Opening day at the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship is always pretty similar.
The ten match areas are overrun by a tidal wave of white and blue belt athletes.
In 2011, nearly 2,300 athletes are signed up, nearly all of them unknowns.
The stars stick to the sidelines, barking instructions.
Marcelo Garcia, Kayron Gracie, Fabio Gurgel, Roberto Cyborg and Bruno Bastos are some of the teachers shouting themselves hoarse from the stands.
With so much excitement provided by anonymous heroes, GRACIEMAG picked 35 pictures taken by Dan Rod to exemplify the beauty that is the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship.
This is just the first picture gallery from the greatest gentle art competition in the world.
Don’t forget to check out the complete coverage on the GRACIEMAG at the Worlds Blog.
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