Mackenzie Dern travels to Japan for a tour of seminars next month.

The black belt beauty will be in Tokyo at the Physical Space from 19:00 to 22:00 on November 1^st and in Nagoya at the Kita Sport Center from 11:00 to 14:00 on November 2^nd.

Both classes are open to men and women who are looking forward to learn from the American champion. Mackenzie has an all-around curriculum in Jiu-Jitsu with many championship tittles including: 6x World, 5x World No-Gi, 4x European and 2x Pan American.

Click here to buy tickets now!

Watch below a video of Mackenzie speaking Japanese to invite all her fans that live in japan to attend the seminars.

Video

Caio Terra works a sweep. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG

Current roosterweight Jiu-Jitsu world champion black belt Caio Terra confirmed his presence at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo this year, November 9-10 in Long Beach, California. The Jiu-Jitsu professor living in San Jose, CA will participate in one of the great superfight matches organized by Renzo Gracie, but it is still unknown whether it will be with or without the gi – it depends on the choice of the opponent.

To do well at the Expo, Caio chose not to fight the ADCC in Beijing in mid-October. He explained his choice to GRACIEMAG:

“It was an honor to be invited by both ADCC (for category up to 66kg) and the Expo. This would be my first time in ADCC but I had to decline because of the match at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo. It would not be possible to fulfill all my calendar events, conduct various seminars that have already been scheduled and still train for two tournaments,” said Caio, who has a full schedule of seminars until the end of December.

“About the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo, I believe it has all the elements to become a major annual event on the Jiu-Jitsu calendar; I’m excited to fight there again. If the reader has not yet attended, I recommend it as it’s insane! Free seminars with elite black belts, thrilling fights and an ability for fans to connect with their favorite fighters,” praised the knowledgeable Caio, another teacher who is already talking about investing in online training for students around the world.

“The internet is a good way for the teacher to connect with an audience and spread his Jiu-Jitsu knowledge without spending the entire year traveling. I am excited to launch it. I am often asked by students about having received my black belt very quickly, and I feel that I can teach others more about how to constantly evolve, things that have always worked for me,” said the roosterweight.

And what do you think? Who should face world champion Caio Terra at the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Expo?

Check out Sophia teach a finishing technique from spider guard:

This past weekend while Rafael Lovato Jr. was in the New York City area, he went to GMA Savarese BJJ in Lyndhurst, NJ for a kids-only seminar on July 20.

Good friend to Professor Chris Savarese, the pleasure was all theirs as Lovato took over the academy and instructor Sean Bermudez’s kids program for an hour and a half to teach valuable lessons in Jiu-Jitsu. He taught takedowns, guard passing and a submission. After the techniques he watched them train together and gave them pointers and even rolled with some of the kids.

For more information about Savarese BJJ and their kids program, go to www.njbjj.com

Caio competing at the 2013 Worlds where he won his division before heading to Europe for seminars. Photo: Ivan Trindade

World Champion Caio Terra is known for his traveling escapades and seminar schedule. It seems like he’s always extending his knowledge somewhere but that’s because he’s always booked. After winning his rooster weight division at the 2013 Worlds at the start of June, he took off once again, this time to Europe.

We’ve mapped him out so check out his schedule to see where he’s been so far and where he will be.

• June 12-13 Saint Malo, France
• June 15-19 Manchester, UK
• June 20 Strasbourg, France
• June 21-27 Basel, Switzerland
• June 22 Lausanne, Switzerland
• June 23 Zurich, Switzerland
• June 29 IBJJF Rome Open
• July 1 Rome, Italy
• July 2-3 Ravena, Italy
• July 4-5 Madrid, Spain
• July 6 Gracie Lisbon Lisbon, Portugal
• July 7 IBJJF Lisboa Open
• July 8 BPT Lisbon, Portugal
• July 9-11 Luxembourg, Seminar at GMA Ricardo Cavalcanti Luxembourg
• July 13-14 County Kildare, Ireland

ThanksGrappling Day SoCal Women BJJ Open Mat November 18, 2012 / Photo: Dane Grace

November 18, 2012 marked the day of my first attendance at an all women’s open mat held by SoCal Women BJJ. As a couple of ladies set out to strengthen the community of women in Jiu-Jitsu, they grew from wanting to fulfill their own training needs to planning events each month that are hosted by various academies around the Southern California region. The open mats are for any experience, age, rank or affiliation. My will to become more active in the female scene led me to finally attend one, which completely overturned my negative and unrealistic pre-notion that they aren’t worth my time. This was my experience:

It felt like a school dance at first. You know the ones when you’re just learning to understand the opposite sex and there’s a big gap in the middle because everyone is afraid to ask for a partner to dance with? I walked into 10th Planet in Burbank, CA ready to be the social and outgoing girl I always am but suddenly I got nervous and the apprehension that prevented me from ever attending one before had sunken in. What was the social standard here?

Tove Sodersten, Me, Giovanna Thomas / Photo: @erinherle Instagram

I managed to make small talk with some ladies before I stepped on the mat but still weary of what I would endure. I entered the mat area that was spread from wall to wall leaving the only route from the front to back a mandatory barefoot trek. I didn’t know a lot of the girls which surprised me because being active in the general Jiu-Jitsu community, I thought I had a pretty large directory of faces to go by but I didn’t– because I only know girls who either compete, girls I have trained with at other gyms or girls who are simply well-known. The unrecognizable faces meant I was missing out on a whole lot.

The premise of this SoCal Women’s Open Mat was to go in your gi, or in your No-Gi attire should you choose, and pick a partner to roll or spar with. They had a timer going but it was really just a free for all and that made me nervous. Why was I nervous when I’ve been training Jiu-Jitsu for over three years with experience visiting other gyms, rolling with strangers while making it as least awkward as possible with jokes and overall being able to extend my love of the art with others? The difference was that these were girls and being surrounded by them was a new feeling. I have about ten girls that I train with and others that I know but I’ve always classified girls as either aggressive and competition-oriented or not. And somehow that caused me to never attend an all girls open mat prior to this one.

Jiu-Jitsu enthusiasts walked in from every which way, slowly filling up the room; the front seating area designated for the husbands and boyfriends, the changing room in the back, the walls of the mat area lining the first initiators already sparring. There was a rock climbing wall that I found out was used for kids as an obstacle course, a type of fence on one end to close off the mats similar to that of an MMA octagon. Organizer Jill Baker, a brown belt from Bakersfield BJJ in Bakersfield, CA traveled an hour and a half for this event and entered the room as a slew of girls greeted her with open arms. I had competed against her before awhile back and so I knew who she was but had no idea she was a mom, an instructor, a leader for women’s Jiu-Jitsu. Competition only gives you a small glimpse into what the art holds for many people and what they’re capable of. A 5-10 minute match limits what we know of these girls and given an open forum like these open mats, it allows us to really build a bond on many levels. That’s what Jiu-Jitsu is about, anyway, right? Bonding to people, bonding to the art, bonding to confidence, self-esteem, strength and the will to become a better you.

As I looked around at all the girls training, I was looking for someone to cling on to while hoping that I’d be called to roll rather than the other way around . I saw Jill as she stepped on the mat. I confessed why I had never come before and explained, “I just always felt that I needed to train with guys and that training with just girls wasn’t enough,” and she simply responded, “that’s how we all feel.” These girls were really just my peers and now I became more self-conscious knowing that my accolades in competition and role as a member of Jiu-Jitsu media meant nothing to these girls because it shouldn’t. We are just there to roll and learn and share. This was no longer about not understanding the opposite sex at a dance, these were people just like me that I should be getting to know. Did I fit in?

Rolling with Jocelyn Chang / Photo: Dane Grace

I rolled with a girl, Giovanna Thomas, who I had met through my writing and took the initiative to ask her to roll since I had really come to train with her. Our academies aren’t exactly the best of friends and so we were taking up the opportunity to learn from each other outside of the politics. I saw many girls rolling, about 20 of them altogether. And then walked in 4 black belts. Kris Shaw, whom I knew from media, Jocelyn Chang whom I had just interviewed about her story of overcoming breast cancer, Luciana Bassoli whom is a friend of mine, and the first female world champion ever, Leka Vieira.

