Pablo Mantovani, 24, is a different kind of athlete. Always committed to boosting his performance for more Jiu-Jitsu achievements, the young Atos fighter got some essential help during his training sessions for this weekend’s ADCC 2019 in California. Pablo was monitored by his mental coach Lincoln Nunes. The professional is responsible for assisting in the psychological part, where he helps the athlete to clear the mind, reach goals and get ready for his next engagements.
Pablo, who faces his second ADCC, tells of the importance this coaching and how that has changed his way of fighting. At black belt, he has accumulated 36 wins and has significant titles in his career such as the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Worlds and Pan.
“Lincoln and I always talk and set goals together. He is a professional who helps me reach my full potential, armoring my mind so that I can always see the positive side. I have a strong mind today and all that has changed through his work. But there are cases where, when we don’t reach the goal, we reexamine everything that happened before and what has changed now. What worked before and what I did differently this time, which may have influenced the defeat in some way. Every athlete should have this monitoring, as it is beneficial to their life. I feel better every day, I am happy and because of that, I train better and progress faster. This is my secret to keep evolving and achieving my goals. Lincoln works with Olympic record holders, he does a great job.”
Registered in the second lightest division of the tournament, up to 66kg, Pablo looks at what it’s like to fight at an ADCC compared to traditional Jiu-Jitsu events, as well as what he intends to do to get the gold medal on Sunday, finals day.
“The ADCC is a more aggressive championship, heel locks allowed. At the ADCC, you have to be complete and not limited to Jiu-Jitsu only. You have to have good passes, and be very aware of the rules of the event. The ADCC gets you out of your comfort zone in all areas. Rubens Cobrinha and Rafael Mendes, for example, two of the ADCC’s greatest champions, have always been complete. This is a mirror for me: to be complete!”
Pablo also recalled his latest training session at Atos in San Diego, alongside André Galvão and company.
“I learned a lot here, especially standup exchanges and finishing with different no-gi locks. Atos greatly opens the athlete’s mind due to the number of strong guys and world champions. I am also honored to be learning from the ADCC legend Galvão. He is the guy who has won the most times, so it’s life experience that gives us the credibility of being one step ahead of our opponents.”
[Source: PR.]
