In the wake of the European Open's success, the IBJJF returns to holding Jiu-Jitsu championships in the USA. Photo: Kuba Sawicki/MANTO.

Parents, professors and practitioners, it’s almost time to test your Jiu-Jitsu and have some safe, clean fun at the next IBJJF tournaments on the calendar. This weekend, things will be going off in Texas at the Houston Open, where the likes of ADCC double champ André Galvão and others will be putting in appearances.

After that, the invite is open for competitors to head west for the February 19 Pan Kids, to let the little ones have their fun at a one-of-a-kind Jiu-Jitsu party. A rare and instructive celebration, or as Professor Léo Vieira puts it, “There’s plenty to learn in watching the kids rolling, because their moves come so naturally.”

For anyone wanting to participate or get a glimpse of Jiu-Jitsu’s future, the Pan Kids will go down at University of California, Dominguez Hills campus, and the sign-up deadline is already upon us—today is the last day.  Sign up here.

JIU-JITSU TO WARM UP CHICAGO WINTER

The newest championship to grace California is the San Francisco Open, although it will be held in Oakland, on the 26th. Among those signed up thus far, there’s young black belt James Puopolo (Lovato), as well as two masters you should be familiar with from GRACIEMAG.com: Professors Kurt Osiander and João Cunha, who will be competing in the senior division.

Click here now to sign up and still get the discount rate.

Another tourney that’s still open for registration is the Chicago Winter Open, coming March 3. Make haste and sign up now to help put your school at the top of the podium and make it onto the cover of GRACIEMAG. Click here to register.

Tererê demonstrates hook sweep at recent seminar in São Paulo. Publicity photo.

The latest issue of GRACIEMAG is especially savory for Jiu-Jitsu practitioners aiming to evolve.

One of the highlights is a tribute to one of the greatest mat aces of all times, and the ones who benefit are our readers. Fernando Tererê (Alliance), now living in England, was picked to head the Training Program section, where he shares some of the techniques that marked his career.

One of them is of course the hook sweep that brought gymnasiums to their feet all across Brazil during the last two decades.

Starting kneeling or playing guard, with hooks in place, Tererê caught everyone by surprise with his use of basic leverage.

He’d position one foot between his opponents’ legs and the otherbehind their thigh. From there, Tererê would use the hook he was using for support as leverage for the sweep. With the hand on the same side as the hook, the black belt would sink a deadly grip either on the belt or the leg, depending on the situation. He would thus use his own leg to hoist his opponent up into the air and tip him over.

Check out the position in greater detail in GRACIEMAG #179, now at a bookstore near you. And to not miss a beat in the future, get GRACIEMAG in the comfort of your own home by subscribing here.

In the meantime, refresh your memory of the position by watching Tererê using it against Rodrigo Feijão in the grand finale of the 1999 Brazilian Team Nationals in Rio.

At Team Nogueira's Rio headquarters, Captain America speaks Portuguese. Publicity photo.

The wrestling coach at Team Nogueira, Eric Albarracin, better known as “Captain America,” is already considered pretty much a Brazilian. With an appreciation for Jiu-Jitsu, Portuguese that’s getting better with every day, and a teaching style all his own, always requesting applause and grunts of “Uha!”, the trainer now teaches GRACIEMAG.com readers a double-leg-takedown counter-attack that results in landing in top position with the guard passed.

Pay close attention to the moment he switches grips and how he powers his opponent off balance.

IN JIU-JITSU AND WRESTLING ALIKE, THE SHOT HAS TO BE PLACED JUST RIGHT

Mexico’s Javier Torres, a contestant on the 13th season of the UFC reality show, for which Junior Cigano was one of the coaches, helps in demonstrating the position.

Get a good takedown move from Captain America and a lesson in Portuguese, to boot. Let us know if you can get it to work for you, below.

Professor Alexandre Marciano in front with his GB Joinville academy / Publicity photo

Professor Alexandre “Marciano” Ricardo harbored no doubts: he agreed to adopt the measures that would transform his GB Joinville into the latest GB Premium school in Brazil.

There was one objective behind his decision: greater quality.

“We’re pursuing GB Premium accreditation because we feel the processes that lead to the title improve the quality of Jiu-Jitsu in a big way, as well as the services we render at our school,” says Professor Marciano.

