Abi against Tarsis at Brazilian Nationals 2009. Photo: Gustavo Aragão

Following his getting sidelined from competition by knee surgery, Brazilian Nationals and Rio Open 2009 champion Raphael Abi-Rihan is back in the mix. The black belt will make his competition return at Taça Rio 2010 next Sunday at Rio de Janeiro’s municipal club.

“My recovery went slowly due to my having to work all day. I couldn’t dedicate myself the way I should have, but I’m already managing to train well. However, I should compete at master this time. I want to compete at weight and open weight, and the master division would be perfect for that. Although the athletes are at the same technical level as the ones in the adult division – sometimes even having the same number of matches –, match-duration is six minutes. That will make it better for me to test myself and see what condition I’m in,” he told GRACIEMAG.com.

During his time on ice, Abi took advantage of the situation to work on his technical facets. The Carlson Gracie black belt feels he’s a new fighter.

“As with everything in life, there’s always a positive side. I could place emphasis on my academy and my students managed great results. I have a really solid base there. I trained a lot of technique and, as I was physically limited, I worked on my game a lot. I’ve been doing positions I didn’t do before and adapted my game to my knee. I’m stoked. What happened happened and I feel that, in some way, that made my Jiu-Jitsu evolve. I feel my Jiu-Jitsu is better than it was before and now it’s just a question of getting physically fit and back in rhythm, so I can deal with the top guys. There’s a really good new crop and I’m going to do what I can to reclaim my territory,” he warns.

Furthermore, Raphael is preparing another installment of the Copa America, which he organizes every year.

“I’ve already begun to advertise it. It will take place December 4, with sign-ups going till November 30. I hope to maintain the tradition of it being a competition full of athletes and there will be gift kits for all the divisions from adult white to brown belt, as always. It’s all confirmed for Clube América!” he says in closing.

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Abi contra Tarsis no Brasileiro 2009. Foto: Gustavo Aragão

Depois de ficar fora das competições, devido a uma cirurgia no joelho, o campeão do Brasileiro e Rio Open em 2009 Raphael Abi Rihan está de volta à ativa. O faixa-preta volta aos dojôs na Taça Rio 2010, que acontece neste domingo, no Club Municipal (RJ). 

“A recuperação foi um pouco lenta em função de eu ter que trabalhar o dia inteiro. Não pude me dedicar como deveria, mas já estou conseguindo treinar bem. Entretanto, devo lutar de master dessa vez. Quero ir no peso e no absoluto e no master deve ser perfeito. Apesar de ter lutadores com o mesmo nível técnico do adulto e, às vezes, a mesma quantidade de lutas, o tempo de combate é de seis minutos. Assim vai ser melhor para me testar e ver se estou em boas condições”, diz ao GRACIEMAG.com. 

No tempo parado, Abi aproveitou para evoluir a parte técnica. O faixa-preta da Carlson Gracie se sente um novo lutador. 

“Como tudo na vida, sempre há um lado positivo. Pude dar ênfase à minha academia e meus alunos conseguiram grandes resultados, estou com a base bem forte lá. Treinei bastante técnica e, como estava limitado fisicamente, aprimorei bastante o meu jogo. Venho fazendo posições que não fazia antes e adaptei o meu jogo por causa do meu joelho. Estou amarradão. Aconteceu o que aconteceu e acho que, de alguma forma, isso fez evoluir o meu Jiu-Jitsu. Acho que o meu Jiu-Jitsu está melhor que antes e agora é apenas a questão física e ritmo para chegar nas cabeças. Tem uma galera nova muito boa e vou fazer o possível para reconquistar o meu espaço”, avisa.

Além disso, Raphael prepara mais uma edição da Copa América de Jiu-Jitsu, evento que organiza todos os anos. 

“Já vou começar a divulgar. Vai ser no dia 4 de dezembro, com inscrição até 30 de novembro. Espero manter a tradição de ser uma competição bem cheia e vão ter todas as categorias de branca à faixa-marrom adulto, com kits para todos os campeões, como sempre. Está tudo confirmado para o Clube América!”, encerra. 

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Vitor Henrique wins weight and absolute. Photo: Carlos Ozório

Broadcast live over the internet, the Taça Rio de Jiu-Jitsu tournament this Sunday in Rio de Janeiro was a smashing success. Besides the great matches, a ticket to the IBJJF’s European Championship was raffled off among the champions, and featherweight brown belt champion Rafael Porto (Mestre Wilson) was the lucky winner.

Queixinho won the no-gi contest. Photo: Rogério Gomes

The event kicked off with the kids, but after the opening ceremony the International No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu challenge was underway, revealing some new talent in the gentle art scene. Oswaldo Augusto “Queixinho” (Soul Fighters) was one of them, as he submitted Ângelo Panoussis (Behring Canada) with a straight kneebar. Marcos Vinicius (DDR) got the takedown and mounted Mat Jack Magee (Gordo-Evolve England). The match was interrupted by Magee’s disqualification, as he tried for a heel hook, an illegal maneuver. Pan 2010 champion João Gabriel (Soul Fighters) beat Tor Troenge (Gordo-Evolve Sweden) by 4 to 2, with two sweeps from the half-guard. And last but not least, Mike Yackulic (Behring Canada) overcame the surprise Eduardo Portela (Check Mat) after falling behind by 6 to 0. He managed a sweep, knee on belly and guard pass all in the very last minute to rally back and win by 7 to 6.

João Gabriel on top of Tor Troenge. Photo: Rogério Gomes

Black belt standouts

There was no lack of action in the gi contest either. Vitor Henrique (GFTeam) was the big standout, winning the middleweight and absolute divisions. In his weight group Vitor beat Antonio Mendes (Nova União) twice, in a bracket of three, with two chokes, one being a clock choke in the decider. In the Open weight division Vitor submitted Nilson Ricardo “Capoeira” (Nova União) with a triangle choke and overcame Cassio Lisboa (BJJ) by 6 to 2, all on takedowns.

The best of the featherweight division was Helio Jr (HBT), who submitted João Alfredo (GFTeam) with a choke. Nilson Ricardo “Capoeira” (Nova União) won the medium heavyweight division. First he beat Bruno Ramos (HBT) by 7 to 0, with a guard pass and a mount. Then he overcame Anderson Oliveira (Soul Fighters) by 5 to 4 in a lively match. He managed a sweep and guard pass to his opponent’s two sweeps. In the heavyweight division Renan Vidal (Gordo-Evolve) overcame Ricardo Evangelista (GFTeam) by referee decision after a 2-2 draw (sweeps). In the final Renan beat Cassio Lisboa (BJJ) by 10 to 0, with two sweeps and three takedowns.

(Collaborator: Rogério Gomes)