships, but lost the absolute finals to Sérgio Moraes (Alliance). He’s promised that he isn’t seeking revenge and cites numerous practical reasons why this is the case. This is unfortunate. I, for one, was hoping for a tied-wrist rematch, a la MJ’s Thriller.
• The bro’s over at DYSTRYR SG have published a conversation between Sambo and BJJ. That’s right, you’ve read that correctly: all of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and all of Sambo had a conversation via two instructors. I could write a point-by-point, but my take away is that BJJ is still – in fact – Sambo’s boo.
• GSP was recently (edited, thanks Skamadan!) awarded the first degree on his black belt, which is fortunate since he is facing knee surgery. I’ve been writing and deleting jokes about GSP not going to the decision with his ACL, but I’ve decided doing so would be in poor taste.

Welcome to a newest entrant to the BudoBlog recurring post roster, Tournament Results Monday (clever title, I know). This is where you’ll (wait for it) find the results of various gi or nogi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or submission grappling tournament results. I clearly went for a deceiving title on this one and we apologize for misleading you. I promise it’ll never happen again.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I’ll do my best to stay up to date. Readers and organizers can help me (and by extension, help themselves) by posting events to iCompete.org, and either sending me the results or posting those on the event’s website. This will assure that I can publicize both the results of the event as well as a teaser in another soon-to-be posted recurring series to the BudoBlog (I’d tell you about it, but I’m bound by a series of legal, personal, emotional, spiritual and physical restraints that render me unable to do much besides post to this blog and eat soft foods via an extraordinarily long straw).

RESULTS:

South American Jiu Jitsu Championship, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Team Results:
1 – Gracie Barra
2 – Alliance
3 – Nova União

Male adult black belt champions:

Rooster: Leandro Luiz da Silva – Checkmat BJJ
Light feather: Francielio Fernandes da Costa – Alliance
Feather: David Juliano Lemes – Atos Jiu Jitsu
Light: Vinicius Tavares Marinho – GF Team
Middle: Vinicius Dornelles Corrales – GF Team
Medium-Heavy: Rodrigo Farjado – Gracie Barra
Heavy: Nivaldo de Oliveira Lima – Checkmat BJJ
Super-heavy: Bernardo Augusto Rocha Faria – Alliance
Ultra-heavy: Thiago Reinaldo de Souza – Behring
Absolute: Bernardo Augusto Rocha Faria – Alliance

How did you get started? What gave you interest in the sport of jiu jitsu?
I started when I was 11 years old at the Asle-AM gym with Ronaldo Jacaré! He was one of my biggest supporters and he always believed in my success. I remember when I started, no one believed in me; Jacaré was the only one. He always said, “Ary will be better than me, you will see.” When I joined the team, I remember that it was filled with great, tough kids my age and they beat me a lot! That made Jacaré really sad when he saw me getting beat up (laughs). That was when he said, “Kid, now I will teach you everything I know.  You will be better than me. From now on, you are my son!”

Back then I only trained once a day. I trained at the 6:00pm to 7:30pm class, along with other kids up to 15 years old. Then he said: “Ary, I want you training at the same class that I do, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. It was a more professional class, with adults and higher belts. When those classes ended, he was always very tired, but  always called me to the corner of the mat and taught me everything. He was always saying, “Ary, with this boy you have to train like this, and with that one you gotta do this!” He always had good will and pleasure to teach me with great detail.  Our classes would often go until 1 in the morning!

That’s crazy, right? (laughs) When I completed 5 months of training, he told me, “Ary, I want to see you do the same training I do, the same amount of training that I do, if you want to be the best”. ”THERE IS NO MIRACLE WITHOUT SACRIFICE”.  I responded, “Can I start today, master”? He simply said, “Now.” I went home, picked up my gi and my belt and went back to the gym. Man, I remember the other kids didn’t want to train with me anymore because I was making training too hard for everyone who used to beat me (laughs).

As time passed by, everyone started to leave the gym, stopped to attend the classes and chose different paths in life. I kept training hard and steady! That was the time when Jacaré said, “Ary, what do you think about living with me? I’ll treat you like a son, kid!”
I was always very attached to that guy since the start. I said, “Dude, we have to talk to my parents!” He said, “Alright, let’s talk to them today”. They decided that I would live with Jacaré from Monday to Thursday, and from Thursday to Sunday, I would stay with my family. My parents decided that this would be the best for me; my financial condition at home wasn’t the best. It was a great time in my life. We lived at the gym and slept on the mat.

I used to tell all of my friends at school that I had the biggest bed in the world, a 10×15 meters mat! (laughs)  I am so thankful to this man who did everything for me:  all of his teachings inside and outside of the mats, as an athlete and as a person. I owe him a lot. I’ve been through many moments by his side and he is a phenomenal person. He took care of me from when I was 11 to when I was 16.
What attracted me the most to the sport was the will to win and the will to always be the best at everything. When I wanted to start training my friends, who already practiced, used to tell me, “Ah, you won’t like it. You won’t win tournaments, it’s just too hard.” I love this kind of thing! I am moved by challenges. I like to make everything that is impossible to some people the easiest things in the world. So I told them, “I will train, I will love it, I will win tournaments and I will be the best at this sport”.