“To make it to this standard of quality we strive to implement all of GB Brazil’s requirements—from mat color, paintings on the wall, attendance sheets, class methodology, etc. That will take our Jiu-Jitsu to the next level, since it standardizes important aspects that in the past we didn’t give such importance to,” he says.

To Professor Alexandre, who is also the GB regional leader in Santa Catarina, the measures have already begun to bring in a series of advantages, for the teachers and the students.

“The advantage of this process to us teachers is that our classes improved a lot, and thus our efforts are duly recognized by both our students and our peers. For the students having the Premium title is also important—now they have the certainty that they’re getting high quality Jiu-Jitsu that is in line with the clearly defined standards for the learning process and that transmits complete security to the practitioner.”

The grandmasters Carlos and Helio Gracie

Helio Gracie always preached about how Jiu-Jitsu did not come to be as a weapon for the strong, but as a means of empowering the weak, the women.

Now, the brothers’ thesis has prevailed, and the fairer sex is as powerful through Jiu-Jitsu as ever, as the following video of our GMA in Texas  João Crus’s (Carlson Gracie) lady students reveals.

JIU-JITSU, SELF-DEFENSE AND CONTROL

In this training session, women of all ages keep in shape, express themselves and have fun doing entertaining self-defense techniques. All to, if need be, be in control of a situation.

If you like watching from afar but haven’t yet gotten a taste of the Jiu-Jitsu you read so much about, give yourself a chance. Find the nearest school, wherever you may be.

Gracie Diet pasta and salad platter: health for your Jiu-Jitsu / Photo: Carol Nakagawa/GRACIEMAG archives

Ever present on the recommended list of our columnist Adriana Gracie, the Mistura Viva web log is constantly serving up posts on the principles of proper eating as they pertain to keeping your body ailment free. Recently featured on the blog, six principles for proper eating, living healthier and having copious amounts of energy for dealing with your daily routine.

Click here for the full article in Portuguese. GRACIEMAG.com extracted the highlights and lists them below:

1. BREATHE BETTER AND FLUSH OUT TOXINS

Not a lot of Jiu-Jitsu practitioners pay due attention to their breathing. Make note of how oxygenizing your organism is directly linked to daily health and vigor.

“Lack of oxygen is significant in that it can cause cells to become cancerous. It surely affects the cell’s quality of life,” reads one snippet from the blog.

The lymphatic system gets activated by deep breathing. Practicing deep breathing and exercises like yoga eliminate 15 times more toxins from the body than does normal, hurried breathing, says the article.

2. EAT FOODS RICH IN WATER!

Remember: your quality of life is dependent on the quality of life of your cells. So straight to the nitty-gritty: fresh fruit, greens, legumes, sprouts and plenty of water.

“Your diet should include foods consisting of 70% water. The lower the level of water, the greater the likelihood of you contracting imbalances (illnesses),” says the article.

3. CHOOSE YOUR FOOD COMBINATIONS WISELY

“Take care of your stomach for your first 50 years, and it will take care of you for the next 50,” is Dr. Steven Smith’s take on how to stay healthy.

Eat meat and potatoes at the same time? Bread and cheese, milk and cereal, fish and rice? What if you were told these combinations are totally destructive to your digestive system and sap your energy?

Eat just one condensed food per meal. What’s condensed food? Any ingestible not rich in water. For example, beef jerky is condensed, while watermelon is rich in water.

Make sure not to eat starch, carbohydrates and protein in the same meal.

4. EAT LITTLE, AND CAREFUL ABOUT LIQUIDS DURING MEAL TIMES

Are you dragging your feet when you get out of bed in the morning, even if you got your full eight hours’ worth of sleep? Know why? While you’re sleeping, your body is working overtime to digest the incompatible food combinations you put in your belly.

Eat light before going to bed, just enough to keep from feeling hungry. If you feel like eating a lot of something, eat a lot of salad. And after 9pm eat just fruit. Remember: after ingesting a properly combined meal, you should wait for at least three hours before eating anything else.

It’s important that you keep in mind that drinking during meal time dilutes your digestive juices and slows down the digestive process; so don’t drink much water, especially not cold water.

