Vanessa Oliveira vs. Janni Larsson. Photo: Erin Herle

As if winning the 2014 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship during her first year at black belt wasn’t enough for Swede Janni Larsson, she also earned the 2014 World Championship black belt middleweight title–all while studying as a medical student.

The one thing about Janni that stands out against most black belt competitors is her excitement when she wins. While most would be proud of their accomplishment and celebrate with the idea that a goal was accomplished, Janni allows those in the audience to join in on her excitement. As the clock showed the seconds wind down in her final match against Vanessa Oliveira on Sunday, June 1, she looked at the score as the advantages were in her favor and her eyes grew wide and her smile took over her entire face. It looked like someone had just told her she won the lottery. She was surprised, excited, grateful and in awe that she overcame the top females in the sport to earn her place at the top of the podium. And her jumps for joy (which she doesn’t even remember doing) were true showings of emotion.

Perhaps even more impressive with Janni is that her time in Copenhagen, Denmark, away from her family in the neighboring Sweden, is spent mostly on her studies. The medical student attends the University of Copenhagen and her time spent training at Arte Suave is less of a priority than the training she completed to earn her world title.

Learn more about her impressive wins, the injury she had to overcome during her matches at the Worlds and the real priorities in her life:

GRACIEMAG: Tell me about your run at the worlds, both in open weight and in your weight.

JANNI LARSSON: I was really happy for getting the opportunity to fight in the open weight at black belt. In my first fight I met Vanessa Oliveira. It ended up being a sweep-sweep match that went back and forth. I won on points after full time. In my second fight in the open I met Beatriz Mesquita. I had fought her in Abu Dhabi, so I thought I knew what I was in for, but boy was I surprised. Bea had such sharpness to her techniques at Worlds that I did not stand a chance. She danced past my guard and as I turtled to avoid the passing points she caught my arm.

Janni against Sophia Drysdale. Photo: Erin Herle

In my weight class I won my first fight with a foot lock after a few minutes. My second match was against Sophia Drysdale. I pulled guard and swept her. My arm was hurting after the armbar, so I didn’t feel safe in Sophia’s guard, especially not when she was gripping my bad arm. When I backed away from Sophia’s guard she stood up, and I could pull again. I managed to do this throughout the fight and won with three sweeps and a few advantages from sweep attempts that ended outside the mat area. In the final I fought Vanessa Oliveira again. This fight was less exciting than our fight in the open, because I was playing it very safe. We double-guard pulled and she came up for the advantage. I worked my x-guard and got advantages for a foot lock and a sweep attempt. When I was ahead on advantages, I tried keeping Vanessa out of balance until time ran out.

What’s the scoop on your arm and how did it affect your performance mentally and physically?

I didn’t want my run at the open class to end as early as it did, so I ended up tapping too late to Bea’s armbar. I have had an operation on the arm Bea caught before and when I heard “CRACK CRACK CRACK”! I knew it was a bad decision not to tap earlier. My elbow grew to twice its original size and the swelling resulted in that I couldn’t bend or straighten the elbow. I had the elbow taped in a 90-degree angle in my fights in the weight class. During the fights up to the final I couldn’t use the arm, so I was very happy that I got an early submission in the first match and that the second girl stood up between sweeps, so I didn’t have to work from the top.

I personally feel that the final would have been much more exciting to watch if I hadn’t hurt my elbow. I was scared of standing up in Vanessa’s spider guard with one unusable arm, so there were situations were I most likely could have swept, but ended up staying on the bottom.

The injury had quite an effect on me mentally. Before I stepped on the mat, I had already lost the fight in my head. When I made it to the final I was sure that I was going to lose. Vanessa and I had a close fight in the open, so I knew my odds weren’t good when I had to fight her with an injured arm. I was happy for making it to the final and was already imagining a silver medal as I stepped onto the mat.

What went through your mind when you realized that you were going to win a black belt world title?

Disbelief. I did not think that I had it in me to win that fight. When there was ten seconds left of the fight I realized that I would win. It was an amazing feeling. A few months ago I never would have dreamed of this. It would have felt like an unreachable fantasy.

What other priorities takes up your time off the mat?

I am studying medicine at the University of Copenhagen, so BJJ is something I only do in my spare time. When I got home after Worlds this year I had less than two weeks to prepare for my exam, so after I landed in Denmark I forgot everything about Jiu-Jitsu and I locked myself in my apartment to study. I am done with my exam now, so I have summer holidays.

How will this world title change your training moving forward?

