Vanderson Gomes of Gracie Barra St. Louis is winding down the 2011 year, while already gearing up for the 2012 tournament season. The master’s division black belt is currently training and preparing to fight in the adult division next year. In 2011, he reached a level of success that has led him to believe he can still compete at that level.

At the 2011 American Nationals, Vanderson won silver in his ultra heavy weight division for the gi and silver again in his no gi weight division. He then clinched gold in the no gi open class. At the North American Championship, he won gold in his ultra heavy division and silver in the open class. At the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Vanderson was a double gold winner, winning both his division and the absolute. He received a bronze medal at the 2011 No Gi Worlds in his weight class.

The interesting thing is that he didn’t get in a whole lot of training time in 2011. Vanderson says with all of his working and teaching responsibilities, it hasn’t been easy making time to train for tournaments. To add to that, in November, Vanderson moved from GB Costa Mesa in California to GB St. Louis in Missouri and became the head instructor there. Vanderson is also an IBJJF referee, so when he’s at tournaments, he has to ref all day and compete in between.

“It requires a lot of mental and physical focus and preparation,” the 32-year-old says of trying to keep it all together, “Now, I train after my students leave. I don’t have time to relax. I just change my clothes and get ready to go, but I am ready to start competing back at the adult level. I’m training hard every day, all day. I’m doing a lot of running and other cardio activities. I also work on specific training for grappling, which is known as Greco Roman.”

Vanderson says his goal for 2012 is to be faster and lighter, so he can succeed in his fights. He is hoping he can repeat some of the same successes he had in 2011. “I just want to do my best and improve myself each time I train and compete,” he says, “I have the energy and motivation to keep working hard. So, I’ve now decided to focus on all the big 2012 tournaments, competing at the adult level. I know I’ll have hard fights, but I’m ready for whatever is coming! There are no victories without sacrifices. So, I’m giving my best, and training up to my limits. When the time comes, I will be able to show our Jiu-Jitsu art on the mats. That’s the place where the street fighters should be, instead of fighting or killing innocents out there.”

Vanderson atop the podium / Personal archive photo

The Las Vegas Open was no different. The big man had three matches in the masters open class. His first fight was won efficiently and quickly with a submission. “I was very calm and confident in my game plan going into my first match,” Vanderson says, “My opponent pulled guard on me and I was able to pass to half-guard and quickly submit him with a shoulder choke.”

Gomes’s second match was his most challenging of the day. He was pulled into half-guard, where most of the match played out. “My opponent had a very strong half-guard position that was extremely difficult to pass,” he says, “The fight went the distance and I was awarded the decision via points.”

After his last battle, Vanderson realized that he had lost his grip. He knew he needed to finish the final quickly. “Fortunately, I was able to pass my opponent’s (Coalition 95’s Carlos Melo) guard and submit him with a choke from the north/south position in under three minutes.”

Vanderson aksi won the ultra heavy division, where there was no one else in the bracket. “It felt good to be out there competing again and even better to secure the gold in the absolute division and my weight class after not competing for almost a year,” Vanderson says, “I had a great time at the Las Vegas Open and look forward to defending my title next year. Now I’m heading back to GB Costa Mesa to train hard for the Nationals this September.”

With his competitive matches out of the way, Vanderson threw on his black referee’s shirt and took to the mats to fulfill his responsibilities as an IBJJF ref. He was working his eight-hour shift, thinking the hardest was behind him, but in his seventh hour of work, the funniest thing happened to him. “I was doing my job, helping to draw some opponents back to the center of the ring and suddenly my pants split from behind,” he laughs, “I was in shock and yet I had to keep working. I worked my last hour with my hands crossed behind my back as if nothing ever happened!” It sounds like the fans behind him got more of a show than just a good Jiu-Jitsu match!

Although as the old saying goes, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” this story was too good not to share! Sorry, Vanderson…