I rolled with Kris Shaw and Jocelyn Chang, two black belts under Leka who have been in the sport for awhile, and it was a true honor. After finding more reasons to sit and talk, I was approached by a blue belt who wanted to roll with a higher rank. I gladly accepted and was able to meet Melissa Campanela who had just given birth 8 weeks prior. A mom with two kids, she taught me that Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t stop should you move on to have other priorities in life, that even with an 8 week old present right outside the mat with dad, you can still train. She said that her gym, the same gym that Jill Baker attends, allows her to have the baby at training while she gets in her mat time. Meeting someone like her reveals that there are more reasons to train than just competition, that you can continue training despite life’s beautiful “interruptions” and that there is beauty in Jiu-Jitsu as a woman. It’s also amazing that gyms are becoming more accommodating to women, a true showing of evolution as far as gender is concerned.

These open mats were started by a female named Cecily Garcia who was in need of some training partners more closer to her size when she moved from the east coast. With permission from her instructors, one of them being black belt Felicia Oh, she created the first event on June 26, 2011. With 20 or so women in attendance, it was the start of something that would soon become a monumental idea that I wish will spread throughout all of the Jiu-Jitsu community even though it already has begun.

Leka Vieira, first female black belt world champion! / Photo: @erinherle Instagram

Having the ability to build a network of females in your local community is an asset. Should you have concerns, interests, questions that can’t be taken care of by your instructors, you can go to these women you’ve made connections with and receive the realest and most relatable answers. The SoCal Women BJJ is a network of women who are working towards not only getting more women interested in the sport but keeping them here.

If you are in the Southern California area, the next open mat will be on December, 16 at Brea Jiu-Jitsu in Brea, CA. The following event in January will be at Jocelyn Chang’s Let’s Roll academy in Torrance, CA. Cecily Garcia has since returned to the east coast leaving Jill Baker as the prominent organizer. If you would be willing to host please contact Jill and follow Socal Women’s BJJ on facebook: www.facebook.com/SoCalWomenBJJ

There are other organizations throughout the world that accommodate females in a similar fashion holding open mats and seminars for women only such as Girls in Gis in Texas, Inspire in Arizona, NYC Women’s Open Mats, London BJJ Women’s Open Mat and many, many more. Jen Flannery of 50/50 BJJ Academy in Arlington, VA also holds many all female seminars with top athletes. Look for open mats in your area and I promise you will gain layers of awareness, appreciation, support and inspiration.

This video below is a compilation of various Northern California gyms that offer women-specific training and their take on why, how and where women train together.

Bochecha e attacks Roger Gracie’s arm at Metamoris Pro. Photo by John Lamonica/GRACIEMAG.

GRACIEMAG: Metamoris Pro and your fight to a draw with Roger Gracie took place on the 14th of last month, but there are still fans and readers talking about it on our Facebook page. What did you learn from the battle?

MARCUS BOCHECHA: I feel that despite being a draw, I had a great match, managed to impose my pace and attack a lot. I think that, if it had been under normal rules, I’d have had an advantage; but that wasn’t the idea behind the match. So the fact that I’d been better than Roger by the end of the match wasn’t any great credit to me. The main thing was that I fought the way I always do—on the attack.

Did you derive any lessons while training for the fight? Did you train differently for Roger?

No, I trained the way I always do with the black belts at CheckMat California, who were pretty much the same ones I train with year round. I only changed one thing: as the match time was 20 minutes, I did 40-minute-long rolls to train for it. I knew it would be hard to tap Roger out; that’s why I was prepared to go hard the whole time.

What about the Metamoris Pro rules? Did you like them, or do you have some change you’d like to suggest?

I really liked the idea and the event rules. This format of letting the fighter take a lot of risks without having to worry about points or looking at the scoreboard—that’s the idea behind Jiu-Jitsu: to think only about getting your opponent to give up; or in other words, to tap him out. I hate fighting those athletes who go in there to win on advantages or hang on to a position just to sweep at the end. It makes Jiu-Jitsu ugly, and isn’t good for the sport… That’s why I fought at Metamoris and agreed with the rules, which is exactly my objective during a match: the finish.