Janni reacts to winning the world title. Photo: Erin Herle

I don’t think it will have much impact on my training. There are many factors to life that will affect me more than this title. Next semester at university I will start working in the clinic, so I will have less time to train than I have had before. I have come to terms with the fact that Jiu-Jitsu is something I do in my spare time and that there are many things that must be prioritized higher. I will enjoy it for now and in the future winning a world championship will be a good story to tell.

Any new opportunities arisen since the worlds?

I have been offered a few seminars in Europe, which is a great opportunity for me to travel and see new countries.

Braulio Estima gets the tap. Photo: Jesper Aggergaard

The second day of the IBJJF’s event in Copenhagen saw many competitors take to the mats for a second time, along with a few new faces who felt that the faster-paced no-gi event was more their speed and had saved themselves for the later competition. There was also the opportunity for some interesting matches and rematches from those who had missed the opportunity to test themselves against each other day before. The black belt results were as follows:

This time around there were only two competitors in the lightweight division, and the lightweight gi champion Robson Barbosa defeated Poland’s Arek Zienkiewicz to add the no-gi title to his collection for the weekend.

The middleweight division also consisted of a straight final, but it was a final with some history. Thomas Oyarzun of Alliance had defeated Nic Ruben Nikolaisen of Frontline Academy, Norway not just once, but twice the day before in their division. But in the no-gi, it was Nic Ruben who would come out on top, securing the back with hooks to win by 4 points to zero.

Medium-heavyweight was a three-man affair, with local Dane Nic Osei of Checkmat / Arte Suave overcoming Tito Beltran in the first round by advantages, sending Tito across the bracket to face none other than Braulio Estima. Braulio defeated Tito by rear naked choke to keep his submission streak for the weekend alive, and earn his place opposite Nic in the final. After securing a stepover triangle from the top position, Braulio forced the tap from his opponent and acquired his third gold medal of the weekend.

Sadayoshi Kurimori, champion in the gi division the day before, was unfortunately injured and unable to compete on the second day in his heavyweight division. This allowed Maksymilian Wisniewski to pass through to the final, where he would face the winner of Renato Tavares and the USA’s Alberto Crane. After ten minutes of action, Renato managed to outscore Alberto by 4 points to 2 and pass from his side of the bracket to the final. Maksymilian was able to secure an armbar and with it take the the heavyweight championship.

Alan Finfou with the kimura. Photo: Jesper Aggergaard

Finally, for the super-heavyweights there was another three-person division, placing teammates Alan ‘Finfou’ do Nascimento and Chico Mendes of Checkmat on opposite sides of the bracket. Chico faced Michal Bittner of the Czech Republic in his first fight. After a spectacular early takedown by Chico and a long period of top control, Michal was able to secure an armbar from the bottom position and take the come-from-behind victory. With Chico stepping aside for his teammate, the final for the division saw Finfou facing Michal with the aim of avenging his teammate. After an aggressive start, Finfou’s relentless passing and movement allowed him to secure a pass and a kimura lock that gave him the submission victory.

The open class was not quite as busy as the previous day’s, with the number of matches causing competitor numbers to dwindle slightly, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t full of action all the same. Braulio Estima continued his rampage through the competition, defeating Thomas Oyarzun by rear naked choke and Tito Beltran by the ‘Estima Triangle’, and booked his place on one side of the final. On the other side of the bracket, Alberto Crane defeated Karim Khalifa before in turn being defeated by Robson Barbosa by a single advantage, creating the climactic match of the black belt openweight division. After an early takedown, Braulio was able to transition directly into an arm triangle. Although Robson bravely defended for a period, eventually Braulio was able to advance to the mount, lock the submission in tightly, and acquire his final submission of the weekend and concluding his perfect streak.

For full results of the no-gi results at the 2014 IBJJF Copenhagen Open, click here.

For full photo album of day two, click here.

Braulio Estima wins the open. Photo: Jesper Aggergaard

Text by Oliver Geddes

The IBJJF’s first competition in Copenhagen bore witness to some spectacular black belt gi divisional matches as well as an action-packed absolute, with competitors from across Europe producing some spectacular fights on May 3 of the two-day event.

In the black belt lightweight division, Sweden-based Robson Barbosa of Checkmat defeated France’s Julien Gaillard by points. In the final he defeated the UK’s Oliver Geddes by a takedown to claim gold in a truly international group.

The three-man middleweight division saw Switzerland’s Thomas Oyarzun of Alliance take the top spot. He defeated Nic Ruben Nikolaisen of Frontline Academy, Norway in his first match, but Nic was not finished yet. After defeating Victor Estima student Gareth Neale by points he returned to the final for a second attempt. This time the match was much closer, with Oyarzun securing his second victory and the top spot by a single advantage.

