Rodolfo Vieira attacks the back and finishes at the Brazilian Team Nationals. Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.

Rodolfo Vieira the steamroller returned to the mats at Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca Tennis Club last weekend for the Brazilian Team Nationals. The world champion from GFTeam won both his matches by submission and helped his team secure their second heavyweight title in a row. Rodolfo had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com before heading off for Chile, where he’ll be doing some seminars.

GRACIEMAG: What’s the coolest move you’ve ever pulled off?

RODOLFO VIEIRA: At the Brazilian Team Nationals? It was that omoplata to armbar. That was sweet. Now the coolest one I’ve ever pulled off in my career was an ippon seoi nage. That was the first seoi I ever got in my life. It went like this: I was at the European Championship, and I’d worked on that takedown a lot until I got the timing right but, as I had an injured knee, I couldn’t do any leg takedowns. So later, at the Brazilian Nationals, I thought to myself, “I’ll try the seoi and see what happens. It came out perfect, the best of all.

What do you make of your performance at the championship?

I feel everything worked out great. I fought well and got the tapout in both my matches. And it was great to win the tournament a second time for my family. The team is really united and strong. We’re on the right track. It was the title I was missing. Now all that’s missing is the individual Brazilian Nationals, which I’ve never competed at as a black belt. Next year I’ll be going for that title, God willing.

You came off as being anxious when your teacher Júlio Cesar wasn’t around to orient you. How important is having Júlio in your corner to you?

There’s nothing better than to have him in my corner. I might manage to fight without him but his voice gives me all kinds of confidence; it’s all I listen to when I’m on the mat. He knows everything I do and am capable of doing. Sometimes he shouts out to do something just as I’m thinking about doing it. “How can he know I was thinking about doing that?” I think to myself in amazement. It’s funny. Júlio is the most perfect guy I know. He’s like a dad not just to me, but to all his students, regardless of if their black belts or white belts. From the little kid who won some little trophy all the way to the world absolute champion, he loves everyone and treats them well. He treats everyone the same, and sometimes I find myself forgetting to thank God for having put this angel in my life.

Rodolfo, you’ve been dominant in your division for a long time now. What’s the secret to keeping the level up? Do you feel you train more than the others?

If I train more or not I don’t know. But I do train hard. I don’t think there’s any secret to it; it’s all about always evolving and going for it every day in training. And believing anything is possible.

Have you got any matches lined up for this year? Or is the next one the January Copa Pódio?

No, I’ll be fighting to win a car this year yet! I’m going to Chile now—I have some seminars set for Friday and Sunday there. After that I return and go back to training. On October 6, a Saturday, I have a seminar to teach in Araras, São Paulo, and on the next weekend I have the Rockstrike Jiu-Jitsu championship in Brasilia, where the winner of the absolute black belt division gets a brand new car. On October 20 there’s a seminar in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, and in November I’ll be accompanying Júlio to Australia for a seminar tour. We’ll stick around there for a month. Thank God we’ve got plenty of work lined up.

Rodolfo Vieira on top of Herico Hesley / Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com

GFTeam black belt Rodolfo Vieira helped his team win both the heavyweight and overall contests at the Brazilian Team Nationals. Alongside Igor Silva, Leonardo Maciel, Ricardo Evangelista and Wancler Santos, the team ultimately outpointed Nova União and took home the trophy.

In the decisive match, Rodolfo tapped out Ceará State native Herico Hesley with a choke after taking him down and taking his back. Check out Vieira’s skills in the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyCaJsaZ6_Q

Click here the for complete results.

Rodolfo Vieira tries a sweep in Tijuca. Photo by Gustavo Aragão.

The always riveting Brazilian Team National Championship delivered first-rate Jiu-Jitsu at Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca Tennis Club this Saturday. Amid a storm of noisy cheering sections, celebrations and heated contests, the gentle art’s most traditional teams again made the tournament well worth attending. In the overall team standings, GFTeam came out on top, with last year’s winner, Nova União, taking second, and Alliance in third.