Man, for everything in life that you start from zero and aim for success, you must carry a great desire to reach to your maximum limit! You’ll always have a long road filled with obstacles such as: lions, wars, suffering, and everything bad is ahead of you to make you quit but you have to show that you’re a warrior and win every battle that is in your way—never quit. If you want to defeat every one of them, you have to give your best and overcome your limits!

You trained with the greats such as: Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza, Ricardo Vieira, and most recently Ramon Lemos. What was/is training with each one like?

With Jacaré, I learned how to be a samurai and how to value the small details of life. I remember that we lived at the gym, and sometimes we didn’t even have food to eat! I looked at the guy and he was always happy, joyful and had a will to win at life! He taught me that, at jiu jitsu, I should always have an offensive game with no stalling and have a good mindset. With Ricardo Vieira, I learned how to build a great character and have a technical and dynamic jiu-jitsu style full of stunts!

I am always learning with Ramon Lemos. He is always telling his athletes that, without training, being talented means nothing. If you are an athlete who focuses on your work, you will be recognized for what you do and will never be forgotten for what you do or once did for the sport! He teaches me to be a true athlete! I needed a guy just like this; he completes me.

How did you put together what is now your style of game in jiu jitsu?
I really believe in God, and he drew me to have this game in jiu-jitsu. And I work very hard to reach success.

What are the advantages of being a part of team Atos? What was the deciding factor that made you join the team?
I’ve always had a great desire to train with the Master Miyagi Ramon Lemos (laughs). It was the best change. I am a more focused, determined, and disciplined guy because of it. Atos is a family who shelters everyone. The move to Atos happened because I knew the crew’s work ethic and realized that many people at the team have the same goal that I do. It’s a group where everyone trains to be champions, and the trainings are focused towards that goal.

I made the change after a lot of talking with my parents, who are always there to help me with my decisions.  It was then that I decided to make the move. I found that it is a complete team in every single way. We have a great example as a teacher and it is a place where I feel completely at home. The crew is very warm, and they give me the adequate support to maintain my life as a jiu jitsu professional. What matters is that I am super happy with my team and my move. Certainly, this decision was made only to make my jiu jitsu evolve even more.

How did it feel to be considered the “featherweight king” by Tatame Magazine after Worlds 2009?
The only true kings are my parents. Without them, none of this would be possible! I took this praise as something very positive, coming from a magazine like Tatame that’s very well regarded in the sport. I am only thankful to them for this praise.

You mostly fight at featherweight but have come down to light feather on occasions like the 2011 Europeans where you won the final against Bruno Malfacine. What weight category do you prefer?
My favorite division is featherweight, for sure. I feel great at it, and I don’t even have to sacrifice myself too much when dieting, but at my gym there are people at that weight division! I am a very realistic guy, and I think that, right now, there is a lot for me to do at the light feather division. I feel very strong there against my opponents.

What are you currently working on in training?
I am always training, channeling and creating new movements for the sport so everyone will be constantly evolving! I was invited by the organizer David Aguzzi to make the superfight of the Montreal Grappling Experience on December 10, 2011, against Rob Di Censo. I have a great war and a mission to accomplish in Canada!

I am training a lot towards putting on a great show to everyone who is present in the day of the event, and I would like to extend an invitation to all of you to go and watch the show that we will promote, me and Rob Di Censo, and please, whoever wants to contact us to learn more about the event, or wants to schedule seminars with Ary Farias at your gym, contact me at contatoaryfarias@hotmail.com  or  montrealgrappling@hotmail.com. My profession is jiu jitsu, this is my school, my college and my post-graduation. Now I have started my masters program.

What is your opinion regarding belt and ranking? Do you think it’s necessary for each person to stay a considerable amount of time regardless of talent?
This is a very complicated question to answer. I believe that the athlete has to be at a good team, and that before he joins a team he should know the history of the place, who is the teacher and research the teacher’s history. What matters is that the athlete should be in good hands. If he is, the teacher will only award him the belt at the exact moment, when it’s needed!

I believe that in regards to the belt, it depends on the work and the development of the teacher towards the students. What matters isn’t the belt— it only ties your gi. What really matters is to be focused on the evolution of your training. It doesn’t matter if you’re a black belt or not, what matters is to have quality in the sport! Oss!

And to finish: Has anyone ever suggested you look like Taylor Lautner from the Twilight series?
I am absolutely certain that I am more handsome (laughs).

Special thanks: Thank you to Budovideos.com for the interview, and credits to the reporter Erin Herle. I would also like to thank every fan of mine who roots for my success and who admires me as an athlete. There aren’t words to describe the amount of love that I feel from you! You are the best fans in the world! Thank you to everyone who sends me messages daily.

All photos (c) Alicia Photos

Staff writer Dane Grace

The Road to Victory or Defeat

Four days before the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation’s NoGi World Championships, I am in one of the warehouses that comprises Budo Videos’ physical location. I’m dressed in what will be my competition uniform – a pair of black NoGi Industries board shorts and a black and blue (I am a blue belt) NoGi industries long-sleeved rash guard. At the time, I was trying to shoot single-leg tackles on Ryan, my friend and training partner, to limited success. I eventually took him down, but it was not going nearly as smoothly as I’d have liked at that point in my preparation.

