Professor Roberto of GMA Gracie Barra New Mexico is a multiple-time no-gi world champion and a two-time pan champion and Professor Marco of GMA GB USA HQ is a world champion, pan champion and multiple-time Brazilian national champion.

The location of the camp is at Gracie Barra Oceania: 6/128 Old Pittwater Road Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia 2100.

Price per person is available for non-Gracie Barra members kids and adults as well as Gracie Barra members kids and adults.

For more information and to reserve your space, please visit www.gbshopoceania.com

The belt levels grow from white belt to orange belt to all the way up to brown belt. The ages range from teenager to mother but the appreciation for Jiu-Jitsu, no matter the specific reason, is a shared thread. They all come from Gracie Barra schools in Northridge, Irvine, Dana Point and more.

Some compete, some train for the health benefits, some appreciate the confidence they gain and all of them recommend Jiu-Jitsu for everyone.

Check out the video of this women’s class at GB Manhattan Beach and see how, why, where, you can and should train Jiu-Jitsu:

Learn more about GMA Gracie Barra Manhattan Beach at www.gbmanhattanbeach.com

During the Worlds 2009, Otavio tested his no-gi game with success and closed the medium heavy with Romulo Barral.

With the second world championship title of Jiu-Jitsu in June, Otavio Sousa (Gracie Barra), 26, not only won the gold medal and recognition of the fans as the best black belt of the world at middleweight.

The student of Jose Olimpio, Zé Radiola, also earned an invitation to participate in the ADCC in Beijing, China, on October 18 and 19 this year in the 77kg division.

A Gracie Barra professor living in Irvine, Otavio talked about the next challenge and detailed his training by email exchange with GRACIEMAG. Check it out.

GRACIEMAG: How does it feel to participate in your first ADCC, and in China?

OTÁVIO SOUSA: It was the best thing that could have happened, because I could not participate in the ADCC trial in Brazil, in April, because I was very busy here in California with the gi training for the Worlds and classes at Gracie Barra. This invitation came at the right time, the competition is very tough but today I am a more mature athlete with more confidence. I feel that my positions are more accurate and adjusted than a few years back. Let’s see now without the gi. I still remember when I was a kid and watched the ADCC, with all those black belts giving shows and performing unforgettable fights. This year I will fight the most classic of the tournaments without the gi there in China, and I’m pretty happy about that.

How do you evaluate the 77kg division, of the legendary Marcelo Garcia, who will still have Leozada Nogueira with his guillotine and perhaps Kron and others?

The competition will be ruthless, as usual. It is a slightly lighter weight than I usually compete, which goes to 82kg. So I still need to lose some weight, but nothing else. I’m excited and I’m not a true beginner; after all, I already attended other events without the gi. In 2009, I even closed the medium heavy at the No-Gi Worlds with my partner Romulo Barral here in California.

What do you change in your game during a no-gi tournament?

The game changes just a bit, but you need to make some adjustments. The difference in the end is that the fight slips a lot more and you can’t grip the same way. Techniques need to be better, so you don’t lose the move. And, of course, attention needs to be focused on the legs and feet, especially in ADCC, because all locks are allowed. As the fighter has nothing to hold, it becomes much more difficult to defend these twists.

How are you going to train for the ADCC? Did you change anything?

I’m focusing on my workouts to come back with the victory, God willing. I’m training no-gi Jiu-Jitsu with the beasts of Gracie Barra and wrestling with Jacob Harman, from Calvery Chapel. He teaches various MMA athletes like Renato Babalu, Rafael dos Anjos, Beneil Dariush among others. I am happy to be able to train with these beasts.

What is the main aspect to win a tournament like ADCC, Otavio?

One of the recipes to success is self-confidence. I worked a lot on it before the Worlds, I trusted in my game and I thought I was going to do well. I believe in my potential and I will do anything to be victorious in this too. Another recipe is to never underestimate any opponent and never expect an easy fight. In this regard, the Worlds and ADCC look the same. So I will continue applying this thinking to compete in Beijing, and continue with the same focus and training discipline I have always had.

