With the teaching process shown in the beginning, he adds footage at the end to show how it was applied in a sparring situation, a serious one like in a competition.

For his first video he teaches a foot sweep takedown that he successfully used at the 2014 IBJJF Vegas Open.

Check out the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU5KDwfTQuY

Gustavo Dantas at the Long Beach Open 2014. Photo: Erin Herle

GMA member Gustavo Dantas is at it again. The head instructor of GDJJ in Tempe, Arizona and the professed BJJ Mental Coach has yet another piece of advice for anyone struggling with their mindset in competition.

Are you struggling to get positive results in tournaments? Are you frustrated that you have been training a lot, competing consistently, but you still have not achieved the success that you desire? The BJJ Mental Coach, Gustavo Dantas has a message for you:

The 2012 IBJJF world master 2 black belt champion, and the 2014 world master 2 runner up confesses that it has been a long rough road to the top. “I’ve struggled a lot in the beginning of my career, but for sure one thing that I’ve learned and I can pass to you is that HARD WORK PAYS OFF!” says the BJJ Mental Coach.

In this video Gustavo shares three key elements necessary to accomplish any meaningful goal that you have set for yourself, on and off the mat.

For more information about discovering what is holding you back from performing to the best of your ability, reaching your full potential and achieving the success that you desire, check out his program “Inner Discovery for Outer Success” at www.thebjjmentalcoach.com. In this program Gustavo breaks down fundamentals, concepts, techniques and five tips that can help you to be your best self on the mat.

You either can control your mind, or your mind can control you. The choice is yours, choose wisely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_YCK0CEalQ

In this video, Gustavo explains how to play Jiu-Jitsu like a quarterback. “This explanation has helped a lot of practitioners, beginners or not, to figure their games out. Even if you don’t understand football, I believe you will able to capture the message, and hopefully implement in your competitive game,” says Gustavo.

For more info about The BJJ Mental Coach movement please visit www.thebjjmentalcoach.com.

Watch the video below:

Black belt Mackenzie Dern of GMA Megaton Jiu-Jitsu will be teaching a workshop in Tempe, AZ on Dec. 7.

The 2014 no-gi world champion will be teaching a Toys for Tots Workshop where you can train and learn with her. Men and women of any affiliation are welcome.

The cost of the seminar is $50 but you will receive $10 off if you bring an unwrapped new toy to donate.

The seminar will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1761 E Warner Rd. Tempe, AZ 85284.

Gustavo Dantas with his four black belts after they received their second degree. Photo: Personal Archive

The night of Oct. 1 was very special for GMA member Gustavo Dantas, who in 2008 promoted his very first four black belts: Gary Matsch, Steve Judson, Chris Lopez and Brian Mitchell.

Now six years later, they have been promoted to their second degree.

“These guys have been with me since 2000/2001. I really appreciate their loyalty and friendship,” said the leader of GD Jiu-Jitsu Association. Gustavo has been in Arizona for nearly fifteen years, and he has produced twenty-one black belts.

Learn more about Gustavo Dantas and the GDJJ Association at www.gdjiujitsu.com

In Tempe, Arizona, the BJJ Mental Coach Gustavo Dantas will be teaching another seminar on how to prepare your mind mentally for success. The fourth degree Jiu-Jitsu black belt is professor at GMA Gustavo Dantas Jiu-Jitsu Academy and has branched off his expertise to the mind.

On July 26, Gustavo will teach his series called “Inner Discovery for Outer Success” from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Tempe, AZ located at 4400 S. Rural Road Tempe, AZ 85281.

The event is invitation-only with a 20-seat capacity as the exclusive seminar will be recorded for the BJJ Mental Coach DVD Series. In order to see if you will be invited, you can send in an application on the website. The deadline for this application is July 8.

If you are chosen to attend you will be notified on July 10.

Learn more information and apply at www.thebjjmentalcoach.com

Sarah completes a throw at the 2013 Pan. Photo: Erin Herle

A stand-out competitor and instructor at Gustavo Dantas’ GDJJ Academy, Sarah Black sets an example for many. She didn’t start training when she was a kid, nor even a teenager. And despite that, she has risen to the top of the podium on many occasions and now leads the women’s program at GMA GDJJ in Tempe, AZ.

Her professor, Gustavo Dantas, decided to take the ropes and interview this star student for GRACIEMAG:

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In 2006 at the age of 26, Sarah Black took her first judo class and she would end her Judo career in 2010 with the rank of nidan (second degree black belt) from Jason Morris. In 2009 she started shifting her focus to Jiu-Jitsu and joined team Nova Uniao. She was awarded her blue belt from Robson Moura (André Pederneiras) in 2009 and in 2012 she was awarded her purple belt from Gustavo Dantas (André Pederneiras).