5. EAT MORE FRUIT!

Fruit is the most perfect food on the planet, since it takes the least energy to digest and gives your body the maximum return. Least effort for maximum benefit—have you heard that here on GRACIEMAG.com before?

“The only food that makes your brain work is glucose. Fruit is packed with fructose, which is easily converted into glucose. Most of the time, it is 90-95% water, which means it cleanses you and feeds you at the same time.

Eat fruit upon getting up in the morning and on an empty stomach. Your heart and overall health will thank you for it.

6. EAT LESS PROTEIN!

The percentage of protein in a human mother’s milk doesn’t exceed 2.38. Did you know that? So where did this idea that we need loads of protein to be strong and healthy come from?

Dr. Mark Hegstead, a Professor of nutrition at Harvard Medical School, asserts that most human beings seem to adapt to whatever quantity of protein is available to them. In other words: if you eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet, you’ll get all the protein you need!

To be sure you have energy for training, all you need is glucose from fruits, vegetables and sprouts.

But what about the myth that protein is good for endurance? “Wrong. Too much protein overloads your system with nitrogen, which causes fatigue,” says the article. “And as for protein strengthening our bones? Wrong again. Excess protein has been linked to osteoporosis, degeneration and weakening of the bones. The strongest bones in the world belong to vegetarians.”

Milk and meat just clog up your body. For your supply of calcium, go with green vegetables, nuts, sesame seed, turnips. And you can have small quantities of white cheese on salad.

How about it, gentle reader, learned something new? Now what boosts your energy levels in training. Share with us, using the comments field below.

Last January marked three years since the death of the great Grandmaster Helio Gracie, whose legacy helped inspire our team in putting together “10 fundamentals your Jiu-Jitsu teacher needs to know”, the article that starts on page 48 of the new GRACIEMAG issue. I was plenty pleased with the piece.

I have a feeling it will cull kudos from a good number of qualified teachers. I just regret that, for lack of space, we couldn’t lengthen the list to 15, 20 or so fundamentals. The selection criteria we employed was ruthless: only 10 topics made the cut, which in a way is pretty cool, since it makes the manual all the more concise and challenging. On the other hand, some real gems ended up getting yanked.

One good example of such an anguishing snub was “Encourage your student to use the least force possible”. Could we have been imprudent in not fitting that one in there? A feeling of guilt arrests me when I reread an old statement from Helio Gracie: “Everything I know about Jiu-Jitsu a lot of other people know too. The difference is that I execute the same moves but without using force”…

Want to read the complete article? Go get your new GRACIEMAG #179 and see our Editorial.

Are you still not a subscriber? Click here.

Rafael Sapo tries for an armbar / Photo: Nick Laham, UFC

This Saturday UFC 143 brought a solid card to Las Vegas, with the likes of Carlos Condit, Fabrício Werdum, Renan Barão, Dustin Poirier and more putting on a splendid spectacle for the crowd in the Mandalay Bay Events Center:

Kayron Gracie (bottom) in his victorious match with Sergio Moraes at 2012 Pan / Photo by John Lamonica

Eight weeks removed from the IBJJF Pan-American Championship, and Gracie Barra doesn’t want to hear about resting on its laurels after having won the team title at the European Championship.

The focus now is on trying for a repeat performance in their own backyard, at the March 29 Pan to take place right down the road from team headquarters, in Irvine, California. Hence, Master Carlos Gracie Jr., the school’s leader, decided to make some changes to the team’s “tactical setup,” especially where the pre-Pan training camp is concerned.

TURBO-CHARGED TRAINING CAMP TO FUSE TOGETHER FORCES

A conversation between Carlos Gracie, GB director Marcio Feitosa and Professor Zé Radiola yielded five main measures to be taken, to strengthen the competitors and bind the team’s efforts.

1. PUT TOGETHER SPECIAL TRAINING CAMP

The camp will include daily training for the 2012 Pan, with Flavio Cachorrinho, Kayron Gracie and others of the team’s biggest stars.

2. A few weeks before the tournament, the competition team will be housed as near to GB America, team headquarters, as possible. Thus they intend to attract, provide support and strengthen the team’s top athletes.

3. MORE TRAINING CAMPS IN OTHER CITIES

Throughout California, GB will be organizing other camps for its athletes in different towns and cities, like in Los Angeles, San Diego and other GB-school locations.

