Master Ricardo Cavalcanti with Miketo Resch’s student Bjorn. Photo: Personal Archive

Mike ‘Miketo’ Resch of GMA Cavalcanti Jiu-Jitsu Luxembourg sent two of his students to the U.S. recently. From April 26 to May 10 the students will train at the headquarters of Master Ricardo Cavalcanti’s.

Recently the students competed at the 2014 IBJJF Las Vegas Spring Open and earned a bronze for their team.

Here, Miketo explains the accomplishment of his student and the team:

“One of my two fighters, Björn Backes, who also helps me to establish a Cavalcanti Jiu Jitsu Team in Germany got the bronze medal in the adult white belts heavyweight category.

Considering that this was Björn’s first major Jiu-Jitsu competition ever, I am very proud of this result.

I would especially like to thank thank Raphael Geib from Germany, who provides us a training room in his martial arts academy in order to establish Cavalcanti Jiu Jitsu Germany! My biggest thanks go to my master and friend Master Ricardo Cavalcanti for taking care of my competitors and coaching them, as I was not able to travel with them!”

Check out more about Miketo Resch and the GMA Cavalcanti Jiu-Jitsu Luxembourg at www.rcjiujitsu-luxembourg.com

Ana Laura vs Charlene Coats. Photo: Ivan Trindade

This past weekend at the 2014 IBJJF Las Vegas Spring Open, the female black belt division welcomed the return of Ana Laura Cordeiro. After being out of competition for many years due to a back injury, she came back to the competition mats and earned gold. The Gracie Barra Upland instructor is undefeated in her Jiu-Jitsu tournament career and now the streak continues.

We talked to Ana Laura about her return, if she had any anxiety about it and what it felt to remain undefeated.

GRACIEMAG: Were you worried about stepping on the competition mat after so many years?

ANA LAURA: I wasn’t worried at all. The tournament is the easy part for me now. The hard part is to be able to train hard every day. My body is not used to it anymore, but I’m getting there.

How was your match with Charlene?

That was awesome. I could enjoy every single minute of the fight. I was very calm and focused, and Charlene is a pretty good and active competitor, so I could get a good warmup to get even stronger to compete at the Worlds 2014. Can’t wait!

How did it feel to be back and with the gold medal once again undefeated?

For me now, after overcoming my injury I’m already a gold medalist every time I step on the mat. Of course winning on the mat and stepping up to the highest spot on the podium makes me very happy, but winning and losing are part of the competition. Even though I’m still undefeated in competition, I’m not worried about it. Nobody is invincible.

Walter Cascão vs Luciano Oliveira. Photo: Ivan Trindade

After suffering a serious injury, Walter “Cascao” of GMA Cascao Jiu-Jitsu entered the competition mats of the 2014 IBJJF Las Vegas Spring Open and took home gold. The third degree black belt fought in the black belt master 2 super-heavyweight division and defeated two opponents for gold.

We asked Cascao how it felt to get onto the mats after such an injury and what it means to take gold on his home turf:

GRACIEMAG: What obstacles did you have to overcome in order to compete at the Vegas Open?

WALTER CASCAO: At the end of January I suffered a bad injury on my spleen that caused a lot of pain and I had to pull out of Pans. For three months I couldn’t train. I was only teaching and trying to recover as fast as possible so I would be able to compete at Vegas Open. Two weeks before the tournament I got back to train what made me feel alive again and gave me all motivation to compete and pursue the top of the podium.

Which was your toughest match?

My first match against Tyler Scott was the hardest one. He came with a solid game and good defense techniques.

How rewarding is it to get back to competition and be on the top of the podium?

Las Vegas is my home. It is where I live and teach Jiu-Jitsu every day. Being able to win gold here is very rewarding and an inspiration to my students. Seeing how proud they are of their professor makes me want to go further always.

Follow more of Walter Cascao and the Cascao Jiu-Jitsu Academy of Las Vegas, NV here: www.facebook.com/cascaojiujitsu

Check out this video of his matches: