Personal archive photo

In late November, the Gracie Barra teacher in Birmingham, England, was paid tribute, and, amid masters and veterans, he became one of the youngest artists ever inducted into the country’s Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

“I was awarded a plaque for my service to mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom and the world as a whole. I’m the youngest person to receive the award – there were even relatives of Bruce Lee getting on stage (laughs),” said our GMA in amusement.

He received the award with pride and honor. “Being in the Hall of Fame here means a lot to me, as I’ve been doing my all to help in Jiu-Jitsu’s expansion around the world. Hence, I believe I’m doing my part in our march to making the world a better place, with Jiu-Jitsu for everyone,” Bráulio told GRACIEMAG.com.

And thus Estima wraps up the year in grand style. Besides getting to see his younger brother Victor win the No-Gi Worlds, Carcarazinho’s biggest title so far, Bráulio had an emotion-filled 2011.

“It was no walk in the park. I lost my friend Steve Fan and won the medium heavyweight division at the 2011 European Championship as a tribute to him, with an exciting final against Sérgio Moraes. I had surgery on my spine two days after the Euro, recovered, promoted the BJJ British Open – with more than 900 competitors, a record in the country –, competed at the ADCC, and put together the No-Gi British Open, where 450 competitors showed up. All that and we still made GB the biggest Jiu-Jitsu team in the United Kingdom!” said the jubilant Brazilian.

Bráulio is now looking at offers in MMA but may still defend his title as a Hall of Famer by taking to the mats at the  2012 European Open, in Lisbon, Portugal, of which he is the current absolute champion. Don’t miss it.

Langhi in action at Pan 2011

Michael Langhi has packed his bags for Florida, where he will open a new academy, as GRACIEMAG.com readers already know. In the following interview the black belt comments on his hopes in his career as a teacher and addresses talk following his first loss after three years undefeated: “I’m not retired.”

Here’s what he had to say:

Why move to the USA?

Here in Brazil we know that that’s the best move for the future. We aren’t worth what we would be teaching abroad, where we are more appreciated. So I’ve had this idea in my head for a while now. I’ve been mulling it over with [Rubens] Cobrinha and decided to accept a good offer I was made. I’ll get to teach what I know.

Where will competitions fit into this new routine of yours?

I’m not going to stop competing. I read some comments about that on GRACIEMAG.com. There comes a time in an athlete’s life where he has to change paths a bit. Now I’ll get to work on my new academy, but I’m going to continue competing at events like the Pan and the Worlds. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to participate in some others, like the European Open, but I’m going to be competing to win. I’m not retiring, nothing of the sort. I’m just thinking about my future and I’m still going to be taking everyone on.

But how will you be able to keep up the quality of training you’re used to, have you thought about that?

I’m only going to be an hour’s plane ride from Atlanta, where there are lots of tough training partners. I’ll be a two-hour flight from New York, where Lucas Lepri is. I’ve also worked it out so I’ll be able to go to Brazil to finish up training prior to the Pan and the Worlds. Of course I won’t have the level of training I have here, but that doesn’t mean it’s a determining factor. Cobrinha left Brazil with one world title and won another four while living abroad. Marcelo Garcia left here with two titles and won another four while abroad. I know what I have to do and will always be able to rely on friends like my brother [Michael Langhi], Bruno Malfacine, Gabriel Gulart. Every two months someone will come stay with me.

Will you be in any other competitions this year? Will you be at the ADCC?

Marcelo is in my division at the ADCC and they don’t invite two athletes from the same academy and weight group. Marcelo to me is the best No-Gi athlete in the world, so I know the academy will be well represented. I fly out the last week of September and in late October there’s the Miami Open, who I’ll compete at to motivate the guys at the academy. We’ll see if compete at the No-Gi Worlds, but I’ll be at the Miami Open for sure.

What challenges do you think await you as a teacher?

I try to be at my best in whatever I do. It’s what I love doing. I’ve been a black belt for four years, competing at all the tournaments and going three years without losing. In the Jiu-Jitsu of today, I feel that’s a great achievement. It’ll be the same thing as a teacher, I want to be the best I can be. I know this year I didn’t perform that well, but even so I had good results. I won the Pan and Euro, beat Durinho in the World Pro qualifiers, made it to the podium at the Brazilian Nationals and the Worlds, where I lost to Kron Gracie but feel I deserved to win. I’m going to keep giving my all.

Marina in action in Gramado / Photo: Carlos Ozório

Marina Ribeiro storms ahead this 2011 season. At the European Open, the black belt shrugged off the likes of Letícia Ribeiro and Kyra Gracie. At the Gramado, Brazil World Pro tryouts, the CheckMat athlete got her way to Abu Dhabi paid so she can compete at the World Pro.

Another athlete standing out lately is Talita Nogueira, better known as Treta, who also did well at the Gramado tryoutss and will be heading for Abu Dhabi. There she’s in for a tall order, as she’ll likely come up against the decorated Gabi Garcia.

Check out the interview with the girls (in Portuguese) below:

Lagarto beat Finfou in Portugal. Photo: Luis Azevedo.

Black belt Lucio Lagarto is keeping up his solid run on Europe’s mats. Following his win at the European Open as a super heavyweight and taking gold in the absolute division at the World Pro qualifier in Portugal, he put on another show, in London, England.

Lagarto regretted not having managed to get his visa to travel to the Pan, but he did manage to win his weight group and absolute of the local World Pro tryout.

“I’m overjoyed! Next year I want to go for all the Pro tryouts, compete in all of them,” he (@LagartoBJJ) posted on Twitter.

Paiva family at Euro Open / Photo: personal archive

Who in your view will be the purple belt standouts at the 2011 Pan, starting this Thursday in Irvine, California?

Our first bet comes from the Rio de Janeiro branch of team Alliance.

It was there, at the academy located in the Leblon borough of the city, that GRACIEMAG.com heard a practitioner remark about one of the team’s purple belts:

“Have you ever heard Gigi praise a student without cause? And especially his son? So the kid must really be good.” Makes sense.

Yes, at great cost, Alexandre “Gigi” Paiva let escape words of praise. They were for his son, young Victor Genovesi Paiva, a lightweight signed up for the Pan. Will he confirm the favoritism? Check out Victinho (in white gi) in action in the European Open 2011 semifinals, where he won head and neck above the rest.

Ary against Malfacine / Photo: Ivan Trindade

The first time he appeared on the pages of GRACIEMAG was in 2004, as a second, by Ronaldo Jacaré’s side. Since then, Ary Farias has collected titles and won gold on his very debut at black belt, at the European Open 2011, with a win over three-time world champion Bruno Malfacine, in an evenly-matched affair.

“I won on a trifle, by 6 to 4, in an all-out war. But Bruno is a phenomenon and is still number 1,” says Aryzinho in a can’t-miss interview on the pages of GRACIEMAG #168 (click here to subscribe), now in bookstores.

“It’s unreal to think I’ll always win, but I also hope defeat won’t come. I know that some day or another a black belt is going to get the better of me at a championship. Defeat I have every day, in training and in life. But I wasn’t born to lose, I have the spirit and soul of a champion and I’m working to strengthen that,” he says.

What is black belt Georges Saint-Pierre’s training like, and how has Jiu-Jitsu – its techniques and philosophies – helped him hang on to his UFC 170-lb belt for so long?

We took advantage of GSP’s trip to London, for drawn-out training sessions with Roger Gracie and Bráulio Estima, to reap significant lessons from the champion for readers and your average practitioner, assembling them in an eight-page layout. With GSP even teaching one of his most famous finishes. It’s a can’t miss issue, not just for Jiu-Jitsu and self-defense fans, but for readers keen on the goings-on in the world of MMA.

Another cornerstone of the issue is the detailed coverage of the IBJJF European Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship, which broke gentle art records. Whether or not you were there, you’ll want to review all that went on, at black belt and the other belts alike, in a copiously illustrated article. Even taking a peek at the point of view of our GMAs, who shone so brilliantly there.

How hard is it to make it to black belt and, right in your first match, beat a world champion? Ary Farias committed this insane act, and thanks to the achievement he earned his place in the FACE TO FACE section. The fan and old friend of Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Jacaré recounts what he went through to make it to the top at the European Jiu-Jitsu Championship, what makes the difference in training, and what he intends to do from here on out. To boot, he also defends the profession of Jiu-Jitsu fighter and tries to answer the key question: how is a champion born?

In TRAINING PROGRAM, we went to the grief-stricken town of Teresópolis, in Rio de Janeiro state’s mountain region, and returned with a special on open-guard attacks taught by one of the most technical and didactic teachers in Gracie Barra’s ranks, a true sweep pitbull! You can’t miss this one.

What’s more: Martin Rooney’s column with “strength and explosiveness” work, ten tips for white belts, another Ginástica Natural series, and the World Pro in Abu Dhabi.

In ANTHOLOGY, Werdum vs. Rolles Gracie.

Furthermore, CHOKE brings the best of MMA as your GRACIEMAG’s filling. This month, behind the scenes at Anderson Silva’s latest win and Fedor Emelianenko’s heart-wrenching defeat. To round things out, we drop in on Wanderlei Silva and pick up pointers from the old war horse to help with the careers of Roger Gracie and Ronaldo Jacaré, two veterans of the gi who are still rookies in the ring. Beatdown master Wand comes out of left field and advises: “There’s no need to stand there banging, striking, if they can smother the guy on the ground…” You going to miss the rest of what he has to say?

Get your copy of GRACIEMAG at home by clicking here.

Rafael and his absolute-winner's check / Photos: publicity

Lovato left for the U.K. in January. “My first stop was London, where I taught some seminars,” he says, “I went to Eddie Kone’s Jiu-Jitsu school. I taught a two-day gi seminar and the response was really great. I loved the experience. I got to meet some very interesting people and I made some great connections. It was my first seminar in the U.K. and I really enjoyed myself there.”

From there, Lovato moved on to Lisbon for the Europeans. “I made the finals for the second time,” he says, “Unfortunately, I didn’t get gold this time. I lost to Lucio “Lagarto” on points and came in second. It turned out to be a good thing, though, because it made me realize what I wasn’t doing well and it helped me become more successful in Poland at the trials. Sometimes losing is better. It gave me time to make some adjustments to my game.”

Lovato traveled to Germany where he taught some more seminars at Sane Fighting with Johannes Weith, who was a world champion purple belt and is now a brown belt. “Johannes and I trained a lot together. He really helped me get ready for the pro trials in Poland.”

Lovato took a little break after that and he and his wife traveled to Italy for a few days. “We went to Rome,” he says, “It gave my mind and body a little break so I could be strong for Poland.”

The last thing left to cover on Lovato’s to-do list was the Abu Dhabi pro trials in Poland on February 12th. “It was a really tough competition,” he says, “A lot of guys who were at the Europeans and then doing seminars around Europe went to Poland to compete. Cavaca, Faria, Farias, Nogueira, Junior, Madeiras…it was a really tough tournament. There were a lot of current and past world champions on hand to fight.”

Lovato had seven matches in one day. He ended up winning the absolute, and taking 2nd in his weight. “The Absolute was for $4,000,” he says, “In the absolute semi-finals, I fought last year’s world champion, Bernardo Faria. I’ve fought him five times before. He’s won four; this was my first win. This time I had a good strategy for him. I was able to pass his guard and mount and I got him with an ezekiel (forearm) choke.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0E95uyx_Jk

The absolute final was against Jose Junior. “I had a tough match against Jose,” Lovato says, “He’s a big guy. He beat a lot of tough guys to get to the finals. It was a stacked division. I felt good to come out on top of that. I won by advantages.”

In his weight class, he had to re-fight Bernardo Faria in the final, but this time Faria modified his strategy. “He’s smart,” Lovato says, “He made some adjustments to his game and beat me. Our matches are really technical and tight. It’s a continuous thing. We make each other better.” So, although Lovato would have liked to have won gold, he was content with his 2nd place finish.

Lovato says it’s one thing to make it to the top of what he calls “the black belt club,” but it’s quite another to try to stay on top. “New guys come in and you don’t have enough history on them to develop a game plan for them, but they know you, so they’re ready for you” he says, “You end up losing to people you know you’re better than because you didn’t have the opportunity to match their games to yours going into the fight. But once you know them, then you’re ready for them. It’s definitely harder to stay on top than it is to get there. That’s what impresses me about guys who win numerous times like Roger Gracie and Xande Ribiero. It’s so hard to do.”

Team at Houston Open

While Lovato was busy trying to stay on top in Poland, that same weekend his team back home was competing in Houston. “They did really well,” Lovato says, “They took 3rd place overall. We had 39 competitors and won 32 medals.”

Lovato says if there was a standout from that weekend in Houston, it was Justin Rader. “He was the MVP,” Lovato says, “He supported the team and led the battle in my absence. He coached when he wasn’t competing and then won both his matches and took 1st place. He won both by submission. It was awesome to be successful myself and for them to be successful as well in two different parts of the world at the same time.”

Since getting home, Lovato is back to training and getting his students ready for the 2011 Pan. He’s decided to take a year off the Pan to coach his students instead. “I’ve done every Pan Am since 1999,” he says, “I’m just going to focus on the Abu Dhabi Pro in April.”

Another accomplishment Lovato’s recently experienced is coaching his student, James Head, to a victory over ex-UFC fighter Gerald Harris in a recent MMA fight. Lovato himself is hoping to start MMA fighting by the end of this year or next. “I just want to experience it,” he says, “It’s a personal thing. I just want to see what I’m capable of.”

Lovato thinks it’s important for him to be involved in MMA because many of his students want to be the next UFC champion one day. “I know stand up well,” he says, “I’ve trained in it since I was little. I have a good understanding of the game. It’s important that I have the tools to help them accomplish that. It’s exciting to think I could have a few guys in the UFC.”

Lovato’s focus right now is 100% on getting ready for the Abu Dhabi Pro in April. “Xande will be competing there with me. He’s coming here in two weeks to train with me. Everything is awesome right now. My Omoplata App is doing really well. It’s selling worldwide. I’m going to release more Omoplata apps in the near future. I have two more volumes. I also hope to do more videos, a documentary, and a book in the future. I’m doing more seminars now for the same reason. I’m trying to spread my Jiu-Jitsu to everybody who doesn’t have easy access to my school and me.”

“I want to thank my sponsors, On the Mat, Lucky Gi and Nutrient Technology. A big special thanks to my wife for all her support during my Europe trip. I was gone for almost a month and that can be pretty difficult running a school by yourself. She was there everyday which allowed me to relax and focus on my work and my competitions there.”

With hopes set high for the future, Lovato is on a roll and has no plans to slow down until he’s met all of his milestones planned for 2011 and beyond.

But Carcará is still keen to what is going on in the fight world and doesn’t dodge the tough questions. In an interview on Romanian website Kombat.ro, Estima was unafraid to go out on a limb. Find out, for example, what the geatest rivalry in Jiu-Jitsu is right now, in his opinion. Check out some of the highlights from the interview:

Bráulio against Sérgio Moraes at Euro Open 2011 / Photo: Ivan Trindade

Who was the best fighter at the last European Open?

Sérgio Moraes, my adversary in the final of my weight group. I consider him to be the best from that competitions, after me, of course (laughs)!

Three words to describe Jiu-Jitsu?

Lifestyle. Respect. Challenge.

What is most important quality to have in the gentle art?

Persistance.

Which was the toughest match you’ve been in throughout your career?

I don’t know which was the toughest, because I’ve had a number of really tough matches. The ADCC 2009 absolute really got me out there. I can tell you that that was one of the happiest moments in my career.

How is your MMA training going?

Training is going really well. I have had the opportunity to train with the best in the world. I just had surgery precisely for MMA. So, when that gets better, I’ll take up my preparations again. I want to fight at the best show and win a belt.

Who do you feel are the three best fighters in MMA right now?

Anderson Silva, Georges Saint-Pierre and Junior Cigano.

What’s your favorite submission hold?

The triangle!

Use one word to describe each of the following people.

Helio Gracie: Transformation.

Georges Saint-Pierre: Athlete.

BJ Penn: Talent.

Rickson Gracie: Unbeaten.

Jacaré: Explosiveness.

Roger Gracie: Incredible.

Bráulio Estima: Determination.

What are your objectives for this year?

To recover from surgery and return to the mats as quickly as possible. I think the ADCC will be in September and, of course, I want to make my MMA debut.

Who will make it onto the absolute division winners’ stand at the Worlds? Who will be the four finalists in the division?

Roger Gracie, Bernardo Faria, Claudio Calasans and Ricardo Demente (or Xande Ribeiro).

Which is currently the greatest rivalry in Jiu-Jitsu?

Rafael Mendes and Rubens Cobrinha.

Father and daughter / Photo: Milanimal.com

Brazilian television’s “Sensei Sportv” program doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to world Jiu-Jitsu and was in Lisbon to cover the 2011 European Open at the end of January in Portugal.

Among the precious takes shot and shown last weekend on Sportv channel, some of the highlights were Sérgio Moraes’s celebration upon winning the absolute, Gabi Garcia pulling guard to win yet another gold, and the tip from doting dad Wellington Megaton to the his daughter Mackenzie Dern’s boyfriend.

“No, Tanquinho hasn’t yet been approved of. There’s a three-month trial period, but he is a tough guy, the kid’s got heart and is good people. Now if he gets out of line, I’ll move up to lightweight, he’ll see!” threatened fierce featherweight Megaton.

Check out the highlights from the 2011 Euro Open, here.

But the medium heavyweight final was the teacher at Gracie Barra Birmingham’s, getting a piece of the absolute champion.

Photo: Luis Azevedo

This season’s Jiu-Jitsu champion of Europe and the winner of the absolute division at the Lisbon leg of the World Pro tryouts Lucio “Lagarto” Rodrigues is putting on a super seminar. Better yet, the activities are, literally, open to all. You can learn from him from your bedroom, living room or anywhere else where there’s internet access.

The seminar is live over the internet, and the black belt will answer any questions in real time. Furthermore, participants earn the right to thirty days of free access to videos of the class.

The topics will be: introduction, guard control, sweeps, armbars, triangles, omoplatas, kimura locks.

Find out more by clicking here.