But how about we do something to make sure hundreds of them don’t go presentless – and get to brush up on their Jiu-Jitsu with Professor Marcio Feitosa, to boot?

Well then, this Saturday, December 17, Márcio will be at Gracie Barra Irvine for a seminar, the price of entrance for which is a play thing for the Toys for Tots program.

But there’s more:

There’ll be a pre-seminar parents and kids class.
Food and drinks will be served.
Plus there’ll be a GB Wear blowout sale, with 30% of the proceeds going to the program as well.

All GB members are invited, as are the instructors and staff from the different schools in the region.

The holiday season is just around the corner, so how about we make some children happy?

Avi, brother and father (left to right).

Avi Rubin is just 19 years old and already he’s made a name for himself in Gracie Barra. This behind-the-scenes “mover and shaker” hasn’t made his name through the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but rather through the business of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Don’t get me wrong, Rubin does train. He’s a blue belt with 3 stripes and has been training since 2005. At one point, his whole family got into it. His brother and sister started training at GB Lake Forest with Professor Marcio Feitosa when it first opened, “They were numbers 13 and 14 on the line. My dad and I joined and we were 25 and 26. That’s how original we are. My mom trained for a little while. She made Master Carlos, Marcio and Piu Piu (Marco Joca) dinner one night and they made her come train because they loved her food so much and hoped she’d cook for them all the time!”

Rubin got into BJJ because of his brother and sister’s involvement in it, “My 10 year old sister came home one night and put me in a Guillotine. I had to tap! I didn’t know what else to do because I couldn’t get out of it. The next day, I went to GB Lake Forest with her and signed up. I couldn’t let a 10 year old girl beat me up.”

Rubin has been a big supporter of GB America. He’s brought in numerous friends and families to train, “I can’t even remember or count how many people I’ve gotten into BJJ…maybe 25 or 30. The best thing about GB is that they’re everywhere. So, no matter who I know or where they live, they’ve been able to find a GB location close to them. It’s so cool to be able to share the BJJ lifestyle with all my friends and have them be able to train at whatever GB they want.”

Rubin has always been into apparel and fashion and when GB became a big part of his life, he decided that he wanted to lend a hand in something that he was so passionate about. He and Marco Joca were already friends on the mats and he knew that Joca was the head of apparel for GB, so he asked him if they needed help. Rubin started selling clothes at tournaments. He then began to help develop systems and policies for GB Wear, like establishing a universal look.

Almost two short years later, Rubin is now a manager for the GB Corporate Management Team and is also responsible for communications within GB, “I work with Marcio (Feitosa), Flavio (Almeida) and Marco (Joca) and I do a lot of advertising for all GB schools around the world. I work about 45 hours a week and also attend Irvine Valley College for a Business Management Communications degree.”

Not bad for a 19 year old. Rubin says he couldn’t dream of a better job, “I feel like I haven’t gone to work a day in my life working for GB. I always wonder what I can do next for them. It’s so exciting to me. I feel like I can make an impact on GB. Being only 19 makes it so much better – I can’t believe I’m doing all this at my age.”

Rubin was brought up in a very family-oriented home. He says that his family is really important to him and that he has the same feeling working for and training with GB, “it’s my life. I’m still me at the end of the day, but everything I do and say has been influenced by Master Carlos, Marcio, Flavio, and Marco. I look up to them so much. They are my extended family. They are very important people in my life.”

Rubin has big dreams like all 19 year olds, except he’s already working diligently on the path to his, “I’ve had the realization that I enjoy working at GB and they enjoy having me there. It’s going to be a long-term relationship. I’m going to continue to grow as GB grows and I’ve decided that I want to open a GB school someday. I want to share the BJJ lifestyle with others”.