THE LION KING’S

SCAR & MUFASA

NOGI WITH
TOM DEBLASS
WORLDS
2017

39

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 CONTENTS
ISSUE 39 – 2017

10 the big picture

Buchecha, The Worlds 2017 53 oliver geddes
David and Goliath - part 1

14  position study
Donkey guard 54 masterclass
Technique with European &
British champion, Juniao
18  belt promotions
Snaps from your gradings
60 ASK THE DOCTOR
Braulio Estima answers
12: classic match - buchecha vs nogueira
20 a word from the editor
The dying breed of jiu
your BJJ questions
jitsu fighter
74 nick brooks
Shows some lapel chokes
22 it’s science
Nicholas Meregali by the
from side control
numbers
80 kit bag / review corner
All the latest BJJ goodies
24 history 101
Absolute MMA
89 fit to fight
With Andy Marshall
38 nathiely jesus
The female guard master
96 battle photography
Daniel Briseno’s photo
32: mikey musumeci - one and not done
48 sam joseph
When BJJ becomes work
essay from The Worlds

50 matt jardine
Falls head over heels for
98 MATT BENYON
What’s so great about jiu
jitsu?
jiu jitsu

44: scar and mufasa? - yeah, they roll

64: shedding the gi with tom deblass

90: ibjjf world championships 2017

28 NICHOLAS MEREGALI
His time is now

7
 Published by ROGER
GRACIE
Second Front Media Ltd
22 Beecham Road,
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EDITOR: Callum Medcraft We have some great technique lined-up for

you in this interview, including some nice
CONSULTANT EDITOR: Roger Gracie

CONTRIBUTORS:
“IT HAS BEEN GREAT TO guard concepts from my black belt, ‘Juniao’.
The positions he has shown are some that I
like to use myself, so I can vouch that they
Roger Gracie
Nick Brooks
Matt Benyon
Andy Marshall
Braulio Estima
Henrique Junior
GET BACK TO SOME HARD work great!

Tom DeBlass has also provided the nogi

Tom DeBlass
Can Sönmez
Mike Leng
Andre Borges
Sam Joseph
Tyler Bishop
TRAINING IN THE GI, HAVING technique for this latest magazine, and I am
really glad we have Tom featuring his po-
sitions. He’s a guy I’ve known through my
Felix Rodriguez
Oliver Geddes

Matt Jardine
Callum Medcraft SPENT SO MUCH TIME cousin’s gym for many years, and he’s a fan-
tastic martial artist; study what he teaches!

ILLUSTRATION CONTRIBUTORS:
Gartista James Wilson
PHOTOGRAHIC CONTRIBUTORS:
Callum Medcraft Daniel Briseno
Andy Douglas Blanca Marisa Garcia At the time of writing, the World Champion-
Daniel Briseno Frota Academy
GoLive Andre Camara
COVER ILLUSTRATION: James Wilson
Distributed to the newstrade by:
COMAG Specialist – 01895 433800
PRINTED BY:
Buxton Press
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the
contributors to this magazine may not represent the
views of the publishers Second Front Media Limited.
Second Front Media Limited are not liable for any
mistake, misprint or typographic errors.Copyright:
2017 Second Front Media Limited. All material in
this magazine, including both text and images, is
protected by copyright. Replication via republishing in
any print or digital form requires consent from Second
Front Media Limited.
FOCUSSING ON MMA”
ships have come and gone, with a number of
new athletes breaking through at the black
belt level. Many of these athletes feature on
the cover: Nicholas Meregali, Nathiely Jesus
and Mikey Musumeci being three who fea-
ture heavily in this issue.
Meregali was extremely impressive at the
Worlds, submitting everyone on the way to
his final where he defeated Leandro Lo. His
performances really made everyone stand
up and take notice, so it’s great that we have
a detailed interview with him that you must
check out.
Nathiely Jesus is another athlete who has had
an exceptional 2017. Her guard is extremely
dangerous and she is a fighter who always
seems to be looking for the submission, so
do make sure you give her interview a read.
At just 20 years-old, Mikey Musumeci wrote
his name in history by becoming only the
fourth American male to win a black belt
adult world title. Another huge achievement
from a young athlete – big congratulations
to Mikey (read his full interview on page 32).
We also have a really cool interview for you
with George Asprey and Shaun Escoffery,
two actors best known for their roles as Scar
and Mufasa in the West End production of
The Lion King. The wide variety of people
who train jiu jitsu always amazes me; people
who are actors, people who are tradesmen,
doctors, musicians – people from all walks of
life. Do check out this cool feature and see
how the guys manage to incorporate jiu jitsu
into their working lives.
Recently, my time has been dominated with
training for my super fight with Marcus Bu-
checha Almeida at the Gracie Pro. It has
been great to get back to some hard train-
ing in the gi, having spent so much time
focussing on MMA in recent times.By the
time you read this, the fight may have hap-
pened, so all I can really say is that I have
trained hard for this match and I respect
Buchecha a huge amount. He’s the guy to
beat; he moves like a lightweight, but with
the strength and size to go with it, so I am
glad to have this opportunity to test myself
against the man at his best.
Enjoy the latest issue of the magazine guys
and – until next time – keep training and en-
joying jiu jitsu.
ROGER GRACIE

8
 THE BIG
PICTURE
The IBJJF 2017 World Championship
saw Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida
make history in becoming the first
man to win five black belt absolute
world titles.

PICTURE: BLANCA MARISA GARCIA

10
11
CLASSIC MATCH
‘THAT WAS THE BEST COMEBACK I HAVE EVER
SEEN IN MY LIFE!” - MATCH COMMENTATOR,
SHAWN WILLIAMS

This time, Buchecha is ready, flipping Nogueira

MARCUS ALMEIDA VS LEO NOGUEIRA
Marcus Vinicius Oliveira de Almeida first made
an impact at the IBJJF World Championships
in 2011, with a silver in his weight division and
a bronze in the absolute. In the same year,
he also won double gold at the IBJJF Nogi
Worlds, and a gold and a bronze at the IBJJF
Pans. Like many of the greats (Roger, Jacare,
Xande), he is better known by a single name,
Buchecha. That nickname translates to ‘big
cheeks’, bestowed by his original instructor
Rodrigo Cavaca, as Buchecha used to carry
more weight.In 2012, he fought his way to the
Absolute final, facing Leo Nogueira.
THE MATCH
Nogueira immediately shoots for a single leg.
After a moment trying to catch his balance,
Buchecha sits, posting on Nogueira’s head to
regain his feet. Gripping low on the back of his
opponent’s gi, Buchecha pauses, while Nogue-
ira remains firmly clamped onto Buchecha’s
leg. He wants to drive through, but Buchecha is
framing on his head: in combination with the gi
grip, that stuffs the takedown.
Buchecha hops to stay upright, but with a quick
motion, Nogueira brings him down. It is only
for moment, as Buchecha regains his footing
with the help of his arm. Noguiera tries again.
over his head with a flick of his leg. Again, it is
only momentary, Nogueira retaining the same
tight turtle from earlier as Buchecha fights to
gain dominant grips.
He finds them shortly afterwards, moving to
take Nogueira’s back. For a moment it looks
as though Buchecha has the crucifix, Nogueira
narrowly rotating out of danger. The ref inter-
rupts the pace to tidy up Buchecha’s gi. A knee
bar attempt leads into open guard, still with
Buchecha on top.
There’s a scramble, giving Nogueira an open-
ing to swivel underneath into deep half guard.
He works on pulling out Buchecha’s gi, while his

12
 WORDS: CAN SÖNMEZ ILLUSTRATION: GARTISTA

opponent focuses on Nogueira’s arm, looking MATCH LENGTH: 10 MINS LOCATION: CALIFORNIA, USA
for a kimura. At this stage, Buchecha is behind
by one advantage, yet that arm is looking in- VENUE: THE WALTER PYRAMID EVENT: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
creasingly vulnerable as Buchecha inches it away
from the safety of Nogueira’s side.

Nogueira recovers, with a slight pause in the

action as both men attempt to progress from
deep half guard. Buchecha frees his leg and
tries to move to the back, while Nogueira gets
to his knees in order to recover his base. Still on
the arm, Buchecha continues to spin, leaving
Nogueira to defend in what is now open guard.
AFTERMATH
The commentary team, having ruled Buchecha out as the match drew to a close, exclaimed
“That was the best comeback I have ever seen in my life!” He looked out of gas and lethargic,
but was invigorated by the restart, putting everything he had into getting that takedown.

Nogueira manages to free the arm, though Bu-
checha instantly switches to butterfly. He has a
hook under the thigh as well as a firm grip on
the gi near Nogueira’s shoulder. Sensing the
danger, Nogueira stands to return the match
to a takedown battle. The score stands at two
points to zero for Noguiera, with one advan-
tage in the bank.
At the IBJJF Worlds, there is often one athlete who dominates their division for years on end,
before relinquishing the title to the next young phenom. Since 2012, in the men’s 100kg+ cat-
egory, that athlete has been Buchecha. Incredibly, almost every medal he has won at major
championships after his 2012 victory has been gold. That includes a remarkable run of double
gold at the Worlds, which has so far lasted right through to this year.
Noguiera was not so fortunate in regards to competition success, experiencing a notable dip in
his performance. As he told Graciemag in 2015, his teaching load was to blame:

Yet again, that position only lasts for a moment
as Nogueira falls back to open guard, hooking
Buchecha’s leg. He manages to recover his deep
half, adjusting to a gi grip around the leg. Seiz-
ing his moment, Nogueira finally hits the sweep,
landing in Buchecha’s closed guard and then al-
most a triangle.
Nogueira drops to clamp his legs around Bu-
checha and uses that leverage to escape. That
puts him into a passing position, halted by Bu-
checha’s legs reclaiming closed guard. The score
stands at four points to zero in Nogueira’s favour,
with two advantages.
“It happened with me what happens to many black belts that decide to focus on a career as a
teacher. I moved to Miami, Florida, to teach and had a class full of beginners, which left me with-
out a proper training partner. My daily routine would consist of teaching four classes a day and
doing my physical training. That’s simply not enough to maintain a high performance. The best
training I had was at Roberto Cyborg’s academy, but I could only go there once or twice a week.”
By 2015, Noguiera had had enough. He decided to move to Atlanta in order to teach and train
at Alliance HQ, with a far higher level of training partners. Given Buchecha’s incredible rise it may
be too late for Nogueira to finish what he started. Then again, in 2012 everybody had counted
Buchecha out too: jiu jitsu is full of surprises.

