The black belts at the big seminar. Photo: Marcelo Pereira

On Saturday, Jan. 17, Bruno Bastos of GMA Bastos BJJ Midland in Midland, TX received his fourth degree on his black belt. This promotion came from the hands of Professor Marcelo Pereira.

The day was part of a full seminar weekend where students were to learn from Ricardo Demente Abreu, Rico Bastos, Marcelo Pereira, Gustavo Dantas and Bruno himself. Promotions were also held for the students.

Hear what Bruno has to say about his promotion and check out the video below:

“Last Saturday I was awarded with the 4th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by my long time friend, Professor Marcelo Pereira ( @marcelinhojj ). It was a BIG DAY for me. Very special moment. There witnessing this moment, my “Bebezao” Rico Bastos, Ricardo Demente Abreu ( @ricardodementeabreu ),#TheBjjMentalCoach Gustavo Dantas ( @gdjiujitsu ), the man who brought me to Midland Bradley Barnes ( @bradgordinho ), my lovely wife#BulgarianBeautyPetya Petya Bastos and ALL my @bastos_bjj_midland family alongside my affiliates as well.
14 years of Black Belt feels good and I’m ready for more. Next May I’ll be completing 25 years of Jiu-Jitsu and I’m going to celebrate competing in the Adults division to give some old man hard time for the young guns. There’s only one Highlander…”

Learn more about Bastos BJJ Midland at www.bastosbjjmidland.com

Xande Ribeiro no ataque, durante o Mundial Master e Sênior, na Califórnia. Foto: IBJJF/Divulgação.

O primeiro Mundial de Master & Sênior trouxe de volta à cena alguns dos principais professores de Jiu-Jitsu do planeta, num fim de semana marcante na Pirâmide de Long Beach, na Califa.

O grande nome do campeonato foi Xande Ribeiro, que fisgou as medalhas de ouro no superpesado e no absoluto, no master (acima de 30 anos). Xande bateu na final o vice-campeão Ricardo Bastos (Nova União). O professor da GB Gustavo Pires, o Sirizinho, beliscou o bronze.

Aplausos também para o trio da Nova União que mostrou que a idade não faz perder o apetite por títulos. Marcelo Pereira foi campeão no peso-galo, Robson Moura venceu no pluma e, retornando com tudo, Vitor Shaolin faturou a categoria leve.

No peso pesado, Roberto “Tussa” Alencar (Gracie Barra) faturou o ouro no pesado e Eduardo Ramos (Atos) ficou com o título dos penas.

No sênior 1, Saulo Ribeiro (Ribeiro JJ) brilhou com dois ouros, assim como o irmão: venceu o superpesado e o aberto. Na mesma faixa etária, Erick Wanderley (Gracie Barra) venceu no pesado, enquanto Cassio Werneck ficou com o ouro nos médios e Gustavo Dantas (Nova União) venceu mais um campeonato, no peso-pena.

Quem também brilhou foi o levinho e imparável Wellington Megaton, campeão absoluto no sênior 3. No sênior 2, Eduardo Rocha foi o campeão do aberto.

Quer ver os resultados completos, de todas as faixas e idades? Clique aqui.

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Fernando Soluço atop the No-Gi Pan heavyweight podium / IBJJF photo

The first ever Master & Senior Worlds will go down this weekend at the Long Beach, California Pyramid, and Jiu-Jitsu’s burliest veterans will be there to show the competitive flame still flickers within.

Among those to grace the mats with their presence are Vitor Shaolin, Robson Moura, Rodrigo Comprido, Givanildo Santana, Ricardo Bastos, Fernando Soluço, Marcelo Pereira, Daniel Beleza, Carlos Holanda, Marcos Torregrosa, Aldo Caveirinha, Rodrigo Munduruca and Bruno Bastos, among other masters-aged aces.

Now in the senior division, there’s Saulo Ribeiro, Erick Wanderlei, Cassio Werneck, Alexandre Paiva, Bernardo Pitel, Gustavo Dantas, Luciano Nucci, Cleber Luciano, Paulo Guilhobel, Fredson Alves, Régis Lebre, Marcelo Vilhena, Renato Verissimo, Marcelo Pache and Renato Tavares. Can you imagine what the absolute’s going to be like?

To Fernando Soluço, catching up with old friends is an important part of the tournament: “It’s an important event. The generation that competed at the first Worlds, in 1996, will be there. They’re guys who wrote the sport’s history. I hope to have a good championship, see Jiu-Jitsu’s old guard in action again and catch up with the guys as well,” said the Jiu-Jitsu professor at Alliance Ecuador. “I’m confident. I’ve been training hard, won the heavyweight division at the No-Gi Pan, will be doing this Worlds, and I even have an MMA fight coming up on October 17.”