I looked to Budo Jake, who was watching from the sidelines and asked, “Well, how do [the takedown attempts] look?”

I was not asking for reassurance. At five feet, eight inches tall, I assumed that everyone in the medium-heavy weight class of the men’s masters’ blue-belt division will be taller than me and Ryan is six feet tall.  Given my stature, I felt and still feel that I’d perform better at middle weight.

After training on October 10, I weighed 191 pounds and I still nursed the pipe-dream that the remaining three pounds burn off in order to make the cutoff of 188.5, but I was not making appreciable progress. I (foolishly) stated before training that I intended slug it out with the heavy weights if necessary. Later that night and over dinner, Jake either advertently or inadvertently delivered a reality check (I never asked, but I suspect that Jake made the heroic effort to save me from myself) regarding my weight.

The topic of conversation drifted to who we would hypothetically face if we pitted ourselves against the prime contenders of our sport. At feather weight, Jake was facing a division populated by Justin Rader, Barret Yoshida, Rafael Mendes and Cobrinha.

“You know, at black belt, you’d be in the same division as Galvão and Romulo (Barral),” Jake told me wide-eyed (at the time, I took it as surprise – I now suspect he was appraising my reaction).

Beyond being a separate (more advanced) Jiu Jitsu species, both of them are larger than me. Emphasis: larger, and I do not simply mean taller, thicker or more muscular. They are larger than me in all three capacities. I tried rationalizing to myself that they are professional athletes and physical specimen, but this was a clear case of the excuse factory working overtime.

So, I started a desperate and ultimately failed attempt to make the middle-weight cutoff. On October 28 (a day before the registration deadline), I weighed in at 181 pounds and I registered at medium-heavy. I could have possibly made middle weight, but I would have surrendered too much strength and explosiveness for the weight loss to pay dividends.

Therefore, I concluded that pushing the pace was my best bet at this weight and securing a takedown would go a long way in nudging me towards a win.

Jake looked to me and paused for a few seconds – long enough for me to realize that he had more hard news to deliver.

“They look good, but you really need to think about pulling guard if you miss the single. It’ll be tough if you can’t get it.”

“Right,” I replied. “I’ll have to pull to half or open guard.”

Ryan replied immediately, “Let’s get to it.”

Ryan blew through my half-guard on my first attempt and laid both of my shoulder blades to the mat in open guard on the second. On my third attempt, I clinched him with a collar tie, changed levels to shoot and pulled to butterfly guard. I swung my weight toward him while maintaining my grip around his neck. My momentum pulled him past me and forced him to shoot a hand to the mat. From there I worked a butterfly guard sweep that got me to two-on-one.

“There you go,” Ryan said. “Go for that if you don’t think you can get the single.”

I had fewer than four days to the tournament while performing in a weight class that I’d concluded was too heavy for me and I was still tinkering with how I was going to take my fight to the ground, which begs the question: why compete?

I could respond that no competitor goes into a tournament at 100% or with the long list of benefits that competing begets, which include the widely held opinion that a single competition counts for as much as six months of training, that competing Jiu Jitsu practitioners have a better grasp on the strengths and weaknesses of their game or that competitors have a more profound understanding of Jiu Jitsu techniques – but none of these really address my motivation.

For me, competitions put Jiu Jitsu in a very literal, objective context. In training, there are no real victories or defeats. Getting submitted during sparring or class is expected and encouraged. We can only progress during training if we’re stepping out of our comfort zones; which entails trying new techniques. This, by nature, involves failure.. However, a competition is a matter of applying the techniques you perform best against a resisting opponent applying the techniques they perform best.

This endeavor is, by nature, rife with so many variables (a number of which cannot be anticipated) that any serious competitor is basically forced to evaluate their performance – win or lose, victory or defeat. This evaluation inevitably reveals weaknesses or mistakes. – win or lose; victory or defeat. This evaluation inevitably reveals weaknesses or mistakes. I personally doubt that any one at any level has genuinely considered their performance flawless.

Therefore, it is more or less inarguable that competition is the most effective and honest feedback mechanism available, and why it is so appealing to me.

The Day Of

I am not one for building suspense, and so I will state outright that I lost my first match by a single advantage to Julien Blanc. He executed a gorgeous hip throw while I tried to take his back on the feet, and he deserves every bit of credit due to him – more so because he was also a perfect sportsman. I look forward to seeing him at competitions in the future.

Also, I enjoyed the experience so much that I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t register for the open weight division, which would have afforded me more opportunities to roll.

As for the event itself, I would first like to state that coordinating nearly any event is an exercise in directing chaos and, for better or worse, the IBJJF does the best job of it (in the contexts of Jiu Jitsu and of what I’ve experienced). I had competed in a few tournaments before the NoGi World Championships, and none were as well-executed and all were much smaller in scope. That stated, my match did run late, which made it difficult for me to plan my warm up effectively.

My division was scheduled to compete at 3:30 p.m., but I didn’t get on the mats until 4 p.m. I warmed up once at 3:00 and again at 3:45. It would have been convenient to fight when I was scheduled, but this was by no means a disaster nor am I complaining. However, I suggest that competitors communicate with the coordinators and determine how the event is progressing. It could easily save someone the hassle of either missing a warm up or getting cold while waiting for their match.