Nogueira looks to be in control, methodically

moving towards a pass as he begins to move
around Buchecha’s legs. Looking to turn into tur-
tle, Buchecha now has Nogueira threatening to
take his back. Buchecha spins to inverted guard,
then back into closed guard as he fails to get the
position he needs for a sweep.

Nogueira works for the Tozi pass, but leaves his

arm vulnerable to an attack. Buchecha tries for
an omoplata, progressing to a footlock attempt.
He eventually stands, with Nogueira trying a
footlock of his own. The two men roll into a leg-
lock exchange as the points adjust to four-two,
with Nogueira ahead. The match is almost over
as they roll off the mat.

The referee stands them back up for the last few

seconds. Buchecha finds a reserve of energy
from somewhere and energetically attacks for
the takedown. He drives Nogueira to the mat
with resounding cheers from the Checkmat audi-
ence, securing mount for good measure.

INCREDIBLY, ALMOST EVERY

MEDAL MARCUS BUCHECHA
HAS WON AT MAJOR
CHAMPIONSHIPS AFTER HIS
2012 VICTORY HAS BEEN GOLD

SOURCES: IBJJF.ORG • GRACIEMAG.COM • BUDOVIDEOS.COM

13
 POSITION STUDY

DONKEY GUARD
Initially called the “reverse
jumping guard takedown” and
later re-named “donkey guard” by
internet users (the name by which
it became famous), the donkey
guard is a grappling position
created by Brazilian jiu jitsu
black belt, Jeff Glover.
First seen against Tom Barlow at the
2011 ADCC, it was initially used as a way
to taunt and frustrate opponents. The
position is sometimes frowned upon by
the more traditional jiu jitsu followers,
who see the position as a sign of disre-
spect towards an opponent.

It was often used as a takedown where the

attacker shows his backside to the adver-
sary, baiting him to move forward. When
this happens, the attacker will then launch
his legs backwards, closing them in a re-
verse closed guard type position.

From here, this allows a series of transi-

tions, from takedowns (sweeps) to back
takes and submissions.

THE HISTORY OF THE DONKEY GUARD

The Donkey guard is a fairly new position
to grappling. The initial concept of the
position is that of the “kani basami” - a
Japanese name for the scissor takedown.

The kani basami is banned within most

grappling rules, including judo and most
Brazilian jiu jitsu tournaments, because it’s
considered to be a highly dangerous ma-
noeuvre - one that can cause serious dam-
age to the opponent’s ankles and knee.

In order to circumvent these rules in a

sporting environment, Jeff Glover cre-
ated this peculiar position. The idea was
to force the engagement of an opponent
who might be trying to stall from the feet.

When asked about the position, Glover

said: “It’s fun and effective. I have actually
used it on the streets in a real life self-de-
fense situation.

“So for every one who says it is not effective,

or doesn’t work in real life self-defence situ-
ations, I have this white a** for you to kiss.”

ILLUSTRATION: GARTISTA WORDS: ANDRE BORGES EDITOR AT WWW.BJJHEROES.COM

14
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ACHIEVED AND YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S NAME, AND WE WILL PUBLISH AS MANY AS WE CAN IN OUR MAGAZINE.

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Gracie Barra Chorley promotions: Tom Wignall , David Nightingale,

Professor Matt ‘Stalone’ Callaghan, Ste Best and Alex Crossthwaite
Christian Vienneau was promoted to blue belt by Arthur Ruff. promoted to blue belt.

Saeed Malik was promoted to purple belt by Andy Roberts. Ali Bayley was promoted to black belt by her Husband, Paul Bridges.

Promotions at Gracie Barra Bath: Nath Fahey and Nando Borralho were
promoted to brown belt and Richie Donnelly to purple belt under Professor Gabriel Rose was promoted to purple belt by Master Luiz Palhares in
Salvatore Pace. Jacksonville, Florida.

18
 from 1st
Moises Tovar received his blue belt
Degree Prof. Mark Phillips. Morgan Smyth, Ryan Smyth and Micky Downs were promoted to black belt by Romero Jacaré
Cavalcanti at Atlantic Jiu Jitsu, Sligo, Ireland.

Eusebio Sevilla was promoted to purple belt under Nick Stefan at Gracie
Humaita Carlsbad, California.

Adam Bradley was promoted to purple belt under Professor Andre Galvão at
Atos HQ in San Diego, CA.

Promotion day at Artemis BJJ: Chris Jackson was promoted to purple

belt, while Milka Dimitrova, Kirsty Harris, Ruth McGowan, Mathew
Johnston, Matt Houghton, Sam Grayson, Tristan Moss, Steven Tonks,
Erick Soto, Simon Shakespeare, Oscar Sommer and Mike Bull were
promoted to blue belt.
Karl Jenson was promoted to blue belt at Charles Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy.

19
 A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
THE DYING BREED OF JIU JITSU FIGHTER
Has being athletic become more important than being skilful?
T akedown, pass, submit: the credo of jiu jitsu
stalwarts from yester-year. Technically, there’s
no denying our art has changed, but what of the
actual fighters who top the podiums?
Jiu jitsu’s receptiveness to evolution is, in my
eyes, one of its most appealing attributes. It
doesn’t matter who you favour - be it the ag-
gressive top player or the flashy guardeiro – the
stylistic diversity we see makes for entertaining
matches. Cast your mind’s eye back to the or-
igins of your training; I would hazard a guess
that even those with little experience under
their belt will recognise the constantly changing
technical subtleties of our sport.
Technical evolution aside, one of the biggest
changes I’ve noticed in recent times is perhaps
less appealing; maybe even worrying. Profession-
alism within jiu jitsu is at an all-time high, with
fighters working frantically away from the mats
and in the gym to gain that extra edge. In light
of this, I pose the question: has being ‘athletic’
become more important than being ‘technical’?
Let’s take Leandro Lo as an example. Lo is clear-
ly a man on top of his game, with a trophy cab-
inet most jiu jitsu players could only hope for.
Stylistically, he relies on his athleticism: frantic
passing, explosive sweeps and dynamic scram-
bles. It can make for compelling viewing, but
these bursts of action are rarely maintained
over 10 minutes, and tend not to end via sub-
mission victories.
Conversely, we have Bernardo Faria: Leandro Lo’s
kryptonite. Faria has developed a meticulous,
pressure-based game that can only be achieved
via decades of graft on the mats - not in the
weights room or on the running track. His move-
ments are efficient, his pace is consistent, his sub-
mission percentage is impressive; it’s everything I
expect of an elite level jiu jitsu fighter.
“STAYING AT A DISTANCE
BEFORE ENGAGING FOR
A 10-SECOND PASSING
BURST, HOPING TO SCORE
AN ADVANTAGE BEFORE
DISENGAGING, IS NOT THE
SORT OF JIU JITSU I WOULD
PAY TO WATCH”
20
I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t left me with a bit
of a dilemma. Obviously, Leandro Lo is an ex-
tremely technical fighter, who only recently took
up lifting weights to help bulk-up for the heav-
ier divisions, but would his style be as effective
in the absence of extreme athleticism? Playing
devil’s advocate, would Bernardo Faria benefit
from spending more time working on improv-
ing his athleticism, bringing it closer in line with
his technical understanding? These are two op-
posing styles – but which one best represents
Brazilian jiu jitsu?
Enough on Lo and Faria. I’ve used these two
to help illustrate a trend I’ve noticed across our
sport as a whole: jiu jitsu is growing. More tour-
naments are offering money and more people
are pursuing their goals with the mindset of a
professional athlete. With this shift in mentality,
I worry that we are seeing youngsters focussing
too heavily on becoming bigger, faster, strong-
er; as opposed to developing the vice-like pres-
sure of someone like Xande Ribeiro.
Maybe it’s a passing trend - or maybe I’m just
being an old stick in the mud – but, for me,
jiu jitsu is about championing technique over
everything. Marcelo Garcia is my star witness, as
a man who, famously, has never supplemented
his time on the mat with any physical condition-
ing at all. You could argue he’s an enigma in the
sport, or you could argue that simply spending
all your time on the mat is the way to go.
My coach, Roger Gracie, does little condition-
ing away from the tatami. Aside from jiu jitsu,
he would often train judo or run hill sprints to
balance his cardio, but I’ve pretty much never
known him to incorporate weight training into
his routine. Again, you could call him an enig-
ma, or you could say he’s a stellar example of
how you should use your training time.
Without doubt, there are countless jiu jitsu ath-
letes who swear by their strength training and
gain confidence from knowing they won’t lose
for lack of power or explosiveness. I guess there’s
never going to be a ‘one size fits all’ formula, so
perhaps it’s pointless trying to define one.
Though I have no preference on how fighters
should be training, I do have a preference on
how they should be fighting. Staying at a dis-
tance before engaging for a 10-second pass-
ing burst, hoping to score an advantage before
disengaging, is not the sort of jiu jitsu I want to
watch. Give me long, drawn out chess matches;
fighters edging forwards slowly and grinding
down their opponents. For me, that’s jiu jitsu.
One of my favourite matches ever would look
like nine minutes of apparent nothingness to a
layman, but an absolute masterclass to jiu jitsu
fans. At the 2009 World Championships, Roger
Gracie took nearly the whole allotted time grind-
ing down Romulo Barral’s patented guard. It
didn’t look pretty, it wasn’t explosive or dynam-
ic, but Gracie passed, he then mounted, he then
got the submission. There were no moments of
disengagement or frantic explosiveness – just
pure jiu jitsu. I’d take that any day of the week
over near passes, penalties and advantages.
I hope you enjoy our latest issue - and what about
the cover?! Awesome, I’m sure you’ll agree.
CALLUM MEDCRAFT
 BY TYLER BISHOP

NICHOLAS
IT’S SCIENCE
FEW ATHLETES HAVE BROKEN ONTO THE BLACK BELT SCENE WITH SUCH IN-
STANT SUCCESS AS NICHOLAS MEREGALI. A BLACK BELT UNDER MARIO REIS,
MEREGALI IS KNOWN FOR HIS EXCELLENT USE OF THE DE LA RIVA GUARD,

MEREGALI AS WELL AS HIS AGGRESSIVE PASSING STYLE THAT OFTEN LEADS TO SUBMIS-
SION VICTORIES FROM THE BACK.

THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF

MEREGALI’S MATCHES
WAS 5:46

75%
OF MEREGALI’S SUBMISSIONS
FROM GUARD WERE TRIANGLES
‘It’s Science’ is brought to you by Bishop-
Bjj.com. The goal of BishopBjj.com is to
expand and empower the jiu jitsu commu-
nity by emphasising the science and art of
MEREGALI SCORED FIRST IN
jiu jitsu in fun and exciting ways. We want
to highlight what makes jiu jitsu so calcu-
100% OF THE MATCHES HE
lated, but also what makes it so much fun. WENT ON TO WIN

22
 66%
OF MEREGALI’S MATCH
WINS ENDED BY SUBMISSION
50%
OF MEREGALI’S SUBMISSIONS
WERE CHOKES FROM THE BACK
60% OF MEREGALI’S BACK
TAKES TOOK PLACE WHEN
PASSING GUARD
THE BREAKDOWN
Nicholas Meregali is one of jiu jitsu’s fastest rising
stars. Recently, he was able to out-grapple perennial
division favorite, Leandro Lo, to secure his very first Jiu
Jitsu World title. What’s more, he did it in his very first
year at black belt.
After commentating the IBJJF World Jiu Jitsu Cham-
pionship this year, I thought I knew what to expect
when evaluating Meregali’s jiu jitsu game. However, I
discovered that there is more than meets the eye with
this young Alliance standout.
THE STUDY
When Meregali stepped onto the mat at the Long
Beach pyramid earlier this year to battle Lo in the fi-
nals, many expected Lo to do what he always does…
find a way to win. Meregali had other plans. Meregali
was able to use his precise timing, and complete bot-
tom and top game, to frustrate and exhaust the future
hall of famer. This is the game of Nicholas Meregali;
sharp, calculated and opportunistic.
SWEEPS (POSITION)
DE LA RIVA GUARD.................................................................. 2
SPIDER GUARD........................................................................ 2
CLOSED GUARD.........................................................................1
LASSO GUARD...........................................................................1
50/50 GUARD...........................................................................1
X-GUARD.................................................................................. 2
SWEEPS (TYPE)
X-GUARD...................................................................................1
TOMANAGI.................................................................................1
SCISSOR................................................................................... 2
SIT UP AND OVERTAKE OPPONENT......................................... 2
OMOPLATA................................................................................1
COLLAR DRAG / ARM DRAG.....................................................1
OFF BALANCE OPPONENT FROM DE LA RIVA...........................1
80%
OF MEREGALI’S
MATCHES ENDED
IN VICTORY
TOTAL MATCHES
OBSERVED 15
TOTAL MINUTES
OBSERVED 82
MATCHES WON
BY SUBMISSION 08
MATCHES WON
BY POINTS 04
OPPONENT
WON MATCH 03
TOTAL
MATCHES WON 12
Meregali is well known for his guard; his length and
frame are the classic calling cards of great guard play-
ers past. In our study, Nicholas submitted his oppo-
nent from his guard in 27% of all matches; and in 1/3
of all of his wins. In fact, 50% of all of his submissions
came from the bottom.
Meregali is about as efficient as they come from his
guard. There is little wasted movement in his transi-
tions, and he is about as talented as we’ve seen transi-
tioning between different open guards. It was actually
particularly difficult to classify which positions to at-
tribute sweeps to, as many of the sweeping positions
were connected by small effortless movements. In the
study, Meregali swept opponents from six different
guards using seven different types of sweeps. Accord-
ing to our observations, he never completed the same
type of sweep more than twice.
This data would lead you to believe that this alone
defines the game of Meregali; however, nothing could
be further from the truth. In fact, Meregali secured
more guard passes in our study than he did sweeps,
with a pass to sweep ratio of 10:9.
PASS (POSITION)
HALF GUARD............................................................................ 3
STANDING.................................................................................7
PASS (TYPE)
LEG DRAG................................................................................. 3
KNEE OVER AND BACK STEP.....................................................1
KNEE CUT................................................................................. 2
BULL FIGHTER.......................................................................... 3
LEG WEAVE................................................................................1
TAKING THE BACK
FROM PASSING GUARD........................................................... 3
GUARD.......................................................................................1
TURTLE......................................................................................1
ABSTRACT:
All matches observed of Nicholas Meregali used in this small
sample occurred at major jiu jitsu events in the years 2016-
2017. Only techniques, occurrences and outcomes that
were recorded are displayed in the data below (i.e. if no
butterfly sweeps occurred, there will not be a representation
of that in the sample data charts). Matches were selected at
random based on freely available matches. This is a limited
sample but - given the estimated number of matches in this
time period - it is well above the percentage necessary to
create a scientifically validated trend sampling.
When passing, Meregali preferred passing in space
from the standing position. Approximately 70% of his
sweeps came from this position with the other 30%
coming from half guard. 30% of his passes were varia-
tions of the leg drag – with another 30% coming from
variations of the bull fighter pass. He blended these
two together really well, but was always opportunistic
in his chances to pass; therefore we saw a strong varie-
ty of techniques used. This is something we rarely see
with young competitors.
If you remember back to the beginning of this article
you’ll note that 50% of Meregali’s submissions came
from guard. Where did the other 50% come from? They
all came in the exact same fashion – chokes from the
back position. Meregali took the back of his opponent
in 33% of matches we observed. He also had a danger-
ous 80% finishing rate once he achieved the position.
Nicholas Meregali is one of the most talented and
transcendent athletes in modern jiu jitsu. It is not im-
possible to see him one day being an absolute division
world champion. In fact, it’s probably not fair to put any
limitations on what he can achieve at this point. To say
his future is bright would be an understatement.
SUBMISSION (POSITION)
BACK........................................................................................ 4
CLOSED GUARD.........................................................................1
LASSO GUARD.......................................................................... 2
SPIDER GUARD.........................................................................1
SUBMISSION (TYPE)
CHOKE FROM THE BACK.......................................................... 4
LOOP CHOKE.............................................................................1
TRIANGLE................................................................................. 3
SUMMARY
SUCCESSES: CHOKE FROM THE BACK
TOP TECHNIQUES: TRIANGLE & DE LA RIVA GUARD
23
 HISTORY 101:
ABSOLUTE MMA
Thiago Stefanutti has several state champion-
ships to his name back in his native Brazil and is
currently a third-degree black belt. In February
of this year, he was promoted to that rank by the
man who has guided his journey ever since he
started BJJ, Paulo Streckert.
Gustavo Falciroli was asked by the place he
worked at in Perth to bring someone down to
the gym from Brazil. He invited Stefanutti to
Australia, then a few months later in January
2011, Stefanutti was invited to take a position
at Absolute MMA. He now oversees a wealth
of talent at that school, having been there since
the grand opening.
Liwia Gluchowska was born in 1984, near the
Polish city of Wroclaw. A talented athlete even
at a young age, she began gymnastics at seven,
then moved to Australia in 1996 (hence why the
24
spelling of her name tends to be Livia, to make
the pronunciation clear). Gluchowska decided
to switch from gymnastics to cycling at 19, be-
fore refocusing on academic studies in physio-
therapy at the University of Melbourne.
It wasn’t long until she found herself succeeding
in yet another sport, this time Brazilian jiu jitsu.
She began with Daniel Shaw in 2010, then after
blue belt she trained under Thiago Stefanutti
and Lachlan Giles. A mere three years after she
first stepped on the mats (albeit training an in-
credible 32 hours a week), Gluchowska won the
IBJJF Worlds as a blue and the IBJJF World No
Gi as a purple belt, both in the same year. She
would go on to capture the IBJJF Worlds title
at brown belt in 2016. Her well-deserved black
belt was tied around her waist earlier this year
by Lachlan Giles.
Like many of us of a certain age, the road that
led Giles to BJJ was paved with kung fu VHS
tapes, which shifted to copies of the first UFC.
As a 16-year-old kung fu enthusiast, Giles took
some convincing, but eventually succumbed
and tried a BJJ class: he has been hooked ever
since. Training under numerous instructors,
Giles received his black belt in 2015. In an inter-
view with BJJ Legends, he commented:
“The most challenging aspect of being a black
belt in Australia is the difficulty in competing at
an international standard. We have a lot of tal-
ented grapplers in Australia but it is rare to see
them all on the same mat. Therefore the envi-
ronment is different to that you would see at the
headquarters for some of the bigger teams in
the world. That said, we are developing a great
competition team at Absolute South Yarra and
there are a bunch of people training full time.”
Absolute MMA can boast of not just one fe-
male black belt, but two. Melbourne native
Maryanne Mullahy began her BJJ training at
the age of sixteen. She has also trained in nu-
merous other disciplines, a solid grounding for
her successful career in MMA (she debuted at
BRACE Girls in 2012, winning via armbar). In
2013, Mullahy told TheMMACorner.com that
“I have been training in jiu-jitsu for the past 10
years, on and off. Really, I have just been trave-
ling and training.” Along the way, she achieved
a #1 IBJJF ranking as a brown belt.
 BY CAN SÖNMEZ

TIMELINE

1996
Thiago Stefanutti starts training
in BJJ
1996
Livia Gluchowska moves to
Australia
2010
Gluchowksa begins training in
BJJ
2011
Stefanutti is invited to teach
at the newly founded Absolute
MMA
2012
Maryanne Mullahy wins her
debut MMA fight via armbar
2013
Kit Dale earns his black belt
after only four-and-a-half years

