Royler Gracie e Johnny Faria após o treino. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal

Tetracampeão mundial de Jiu-Jitsu e tri no ADCC, Royler Gracie deixou as aulas de lado e voltou a treinar forte para uma competição. O técnico magrinho da família Gracie luta este sábado, 29 de março, a revanche com Eddie Bravo pelo Metamoris 3, em Los Angeles.

Na Califórnia, onde mora e ministra aulas, Royler, 48 anos, jamais deixou a preparação física de lado e por isso exibe uma forma de causar inveja. Para ir à forra contra o cara que o finalizou no ADCC 2003 num notório triângulo, Royler montou um camp com os alunos Johnny Faria, Fabricio Morango, Zak Maxwell, Regis Lebre e outros faixas-pretas da equipe.

“Royler está voando. Ele tem uma alimentação muito balanceada com frutas, legumes e peixes. É toda baseada na Dieta Gracie. Ele sempre teve uma vida regrada, de atleta e isso ajuda muito”, detalha Johnny Faria.

“O treinamento foi dividido em duas partes: de manhã e à noite, mais no horário da luta. Royler fez muito treino específico, drills de variadas posições, e rolou muito com a galera. Ele também faz preparação física três vezes por semana, muito treino funcional específico para a luta. Ele não se fixou em nada, está treinando um pouco de tudo para não ter surpresas e se sentir confortável em todas as situações na luta. O mestre não para!”.

Amigo próximo do Gracie, Johnny destrinchou como está a mente de Royler para a luta sem kimono.

“Ele está se sentindo pronto, o camp dele foi muito bom. Royler está forte, com muito gás e técnica afiada, sem falar na experiência que tem. Tudo isso junto dá muita confiança. Além disso, quando eles lutaram a primeira vez, Royler não conhecia Eddie Bravo. Agora ele conhece o jogo dele e vai ser uma luta totalmente diferente da primeira”, aposta o professor da Gracie Del Mar.

Quem vence, amigo leitor? Comente.

Metamoris 3

Peterson Museum, Los Angeles, CA

29 de março de 2014

Royler Gracie x Eddie Bravo
Rafael Mendes x Clark Gracie
Keenan Cornelius x Vinny Magalhães
Dean Lister x Renato “Babalu” Sobral
Guilherme Mendes x Samir Chantre
Zak Maxwell x Sean Roberts

A team of Jiu-Jitsu superstars will gather to teach a very special seminar on Sunday, February 23.

Royler Gracie, Marcus Buchecha, João Faria, Regis Lebre and Zak Maxwell will join for class which proceeds will go to pay the medical costs of black belt Gustavo Dias.

Professor at GMA member academy Gracie Del Mar, Dias got injured at the ultraheavy final of the 2013 American Nationals, against Raphael Goulart.

He had to go through a costly surgery on his right knee and now is in recovery.

For more info, go to thegraciesandiego.com or call (858)505-9917.

Gustavo Dias estrangula Caio Terra para conquistar o ouro absoluto na faixa-preta, no San Francisco Open. Foto: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG

No último fim de semana ocorreu o San Francisco Open, mais um torneio com selo de qualidade da IBJJF, na Califórnia. O destaque na faixa-preta foi o peso pesadíssimo Gustavo Dias (Gracie Humaitá) que voltou com duas medalhas douradas. A fera de Paranaguá, no Paraná, venceu sua categoria e o absoluto.
Em bate-papo com o GRACIEMAG.com, Gustavo, que treina na Gracie Humaitá San Diego, detalhou a finalização que usou na última luta, contra Caio Terra, falou sobre preparação e, com humildade, avaliou a conquista: “É um aviso de que estou no caminho certo”.

GRACIEMAG: O que acha que fez diferença no seu desempenho nesse campeonato?

GUSTAVO DIAS: Foi uma ótima preparação para o Pan, venho me dedicando muito nos treinos e estou com muita vontade de ser campeão. Acredito que é um aviso de que estou no caminho certo. Acho que a parte psicológica foi fundamental. A cabeça do lutador precisa estar sempre em direção à vitória: lógico que nem sempre você ganha, mas o importante é não desistir facilmente. No Pan vou entrar assim.

Como você analisa a final com o Caio Terra?