Last year in 2013 it was a stand-out year for her. At the age of 34, she won both the adult and masters IBJJF World Championship in the lightweight purple belt division. Other recent results also include 2014 Pan champion and 2013 Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials open weight champion earning her the ticket.

Of her 38 medals competing under Gustavo Dantas, 33 have been gold and 5 of these have been from IBJJF World Championships.

Here’s how she continues to perform at this exceptional high level that is inspiring to people around her:

You started at focusing on Jiu-Jitsu at a relatively late age of 29. Did this impact the way you approached your training?

Yes, it had a huge impact on my approach to the sport. In a positive way it made me more focused. I set myself a long-term goal of becoming a black belt world champion very early on. Everything I do in training and my personal life is based on that goal and how I am going to achieve it. I know I have a few years left to perform at my peak and I do everything I can to be as effective as possible.

Can you give the readers more detail into your mindset when it comes to preparing yourself for competition?

I try to focus on things I have control of. The level of competition is continually increasing as our sport grows, but I have no control over these sorts of external factors. My focus is on my performance and not my results. There is so much I can do to align stars for my self. For example, means holding myself to a predetermined weekly training schedule, focused drilling, clean eating, quality sleep, smart supplemental conditioning and early weight cuts. For my night before, and day of, competitions I have preparation and warm-up routines that help ease anxiety for competition. I also incorporate visualization at all levels from something as small as a grip to standing on top the podium. Will I be on top of the podium? Who knows, but I focus on the things that will help get me there.

Do you have any tips for competitors aspiring to compete at the highest level?

I look at my training as having many different facets and I am a firm believer that you have to address and have a plan for improving all of these. On the physical side it is a lot more than training every day of the week; you have to look at your diet, how you look after your body and surround you with the right training partners and coach etc. Look at the complete picture and improve on all levels. As many of us know, training Jiu-Jitsu is tough on your body. I feel that if I am going to put myself through that, I need to put just as much effort in to the other areas. Gustavo Dantas and my teammates at Nova Uniao provide me the best environment to grow in.

You mention the mental aspect of your preparation; can you give us some tips on how you mentally prepare yourself?

I would not be able to improve my level of Jiu-Jitsu to the levels I need by not having a coach, so for me the same applies to my mental preparation. I have a mental coach that helps me get ready to perform. Under his guidance I have been able to greatly improve my competition results. Gustavo’s program, “Inner discovery for outer success” is in my opinion, a program that everyone should go through. It would be great if we are all performing to our very best, with no mental blocks. Then we could truly see who has the best Jiu-Jitsu.

In order to maintain balance between your professional, personal and training lifestyles, do you have any other support systems?

Yes the key for me is to manage that balance. I have many support systems around me that I am extremely grateful for. They definitely play a huge part in my performance. I look at sponsors from a slightly different viewpoint. I align myself with people that can help me on this great Jiu-Jitsu journey. I use Q5 labs for all my nutritional and supplement needs. Jiu-Jitsu tracker is something that is becoming a big part of my training where I can keep track of my own training as well as my opponents. I need my body fixed continuously and OSS Arizona has been invaluable in that respect, they have a Jiu-Jitsu background so they understand my NEED to be on the mat.  As I mentioned before, my mental coach, Gustavo Dantas (www.thebjjmentalcoach.com) has been a huge catalyst for me to achieve my desired results.

Check out more of Gustavo Dantas and his team at www.gdjj.com

Now a successful school owner of GMA GDJJ in Tempe, AZ, a leader of Nova Uniao in the states, promoter of the successful AZ International Jiu-Jitsu Tournaments, founder of BJJ Mental Coach.

His message is “acredite” which means “believe” in Portuguese.

Check out the latest video from All Things BJJ and let Gustavo Dantas motivate you for your own success:

On Feb. 15 GMA member Gustavo Dantas will hold a mental skills training class for Jiu-Jitsu practitioners who are interested in improving their performance in tournaments. The fourth degree black belt is also a certified mental coach and life coach.

The seminar will take place at his academy, the GMA GDJJ Academy in Tempe, Arizona located at 1848 E. University Dr. #108,
Tempe, AZ, 85281.