There is a diverse group of students at Absolute

MMA, including Jiu Jitsu Style’s own Hannah
Gorman. She moved to Australia from the UK
last year, where she is in the process of launching
She Beast Apparel. There are also well-known
figures from the BJJ world, such as social me-
dia star Kit Dale: he previously taught at Infinity,
which was taken over by Absolute MMA.
Dale’s comedy channel, which he runs with his
brother Scott, has considerably raised his profile,
along with his exploits in competition. He is also
one of the rare athletes who managed to get a
legitimate black belt in less than five years, a re-
markably short space of time for BJJ.
Dale’s introduction to the sport came in 2008,
Dale’s success with his comedy videos has con-
tributed to an acting career. That includes ap-
pearances in the TV series Jack Irish, a role in
the short film Beyond the Water’s Edge and in
2018, he will feature in Iron Sky: The Coming
Race. Speaking on the Grappling documentary,
Dale noted:
“Stepping outside your comfort zone is a huge
thing in life that a lot of people really don’t do.
If you’re doing jiu jitsu, competitively, you’re
always stepping outside your comfort zone,

together with his cousin. By 2009, Dale was
competing regularly. He would spend several
belts under Peter de Been, then later moved to
Checkmat, which is how he came into contact
with Yuri Simoes. Although Simoes would later
leave Checkmat in order to move to Caio Terra’s
team, Dale stuck with him. As he put it on The
Berimbolo Kid’s site in 2014:
“The only people who have problems are the
political extremists. I train with who I want when
I want. I’m not bound to the laws of politics and
if someone tries to control me that way then I
would no longer represent them. I represent
Checkmat but I do my own thing and they let me
which is why our relationship lasts.”
2015
because you’re kinda naked out there. […] It
definitely helped me when moving into acting,
because I was on camera a lot with jiu jitsu and Absolute MMA St Kilda opens,
you’re in the spotlight. So you feel a lot more headed by newly promoted
calm in acting.” black belt Lachlan Giles
2016
At present, Absolute MMA is spread across three
locations in Victoria, with gyms in Melbourne, Gluchowska wins the IBJJF
Collingwood and St Kilda. The team was able Worlds as a brown belt.
to send twenty grapplers to the IBJJF Worlds Absolute MMA Collingwood
in 2017, resulting in two blue belt silver medals. opens.
2017
Given it is full of young, active, high level com-
petitors, expect to see more Absolute MMA rep-
resentatives on the podium at a major event soon. Gluchowksa is promoted to
black belt

SOURCES: • ABSOLUTEMMA.NET.AU • BJJHEROES.COM • SHEBEASTBJJ.COM

WOMBATSPORTS.WORDPRESS.COM • LIVJIUJITSU.COM.AU • WATCHBJJ.COM
BLITZMAG.NET • GIORCARDO1394.BLOGSPOT.CO.UK • KITDALETRAINING.COM

25
The Journey To Professional Jiu-Jitsu Has Begun
TOKYO LOS ANGELES RIO DE JANEIRO ABU DHABI LONDON
July 15, 2017 September 23 & 24, 2017 November 10,11 & 12, 2017 January 12 & 13, 2018 March 10 & 11, 2018
Makuhari Messe LA Convention Center, Carioca Arena, IPIC Arena, Copper Box Arena
Convention Center, Japan California, USA Rio De janeiro, Brazil Abu Dhabi, UAE London, UK

Open to ALL Nationalities. All Belts, Juveniles, Adults, Masters & Legends. UAEJJF World Ranking Points.

For more information visit www.uaejjf.org

HIS TIME IS NOW
NICHOLAS MEREGALI
The IBJJF World Championships are always a highlight in our compe-
tition calendar. The community looks on as the champions elect
battle it out for the ultimate title in our sport. Upsets are not
uncommon, but few would have predicted that an athlete from
Rio Grande de Sul, with only six months’ experience as a black belt,
would deny the seemingly unstoppable Leandro Lo a heavyweight
title. Enter Nicholas Meregali: his time is now.

