Also an ADCC champion, Cobrinha is one of the most accomplished competitors of all times.

Celebrate the date with Cobrinha by watching his 2013 ADCC final against Rafael Mendes.

The match that made him an ADCC champion.

Watch how Romulo Barral battled Rafael Lovato Jr for his first gold in the event.

Cobrinha and Mendes fought each other in the last three finals of the division in the ADCC.

This time, however, the outcome was different.

At the -99kg, João Assis managed to control Dean Lister and not get caught into one of Lister’s deadly heel hooks.

Watch the battle between Kron Gracie and Gary Tonon.

Roberto Cyborg is the 2013 Open Class champion

Unlike what was reported in GRACIEMAG.com, Sheikh  Tahnoon bin Zayed was not in Beijing, China, or participated in the negotiations for the realization of ADCC 2015, in Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed is a great supporter of  grappling and was the creator of the ADCC, which is conducted every two years around the world.

The last edition of the event took place in China, on October 19-20.

The champions were:

ADCC 2013

Beijing, China

October 19-20, 2013

Superfight: André Galvão finished Braulio Estima with a rear naked choke

Open Class: Roberto Cyborg

-66kg: Rubens Charles

-77kg: Kron Gracie

-88kg: Romulo Barral

-99kg: João Assis

+99kg: Marcus Buchecha

Female

-60kg: Michelle Nicolini

+60kg: Gabi Garcia

Masters Superfight: Zé Mario Sperry

It was a thrilling match and Keenan also proved that he has all the tools to be an ADCC champion in the future.

João Assis, Barral, Harman, Otavio, Buchecha

When you look at the building from the parking lot, you see nothing.

It’s a white box with no sign indicating what is happening inside.

Once you go in, things change.

When you open the second door coming from the street, you have to take your shoes off.

The ground is already matted and there’s puddles of sweat all around.

You are in the training grounds of the Calvary Chapel High School, in Costa Mesa, California.

There, you meet a loud fella, arms that look like jack hammers, a thick black beard, but always a smile on his face.

His name is Jacob Harman, 38 years old, and he is referred simply as “Coach”.

Around him, you can see frames on the wall from past glories, exercise equipment and, on the mats, young men and women in pain.

It’s the wrestling training that is going on.

And for the three months prior to the 2013 ADCC, a group of high level grapplers decided to improve their standing game with Coach Harman.

The team included Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, João Assis, Romulo Barral, Otavio Sousa, AJ Agazarm, among others.

At least two times a week, they would go through two and half hours of one of the most grueling practice there is.

Just to make things more clear, every session would end with chin-ups hanging from a balcony with heavy chains wrapped on the athletes’ backs.

Sets of 10 and if you couldn’t do all ten and dropped, you would complete the countdown with squats.

And then, off to the ice bath.

Ten minutes in 33oF water to recover the muscles.

The result was proportional to the recipe of mixing highly skilled grapplers with top level wrestling.

The “Church Boyz” brought three gold medals from Beijing (Buchecha: +99kg, João Assis: -99kg, Barral: -88kg) and two silver medals (Otávio Sousa: -77kg, Buchecha: Open Class).

“It’s unbelievable!” said Coach Harman during the speech he gave this Wednesday.

He talked how all started: “I met Renato “Babalu” Sobral one day and he asked me if I coached wrestling. I said i did, but in a high school. Even so he came and then came the others.”

João Assis was one of the first ones to come: “Three years ago he came to the school and there was a black cloud over him. The first time we met we drove for hours and only talked. Soon after I told him he was going to be a world champion and now he is!,” celebrated Harman.

After the speech, the prayer (after all they are Church Boyz) and the pictures, they all went to a local Brazilian Churrascaria.

“They deserve!” said the Coach. “But next week I want to see them back in training!”

And he already had pointers to give to the athletes: “I noticed that you had a lot of power when you shot for your opponent’s legs, but you were not pursuing it all the way. You have to chase it until you get it,”he said to Buchecha.

Asked about the secret of success, Harman gave all the credit to the athletes: “They put their egos on the side and just trained!”

Here’s a photo gallery of the reunion

André Galvão vs. Bráulio Estima. Photo: John Lamonica

A superchampion at ADCC 2013 last Saturday, André Galvão went wild with yet another triumph at no-gi BJJ.

The absolute champion of the previous tournament in 2011, the São Paulo-born, San Diego-based Atos professor managed to apply enough pressure to pass Bráulio Estima’s guard, take his back and tighten the neck of his old friend. How did he do it? GRACIEMAG reporter Vitor Freitas submitted the question.

GRACIEMAG: Bráulio had defeated you at the IBJJF Worlds in June, and also at the 2009 ADCC. Where did you get so much confidence to go after him this time around?

ANDRÉ GALVÃO: I trained and dedicated myself a lot to achieve this victory in China. I did all my coaches told me. The whole time I knew the result would be positive this time – in 2009 I hadn’t trained at all. You can look at the pictures and see I arrived fat in Barcelona. It was a time I was thinking about MMA and Strikeforce left me inactive for a long stretch. I decided to take part in the ADCC at the last minute. This time my mind was very different – I was laser-focused.

Have you watched the match?

Not yet, but I believe it was one of my best ever. Bráulio is crazy tough, and the match had a lot of movement and zero stalling.

What detail did you use to attempt the guard pass at the decisive point?

The detail starts in training, right? I practiced a lot, really. Bráulio has very loose hips, but I managed to restrain him a bit. I was able to throw my head on top, weigh down on him more and I succeeded. I learned that pass from Tererê – so it was the Cantagalo detail [laughs].

How did you move from side control to the back?

I’ve always done this – the moment I’m passing, I’m already thinking of the move even before I execute it. If I had spun sooner to the back I’m sure I would have lost the position. So that spin came at the right time. In fact it’s a spin I teach people in my book “Drill to win,” and on AllGalvao.com.

What are your plans for now? Vacation in Brazil?

The fight continues. Brazil for me now, only at the end of the year. Now I’m going to the Philippines to teach seminars in a student’s gym, and then Greece for two days. Then it’s back to San Diego to resume training with my students who are going to take part in the No-Gi Worlds in Long Beach.