Check out Fernando Soluço teaching a half-guard pass in the video below. And click here to find out who all is in the Master & Senior Worlds.

Who’ve you got shining brightest at the inaugural Master & Senior Worlds? Let us know in the comments field below.

Fernando Soluço no alto do pódio do peso pesado no Pan Sem Kimono. Foto:IBJJF.

O primeiro Mundial de Master & Sênior rola neste fim de semana, na pirâmide de Long Beach, na Califórnia, e os veteranos mais cascudos do Jiu-Jitsu vão marcar presença e mostrar que a chama continua acesa.

Entre os inscritos, craques como Vitor Shaolin, Robson Moura, Rodrigo Comprido, Givanildo Santana, Ricardo Bastos, Fernando Soluço, Marcelo Pereira, Daniel Beleza, Carlos Holanda, Marcos Torregrosa, Aldo Caveirinha, Rodrigo Munduruca e Bruno Bastos, entre outros masters.

Já no sênior, estão Saulo Ribeiro, Erick Wanderley, Cassio Werneck, Alexandre Paiva, Bernardo Pitel, Gustavo Dantas, Luciano Nucci, Cleber Luciano, Paulo Guilhobel, Fredson Alves, Régis Lebre, Marcelo Vilhena, Renato Verissimo, Marcelo Pache e Renato Tavares. Imaginaram o absoluto?

Para Fernando Soluço, rever os amigos é parte importante do torneio: “É um evento importante, vai estar presente a geração que lutou o primeiro Mundial, em 1996. São caras que escreveram a história do esporte. Espero fazer um bom campeonato, assistir à velha guarda do Jiu-Jitsu na ativa outra vez e rever o pessoal também”, disse o professor da Alliance no Equador. “Estou confiante, venho treinando forte, fui campeão peso pesado no Pan Sem Kimono, vou ao Mundial e ainda tenho uma luta de MMA agora no dia 17 de outubro”.

Veja no vídeo abaixo, Fernando Soluço ensinando a passar a meia-guarda. E, para conferir quem está dentro do Mundial Master e Sênior, clique aqui.

Quem vai brilhar na primeira edição do Mundial Master & Sênior? Comente com a gente.

Black belt Steve Gable in Phuket with his Muay Thai instructor Kru Yod. Photo: Personal archives.

What are the odds that someone who is intellectual, a self-described clean freak, and an ex-assistant cruise ship director and flight attendant would somehow surface in life as a rising MMA star? It’s an unlikely story, but it’s a reality for thirty-four-year-old Gracie Barra Encinitas black belt Steve Gable.

Gable’s story starts out like many others: he was a poor kid, raised by a loving, hard working single mom. He was an only child who had to learn to entertain himself because he was on his own a lot. He was a timid boy who was afraid of confrontation. He shied away from anything resembling a fight.

In high school and college he was a competitive swimmer and water polo player. At nineteen, he became a lifeguard for the City of Oceanside. Although he was busy, he felt unfulfilled, so he decided to take a six-week backpacking/hostel tour across Europe. That sparked his inner “travel bug.”

After getting his Associates degree in Fire Science in 1998, Gable took a job on Princess Cruise Lines as an assistant cruise ship director on a six-month contract. “It was an amazing experience” Gable says, “I met people from all over the world. It was the first time I’d ever been exposed to so many different cultures. There were about thirty languages spoken on the ship.”

Gable traveled to places like Alaska, Aruba, and the Panama Canal, which he loved, but after six months he was burned out. “It was an edifying experience,” he says, “But when my contract was up, I wanted off the ship. I started the job as a young, bright light bulb, but by the end I was feeling pretty dim.”

A few months later Gable took a job with Continental Airlines as a flight attendant. “All my friends called me a stewardess, but that’s ok,” he laughs, “I knew it wasn’t a career; I just really wanted to travel. I flew all over the continental U.S. and Latin America, for about a year and a half. I was able to see and do so much and I was very happy for the experience.”

During these trips, Gable found himself contemplating the meaning of life, so while he was on lay-overs in different cities, he began reading. “I was twenty-one years old and reading Stephen Hawking,” he says, “I wanted to expand my mind. I also read books on positive thinking, like ‘The Power of Now.’ I learned about living in the moment and understanding how precious time is.”

What Gable learned is that most things in life can be replaced, with the exception of time. “I decided that I didn’t want to waste any more moments in life,” he says, “My time became the most valuable thing to me.”