You’ve taken part in MMA training with Vitor Belfort and Gilbert Durinho, and they had good things to say about you. Has any MMA promotion approached you about a fight?

I’ve been participating in and helping out with MMA training ever since I moved to the USA, since in Florida I helped my teammates every day. I also took part in Vitor Belfort’s training camp [for his fight with Anthony Johnson]. I learned a lot there and started becoming interested in the style. I’ve been training a lot of wrestling for a while and have been learning boxing, since I intend to migrate to MMA in the future. But I’m in no rush. I haven’t been given any offers yet.

Why didn’t you go to Long Beach to defend your No-Gi Worlds title?

I’m in Europe teaching seminars, so unfortunately I had to follow the No-Gi Worlds over the internet. I really wanted to compete and defend my title, but unfortunately I couldn’t. I’d already passed up on a lot of seminars because of competitions, and now I’m really dedicated to teaching and holding seminars around the world. I was anxious to see my teammates and anxious to see Leandro Lo and Xande Ribeiro in the final of the absolute. I find these clashes of stars from different generations really interesting. Lo is young and has been doing awesome in his division and the absolutes, showing he has an incomparable gas tank. Xande is a legend of the sport and continues to show beautiful, attacking Jiu-Jitsu. It really was an awesome fight.

What’s your routine like in Huntington Beach, where you now live?

My routine is great, since I live right next to where I train and work, at Ace Jiu-Jitsu and UTC Jiu-Jitsu. So I don’t waste any time driving and I have the whole day to train with my friends, do physical conditioning, hit the beach and take advantage of all California has to offer.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

To teach a lot of seminars, like I said. I’ve already got some scheduled for November in the USA and December in Brazil. I’m scheduling a tour for next year. To contact me, my email is buchechabjj@hotmail.com, and you can visit my Facebook fanpage. I’m also going to take some rest, since this year has been really great: lots of competitions, lots of victories—that’s why I deserve a vacation (laughs).

Rodolfo Vieira practicing guard / GRACIEMAG archive photo

by Vitor Freitas

Current world heavyweight-title holder Rodolfo Vieira returns to competition Jiu-Jitsu this Saturday at the CBJJ Brazilian Team Nationals, and before taking to combat, the GFTeam ace had a quick chat with GRACIEMAG.com.

GRACIEMAG: A lot of our readers called for you to be added to the Metamoris card, where big-name Jiu-Jitsu competitors face off in 20-minute, no-points-counted supermatches. What’s your take on the event, set to go down October 14 in San Diego, California?

RODOLFO VIEIRA: Man, that’s one event I’d do anything to watch. Ralek Gracie [promoter of the event] even invited me to face Ryron [the Gracie will be facing André Galvão]. But it’ll be on the same day as another event, in Brasilia. I thanked him for the opportunity and told him, this year I’ll have to pass. Now I’m rooting for my buddy Bochecha. He has a really tricky match ahead of him against Roger Gracie, and Roger’s Roger, right? One mistake against him and that could be it, especially in a 20-minute match. I feel that [match duration] works more in the Gracie’s favor. I’m happy Bochecha has been given this opportunity; he’s a good kid and deserves it. Sparks are going to fly in their match. It’s got the makings of the fight of the night.

What are your expectations for the contest you’re entering now?

I always expect the best. I trained so hard and am really confident—not just in myself but in my team. We’ll be going into this Brazilian Team Nationals strong at all belt levels.

How did your seminar tour of Brazil go?

It was well worth it. I got to see cool places and could see how my work is being recognized, and that’s really gratifying. I’m pleased with all the demand. I really didn’t expect it… I took some time off to train for this championship, but I’ll take it back up again afterwards. It was nice to get some time off, because travel can be kind of tiring. I couldn’t take being in any more airports…

What did you teach people?

I taught them what I do best, my guard passes, which is what I enjoy the most. It’s hard to get any guard stuff in (laughs).