Braulio Estima secured his path to the medium heavyweight final by submitting Maksymilian Wisniewski with a choke from the mount, whilst Alan ‘Finfou’ de Nascimento submitted the Frenchman Julien Cazier to set up the final that everyone present had been waiting for. After around four minutes of testing himself against ‘Finfou’s’ tricky guard, managed to briefly attack the back. As ‘Finfou’ moved to escape, Braulio secured an arm triangle choke from the top position to take the submission victory and the gold medal.

Sadayoshi Kurimori of Impacto BJJ had the longest road of anyone to his gold medal, needing three fights to win his heavyweight division. He defeated Jaroslaw Gajek of Poland by kneebar in his first fight, John Rickel of Street Sports BJJ 4-0 in his second, and the Norway-based Renato Tavares in the final by a margin of 6-0.

The super-heavyweight division pitted Karim Khalifa of Alliance against the Czech Republic’s Michael Bittner in a straight final. Karim secured a kneebar to take the victory and the Copenhagen International Open title.

The final of the absolute division was contested between heavyweight gold medallist Sadayoshi Kurimori and medium heavyweight gold medallist Braulio Estima. Braulio reached the final by submitting both his opponents, Karim Khalifa with a triangle from the mount and Maksymilian Wisniewski with shoulder pressure from the side control position. On the other side, Sadayoshi defeated middleweight gold medallist Thomas Oyarzun with a choke from the back before defeating Braulio’s teammate Gareth Neale 6-0 on points to book his spot in the openweight final. Braulio pulled the guard, swept, and as Sadayoshi was working the guard from the bottom, he was unfortunately struck by a serious bout of cramp in one leg. This unfortunately brought an exciting match to a premature end, and despite Braulio’s protestations that Sadayoshi be allowed time to recover and continue, the rules are clear, and with that disappointing ending, Braulio took the openweight title to add to his divisional one and bring an end to his day of competition without allowing an opponent to see the end of a ten-minute match.

In the female divisions, Copenhagen’s own Shanti Abelha, of Checkmat / Arte Suave triumphed in the black belt middle heavyweight and absolute categories, defeating Gretchen Zoeller of Gracie Barra in her division before repeating the feat in the absolute to close out the day with both the titles she had come for.

To see the full results, click here.

And a photo album, click here.

In the quarterfinal he submitted his opponent with a mounted triangle-armbar and in the semi-final he defeated his opponent with a heavy dose of shoulder pressure from side control.

The final, however, was a bit odd. He swept his opponent and about two minutes into the match there was a break in the action. His opponent held his leg because it had cramped up. Not long after a decision was made that it equalled a verbal tap giving Braulio the gold.

Check out the match below:

To say that a single fight could define a competition would be to a do a disservice to every competitor whose sweat and blood stained the mats along the paths to their own medals and stories.

That said, if there was one fight that defined the 2014 IBJJF Copenhagen International Open, it would have been the clash of Braulio Estima and Alan ‘FinFou’ de Nascimento in the medium heavyweight final.

Two huge names of the sport took to the mat in a hall filled with their respective supporters and for just a few minutes, there was near-silence as all eyes turned to one area of the arena floor.

Watch the match and experience the atmosphere yourself here:

Both Shanti Abelha and Ida Hansson are active black belt competitors from Denmark who have won and medaled at the most prestigious Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. On March 28-30 you can join with these two pioneers as well as other black belts like Yaz Wilson from GMA RGA Buckinghamshire and MMA fighter Rosi Sexton.

The weekend training camp will be held at Arte Suave in Copenhagen, Denmark. The agenda boasts 5-6 training passes, time for eating, resting and a little sightseeing around Copenhagen.

The camp cost is 100 euros for the weekend which will be reduced by 10% if you’ve attended the camp before and 20% if you attended two or more camp recently. To sign up please email bjjbonanza@gmail.com

Reserve your spot now for a fun-filled weekend of learning experiences from two of Europe’s best females on the mat!

Adding to their calendar of events, the IBJJF is moving north of their usual territory in Europe to a place called Copenhagen, Denmark. On Saturday, May 3 to Sunday, May 4 the organization plans to hold a gi and no-gi tournament.

The venue for the event will be the Østerbro Stadion located at: Gunnar Nu Hansens Plads 7, 2100 København, Denmark

Registration has yet to be opened so stay tuned for updates on when you can sign up for this international tournament.