O Jiu-Jitsu dele é muito bom, é um jogo muito perigoso. Não é à toa que ele já venceu vários absolutos e derrotou muito cara grande. Fui com uma estratégia de não aceitar o jogo dele, mantive meus dois joelhos no chão o tempo todo e tentei a passagem de guarda esgrimando. Eu soube usar o meu peso a favor e impor meu ritmo a luta toda. Depois dessa luta, admiro o Jiu-Jitsu dele e respeito o Caio mais ainda, pois é um guerreiro e mostrou que tem coração, sempre duelando com os mais pesados. Na luta, eu já vinha procurando atacar a gola dele e ele estava defendendo muito bem, mas no fim consegui colocar um gancho e a mão entrou na gola. Aí saí girando para ajustar a pressão no pescoço e conseguir finalizar pouco antes do gongo soar.

Sua arma tem sido o estrangulamento pelas costas. Algum macete para encaixar a posição?

Rapaz, o detalhe, para mim, é jogar o meu corpo em direção ao quadril do adversário e manter meu cotovelo dobrado, escondido atrás da cabeça do oponente. Para deixar a posição afiada não tem outro jeito, só com muita repetição. Para evitar que o adversário defenda a posição, não se deite de costas no chão. Assim ele não poderá sair o quadril e botar a cabeça no chão, tirando a pressão do pescoço.

Qual foi seu pior momento no San Francisco Open?

O momento mais complicado foi quando eu tentei passar a guarda do Caio e num bote rápido ele saiu o quadril e escalou para o triângulo. Mas antes de fechar eu defendi, e ele atacou o armlock. Foi quando consegui girar e cair do lado de novo.

Que lição você tirou desse campeonato?

Acreditar em mim mesmo foi o diferencial, e nas pessoas que estavam me preparando. Graças a Deus sempre tenho pessoas maravilhosas me guiando. Estou muito feliz na Gracie Humaitá aqui em San Diego, e quero agradecer em especial ao Regis Lebre, João Faria e Royler Gracie.

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.

Shaolin (center) is returning to IBJJF competition.

The first ever Master & Seniors World Championship reached full capacity way before the scheduled registration deadline.

With around 1,000 athletes, the event is scheduled for this coming Sunday, October 7, and is set to be the stage for some great matches.

It’s your chance to be one of the first ever to hold a medal in the event.

GMA member Vitor Shaolin, a three-time world champion, is one of the BJJ stars who decided next Sunday will mark his competition return.

He says the fact that it’s the first edition is one of the reasons: “It is nice to compete in the first edition of an event. I competed at the first edition of the Worlds, back in 1996, and even before that, I competed at the first ever Pan, in 1995, a championship that’s not even in the official IBJJF records.”

The main reason Shaolin is back, however, is that he rediscovered his motivation:”In the last years I dedicated myself to different things like MMA and the running of my NY academy. Other than that, it is hard to train properly being a husband and a father of three. For this one, however, I found some time and the motivation is back. I will be there with 16 students, and that’s a big reason to go. I will also have great teammates like Robson Moura and Gustavo Dantas competing, so why not?”

Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, Alexandre “Gigi” Paiva, Eduardo Telles, Bruno Bastos, Rodrigo Munduruca, Paulo Guillobel, Cassio Werneck, Regis Lebre and Rodrigo Clark are some of the well known names who will see action next Sunday.

If you’re going to compete, don’t forget to arrive early, as the IBJJF warns of traffic issues due to the LB Marathon on the morning of the event. Find out more here and here.

Keep up with all the action here and at GRACIEMAG’S Facebook, Instagram (@graciemagazine) and Twitter pages.

Royler Gracie and João Faria / Photos by Deb Byth

At the Gracie Humaita Del Mar, California location run by black belt João Faria, a very focused Royler Gracie walks into the academy to lead his team in their Worlds training camp. The school is packed with so many big name athletes, like Regis Lebre, Zak Maxwell, João Faria, Gustavo Dias, Leticia Ribeiro, Beatriz Mesquita, Penny Thomas, and Mackenzie Dern, that Royler has to quickly strategize the best way to get everyone the training they need on the limited mat space they have. While he is extremely friendly with his students and supportive of their development, during the actual training sessions, he is very firm and pushes them to their limits. It’s obvious he runs his training the old school way. At one point, he looks around, and with his arms held out widely says, “Don’t sit there and look at me like a picture! LET’S GO!”

Royler Gracie

The legend who leads the Gracie Humaita team likes to run a fair and productive training camp. He rotates the training from school to school so no one feels left out. “I like students to compete and to have a good time,” Royler smiles. “I like to bring the schools together. I don’t care if they win or lose. Most of our students have a normal life. They work and train, so it’s hard to have hard-core competitors. So, we compete, but we have fun doing it.”