4. THE STRENGTH IS IN THE UNION IN JIU-JITSU, TOO

Competitors from all the camps in Southern California will get together on Wednesdays for a special Pan 2012 training session.

5. EXPERIENCED COACH IN COMMAND

GB Pernambuco headmaster José “Radiola” will fly up to California from Brazil to lead the camp and select the teams to represent the school association at the 2012 Pan.

For further information, visit the official GB website, site oficial da GB, or send an email to pan2012@graciebarra.com.

A Jiu-Jitsu purple belt in action at San Diego tryouts: last all-expenses-paid berths in Abu Dhabi are coming to an end. Publicity photo.

The main WPJJ event in Abu Dhabi will only happen in April; still the climate is already heating up for the big Jiu-Jitsu stars already this February and March, when three more tryouts for the big event will take place to determine who gets free airfare, food and board for their trip to the United Arab Emirates.

The first of the three will be in Europe—Finland, to be specific—on February 18.

If you eligible and want to compete, click here.

MAJOR JIU-JITSU STARS IN ACTION IN BRAZIL AND CALIFORNIA

On March 3 and 4—with Rodrigo Minotauro in attendance, as you read here on GRACIEMAG.com yesterday—the picturesque town of Gramado will host the aces of the gentle-art world for the final qualifying event in Brazil.

Among the favorites: Tarsis Humphreys, winner of the absolute at the maiden WPJJ, back in 2009; Fernando Margarida, Marcus Bochecha, Celso Venícius, Bruno Frazatto, Guto Campos, Mário Reis, and a bunch of other hard-nosed competitors.

In the female division, according to the promoters, current world champion Gabi Garcia will be there—the Alliance ace always makes a point of competing in her birth state.

To compete alongside the big names in Gramado, click here.

Another shortcut to Abu Dhabi is the San Diego trials, on March 10 and 11, for which sign-ups only go till Sunday. Among the stars expected by the organizers, the likes of Xande Ribeiro, Lucas Leite and Clark Gracie.

Click here to compete in San Diego.

Jiu-Jitsu, inspiration and health / Photo: Vulkan publicity

Our buddies with the twitter account @BRblackbelt, responsible for some of the most interesting and exotic Jiu-Jitsu camps in Brazil and abroad, issued this poll a little while ago:

#BJJ is not about who you beat, but what you conquer. What have you conquered so far?

GRACIEMAG agrees and applauds the query, and it echoes the question here: what have you conquered in Jiu-Jitsu thus far, dear reader?

Discipline? Confidence? Patience? Trimmed some pounds off the belly? More muscle in the right places? Share your conquests with us in the comments section below, so the rest of the site’s readers can see Jiu-Jitsu conquering even more fans.

Nick Diaz is one of the headliner's at the UFC this Saturday in Las Vegas. Photo: UFC/Publicity.

In the wake of a lukewarm show in Chicago, expectations for UFC 143 on Saturday are high—at least, to our trainee.

“Boss, I predict an array of different finishes, a night Jiu-Jitsu fans won’t be forgetting anytime soon! There will be triangles, back attacks, and even never-before-seen subs—even picking “Submission of the Night” will be tough, you can count on it,” he said, flapping his arms like a seal.

Now what about you, who do you think will be the big standout of the night? Do you agree with the predictions below? Comment and let us know.

UFC 143
Mandala Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
February 4, 2012

Nick Diaz vs Carlos Condit – Pick: Nick Diaz
Roy Nelson vs Fabricio Werdum – Pick: Fabricio Werdum
Josh Koscheck vs Mike Pierce – Pick: Josh Koscheck
Renan Barão vs Scott Jorgensen – Pick: Renan Barão
Ed Herman vs Clifford Starks – Pick: Ed Herman

Card preliminar

Max Holloway vs Dustin Poirier – Pick: Dustin Poirier
Alex Caceres vs Edwin Figueroa – Pick: Edwin Figueroa
Matt Brown vs Chris Cope – Pick: Matt Brown
Matthew Riddle vs Henry Martinez – Matthew Riddle

Preliminary card (Facebook)

Rafael Natal vs Michael Kuiper – Pick: Rafael Sapo
Dan Stittgen vs Stephen Thompson – Pick: Dan Stittgen

Scene at 2012 European Jiu-Jitsu Championship by Kuba Sawicki (MANTO)

In the absolute, Rodolfo Vieira’s first match was against the eventual winner of the middleweight division, Victor Estima.