When he’d had his fill of flying, Gable began working for an investment firm. That job emphasized to him even more that time was his most valuable commodity and he didn’t want to waste it on a job he didn’t like. “I couldn’t stand being in a cubicle prison under fluorescent lighting from nine to five,” he says.

So, Gable did some soul searching and realized that the only thing he’s ever really been interested in is the human body. “I understand both the psychological and physical aspects of it,” he says, “It makes sense to me.” He became nationally certified as a personal trainer under the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and started his own personal training business, providing rehabilitation, weight management, and strength and conditioning services to athletes.

Although he was doing what he loved, he missed the adrenaline rush he used to get from competitive sports, along with the camaraderie of being part of a team. “When I was twenty-two, my good friend Bardia told me to try Jiu-Jitsu,” Gable says, “I didn’t know what it was. When he explained it to me, I came up with the usual excuses as to why I couldn’t do it: not enough time or money.”

One day, he and Bardia went on a surfing trip to Hawaii. “Bardia and I love each other and fight with each other like brothers,” Gable says, “While we were there, we got into a fight in front of a girl I had a crush on.”

The next thing Gable knew, Bardia body locked him and folded him over “like an accordion.” “He brought me to the ground and mounted me,” he laughs, “I felt totally helpless and I was so embarrassed. There were no strikes involved. He was controlling me with Jiu-Jitsu and there was nothing I could do about it. I have never felt that way in my life and knew I never wanted to feel that way again. I made the decision at that moment to learn the art no matter what.”

When he got home, Gable signed up at GB Del Mar with Marcelo Pereira. “I was immediately addicted,” he says, “I got my butt kicked the first day. I couldn’t walk for three days and I still couldn’t wait to go back!” After a year of training, Gable was able to submit his old friend Bardia, with a rear-naked choke. “It was better than any tournament I’d ever won,” he jokes, “He took it well, though. Nowadays, he let’s everyone know he’s the one who got me into Jiu-Jitsu every time I win a fight!”

After getting his blue belt, Gable decided to focus on his no-gi skills, so he trained with Roy Harris in San Diego for about three-and-a-half years and received his purple belt from him. Around that time, Gable joined Bardia and his professor, Nelson Monteiro, on a trip to GB Rio. It was the first time he’d met Monteiro, and while he was there, he also met Marcio Feitosa and Roger Gracie. “It was like seeing the woman you’re going to marry for the first time,” Gable jokes, “It was instant chemistry. I knew these were the people I wanted to associate myself with for the rest of my Jiu-Jitsu career.”

While in Brazil, Monteiro told Gable, “I know you want to train no-gi, but gi is what’s going to make your no-gi better.” So when he got back home, Gable started gi training at GB Lake Forest with Feitosa. He trained there for six months and loved it, then switched to Monteiro’s GB Encinitas, because it was closer to home.

“Nelson is my mentor and professor,” Gable says, “I received my brown and black belts from him. Receiving my black belt was the greatest accomplishment of my life. It was ten years of hard work paying off and to get it from Nelson, who doesn’t hand out many black belts and whom I have a tremendous amount of respect for, made it that much more meaningful.” Gable currently teaches privates and regular classes at GB Encinitas and has finally found his “home.”

But as is typical for Gable, he started craving a new challenge to conquer. He would watch MMA and wonder how he’d do in the cage. At that time, he had seven years Jiu-Jitsu experience, and three years of wrestling. After only three months of MMA classes, and discovering he could take a punch and give one, too, he went straight to professional fighting.

Gable’s first fight was with Elite XC and Herb Dean was his referee. “The nerves were unbelievable,” he says, “I was never a street fighter and here it is, the first fight I’ve ever gotten into and it’s a professional MMA fight!” Gable says the second he touched gloves with his opponent, he got hit with a hard right hook. It rung his bell and his Jiu-Jitsu instincts immediately kicked in.

“I went straight to Jiu-Jitsu,” Gable says, “I took him down, mounted him, and went to ground and pound from the back. After three minutes in the first round Dean pulled me off.” He’d never felt that kind of high before. Once again, he was hooked. Now he has a lot more MMA training experience under his belt and today, his record stands at 5-1. This November, he’s fighting for the lightweight champion belt with Galaxy MMA. “It will be the biggest, most challenging fight of my career,” he says. If he wins, he will be gunning for Strikeforce or UFC bouts in the future.

Although he is very happy and active in his life, Gable still looks for new challenges. He recently scaled Mt. Whitney’s twenty-two-mile trail in less than six hours (one way) from base (8,300 ft) to summit (14,497 ft). “It was the hardest single-day accomplishment of my life,” he says. Next on the bucket list: The Carlsbad Marathon in January 2011.