Royler is very busy these days running the Gracie Humaita Association. “I also travel all over the world doing seminars,” he says, “Israel, Las Vegas, Madrid… that’s my life.” Royler’s overall goal is to keep the Gracie Humaita schools consistent, so he has an educational system in place to teach every school owner how to run a school, along with all the details involved in its operation. Part of that educational system also includes teaching them the fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu.

“I try to give the fundamentals of teaching,” he says. “We do a lot of self-defense. To be a competitor is good. It’s also good if you can defend yourself in the street. Jiu-Jitsu can help you with that. Jiu-Jitsu helps you in life. Competition is another part of that, but first you need to understand the philosophy of Jiu-Jitsu and then try to put it all together.” Royler loves teaching and says he wants to follow in his father and uncle’s footsteps and prove to the world that Jiu-Jitsu is good and brings people together.

Faria and Gracie Humaitá's World Championship-winning ladies

Leticia Ribeiro

The Gracie Humaita girls team is particularly strong, and six-time Gi World Champion Leticia Ribeiro heads it up in San Diego. At the 2012 Worlds Leticia will fight in the super feather division. Back in 2009, she dropped from feather to super feather, so she’s been fighting for the last three years at that weight and is happy there. She will fight her division only, not the open class. “The girls who are going to represent our team will be Penny Thomas and Beatriz Mesquita,” Leticia says.

Leticia says Worlds expectations are always good after a lot of hard training. “We know that we are going to have some really tough fights, but we are ready for the war,” she says, “I don’t ever think about one particular person I have to fight against. I need to think about the first fight, and it doesn’t matter who my opponent is.”

Remarkably, this will be Leticia’s 15th Worlds appearance! She competed at the first Worlds open to women, which was back in 1998. Since then she has won the Gi Worlds six times and the No-Gi Worlds twice, all in the black belt division. As for the 2012 Worlds, Leticia says the training has been great. “We had around 20 girls training hard at our camp here in San Diego,” she says. “There are so many talented girls on the team. I’m so lucky to have these girls to train with. We have many big names in the sport training like Beatriz Mesquita, Penny Thomas, Carol Vidal, and Mackenzie Dern. We have two girls here from Europe, Margareth Aase, who is from Norway, and Maxine Thylin, who is here from Sweden. We have a whole new generation of blue belts from the U.S. and Brasil. Now we just have to focus. We have trained hard every day. I just want to say thanks to all the girls on the team for all the good training. Good luck, girls!”

Beatriz Mesquita

Leticia’s right-hand girl on the team is black belt Beatriz Mesquita. Bia fights in the light division and will fight in her weight class and the open. “I’m feeling better than ever,” she says. “We had a great training camp, and so, I’m ready to get my first title at the black belt level.” Bia isn’t looking forward to fighting any particular competitor at the Worlds. “A fight is a fight,” she says. “In 10 minutes a lot of things can happen, but for sure I have to focus on the last champion because they will be there to defend their title.” Bia won her weight at the Worlds in 2007 as a blue belt, in 2008 and 2009 she won her division as a purple, and also the open in 2009. She wants to feel that thrill again this year and has trained hard enough to make it happen. “I have to keep training hard all the time,” she says, “No rest, no vacation. The Worlds is the most important tournament of the year, so I have to be ready. If I’m not, then I will miss my chance. Everyone there will be doing their best, and they want to win the gold. I’m no different.”

Mackenzie Dern

Mackenzie learned Jiu-Jitsu the old-fashioned and natural way, from her father Wellington “Megaton” Dias. She grew up on the mats. Through the years she has “wowed” the crowd with her amazing techniques and exciting game. This year at the 2012 Worlds, Mackenzie will compete as a brown belt in the featherweight division. “I plan on doing the open class, but I will only know after my fights, since you can only compete in the absolute if you are on the podium,” she says. “My expectations for the 2012 Worlds are to have a lot of good fights and to have this be the best year so far! I really like how the black belts are going to have to bring both blue and white gi’s so it is easier to tell the difference between the competitors. It will look really professional! Also, I am excited to see the girl black belts. The feather division is full of a lot of tough girls and I think we will all have great fights.”

Unlike her teammates, Mackenzie has already taken a peek at the brown belt athletes and says there are a lot of girls in the whole brown belt category that she knows. “I have seen a lot of them over the years and each year they are getting so good,” she says, “I can’t say who I think will be the toughest competition because the only girls I know in my division are Miki Takahashi and Tracey Goodell, but I am sure that all the girls in the division are going to bring everything to the fight, so right now I am just getting prepared for them. I am going to try my best to get my sixth World title!”