Rodolfo Vieira made his competition return in the gymnasium that first thrust him into the limelight, with his teammates Igor Silva, Leonardo Maciel, Ricardo Evangelista and Wancler Santos winning alongside him in the brown/black belt division.

The lightweight master division was Nova União’s, though, with representatives of the old guard like Rodrigo “Feijão” and André Motta coming up spades. GFTeam won the heavyweight leg of the competition.

Check out the complete results here.

Rodolfo Vieira practicing guard / GRACIEMAG archive photo

by Vitor Freitas

Current world heavyweight-title holder Rodolfo Vieira returns to competition Jiu-Jitsu this Saturday at the CBJJ Brazilian Team Nationals, and before taking to combat, the GFTeam ace had a quick chat with GRACIEMAG.com.

GRACIEMAG: A lot of our readers called for you to be added to the Metamoris card, where big-name Jiu-Jitsu competitors face off in 20-minute, no-points-counted supermatches. What’s your take on the event, set to go down October 14 in San Diego, California?

RODOLFO VIEIRA: Man, that’s one event I’d do anything to watch. Ralek Gracie [promoter of the event] even invited me to face Ryron [the Gracie will be facing André Galvão]. But it’ll be on the same day as another event, in Brasilia. I thanked him for the opportunity and told him, this year I’ll have to pass. Now I’m rooting for my buddy Bochecha. He has a really tricky match ahead of him against Roger Gracie, and Roger’s Roger, right? One mistake against him and that could be it, especially in a 20-minute match. I feel that [match duration] works more in the Gracie’s favor. I’m happy Bochecha has been given this opportunity; he’s a good kid and deserves it. Sparks are going to fly in their match. It’s got the makings of the fight of the night.

What are your expectations for the contest you’re entering now?

I always expect the best. I trained so hard and am really confident—not just in myself but in my team. We’ll be going into this Brazilian Team Nationals strong at all belt levels.

How did your seminar tour of Brazil go?

It was well worth it. I got to see cool places and could see how my work is being recognized, and that’s really gratifying. I’m pleased with all the demand. I really didn’t expect it… I took some time off to train for this championship, but I’ll take it back up again afterwards. It was nice to get some time off, because travel can be kind of tiring. I couldn’t take being in any more airports…

What did you teach people?

I taught them what I do best, my guard passes, which is what I enjoy the most. It’s hard to get any guard stuff in (laughs).

Rodolfo Vieira seeks tapout from back control at 2011 Pan. Photo: GRACIEMAG.com.

Following a marathon of seminars around the United States, GFTeam ace Rodolfo Vieira will be defending his academy’s honor this Saturday in the heavyweight brown/black belt division at the Brazilian Team Nationals.

A number of brown and black belt stars are confirmed to be there.

Click here to find out who.

And the CBJJ has already released the tournament brackets.

Click here to find out who faces who.

One extra added attraction is the promising young purple belts set to lock horns on the mats at the Tijuca Tennis Club, like talented upstarts Marcio André, Patrick Gaudio and Max Gimenes, for instance.

Nova União is the current title-holding team, having won the tournament the last two years in a row.

Now what do you say, gentle reader, which team do you have winning it?

Denilson Pimenta above Joel Tudor at 2011 Pan / Photo by Dan Rod/GRACIEMAG.com

The Brazilian Team Nationals is set to go down this Saturday at Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca Tennis Club. Names like Ricardo Vieira, Francielio Fernandes (Alliance), Theodoro Canal (GFTeam), Erick Raposo and João Gabriel (Soul Fighters), Diogo Almeida and Kitner Moura (Gracie Elite), Herico Hesley and Nilson Ricardo (Nova União), to name a few, will be defending their respective team colors to prove which academy has the toughest athletes in Brazil.

Denilson Pimenta and Ítalo Lins were also among those called on to represent their GFTeam. Check them out demonstrating three exercises for passing guard in the video below.

To check out the team rosters click here.

Check out the Brazilian Team Nationals timetable:

For further information visit the cbjj.com.br website.

And stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for all your Jiu-Jitsu needs.