If you’re new to IBJJF events, make sure that you’ve addressed any business that needs addressing before you weigh in because you are escorted to the mats the second you are off the scales. I thought I’d have a minute or two to collect myself, but such was not the case.

After my match and after the adrenaline subsided, my mind immediately began a rush examination of my performance, and I have a laundry list of things I will address in the coming months. This, I think, is typical and can be incredibly constructive.

For those interested in competing but have not done so before, I will leave you with a few suggestions:

1. Make reasonable weight loss goals if you’re not used to dropping large amounts of weight in a relatively short period of time. It affects one more than one might think.

2. Try to recruit someone to record video and take photos before the day of the competition. It is far too difficult to do coordinate this the day of.

3. Again, communicate with the coordinators regarding the schedule. Make sure you find out sooner rather than later if the event is running behind.

4. I am convinced that success at a competition is mostly psychological. Therefore, evaluate what will keep you motivated and in a constructive mindset. In my experience, there is no “one mindset to rule them all” and a competitor’s best psychological state is, as ever, very subjective.

5. This may be a case of stating the obvious, but bring more water than you think you’ll need. One cannot perform well dehydrated.

6. Make sure that your coach and you are on the same page, or (more importantly) that you have a coach in the first place. This may or may not seal the deal, but the psychological boon is palpable.

7. Enjoy it! Each competition is a unique experience and a great opportunity to make new friends and/or rub shoulders with people as enthusiastic about the sport as you. Be sure to soak that in.

8. Be sure to double check the rules of the tournament – which includes uniform regulations. I personally saw at least a half dozen disqualifications due to “reaping” (rotating an opponent’s leg towards the center line) and three people who had to make a last-minute run to the Budo Videos booth to buy IBJJF-approved shorts or rashguards.

It’s that time of year again… The 2011 Nogi World Jiu-Jitsu Championships are less than two weeks away!

On Saturday, November 5th we will be broadcasting LIVE from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, and as always we’re giving you insider’s access to all the pulse-pounding action as we watch the world’s best duke it out for the title of World Nogi Champion!

Broadcast Times are estimated to be from 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM PST, and all purchases will grant you instant, free access to the on-demand replay of the event that will be made available shortly after. So don’t wait… Order your LIVE BROADCAST Pass today to secure your virtual front-row seat!

Quiet please.

The moment I lied down a big smile came over me. I was totally buoyant lying in 10 inches of water inside a steel isolation tank in Venice, California. Even though my eyes were open it was pitch black so I couldn’t see anything. At first I felt like I was spinning around, like an astronaut in space. I couldn’t tell where the air ended and the water began because the temperature was identical. Is this how it feels to be in the womb?

Just before entry.

800lbs of Epsom salt dissolved in the water kept me floating. With every muscle relaxed it was like I was floating in the Dead Sea without a care in the world. With no bodily senses to distract me I was left to observe my mind. Observing the thoughts as they came one by one. At some point I figured I should check the time so I opened the door and to my amazement nearly 2 hours had already passed! I quickly hopped out and showered to make the 2 hour deadline.

The entry

Should you try your own isolation tank experience? Yes, I think you should. Without receiving any messages from your body you are left alone – just you and your mind. From someone who has regularly meditated for over 15 years, an isolation tank is not going to become a major part of my training. You can get the same experience from zazen (seated meditation). Do zazen long enough and your body sense drops away and again you are left with your inescapable partner – your mind. The isolation tank however will give you this experience immediately. Will you enjoy an isolation tank experience? I suppose that depends on your mind. Try it and get to know yourself.

View from the entry looking back.

I’ve known Tim for a few years now as he used to have a school just down the street from our office. There were a few things about him that impressed me. First, his humble manner. Second, his smooth technique. Third, the unique approach he has to his teaching. The warm ups for every class (that I went to) were totally different and they usually related to what the lesson of the class was. It was funny because he’s 50 years old and a lot of the 20 somethings were huffing and puffing as Tim carried on calmly through his routine.

We kept things local for this one as I took Tim over to my favorite park that’s near my house. There’s a beautiful nature walk that made a nice backdrop for the interview. I threw a lot of questions at Tim and he answered everything so clearly and succinctly. In case you’re wondering, I don’t rehearse the questions with the guys beforehand. I think Tim gave perhaps the most insightful responses on Rolled Up thus far.

After the park we went back to his school – Ace Jiu-jitsu where he taught some nice side control attacks before rolling me up. If you’re ever in Fountain Valley check him out at http://acejiujitsu.com

Watch the episode here!

http://www.budovideos.com/online/shows/rolledup/rolled-up-epsiode-27-tim-cartmell/

The new episode with Andre is now up!

http://www.budovideos.com/online/shows/rolledup/rolled-up-epsiode-26-jiu-jitsu-missionary-andre-galvao/

We spent all day with Andre. It started with an early morning class full of energetic young dudes. I’ve trained with Andre a couple times before so I knew a little of what to expect. The drills were awesome. Very fast paced and designed to build muscle memory. I was training with a rooster weight brown belt world champ from Brazil who was super fast. I can see how training in this environment would be great for guys who like to compete.

For the techniques I asked Andre to show the choke he slapped on Big Mac at the 2008 Pan. 3 years later the image of him choking out a guy with such a big neck like that in the open weight division is still clear in my mind. I was surprised at the little details of the “slow choke”. I’ve since used it in sparring and I can tell you it is money!