More information can be found at www.ibjjf.org

Members of Choke Academy of Copenhagen, Denmark at the IBJJF London Open. Photo: Joao Pedro Santos

Rube Thorbek in his one of his no-gi matches at the IBJJF London Open. Photo: Joao Pedro Santos

Kyra Gracie will not be competing in the 2013 ADCC. Photo: Luca Atalla/ GRACIEMAG

The current -60kg women’s champion of the ADCC, Kyra Gracie, has confirmed she will not be taking part in this year’s edition of the event in Beijing, China. The ADCC is the charming no-gi tournament held by Sheikh Tahnoon of Abu Dhabi.

“I believe I have achieved my goal at the ADCC,” Gracie said this Thursday, September 5, without speaking any further. Kyra is a three-time -60kg ADCC champion (2005/2007/2011).

Away from the mats since the 2012 Worlds, the champion has been working as a commentator for Brazilian fight channel Combate, and has focused most of her attention on her social project geared toward kids and youths in Rio de Janeiro – the Kapacidade institute.

Hannette Staack was invited but will also be stepping out of the ADCC spotlight as her prior professional commitments have taken priority. She passed her invitation on to Ida Hansson of the Checkmat team in Denmark who will take her place in the over 66 kg division. Hannette won the tournament in both 2007 and 2009. Ida has competed in the event two times already, 2009 and 2011.

Promoters have yet to announce who gets Kyra’s spot in the tournament, which plays out on October 19-20.

Alexander Trans against Rodrigo Cavaca at the 2013 European Championship. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Alexander Trans of Checkmat team in Copenhagen, Denmark can be considered the ruler of the European Championship. Four years, three belts and seven medals, six of which were gold. The now ultra-heavyweight black belt is only twenty-four years old and has already medaled at the most prestigious tournaments in his first year at the highest rank.

In 2010 and 2011 Trans was undefeated in every division he entered including both his weight and the absolute. His debut at black belt was the 2012 European Championship where he finished atop the podium with yet another gold from his continent’s tournament however this one held a little more weight being in the black belt division. This past Worlds in June he finished third in the ultra-heavy black belt division, sharing the podium with the best in the world.

Trans received his black belt from Leo Vieira in November 2011 after defeating everything he could in the major tournament seasons. These days he constantly looks to improve without focusing on the shiny medals but rather the skills he continuously builds upon. His current endeavor is the ADCC he prepares to face the giants in the over 99kg division.

See Alexander Trans in the ADCC European Trial last year:

Janni after winning the final of the brown belt female absolute at the 2013 World Championship. Photo: Erin Herle

We have a new female on the black belt roster today as Janni Larsson earns her final belt rank. The Checkmat team member won double gold at the World Championship two years in a row at both purple then brown belt. After she devoted herself more to Jiu-Jitsu nearly three years ago when she moved to Denmark from Sweden for medical school, her competitive skills were unmatched.

In 2012, Janni won the Europeans in purple belt adult lightweight and the absolute division then achieved the same result at the Worlds after bumping up to middleweight. She began this year as a new brown belt winning the absolute at the Europeans, her division at the Pan American Championship with second in the absolute, and then achieved another pair of gold medals at the World Championship in June.

Janni with her coach at the graduation ceremony. Photo: Arte Suave

She was granted her black belt from her instructor Shimon Mochizuki in Copenhagen, Denmark. This fall she focuses her efforts back on her studies at university but as long as she is studying, her freedom garners much training and competition. We will be sure to see her next year at the Worlds.

Showing off all of her medals from 2013 alone. Photo: Personal Archive

The Choke Academy team after collecting medals at the Roskilde Open. Photo: Personal Archive

The GMA Choke Academy under Joao Pedro Santos  in Copenhagen, Denmark traveled to Roskilde, Denmark for the Roskilde Open on May 25th. With 13 students competing they managed to bring home 19 medals along with the team trophy after earning a large margin of points ahead of the second place.

The Roskilde Open, in a city known for its summer festival, had its first edition and the team traveled right outside of their booming city to participate.

Here are the highlights from the team:

Marcus Dahl Rasmussen: Blue 76kg gold, Absolute bronze
Mugtaba Sirelkhatim: Blue 82kg gold with two quick submissions
Jesper Bendtsen: Blue 94kg gold
Immo Söllner: White 100kg gold and Absolute silver
Ehsan Faizzad: White 70kg silver and Absolute bronze
Peter Keller Hansen: Master White 88kg gold, Absolute silver

Check out more information about Joao Pedro Santos and his Choke Copenhagen HQ by going to:  www.chokeacademy.com