GMA member Gustavo Dantas has announced his seminar tour in Hawaii that gives three chances to learn his Jiu-Jitsu techniques and mental coaching methods. The president of Nova Uniao USA and head instructor of GDJJ in Tempe, AZ this leader has much to offer in this Big Island BJJ Seminar Tour.

The first stop on the tour will be at Kona Freestyle Martial Arts in Kailua-Kona on Nov. 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Reserve your spot by sending an email to: matburn007@yahoo.com

The second stop on the tour will be at Penn Training & Fitness Center in Hilo from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Reserve your spot by sending an email to: novauniaohawaii@yahoo.com

The third and final stop will be at New Life Robson Moura Nova Uniao BJJ from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Reserve your spot by sending an email to: info@newlifebjj.com

The cost for each seminar is $50. More information about Gustavo Dantas and GDJJ events go to www.gdjjevents.com

Christian Broadnax at the 2012 IBJJF Toronto Open. Photo: Gustavo Dantas

Americans travel to Brazil often to gather knowledge from legends who are deeply rooted within the art of Jiu-Jitsu. One competitor, Nova Uniao brown belt Christian Broadnax, set up a way to train and learn from Nova Uniao professor Rodrigo Feijao in Maringa, Parana. “This will be a great life experience for Christian, who is only 19 years old,” says Gustavo Dantas, the leader of Nova Uniao Arizona. “He will be competing at the South America, Rio Open, Sao Paulo Open and the Brazilian National by teams.”

On his way to Brazil, Christian Broadnax took time to talk with us about his journey and how he feels it will benefit him:

GRACIEMAG: You’ll be training with Rodrigo Feijao who is known for turning good competitors into great competitors. What are you hoping to have him help you with while you’re with him?

CHRISTIAN BROADNAX: Well I want him to help me with patience and maintaining positions. This is something Gustavo [Dantas] has been helping me with for a while and I have somewhat improved upon, but I feel sometimes I get too antsy during my matches. The last tournament (The Arizona State BJJ Championship) I competed at I slipped up and got caught in a triangle in the finals of my division. Luckily there was only 30 sec left in the match and I held my composure and won (I was up by 7pts). I got antsy because I wanted to make the match exciting and pass the guy’s guard and submit him. I know Feijao will help me with more than patience though when I train with him. I still have a lot to improve on in my game.

What happened at Worlds this year?

I won my first match 4 – 0 and I got DQ’ed in the second match. I was winning the match and I went for a knee bar on my opponent and he escaped. When he escaped he turned his body in a way where it seemed as if I was reaping the knee. The ref stopped the match and I got DQ’ed. I was very disappointed I trained really hard and sacrificed a lot, but it’s a part of the game. I have to look forward to the future and train harder.

As a 19-year-old, you’re ahead of the game. A two-year degree, a BJJ brown belt around your waist and titles galore. What advice can you offer to kids and teenagers looking to follow similar footsteps?

My advice is to always follow your dreams, keep an open mind, always believe in yourself and have a positive mindset. Also you should always keep positive people around you and surround yourself with people that have the same goals as you do. This will create better productivity and more motivation for attaining ones goals. I’ve been training since I was 11 yrs old and I told myself that the first time I go compete worlds I will win first place. Many people have discouraged me and told me that I wouldn’t be able to even win when I first compete at worlds but in 2009 I won the juvenile division for blue belts when I was 15.

Do you think heading to Brazil on your own and living there for three months will help you mature even further? What kind of qualities do you think you’ll gain while there that will better yourself as a person?

I think the experience I will get from this will be very beneficial for me as a person. Lately I’ve been through a lot of bad personal situations and my coach Gustavo and I know that I need this. I know I will learn to relax more (laughs). I know that I will be more confident in myself and my abilities. I’m sure that I will have a different perspective on many things not only in Jiu-Jitsu but also in life. I love Jiu-Jitsu and without it, I’m not sure where I would be. I’m blessed to have this opportunity. I just would like to thank my coach Gustavo Dantas for believing in me. He has been with me through all my up and down times and he’s always helped if I need anything. He means a lot to me and my plan is to become the best I can for not only myself but for him and my team.

I would like to thank God for bringing me this far, my sponsor living canvas tattoos Gentle art x Body art, Arizona Biomechanics and Shoyoroll. P.S., another word of advice for kids is to always stay consistent in everything you do and work hard; you can never go wrong there haha.

See Christian in action at the 2012 IBJJF Toronto Open:

GD JIU-JITSU NOVA UNIÃO

PROFESSOR:

Gustavo Dantas competing / Photo by John Cooper

ADDRESS: 1848 E. University Dr. 108 Tempe, AZ 85281

WEBSITE: www.gdjiujitsu.com

PHONE: 480-968-6303

ABOUT:

Gustavo Dantas, is a fourth degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Andre Pederneiras. With nearly 20 years of coaching experience and being a World Class competitor, Gustavo is a Public Speakeras well as Certified Mental & Life Coach with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from UFRJ (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro). Gustavo left Brazil in 1999 with a couple thousand dollars, two bags, and one teenage dream: to have his own 100% Jiu-Jitsu Academy and make his living through the passion of his life, Jiu-Jitsu. The Gustavo Dantas Jiu-Jitsu Academy was established in Tempe, Arizona on March 6th, 2012, re-enforcing the statement, “Believe in your dreams. Hard work pays off”.