At the other end of the bracket, sparks flew when Bernardo Faria and Rafael Lovato Jr. got at each other’s necks in the absolute semifinal.

Now in the heavyweight final, Rodolfo Vieira and Roberto Tussa faced off and demonstrated smooth moves even lightweights would proud of.

Young Jiu-Jitsu black belt Oliver Geddes in photo by Callum Medcraft/BJJ Style

It was during the absolute. England’s Oliver “HarDrive” Geddes, a Roger Gracie black belt based in London, was getting put through the wringer by the stalwart Marcos Souza (Bonsai).

GOOD SURPRISE JIU-JITSU POSITION FROM TOP

At the end of the match, Oli pulled a rare below-the-belt position out of his sleeve, as you can see in this video by England’s BJJ Style.

Dug it? Already familiar with it? Comment below?

Pamela Anderson's castmate Jeremy Jackson will be diving into gentle art competition head first. Publicity photo.

The Jiu-Jitsu Challenge has been issued and is underway, with onetime “Baywatch” star Jeremy Jackson leading his newly formed crew in getting their feet wet in gentle art competition .

And they’ll be diving in head first: With no prior experience but determination a-plenty, Jackson, his fiancee, Loni Willison, and the rest of the troop will take on the American Cup Jiu-Jitsu tournament in just three months’ time, showing how there’s no better way to face one’s fears than through Jiu-Jitsu.

Still only just starting out in their preparations for gi-clad combat, the initiative has already inspired others across the United States to follow suit.

Registration for April 28-29 American Cup, in San Jose, California, is already open at americancupbjj.com. Sign up for a chance to test your mettle and get to rub elbows with celebrities, to boot.

Check out the latest chapter of the Jiu-Jitsu Challenge:

Victor Estima in final against Alan Finfou at European Open. The teacher at GB England sunk a reverse triangle and won. Photo: Raphael Nogueira.

The new middleweight champion of Europe, Victor Estima has been having a splendid year so far. Firstly, because he was picked to be the director of the Gracie Barra school network in England. Secondly, because he helped his teammates capture the trophy for number-one team at the European Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2012, last Sunday in Portugal.

In an interview on the official Gracie Barra website, the Zé Radiola student explained how directing a team and training hard are not mutually exclusive—quite the opposite.

We put the article through the strained and came up with the better bits of what Victor had to say. Check them out:

PLANS AND CHALLENGES AS A JIU-JITSU TEACHER

“We have to deal with people, and that’s always a challenge, but I have faith in the work being done at GB. My brother [Bráulio Estima] and I are showing how things should be done at the schools, and thus the changes become all the easier to make because we’ve already tested them. My plan is to bring all the academies in line with the official GB model—simple as that. Our program is really effective, and it revamped my school. That’s why I’m certain it will do the same with them all. I want to unify all the Gracie Barra schools in the United Kingdom with the aim of us all working under the same administration, so that the efforts of one benefit the rest.”

JIU-JITSU, RESPONSIBILITY AND SUCCESS

“It’s very important that a director have a good relationship with the people involved with Jiu-Jitsu and those not involved, as well. The teacher should be very familiar with how the sport is developing in the region and, furthermore, know the lay of the land—that’s a really important factor. The United Kingdom is a country still developing, where Jiu-Jitsu is concerned; it’s growing a lot. Gracie Barra is the strongest team in the area, but there’s still a gap between it and countries like Brazil and the USA. But the way I see it, it’s just a question of time.”

Victor Estima fondling the trophy as GB celebrated winning the 2012 European Open / Publicity photo

THE SECRET TO FOCUSING ON JIU-JITSU COMPETITIONS

“I’m more focused on competition than even. The secret is that I have a highly capable team helping me out on and off the mats.

TRAINER SIDE VERSUS ATHLETE SIDE

“I’m constantly teaching class to some UFC fighters, like Dan Hardy, André Winner, and some others who will be making their debut there soon. But I’m at the peak of my Jiu-Jitsu career, so I’m focused on that. Now my brother is getting ready to make his MMA debut, so we do remain more fighters than we are trainers.”