07.01.2009

Cobrinha expects a year of war

By Marcelo Dunlop

Cobrinha after one more winning in Aman, 2008. Photo by Laith Al-Majali.

Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles ended 2008 with the world title (his third in as many years), the Pan-American (his second), the No-Gi Worlds (also his second) and the No-Gi Pan-American. Elected by GRACIEMAG to be the most consistent fighter of the past year, the ace from Alliance reviewed his year and evaluated the weight of his conquests. He took the opportunity to make predictions for 2009 and even sent a message to the latest generation of aces, who came up from brown belt raring to topple the current stars.

GRACIEMAG.com: Cobrinha, after winning everything, what did you have the hardest time with last year?
The worst was the battle with my body. I should have stayed out of the Pan and the Worlds, but fortunately I had people around who believed in me. First there was Romero Jacaré lending his support. Then, and I’ll never forget this, Fabio Gurgel showed up in the States and we started up a training session. He soon called me to train with him, and told me: “Cobrinha, the way you’re going, you will fight and win!” At the time I just laughed because I knew I was in the worst of conditions, but when this kind of support comes from people with such enormous experience, it counts a lot, and I decided to step up to the challenge. Now I can only thank them.

In 2007 you were two-time world champion without dropping a single advantage point. Was 2008 an even better year for you?
To me 2008 was an excellent year, which I see as the best phase of my life. I carry on doing what I like, which is to fight, and I managed to fight in all the championships I had the chance to. As highlights, first I won the Pan-American (against Bruno Frazatto), and then the Worlds (again against Bruno), after a marvelous final I’ll never forget. It’s always good to win a title… And getting the submission is even better still! I haven’t counted how many fights I’ve had this year, nor how many submissions, unfortunately. But there’s one thing I’m sure of, I always fight for the submission.

What do you expect from 2009?
I’m not sure yet, but if all goes well I’ll be in the European. Either way, I’ll be in the Pan for sure, and I already expect 2009 to be a year of war, in the good sense!

My category is so tough there are no favorites. To make matters worse, every year that goes by new Jiu-Jitsu talents show up, which I always keep on top of, a lot of the time through the GRACIEMAG.com website. There’s the kid Isaque Paiva, who I don’t know, but I saw how the kid hardly had his black belt and showed he’s not here to mess around. Nor can I overlook Rafael Mendes, who just came up from brown belt and is already showing maturity.

I want to take this opportunity to offer some constructive criticism to the other athletes coming up through the ranks, who seek to show their Jiu-Jitsu in championships, and not make promises like “I’m going to do it and it’s going to happen,” because sometimes it seems easy and isn’t. I know everyone wants to carve out their place in the sport, but to do so one must respect all their adversaries, and never underestimate anyone. The thing is to do your part, which is to train and then put your game to practice.

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