On Rolled Up I always like to get into deep conversations with the guys on the show. We started off at a sushi restaurant (Andre loves sushi) and I was introduced to the protein roll – no rice! – it was delicious… Then we went to Pacific Beach. For the last shot I wanted to take him someplace that would be suitable to learn about his spiritual side. He had no idea what a mission was so I looked up the nearest one and I took him there. Little did I know that one happened to be the first mission in California! Pretty cool.

We finished the show with some sparring and well, you can guess how that went. But it was fun and a learning experience!

Vs Jeff Glover at ADCC 2009

How is training for ADCC going?
Training for ADCC is going great. In addition to some of the tough students at Fifty/50, I’ve got a couple of friends in town to help me prepare and get my weight on track before I head up to NYC next week to train with Marcelo Garcia and the rest of the team for the 6 weeks ahead of the tournament.

Who else are you training with?

So far I’ve had Alex Vamos (Joe D’Arce black belt), Gianni Grippo (Renzo Gracie brown belt), and Josh Presley (a very tough purple belt from Titans BJJ in Nova Scotia) in town training with me 2x per day. Up in New York there will be a ton of really tough guys to train with and learn from. Henrique Rezende, Antonio “Batista” Peinado, and Paul Schreiner are there already and there should be at least a handful of other top competitors as well. It’s going to be great.

What are your feelings towards training with people outside of your team/affiliation?

I feel that I have been extremely fortunate to meet, train with, and learn from many of the top competitors and instructors in Jiu-Jitsu and I attribute in large part any success I have been able to have to this varied experience. No single person or place has all the answers one could look for and while there is certainly great value to a strong team environment, it makes no sense to me to isolate one’s self from other avenues of learning.

Moreover, I have always had lots of friends from almost every team I’m aware of. When you’re competing all the time and trying to do your best, you’ll naturally gravitate towards other people on a similar path. Some of the people I’ve had really tough matches in the past (won or lost) are my closest friends and training partners now.

On top of that, I didn’t join a gang when I started this sport. Anyone who treats someone else differently because they happened to sign up and pursue a sport (professionally or otherwise) at a facility other than their own–likely because of proximity to their house or job–should probably take a moment to reassess their priorities. I prefer to just work hard, have fun, and train with all kinds of people. I guess it’s worked out OK so far.

Getting the bronze medal at ADCC 2009

Is this the type of mentality you encourage at your own academy?

I have always attempted to foster an open atmosphere at my own academy. Everyone is welcome, regardless of affiliation. I’ve always been friendly with all sorts of people, so it would seem crazy to me to be any other way.

Many of the great academies I’ve visited (such as Marcelo Garcia’s in NYC) and the biggest influences in my Jiu-Jitsu career (Marcelo Garcia, Felipe Costa, Bruno Frazatto, Murilo Santana, etc.) share that approach. I guess I’d say that if an open attitude is good enough for them, it’s certainly good enough for me.

I’m sure there are many factors, but what ultimately motivated you to open an academy as a brown belt/when you did?

When I left Lloyd Irvin’s team, I was recovering from a series of serious surgeries and was uncertain as to whether or not I would be able to continue competing or even training at the same level. I opened my academy as a place to train, as well as a place that I could earn a stable living and provide the same to a couple of my closest friends who believed in me and came to work at Fifty/50 in the beginning. It’s worked out great so far and we have a bunch of tough students (some who compete, some who don’t) who are doing very well and share the values that I have. I feel extremely fortunate for the support that I have and hope I can continue providing a place that people enjoy as the years go by.

You mentioned Murilo Santana as a major influence. Can you elaborate on how you met, how you started training with him and his impact on you/your game/life?

Well, I was walking across the parking lot from my car to my academy one winter day and I saw a guy who looked like a Caribbean dictator. After about 10 seconds of internal debate (and pre-dialing the 1-800 number for Homeland Security) as to whether it was Murilo Santana or Cuban El Presidente Fidel Castro, I decided that it was probably the former.

Unfortunately for my guard, I was correct. Training with Murilo is awesome, and way more difficult than training with Fidel would have likely been. Along with Marcelo Garcia, Murilo beats me up worse than anyone else I have ever trained with. It’s really motivational to me to know that such high levels of skill exist and if one works hard enough for long enough, they can reach that level, too. I’m just trying my best to get there one day.

Which brings me back to my point about training with everyone…

If I had looked at Murilo and gone, “Oh, shit. That guy’s better than me and he’s not even on my team. What if my students see him beating me? They won’t respect me and think that I’m sweet…they may even leave! We won’t hang out and eat Ring Dings anymore! Noooooo!” I would’ve missed out on an awesome opportunity to learn from someone who became a friend and person I really look up to. I don’t think I could forgive myself for such a waste.

I’ve noticed you choose not to use social media, such as facebook and twitter, to promote yourself. What is your attitude towards self promotion?

I understand that self-promotion is a part of the game and running a business, but I don’t really care for it at all.

Unless it’s taken to absurd lengths, I don’t begrudge anyone for engaging in it.

Vs Jeff Glover at ADCC 2009

What do you do when you’re not training/resting/traveling to other gyms/competing?

