Pablo beat Saggioro 5-3 to become the champion in the Professional black belt lightweight division. Photo: Personal archive

After succeeding in structuring his personal life in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, Pablo Mantovani resumed doing what he has always done well: competing. A teacher and athlete full-time, Pablo proved, in practice, that he is sharper than ever as he won the Grand Slam in Moscow, Russia.

In the tournament held by the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Tour (AJP), Pablo conquered the 69kg division when he defeated Leonardo Saggioro (BTT) in the final, scoring 5 points to Saggioro’s 3, with a guard pass and a back-take. Pablo’s path was not easy: he also had to eliminate Abubakar Khadaev and win a tough battle against Raul Basílio in the semifinal, where the score was 4-4.

In a recent interview, Pablo analyzed his fight with Saggioro, one of the biggest names in the division.

“I’ve been following him for a while,” said Pablo. “He’s done a World Championship final with Rubens Cobrinha, he’s done several tough fights with Rafael Mendes, and because of that, I knew I couldn’t afford to make mistakes. I left my comfort zone, and since I’m a guard player, I decided to take on his guard and try to pass. He has a good guard pass; that was when I decided to move away from his strong game. In the fight, he pulled; I accelerated to pass and take the back. Later, I ended up losing the back adjustments, and he put pressure to try to pass, but I managed to contain his impetus.”

Victory against great athletes, a Grand Slam title and lots of confidence once again. But how did Pablo keep his mind strong even after going a fair bit of time without competing? He explained:

“I believe that now, at 26, I’ve reached the maturity of an adult. What do I mean by that maturity? I mean not feeling pressure. Many times, I lost tournaments due to feeling pressured to win or because my opponent was tough. This time was different; I ignored that factor. I simply went there to have fun. I didn’t put pressure on myself before fighting; I was just a lot more focused this time. I fought moving forward because I wanted to win. Maturity was a determining factor in my victory.

“I read a few times that other athletes became world champions when they lost the fear of making mistakes. I just did what had to be done: I believed in my game and my potential. It made a big difference. I was ready to become champion — that’s my mindset. It’s to fight moving forward, whether on top or on the bottom, without the fear of making mistakes.”

It’s worth noting that when Pablo isn’t teaching at Baniyas Sport Club, he’s training with the Abu Dhabi national team, led by Ramon Lemos, which brings together some BJJ fighters that reside in the UAE. All the methodology that was being used at Atos Jiu-Jitsu gets applied to the team.

Eli Manning, the ace led the NY Giants to another NFL title. Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for DIRECTV.

What does Jiu-Jitsu have to do with American football? A lot more than would seem, as GRACIEMAG.com outlines below.

1. ELI MANNING’S “JIU-JITSU” COACH

Elisha Manning, the young quarterback who won his second NFL title late this Sunday evening, was throwing too many pass interceptions last season. Then Mike Sullivan—an upstart coach formerly on the Rangers who holds a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu and is big on MMA—entered the scene.

Sullivan didn’t have any experience training quarterbacks; still he took the problem head on, setting Eli Manning up with a triangle like the one he’d seen on the Gracie academy emblems. He assigned a meaning to each vertex on the triangle and encouraged the NY Giants star to seek equilibrium between the three different concepts: leadership, decision making, and precision. Manning embraced Sullivan’s new training philosophy, threw fewer incomplete passes, and ended the season breaking an historic Giants yardage record—and he won the Super Bowl, to boot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd9SB2uaiMM

2. HAVE FUN IN JIU-JITSU RESPONSIBLY

In conversations between Mike Sullivan and the prankster Eli Manning, coach and athlete always set aside a few minutes to talk about anything at all, except football. For every five hours talking about plays, tactics and training, the two would take the edge off through brief exchanges about Adam Sandler movies, telling jokes or being silly. To become a great champion, you don’t need to be serious the whole time—quite the contrary. Comic relief can prove to be a performance booster.

3. FALLING AND GETTING BACK UP IS PART OF LIFE

In football as in the martial arts, knowing how to fall is vital—if just because there will always be something looking to bowl you over. A true ace takes those hard knocks, seems to be down for the count, and leaps back to his feet as though nothing happened.

Or as UFC fighter Renan Barão, another of the weekend’s winners, once said: “You have to see the obstacles along the way as something small, fleeting. There will always be hardships on everyone’s path. You have to keep calm and get past them and keep heading towards your dreams.”

4. JIU-JITSU, WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, IS A TEAM SPORT

Even though it’s an individual sport, in Jiu-Jitsu the power is in the union more than it would seem. If you don’t have motivated teammates to count on, you likely won’t make it very far.

As in a football team, every Jiu-Jitsu school has someone quick, someone technical, a powerhouse with a hulking frame, and that guy who crudely uses force at every opportunity. And all of them will be key in shaping your game, as well as your progress on the mat.