Professor Rafael “Barata” Freitas of GMA Gracie Barra New Mexico will be at Gracie Barra Santa Ana for a seminar on Dec. 7. He will be teaching the techniques you can find on his latest DVD and on the day before he takes on the 2013 BJJ Pro League.

The seminar will run from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cost is $45. Location: 1717 Old Tustin Ave Santa Ana, CA 92705

To reserve your spot, call 714-925-9393

The YMCA has a program called “Indian Guides” and its slogan is “Pals Forever.” The program’s purpose is “to foster the understanding and companionship of father and son.” It’s designed for dads and their boys, aged kindergarten to 3^rd grade, and gives them opportunities to spend quality time together, while building memories that will last a lifetime.

Matt Hartanov is the Tribal Chief of the Shoshone Tribe in Orange County, California. His group consists of 15 dads and their sons, which totals about 24 kids. Recently, Hartanov, who is a Gracie Barra blue belt, wanted to find a local activity on a Saturday morning for fathers and sons to do together, before all the other weekend events started, “I’m always looking for something new to do for the families, so we can all learn something we haven’t experienced before,” Hartanov, says, “I love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wanted to share my family’s experience with the other members of the tribe, so I set up an hour one Saturday morning for all of us to get some exercise before starting our busy weekend activities.”

Hartanov said there were 12 dads and over 16 kids on the mats the day they caravanned to the school, “We had a full mat. It was great. Our coaches, Felipe Guedes and Charles Gomes, were there at 7:45 am on a Saturday morning to lead the class.” Hartanov says this is typical behavior of his Jiu-Jitsu coaches, “They are so dedicated, not only to the school, but to their students as well. They care about the community, and want to make a difference in people’s lives. They’re a great influence on our kids’ lives.”

Coach Guedes said it was a special day for all, “Fathers and sons had the chance to learn some great Jiu-Jitsu and play some games on the mats. I prepared a special anti-bully class for the visitors, some of whom were already students at our school.” Guedes said he opened the class with an introduction of what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is, “Some of the fathers and sons had never experienced Jiu-Jitsu in any form before, so I explained to the group what it is and then talked about the benefits of being able to defend yourself, whether outside at night or on the playground during the day.”

Guedes and Gomes put the group through the GB warm-up and after they finished, they began teaching them some basic Jiu-Jitsu fundamental techniques, “It’s always special to see the bond between parents and their kids, and Jiu-Jitsu definitely makes that bond even stronger when they have the chance to train together.”

After class Guedes and Gomes talked to the guys about how important Jiu-Jitsu can be to their lives and covered the major benefits of Jiu-Jitsu, like, self-defense, a healthier lifestyle, increased self-confidence, exercise, making friends, and mostly, having fun, “Everyone had such a great time today,” Guedes said, “It was such an honor teaching and training with these fathers and sons. I really enjoyed myself.”

Photos: Deb Blythe

Hartanov said it was really fun watching the dads and kids working together on the mats, “I think the kids learned a lot about self-defense. Fathers and sons learned real world techniques to defend themselves in any situation. Wherever you find yourself in life and no matter how old or young you are, you can always use them. Everyone had a great time and I’m thankful for the experience we all shared today with our sons and each other.”

Brunão no Pan 2010, em abril. Foto: Ivan Trindade.

Nosso GMA Bruno Paulista, professor da academia Ralph Gracie Orange County, na Califórnia, sofreu um grave acidente de carro na última quinta-feira.

Bruno, conhecido como “Mamute”, estava em Florianópolis, sua terra natal, e seu carro saiu da pista numa curva perigosa no Morro da Lagoa, Santa Catarina.

O quadro do professor ainda é grave, mas ele tem mostrado reação, como indicam seus amigos na página do orkut do lutador.

Para os fãs, amigos e curiosos sobre o lutador, conheçam mais sobre Paulista no vídeo a seguir. Força, campeão.

Fotos: Ivan Trindade

A mother films her son. All alone. When he wins, she raises her arm, first clenched, but doesn’t lose the frame.
A teacher shouts. A girlfriend is filming, but doesn’t quite understand what is going on. Her beloved fights and she keeps her eyes on the mat and camera in her hand. In the end, she asks the teacher about the outcome and is a little saddened to find out her loved-one lost.

Still in the warm-up area, after being called to fight, the two white belts greet each other.

– What’s your name?

– Rigo.

– It’s a pleasure; I’m Stanford. Have a good match.

– Thanks, you too.

On the mat, Stanford, who has the look of a teacher, shows he’s sharp and wins with a spot-on armbar before the first minute of the match was up.

The father shows up at the central table of the tournament irate. He curses, complains and demands an explanation. He and his son arrived at around 5pm to compete, but the division happened at 12:45 and not 6 pm. The father hunts for someone to blame for his offspring’s disappointment, other than his own lack of attention.

A mother and brother came to watch the other brother compete. Between one bout and another, they conversed sitting in the stands, while the mother zealously mends a ballet slipper, perhaps belonging to a daughter who had stayed home.

A Brazilian teacher hollers to orient his white belt student. The pupil is still crawling in the Gentle Art; the master needs to improve his fluency in the language of Shakespeare. He utters some things like:

– Agora you have to pass the guarda!

Two security officers in the gymnasium converse:

– I’ve never seen a martial art like this one.

– It’s not judo?

– No, judo is done standing.

The 15th Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu Championship kicked off this Thursday, April 8, in Bren’s Events Center, at the University of California Irvine, in Orange County.

The first day was dedicated entirely to white and blue belts. In all, there are more than 2,800 athletes and of that number around 300 black belts. To give you an idea of how significant those numbers are, the IBJJF debuted in a new location already planning to have more room to accommodate so many people.

– The trend is for the number to grow by 300 each year. – revealed Judson Borges, supervisor of the Federation.
Marcelo Siriema, director for the competition, adds:

– If you look at the schedule, you’ll see that on Sunday the Pan will be dedicated entirely to black belts. There are eight match areas. I don’t think we’ve ever had that before.

By Sunday, as the King would say, there will have been great emotions, from anonymous stars, young and old, men and women.

GRACIEMAG.com will bring you all the goings-on of the most popular championship on the annual Jiu-Jitsu calendar. Stay tuned.

Check out the gallery from the first day of Pan 2010.

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