Getting out from under: Tererê teaches a sweep at a2011 seminar in São Paulo. Publicity photo.

At a rehabilitation clinic in Ibiúna, São Paulo State, to deal with drug issues, Jiu-Jitsu star Fernando Tererê appears to have found a point of equilibrium whereby he can return home in peace.

His release will come in ten days, but Fernando has already left the clinic to sleep at his cousin’s house, showing he ‘s making progress.

The greatest hope for his recovery comes from the very mouth of the hook-guard-sweep king himself. In a moment of rare lucidness, Tererê told his close friends the following:

“I’m not an addict. What I have is schizophrenia. The disease is what makes me go after drugs. I wasn’t able to cope with the disease; I’d stop taking medication and have relapses. Now I’ve learned to deal with the disease. And all I want to do now is start training again and spread Jiu-Jitsu around the world. After all, I have a son to feed.”

Excited about what the future holds, Tererê has already scheduled seminars in Mexico and dreams of teaching in the USA again.

For now, though, he is biding his time while receiving visits from friends and family and the brother who has an even lither hip than he does: Patrick Carvalho, who dances with the acress Claudia Ohana on the Brazilian version of Dancing with the Stars.

Patrick, who has practiced Jiu-Jitsu in the past, ousted Minotauro from the program. Now he’s dancing to help pay the rest of the bills for his brother. We’re rooting for you, family.

Bill Cooper in a supermatch with Nino Schembri at theWorld Jiu-Jitsu Expo / Photo: John Cooper

Check out some behind-the-scenes footage from the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo, held last May in Long Beach, California.

“Next year’s event will be 10 times better,” wagered Renzo Gracie, the originator of the idea for the event.

Bráulio Estima celebrates victory at the 2011 ADCC disclosling one of his (few) weaknesses—chocolate cookies. The Gracie Barra star will take on Nick Diaz at the Jiu-Jitsu Expo. Photo: Dan Rod/GRACIEMAG.

The organizers of the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo made the announcement first hand on our  Twitter account. The Jiu-Jitsu match featuring UFC star Nick Diaz has been made, with Bráulio Estima entering as his opponent under No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu rules, and the weight has been set at 82 kg, or 180 lbs.

The inaugural World Jiu-Jitsu Expo will be going down May 12 in Long Beach, California, and this supermatch will be just one of the attractions. Prior to current ADCC superchamp“Carcará’s” entrance into the picture, the promoters of the event made a surprise bid to bring in BJ Penn as Nick’s opponent, making contact with JD Penn, the brother and manager of the former UFC champion, who declined the invitation, despite apparent enthusiasm.

“That would be huge! But right now BJ is retiring from competing,” was JD Penn’s response.

On their going with  Bráulio Estima, the promoters of the event captained by Renzo Gracie say the aim is to offer Jiu-Jitsu fans an unforgettable experience. Contrary to what many may have assumed, they never considered feeding Nick Diaz an easy opponent.

What do you say, Jiu-Jitsu fan? How will this showdown between one of the most stalwart MMA fighters around at present and one of the best No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu competitors in the world play out? Share your predictions with us.

Absolute champion in Abu Dhabi in 2009, Tarsis wants a return to the Jiu-Jitsu pinnacle, between seminars. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.

A black belt on team Alliance, São Paulo native Tarsis Humphreys still dreams of being at the WPJJ, a professional Jiu-Jitsu tournament that will kick off in Abu Dhabi on April 13. While he resolves how to bring his wishes to fruition, Tarsis decided he’d open up to GRACIEMAG.com readers:

“I made some videos for a company that is taking care of my seminars called Worldwide Jiu-Jitsu Seminars. I felt it would be a good idea to share some of the videos with GRACIEMAG.com’s readers, as a way of publicizing the seminars and providing readers with more positions,” he said.

KNEEBAR FOR GI AND NO-GI JIU-JITSU

“The positions are mine, ones I invented and use a lot in training an in competition. They’re really effective. Truth is, I kept them under wraps for a long time, but now the time has come to show them,” he quipped. “Note how the kneebar can be done both in the gi and out of it. Now I just hope no one uses these submissions on me!”