When I’m not doing Jiu-Jitsu, I’m pretty boring. Most of the activities I want to do come out of a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, haha. Rope swing, jumping off cliffs into water, eating cheese fries, and playing video games. Well, that, and just absurd amounts of hard drugs. That was in a “later years” version of the strip.

Besides ADCC, what are your future goals?

I’m very focused on ADCC so it’s a little difficult to think beyond that, but I’ll be in Europe teaching seminars for about a month in October, which will be a lot of fun. It’s always great to travel and meet new people who share the same passion you do.

Beyond that, I know I’m going to be continuing to train hard until the end of the year and see if I can stay healthy and compete at the No-Gi Worlds and anything else that comes up. I missed the US Open, No-Gi Worlds, and ADCC Trials because of injuries last year, but I have faith that this won’t become a trend…again. In the time I’ve been training, I think I’ve spent a little better than 2 years off the mats with injuries/surgeries…which, now that I think about it, is fairly annoying.  Actually, if that could go ahead and stop, I would really appreciate it.  haha.

It’s always a lot of fun working with Jeff. And by working I mean joking around and rolling. I’ve worked with Jeff for a few years now on both his Deep Half Guard DVD and also on his Glover’s Travels series. While we were sitting around talking about what approach to take with the Glover episode of Rolled Up it just hit me. The fair just got into town and I make it a point to go every year.

“This time let’s take Jeff!” I blurted out. The director – Budo Dave, instantly thought it was a good idea. He recently picked up a Go Pro camera which can be strapped to your chest. You will see this “point of view” camera show up a few times in the episode. I think it helped a lot!

If you’ve seen many episodes you’ll notice a recurring theme. I get submitted. A lot. I train as much as I can but still I didn’t think I’d be able to match Jeff on the mats so I had an idea of challenging him to random contests at the fair. You’ll have to watch it to see who comes out on top.

While Jeff was with us we also filmed a DVD set ALL on darces. I love the darce and this set will be the DEFINITIVE set on darce chokes. Finally you will know the difference between darce variations such as – the marce, farce, slarce, & starce!

During the filming I asked Jeff if he could teach the no arm darce – also called the ninja choke. While I didn’t get the answer I wanted I respected his reply. Jeff said that he didn’t get that sub in training or competition much and he doesn’t want to show anything on his DVD that’s not high percentage stuff that he doesn’t get often. I think this is something that all video instructors should strive for. Show the stuff that you are good at.

Oh, and btw if you still want to learn the ninja choke this guy made a DVD on it and you can see him pulling it off in competition here.

And before we get hit with a wave of emails asking, expect Jeff’s darce DVD to be out sometime before Xmas.

You can watch Rolled Up with Jeff by clicking here or download it from iTunes and watch it on your 50″ flat screen via your apple tv – now THAT is the way to experience it.

After 23 episodes I thought it was high time that we filmed with my teacher Marcio Feitosa. I started training with him when he moved here from Brazil in 2005. Although there are a number of black belts at the main Gracie Barra school in Irvine, most of my classes were taught by Marcio in the first few years. He has very strong fundamental techniques and is a very natural teacher. We filmed a few DVDs with him and I don’t think we ever had to film anything twice. He’s been teaching for so long that it seems to come naturally for him.

More than just the techniques of BJJ, I like to hear Marcio talk about the attitude of training. He talks a lot about helping your juniors and being a good sparring partner. I think that’s very important to keep a healthy training environment. I asked him a few questions along these lines during the interview.

Marcio is well known for his guard passing so for the technique section I asked him to teach some of his favorite passes. Marcio is a lightweight but his passing feels like ultraheavy weight. These are high percentage passes starting from spider guard than dropping down to half guard with a knee shield.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

In 2008 you left your team of Gama Filho (now GFT) to join Fabio Gurgel at Alliance in Sao Paulo. Why did you choose to leave and what has been the biggest advantage?

I chose to leave because in addition to a few reasons, wanted to make this sport my life. I had already won my first World Championship in 2007 at black belt. I lost in 2008 but after the competition had a great opportunity to move to São Paulo and be a part of this family. The advantage is that today, as many others friends who live here in Sampa, I can fully dedicate my life because it’s what I chose for my future and what I love to do.

Many people feel that leaving their team is not an option even though the training might not be right for them. You were with one team from blue belt to black belt before switching. Was there a lot of tension when you left and what can you tell someone who is considering switching teams?

Yes, I trained with Vinicius Amaral, leader of the team Game Fight, a former affiliate of the GFteam, and also with Julio Cesar. It was a difficult decision but I had my reasons. My teacher helped me in this decision and today we have a great relationship. When I decided to leave, I talked with everyone and left everything perfectly clear. I did my part and left through the front door. I have great friends there today. Some supported me and others understood but didn’t want to accept it.

Anyone who thinks about doing this today: think a thousand times before making the decision to not make the wrong choice and most importantly, leave with your head held high and a clear conscience. Always do the right thing. Today I can say that it was the best decision I have made in life.

What is your living situation in Brazil and does that benefit your training?

I now live in São Paulo and I thank God every day for being able to live my life doing what I love doing. It’s like being on vacation all the time! The big names of team Alliance still live and train in São Paulo which makes it easier since we are all moving together towards the same goal. One of the secrets of our success is the arsenal. We are a family and with Fabio in command of drills and Edson Ramalho running our physical training, everything becomes easier.