Royler and Regis

Some great news about our GMA member in San Diego, Regis Lebre,.

The professor at Gracie San Diego received the third degree in his black belt.

The graduation was given by GSD head coach Royler Gracie.

Congrats to Regis Lebre.

To know more, go to thegraciesandiego.com.

Zak in a photo by Alicia Anthony from the Worlds 2009

As Saulo Ribeiro said yesterday, in an interview on Budovideos.com, the brown belt division is like the NBA draft, where the new dynamos to wow the crowds arise.

In Irvine the absolute brown belt division of the Pan 2010 crowned a champion from Gracie Humaitá. Zak, known for his cool-headedness and highly attacking game, overcame in the final another ace, Lucas Rocha, of Gracie Barra Pernambuco.

Lighter than their opponents, both demonstrated loads of technique and made it to the final for due merit. Congratulations to their teachers, Regis Lebre and Zé Radiola, for having helped produce a bountiful new crop for Jiu-Jitsu. Check out the complete results and a photo gallery on IBJJF.org.

Absolute brown:

1) Zak Maxwell (Gracie Humaitá)
2) Lucas Rocha (Gracie Barra)
3) Gustavo Junqueira (Alliance)
3) Antonio Antonioli (Sul JJ)

Brown belt Absolute champions over the years:

1996 – Tatá Duarte
1997 – Carlos Chermont
1998 – Bruno Fernandes
1999 – Rodrigo Minotauro
2000 – Erik Wanderley
2001 – Marcel Louzado
2002 – Roger Gracie
2003 – Braulio Estima
2004 – André Galvão
2005- Romulo Barral
2006- Tarsis Humphreys
2007 – Abmar Barbosa
2008 – Kron Gracie
2009 – João Assis
2010 – Zak Maxwell

Zak em foto de Alicia Anthony no Mundial 2009.

Como bem disse Saulo Ribeiro ontem em entrevista a Budovideos.com, a faixa-marrom é como o draft da NBA, onde surgem os novos craques que vão encantar as arquibancadas.

Em Irvine, o absoluto marrom do Pan 2010 coroou justamente um craque da academia Gracie Humaitá. Zak, conhecido pela frieza e pelo jogo altamente ofensivo, superou na final outro cracaço, Lucas Rocha, da Gracie Barra Pernambuco.

Mais leves que os rivais, ambos mostraram muita técnica e foram os finalistas com justiça. Parabéns aos professores Regis Lebre e Zé Radiola, por ajudarem a garantir mais uma safra rica ao Jiu-Jitsu. Confira os resultados completos e uma galeria de fotos em Ibjjf.org .

Marrom Absoluto:

1) Zak Maxwell (Gracie Humaitá)
2) Lucas Rocha (Gracie Barra)
3) Gustavo Junqueira (Alliance)
3) Antonio Antonioli (Sul JJ)

Campeões absolutos da marrom ao longo dos anos:

1996 – Tatá Duarte
1997 – Carlos Chermont
1998 – Bruno Fernandes
1999 – Rodrigo Minotauro
2000 – Erik Wanderley
2001 – Marcel Louzado
2002 – Roger Gracie
2003 – Braulio Estima
2004 – André Galvão
2005- Romulo Barral
2006- Tarsis Humphreys
2007 – Abmar Barbosa
2008 – Kron Gracie
2009 – João Assis
2010 – Zak Maxwell

Russell tornou-se assim o primeiro cego a tornar-se faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu, tendo começado a treinar desde a faixa-branca sem nada enxergar.

Foto: Divulgação Gracie Humaitá.

Apenas mais um feito do obstinado americano, que perdeu a visão e dedos das mãos numa experiência química na garagem. Ele tentava criar um combustível para foguetes, quando tinha apenas 20 anos.

Hoje, depois de 25 cirurgias, anos de faculdade e dez anos de Jiu-Jitsu (ele começou com Regis Lebre), o faixa-preta tem um diploma em Finanças na Universidade da Pensilvânia, muito dinheiro no banco, algumas medalhas no Jiu-Jitsu… e uma faixa-preta, conquistada com o aval de nosso GMA Eduardo Rocha e de mestre Royler Gracie.

Parabéns, Russell! Você é um exemplo para o GRACIEMAG.com e toda a comunidade do Jiu-Jitsu.

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