For more information visit www.thebjjmentalcoach.com

Do you want to know what “inner discovery for outer success” is about? Check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BL_84gB-NQ

Have you ever lost a match? Well even if you haven’t, Gustavo has some important details on how to deal with the scenario and also how to prepare for it.

What’s the importance? Let the 4th degree black belt tell you in the video below:

Nova União USA team leader Gustavo Dantas and his gold medal from the American Nationals 2012 senior 1 featherweight division / Publicity photo

One of our most active GMAs when it comes to promoting tournaments and heading competition teams, Nova União USA’s Gustavo Dantas is gearing up to participate in the inaugural World Master and Senior Jiu-Jitsu Championship this October 7 in Long Beach, California. Excited about getting back into the mix as a competitor since his gold-medal winning return at the US Nationals last weekend, his exhuberantly equipped new school, as well as the upward trend in his Nova União competition team’s results, the Senior 1 featherweight spoke to GRACIEMAG about what he has up his sleeve for the near future. Here’s what he had to say:

GRACIEMAG – How did Nova Uniao do at the Nationals?

I’m very happy with the results, 17 medals from 23 competitors. We were only a few points behind the third place. We took almost fifty people from Arizona to compete at the Vegas Open, so our team ended up being smaller for the Nationals.

You are one of our busiest GMA members. How did your preparation for this tournament go, with so much on your plate?

In between Nova União USA, seminars, GD Jiu-Jitsu Events, my NPO Live Jiu-Jitsu (http://us.livejiu-jitsu.org/) and running my school, when I prepare myself for a tournament, I try to train twice a day five days a week, including strength and conditioning and swimming. I don’t care if I am competing for one single match at senior 1 or a tournament at adult division; I am going to train as hard for both. I believe confidence comes from hard work. When I am not able to prepare myself the way I need to due to my other duties or to injuries, I just choose not to compete. I am dealing with some injuries right now, but I will push one month more until the Worlds, and then I will take a break.

You opened your new Jiu-Jitsu Academy six months ago. How is the school doing?

Doing great! I was happy to compete at the Nationals, I was like: “Man, I’m living my teenage dream of having my own 100% Jiu-Jitsu academy, teaching, and competing at almost 38 years old. I am happy to be here competing and coaching”.

We have just hit 200 students, with a little over 40 kids. I put everything that I had in my life into my academy, and it’s paying off. We have a lot of good competitors, but we do have a lot of families who train together. The kids’ program is taught by my black belt Steve Rosenberg, and the women’s program is with my fiancée Kristina Barlaan.

Check out Gustavo’s signature overhead sweep, again used to good effect at the American Nationals:

What is your teaching philosophy?

When I was a younger, I always wanted to have my own team, train my students for competitions, and build champions. As I got older, I started to realize that Jiu-Jitsu goes way beyond that. Jiu-Jitsu taught me how to challenge myself, face my fears and anxieties through competitions, and helped me in the process to become a champion in life. My passion for training competitors is still intact, but with a new version: build champions on the mat and in life. That is what I want my legacy to be. An ordinary person who believed in his dreams, overcame a lot adversity, achieved his goal, and helped people to achieve theirs, which led me to start to discover another passion: studying about self-improvement, sports psychology and getting certified in mental coaching.

I want to make my family and friends proud that they knew me, that when I die, I will be remembered for my passion for Jiu-Jitsu, what I did for the Arizona Jiu-Jitsu community, and my interest in helping people to achieve their goals. Since I was a kid, I always craved for achieving things and me being able to help someone to achieve something meaningful for them makes me happy, and hopefully they can carry on, and help other people to go after their dreams. There is a reason why my students get good results: I give all my heart into coaching.

Any special thanks?

For sure to my sponsors AGGRO Brand; Living Canvas Tattoo in Tempe, Arizona; Origin Gi; FightertTech; Preferred Rehab; and of course all my training partners.

The 2011 Arizona State Championship is set to take place in Tempe on June 25 and 26.

The event will be offering $3000 in cash prizes for the Black Belt Adult division!

Rising star Kristina Barlaan (now a purple belt) will likely be in the mix. Photo: Luca Atalla.

There will be two divisions available: Light Weight (Under 167.5 lbs) and Heavy Weight (Over 167.5 lbs), with the winners receiving $1500 cash each!

So far no competitors have signed up for the Light division yet, but the Heavy already features 2011 middleweight Brazilian national champion Daniel Garcia (Nova Uniao), Carlos Farias (Traven JJ) and Marcel Fortuna (Ralph Gracie).

Registration ends on June 20. Full info at http://strongvon.com/azstate2011.