On the back of Milton Bastos at the 2011 Pan.

You normally compete at rooster weight, winning 3 world titles, but recently came up in weight to fight at light feather in the European Championship where you also did well. How hard is it for you to make weight at rooster and have you considered staying at light feather?

Its not easy, lol. The preparation begins well before what you might imagine. For me, the competition already starts when I decide that I will fight. I focus all my energy on my goal. Diets, workouts, fitness, etc. There are many uncertainties and sacrifice that I must face for victory and this strengthens and motivates me to be in my best shape—prepared for anything.

Like many other young active competitors, you don’t have the responsibility of managing an academy and students. Do you see this as an advantage?

Of course. Luckily, I have this privilege. It is very beneficial when I can put my entire focus only on training. We have a team of competitors here in São Paulo who are very strong and many do just that. But I believe that, although it is difficult to be a competitor and also have the life of a professor, today we have great champions who are both. It is an option for me and I already have plans to start giving lessons.

Finishing the choke on Milton Bastos at the 2011 Pan.

Are you planning on coming to the United States permanently?

Yes, of course it is in my plans! But I believe that will happen in the right time.

In a past interview you said that Caio Terra talks too much. At the 2011 Pan American Championships this year he opened it once more but this time to remark on the use of steroids in the sport using you as a head to step on. What is your response to his accusations?

He was unreasonable in that accusation. He can’t point the finger at someone that way. I don’t need to prove anything to him and he just needs to follow through with what he says. I do think that it is the right thing to do. All competitors should have to pass a test for this. It’s good for the sport.

Being a smaller competitor there are risks when entering an absolute division. While others of small stature have done well in these divisions in the past, you usually steer clear. Have you considered entering an open weight category? Why or why not?

I think so. I always want to test myself but I also know of the risks like injury. I might enter an absolute soon. My professor Fabio always jokes that I will compete in one of these any time … lol

If you could choose one person to fight past or present, dead or alive, who would it be?

Robson Moura. I have always admired him and I’m a fan. I think it would be a great fight.

At the 2010 World Championship Michel Langhi was defeated by Ary Farias when he was then a brown belt and you noted that it was a loss Michel would have to become accustomed to. At the European Championship this year you faced him in the finals of the light feather division as he is now a black belt. Did you feel that you had to avenge Michel’s loss and is Ary now someone you would like to win against in the future?

Michel is my great friend but in no way did I feel I had to avenge him. I do not like to fight with those kinds of thoughts. I just do my best all the time and the result will be the reflection of my training and my mind. It was a great fight and sure, we’ll meet more often.

Your nickname is “bad boy” which was given to you as a child. What can you say is the definition of a “bad boy?”

It was just a joke! I’ve had the nickname since I was a child and it’s only a nickname, I’m not a bad boy lol

Finally, at 24 you have a long way to go in this sport. What do you hope to accomplish by the age of 30?

I hope I have left my name in the history of the sport, have done good things and have contributed to the growth of the sport. I want to build my academy and become a good teacher. I want to be doing great things always. I want to be an example professionally and as a person. I don’t want to be admired just for my victories, but for everything I’ve done—by my character, which is the most important.

I would like to leave a big hug to all my fans, all that admire and support me. Remember: if you have a dream, go to the end and always believe in yourself!  Thank you for all the messages!  To keep up with my news, follow me on twitter: @bmalfacine and add my fan page on facebook Bruno Malfacine!

Have you seen Bruno on Rolled Up? Check it out here:
http://www.budovideos.com/online/shows/rolledup/rolling-with-bruno-malfacine-2011-world-champ/

Wow, it’s hard to believe we’re already on the 23rd episode of Rolled Up.

This one was particularly fun to make. It was my second time to visit Cobrinha’s amazing academy. The Alliance training camp was in full swing for the 2011 Worlds and luckily we had a few hours to film before all the camp members came in. It was my first time training with Michael Langhi so I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew is that there was no way I was passing his guard unless he let me.

We hit on a number of interesting topics during the interview portion including:

-Langhi talks about how Cobrinha got him into BJJ
-Capoeira is the base of Jiu-jitsu
-Training with his brother
-His biggest threats in his weight class
-His big plans for the future
-Keys to a good guard

He showed some very cool spider guard moves. If they look like what you see Cobrinha do than that should be no surprise to know that Langhi is Cobrinha’s top student. The techniques he shows are:

-Spider guard against standing opponent
-Spider guard against kneeling opponent
-Spider guard against opponent in combat base

As for the roll, there’s a lot to learn there. I’m going to watch it over and over again to try to learn what he was doing to me!

Watch the episode HERE.