Gustavo was the Jiu-Jitsu coach of the Mixed Martial Arts Gym, Arizona Combat Sports for eleven years, where he achieved his 2-0 MMA Record.  During that time, Gustavo started the mission of promoting Jiu-Jitsu in the State of Arizona, becoming the vice-president of the Arizona State Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation and turning a small, 40 competitor, “in-house” tournament in 2001 to an impressive 700 competitors in 2011, helping Arizona to be recognized as one of the Jiu-Jitsu power houses in the United States.

Well respected in the Jiu-Jitsu community as well as a great competitor, coach, and human being, Gustavo, who is the Co-founder of the Non-profit Organization Live Jiu-Jitsu, continues to build champions on and off the mat in Arizona, and he hopes to spread out his coaching philosophy to more Jiu-Jitsu practitioners around the World for years to come through his program “Inner Discovery for Outer Success”. “I want to help people to perform to the best of their abilities and reach their full potential on and off the mat. I struggled with performance anxiety before, and I was able to overcome it using the techniques that I share at my program. These concepts, fundamentals and techniques helped me, and I believe this program can help others too.” stated The BJJ Mental Coach, Gustavo Dantas. For more info about “Inner Discovery for Outer Success” check out www.thebjjmentalcoach.com”

VIDEO:

Staying true to his word, Gustavo Dantas brown belt and Nova União standout Christian Broadnax has been busy building back up to his winning form. In a GRACIEMAG interview from a couple months back, the lightweight shared his struggle with keeping his training, school, and job in balance and how his Jiu-Jitsu had been suffering with the juggling act.

Revitalized by a double-gold performance at the 2012 AZ BJJ State Championship, Christian remained adamant about not letting his winning momentum come to a sudden halt. “You either keep going or you quit, and I’m not going to quit. I don’t have that kind of spirit,” stated a more reserved and mature Christian.

With the fire once again lit in his belly, Christian set off to compete at the IBJJF Toronto Open where he was able to claim gold in the lightweight division. The very next weekend, the 18-year-old traveled back down to Southern California to compete at the 2012 Samurai Pro and captured the gold at lightweight there as well.

Watch this clip of Christian at the Toronto Open doing what he does best: winning in impressive and athletic fashion.

Christian in action / Photo by Deb Blyth

Christian, who is now a brown belt, was recently spotted at Gustavo Dantas’s AZ BJJ State Championship, doing what he does best: showing some serious athleticism and good, technical Jiu-Jitsu skills on the mats. He competed in both his lightweight division and the open class at the event, and won both to take double gold for the day.

The 18-year-old told GRACIEMAG that he and his twin brother, Christian, have had to take some time away from their Jiu-Jitsu training to attend college. Christian was able to compete at the Worlds, though, and made arrangements to reprioritize his school and work schedules to train twice a day for a few weeks before he got there. He lost in the quarterfinals and was disappointed with his finish, but he did receive his coveted brown belt shortly thereafter. “I still love Jiu-Jitsu,” Christian says, “but it’s hard to train and go to school. My ultimate plan is to refocus on Jiu-Jitsu. I want to make Jiu-Jitsu my job.”

Christian says this last year has taught him patience. Because he hasn’t been training as much as he did in the past, he’s not been winning as much either. But what he’s discovered through this journey is that it’s not all about the “win.” “I’ve learned that Jiu-Jitsu is all about dedication,” a toned down, quiet, and seemingly resigned Christian says. “You either keep going or you quit, and I’m not going to quit. I don’t have that kind of spirit.”

After winning the lightweight final against Gerson Atoigue, Christian ended up facing him yet again in the open class final at the AZ BJJ State Championship. Once again, Christian took the match, and upon having his arm raised, he looked visibly relieved. “It’s been a year since I’ve won gold,” he sighed. “It feels good. I still have a lot to work on. I didn’t want to compete in the absolute. Gerson tired me out the first time! But this time my base was good and my positions felt strong. Everything’s improving.”

Christian atop podium / Photo by Deb Blyth

Christian’s take on Jiu-Jitsu has really matured over the years, and he feels like he’s truly beginning to understand what Jiu-Jitsu is all about. “Because it’s like a chess game you can’t really be better at just one thing,” he says; “you have to be good at everything and strengthen your weaknesses. You can’t rely on just one part of your game.”

Christian has one more year of college left before he graduates, and then he is committed to being back on the mats full time. Until then, he is simply committed to continuing his Jiu-Jitsu journey of learning more about patience and dedication.

Dantas, Merriman

After GMA Ryan Beauregard, another athlete has obtained the black belt degree in Arizona.

Bob Merriman has won the 4th Arizona State Championship and received his new belt after that.

GMA member Gustavo Dantas graduated Merriman, his 6th black belt.

For more info, go to gdjiujitsu.com