Gable says he found himself as a person through Jiu-Jitsu, and discovered what he was made of through MMA. Through it all, he works hard to ensure that he never wastes a moment of his precious time. “It’s all about facing your fears,” he says, “I was once a timid boy, afraid of confrontation.  I no longer have those fears. For me, the secret to being happy is doing what I love everyday. That’s why I do Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. That’s success. That’s all I can ask for.”

Bardia and Professor Marcelo

“My dad divorced my mom, left my sister and I,” Bardia says, “I don’t hold any resentment towards him, but it was painful and hard. When our house went into foreclosure, I was in my junior year of high school. We lived there for about 9 months until the bank kicked us out. My senior year, my mom and I moved into a one-bedroom condo. We had no money.”

Bardia’s mom didn’t speak English, so finding a job was not easy. In order to pay their bills, they maxed out her credit cards, leaving her with bad credit. With his sister off at college, “I had to support my mom and I financially,” Bardia says.

At 16 and in high school, Bardia was left to figure out what he could do to make money. Unfortunately, he found his answer in a bad crowd. “I associated myself with the wrong people to make money,” he says, “I’m not making excuses, but as a 16-year-old kid, I knew I wouldn’t find a job where I could go to school and support my family. I had to make some money quick, so, I resorted to growing weed.”

“We didn’t have anyone else to depend on,” he says, “We didn’t want to go back to Iran where it wasn’t free. I’m proud to be an American. There’s no better country than here.”

Bardia knew in his heart that what he was doing was wrong, but he was paying the bills. “After high school and college, it got to the point where it was hard to get out of the lifestyle,” he says, “But I didn’t feel right about it.”

When Bardia was about 21, he met Matt Stansell, a professional MMA fighter, and took a Jiu-Jitsu class with him. “I fell in love with the sport,” Bardia says, “I was addicted to it. I couldn’t believe how incredible it was. Matt was professor Marcelo Pereira’s student. He referred me to Gracie Barra San Diego and I’ve been with Marcelo ever since. He’s treated me really well. He’s been like a father to me.” Professor Marcelo had no idea what Bardia was doing off the mats.

Bardia during his prison stay

In the meantime, Bardia’s lifestyle began to wear on him. “I didn’t know how to get out,” he says. “I didn’t hide anything and eventually it caught up with me.”

A friend of Bardia’s who was also a “grower,” was busted by the police. He gave them Bardia’s name. “I was investigated for about 8 months without my knowledge,” he says, “They put a GPS tracker on my car. When I went to my various grow houses, they knew from satellite where I was.

What happened next was straight out of a movie. “I was on vacation in Kona, Hawaii with my girlfriend for a buddy’s wedding,” Bardia says, “There was a knock on my hotel room door and I heard, ‘Room service!’ Next thing I know, the police are rushing in with guns blazing. They cuffed me in front of everyone. They went all the way to Hawaii to get me.”

Bardia was placed in the federal corrections holding facility in Hawaii. “Two months later, I was sent back to San Diego for my hearing and spent four months at the San Diego Metropolitan Corrections Center.”

At Bardia’s hearing, prosecutors told him if he cooperated with them and gave up the names of the other marijuana growers, they would let him off the hook. He’d receive very little, if any, jail time and he’d be allowed to keep all his properties. They were willing to cut him a deal.

Bardia refused. “I said no. I wouldn’t rat someone else out, so I took five years in jail. I felt I needed to own up to my responsibilities.” For Bardia’s lack of cooperation, he says he was transferred around the country 14 different times.  “They call it ‘diesel therapy,’” he says, “They put you on a bus and transfer you from prison to prison every few months completely shackled to keep you from feeling settled. One trip took 26 hours. It was pure hell.”

“The overall prison experience can make you or break you,” Bardia says, “You can go into prison and become a better criminal, you can get into drugs, or you can read books and educate yourself. I chose the latter. I took a lot of college courses.”

When professor Marcelo found out Bardia was in jail, he was very supportive. “He called my mom to check on her and told me he’d always be there for me,” Bardia says, “He wrote me letters and called my mom to see how I was doing, just like a father would do. My mom was devastated. So I thought: I’m going to get everything back. I’m just going to do it the right way this time.”

The right way for Bardia has to do with what he defines as “true honor.” At one point during his sentence, he was locked up in solitary confinement for 30 days for a fight he was involved in. “I started contemplating my life,” he says. Bardia decided then and there that when he got out, he was going to start up a clothing company called “True Honor.” For him, true honor meant “keeping my mouth shut and taking accountability for my life.” But he says, “It’s whatever you believe in. Fighting for your country, taking care of your 80-year-old grandma, being a good citizen. I wanted it to stand for something a person believes in. Doing the right thing when no one’s looking; not just when people are looking. Having values and scruples. That’s true honor.”