Follow Budo Jake at
Twitter, Facebook,

Follow Budovideos at
Twitter, Facebook

Rolled up is also available free on iTunes

Pulling up to Bill Cooper’s Paragon academy in Agoura Hills, CA, the first thing I noticed was the amount of condensation accumulated on the windows. They were so steamed up that I couldn’t even gather what was going on inside although one could safely assume it was some intense training. As I walked in, it wasn’t hard to decipher which person on the mat was “The Grill” himself given that he had shorts on resembling a black belt as well as a set of some notably unique teeth. The name is really all it takes. He smiled and greeted me and even asked me why I wasn’t training. I made an excuse and sat down on one of many chairs along a red wall full of fight posters ranging in size and different event dates. Right behind the counter was a large Budovideos patch pinned up as well. Bill wasn’t teaching the class at the time so we decided to start the interview. Getting along with the questions, he often turned to the mat to bark commands at his students who were sparring matches so intense you could have sworn there was a championship belt at stake. Every position that transitioned, he was yelling a submission that could have been nailed or commands for those in bad situations. The seriousness he carries in his voice is enough to make you want to do everything to win that match. As soon as we would move on to another question, it’d get him laughing and back to being the easy-going 23-year-old he is off the mat. The quick transitions made by his students at war before me were obviously inspired by the ones in his own demeanor. For our interview I had my standard set of questions ready, but Bill’s natural quirkiness and ability to carry on a conversation allowed me the rare opportunity to delve deeper into the mind of “The Grill.”

How long have you been training jiu jitsu and how did you start?

I’ve been training for about 9 years; I started when I was 14. I was skateboarding in my neighborhood when Jeff Glover, who I had already known from the neighborhood, came over and tried to recruit some of us to go try it out. He had been doing it for a year already and said, “Dude, you should do jiu jitsu!” I said to him, “Nah I already did karate, dawg!” He claimed it was way cooler than karate so I said “alright” and skated down to the academy, Paragon BJJ Santa Barbara. I was sold and immediately told my mom that she was going to be paying the monthly dues for me to train. So she did.

When was your first competition?

I competed for the first time at 14 after 3 months of training. It was Cleber’s Copa Pacifica in Huntington Beach.

Were you automatically hooked after?

Actually, I really got hooked when a girl tapped me out in training. I was like, “wow this s#$% really works!” Also, I picked up the techniques quick because I break dance and the techniques resembled some moves I already knew. The armbar sweep was just like the windmill! It gave me confidence in the positions. As far as competitions and competing, I realized I wanted to keep doing it when I got a few gold medals at my first five competitions. I knew I wanted to be a black belt world jedi master.

What did you have to do to put it all into action?

I bugged a lot of people and companies for sponsorships and I eventually taught privates. I bugged everyone. At 15 when I was a blue belt I got my first sponsors which were Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear and TapOut. They helped with tournaments, food and hotels. The toughest part was hustling for carpools and gas. I was always begging people to let me ride with them since I didn’t get my license until I was 18. But I drove illegally starting when I was 15 and had to drive trucks when I worked for a moving company. I’d be backing up at 1 mph and yelling to my friend to make sure I wasn’t going to hit anything! Once I got to about purple/brown belt, though, it all changed and people started asking me if they could take me! Funny.

Did you have any back up plans? School? Other interests?

I used to want to go into the airforce and fly jet planes and also be a boxer. I finished high school and I took some college courses in auto mechanics during that time which was cool.
How often did you compete?
I started competing like every two months and did more and more as time went on. At 15 I got appendicitis and was out for 5 months. I had to get staples instead of stitches because the doctors said I had no body fat. I trained a little lightly during that time but it would start bleeding.

Where was your support coming from?

My mom paid my gym fees and then I got the sponsors.

What goals have you set out for yourself?

Black belt World Champion, UFC Champion, have a huge academy, make my son a champ.

How many goals have you accomplished so far?

Receiving my black belt, getting a silver medal at Worlds which was my first black belt competition. I lost to Sergio Moraes in the finals because I had run out of money before the match and so I couldn’t buy my gatorade. They had also run out of acai and I saw him eat two of them! And that’s why I lost.

Your MMA record as of now is 6-0-0 amatuer and 1-0-0 professional record. When did you decide to fight MMA?

I’ve wanted to fight MMA since I was 16/17 after I was Rickson Gracie’s movie “Choke.” I’ve been training since 17, but my first fight was when I was 20 after I got my black belt.

Has the journey to get to where you are now been harder than you expected? What sacrifices have you made?

Yeah but you can always make it harder. Challenge yourself. At this point it’s about making the fight easier. You make the training hard so the fight is easier. I’ve had to sacrifice time with my family. They live in Santa Barbara and I’m down here now.

With your success in MMA, is this an area you hope to dominate like you have in jiu jitsu?

Yes. I still don’t feel like I’ve dominated jiu jitsu. It’s cool that people think that and look at me like I’m special and I’ve done all these cool things. It gives me more energy and motivation to go for it. I haven’t showed my best yet.

What can you contribute to your success?

My coaches, my work ethic and I have a competitive spirit.

MMA idols?

Rickson Gracie, Mark Kerr and Chuck Liddel

BJJ idols?

Margarita, Saulo Ribeiro, Comprito, Jeff Glover, Royler Gracie, Leozinho, Chris Holdsworth, Terere

Any rivals?

Nope, I have no enemies.

Favorite match?

My 32 minute match with Jeff Monson. It felt like David versus Goliath. Two of the most dangerous men fighting. Batman fighting Robin!

Make sure to look out for Bill Cooper’s Instructional DVD, the Deep Half Guard Killer out on 6/29/2011!

For more information on Bill’s academy visit www.ParagonAgouraHills.com