Bardia and the San Diego County GB black belts (Magid, Nelson, Steve Gable and Rafael)

He is now working his way back to the legitimate success he’s always dreamed of. Like Jiu-Jitsu, where you win or you learn, he doesn’t feel like he’s failed, only that he’s learned a valuable life lesson. “I have my dignity and my honor,” he says, “I keep my head up. I feel good about the person I am and the direction I’m taking with my company, myself, and in the Jiu-Jitsu world. It feels right to me.”

Bardia’s prison experience was humbling. “I saw a different world,” he says, “I got to see the bitter side. Life is sweet now. I get to do Jiu-Jitsu, surf, see my family, and hang out with my friends.”

Bardia thanks God for Jiu-Jitsu. “When I came back, my Jiu-Jitsu friends were there for me,” he says, “They supported me with open arms. I broke the law and I was willing to pay the price. I paid my debt to society and now I’m back training Jiu-Jitsu all the time. It was there for me before and it’s even there for me more now. It keeps me grounded.”

Team NY prepares for Worlds. Photo: Personal archives

Nova União’s training camp for the 2010 Worlds has ended. The activities took place in Dallas, Texas. The two-week training period counted black belts of the caliber of Robson Moura, Rodrigo Feijão, Marcelino Freitas and Bruno Bastos. Marcelino left early to finish up his training at NU Arizona with Gustavo Dantas, in the company of promising competitor Steven Rosemberg, who is raring to butt heads with the favorites in the lightweight division, as well as another promising fighter, Chris Westfall. The team has been going strong in other weight groups, like the roosterweight division, with the always-competitive Bernardo Pitel and the return of 1998’s world champion Marcelo Pereira. At featherweight the aforementioned Marcelino wants to rain on the parades of favorites Rubens Charles Cobrinha and Rafael Mendes. At middleweight, the team is banking on rookie Daniel Garcia and Diogo Almeida and Roberto Nery carry the team’s hopes at medium heavyweight. Now in the super heavyweight division the seasoned Bruno Bastos and rising star Ricardo Demente round out the team’s black belt roster. The duo promise to give Roger Gracie and Xande Ribeiro a run for their money and want nothing more than to shatter the dreams of winning a third absolute title. Rodrigo Feijão, who headed the training sessions in Dallas, comments on their expectations: “We expect the very best and we’re going in pursuit of medals in all belt groups. There’s no way for us to win the championship yet, but I believe next year we’ll have the means to go for it. A few revelations are cropping up and more athletes will come up from Brazil next year, too.”

Equipe NU pronta para o Mundial. Foto: arquivo pessoal

Terminou o Camp da Nova União para o Mundial 2010, que tem início no dia 3 de junho, na Califórnia. As atividades aconteceram em Dallas, Texas. Foram duas semanas de treinamento com a participação de feras como Robson Moura, Rodrigo Feijão, Marcelino Freitas e Bruno Bastos.

Marcelino ainda passou os últimos dias de treino na NU do Arizona, com Gustavo Dantas, tendo a companhia nos treinos da promessa Steven Rosemberg, que vem com tudo para tentar atrapalhar a vida dos favoritos no peso leve junto com outra promessa, Chris Westfall.

Foto: arquivo pessoal

A equipe ainda vem forte em outros pesos, como no galo, com o sempre competitivo Bernardo Pitel e a volta do campeão mundial de 1998 Marcelo Pereira. No pena, o já citado Marcelino quer estragar os planos dos favoritos Rubens Charles Cobrinha e Rafael Mendes.

No médio a equipe aposta no novato Daniel Garcia e no meio-pesado vem com Diogo Almeida e Roberto Nery. Já no superpesado o tarimbado Bruno Bastos e a estrela em ascensão Ricardo Demente finalizam a lista da equipe na faixa-preta. A dupla promete muito trabalho a Roger Gracie e Xande Ribeiro para atrapalhar o sonho do tricampeonato absoluto.

Rodrigo Feijão, que puxou os treinamentos em Dallas, comenta as expectativas.

“As expectativas são as melhores possíveis e vamos em busca de medalhas em todas as faixas. Ainda não temos como ganhar o campeonato, mas acredito que ano que vem já teremos condições para isso. Algumas revelações estão surgindo e mais atletas do Brasil virão ano que vem também.” 

Foto: arquivo pessoal