WORDS: CALLUM MEDCRAFT ILLUSTRATION: JAMES WILSON PICTURES: DANIEL BRISENO

M
eregali is a young man with a wise head on his shoulders.
He’s a deep thinker; he reads philosophy and practises mind-
fulness – not your average 23-year-old, to say the least. Em-
phasis on mental fortitude is just as prevalent in his thinking as the
ability to apply a dominant de la Riva guard (which, by the way, he
does exceptionally well), and you can’t help but be captivated while
he’s talking.
Growing up in the south of Brazil, Nicholas was introduced to jiu jitsu
by his brother, and began his journey under the guidance of Jeferson
Adan. “It has been years since I started; it was November of 2009 to
be exact,” he says on his introduction to the art.
“It was such a long time ago that I have few memories of those first
experiences, but I can still remember some. One of them was the
immense joy that took over me, to the point of feeling like a super
hero as a child. Another feeling was that I used to get angry for not
being able to perform certain movements, and that feeling lasted a
long time because I had difficulty learning jiu jitsu. In many ways, my
pride was good and bad: it helped me want to do better, but made
me struggle when I wasn’t progressing like I wanted to. Nowadays,
this isn’t a problem, but I do remember this from my early training.”
It wasn’t long before Meregali started to show real promise as an ath-
lete, after winning a number of regional tournaments and excelling
within Jeferson’s academy. In what has become a familiar story, Nich-
olas’ passion for jiu jitsu brought with it a tough decision as he faced
a crossroads in his life. In order to progress he needed to elevate his
training, and potentially move on to pastures new. Testament to his
teacher’s good intentions, it was Jeferson who suggested Nicholas
look to gain extra training away from his home in Santo Antonio.
“I started my training with Jeferson and even today I train with him
practically every Saturday,” says Meregali with a smile. “I have a very
nice relationship with both Jefferson and Mario (Reis), but at the be-
ginning it was difficult to manage my training and travelling. I lived
in an inner city where I did not have the same support and structure
I get today.
“I made my changes in September 2013 while I was a blue belt to
really focus hard on jiu jitsu. I had already won some important titles,
and we were at a point where we needed to change to evolve. It was
strange at first because Jeferson wanted me to have this evolution
and it was a decision taken by both of us, but even so it was tough for
him to lose one of his main athletes and for me to leave my mentor.
“Several points shaped my choice; I decided to live for the sport. I
had a good support but not compared to what I received from Mario.
His gym is much bigger, there are more training schedules; more op-
portunities to improve and several people living by the art, like me.
On top of that, Mario has great experience and wisdom as an athlete
and leader. Everything added to my decision, but surely the fact of
living in the gym was what most captivated me at first, because I
would be living my dream, which is still my dream today.”
Success rarely comes in the absence of a strong mind, or without
guidance and mentorship. It was under the Alliance banner, and the
guidance of Mario Reis, that Meregali took his game to the next level.
“It would be impossible to be the athlete and the person I am today
if it were not for Mario,” says Nicholas. “He teaches much more than
just knowing about jiu jitsu; he shares teachings about life, the right
attitude to have, and perfect choices to follow in a beautiful way. I
think the cool thing about our connection and what makes the most
difference in our results is the trust we have in each other. I dedicate
myself totally to his teaching.
“He is a master who does not command; he gives tips for the way he
chose and sets the example. I think the coolest thing about our work
is trying to be a better and more complete human being every day.
We have fun; it’s not always easy when trying to iron out your flaws,
but this process gives us a lot of confidence that we deserve to win
in life and deserve to receive all the glory of the world. I believe it is
worth nothing to be a great champion on the mat if you cannot live a
good, spiritual life – doing good for others – away from it.”
Having invested in his jiu jitsu future in new surroundings, it didn’t
take long before the medals began to pile up. As a purple belt,
Meregali gained a first IBJJF World title, and it’s still a title held dear-
ly in his heart.
“My 2015 World championship gold as a purple belt was inexplica-
ble; I’d never felt in any competition what I felt in that tournament”,
Nicholas recalls. “It was as a result of good energy, happiness, ab-
solute certainty and unshakable confidence. It was my second World
Championship as a purple belt and a lot happened to make that
moment special.
“I had tremendous support from all of my team - our team has some-
thing amazing that captivates anyone. I remember that the day of the
event passed very fast, I hardly remember many things, only the en-
ergy of my friends and a few moments during the event. This World
championship was the best moment of my life and I felt like life was
giving me the maximum I could ever ask for.”
Following his promotion to brown belt, success didn’t dwindle, with
further IBJJF and WPJJC World titles being added to his CV. Perhaps
more importantly, Meregali was gaining a reputation for his domi-
nant de la Riva guard and submission orientated game. His style is
all about moving forward, pressing the pace and hunting for the tap.

29
 “I like to move forward, with aggression and personality,” Meregali
explains. “The art of jiu jitsu teaches that the finish is what is the most
beautiful thing you can hope for. At our team, we always work like
this, to look for the submission. Of course, there will be fights where,
by level or strategy, it will mean you can’t get the submission, but
certainly that will always be the focus.
“I do not build my game thinking about what will be ‘safer’ in a com-
petition or what will bring me more results. I like to learn new things,
different positions that do not fit with what I’ve been doing already.
I think people who really know jiu jitsu work in all areas and I want to
have the most complete game I can.
from the moment we switched to the black belt we were ready to
play a good role - we just needed to keep working and the results
would come naturally.”
This focus on hard work has paid dividends for Meregali, and much
quicker than most could ever have imagined. The 2017 World Cham-
pionships saw a man possessed make short work of all-comers on
route to the heavyweight final, finishing everyone by submission,
including Lucas Leite in under three minutes. Going on to beat Le-
andro Lo and pick up a black belt world title - at his first attempt –
was the highlight of the tournament. This apparently instant success
shocked the community, but what of Nicholas?

“Whenever I go in to fight I try to concentrate as best I can to deliver “We were confident it would come,” says Meregali on his World ti-
100% and show my personality. I believe that my strong point is the tle win. My team and I worked hard and long for this moment. We
way in which I face the chal- always believed that when
lenges that occur during the the opportunity arose, we
fight. Being very focused and
with all my energy released,
I can fight with the heart and
"This World championship would be ready to receive
glory. I have been living
in the gym for almost four
put my jiu jitsu in practice in
the simplest possible way. I
always fight moving forward,
was the best moment of my years and dedicating all my
actions and moments exclu-
sively to my dream.

life and I felt like life was

and with a lot of desire to finish
and without any strategy, just “What went in behind the
fighting.” scenes leading up to the
World Championship win is
Having been promoted to
black belt late last year, 2017
was set for the Alliance young-
giving me the maximum I more valuable and more de-
serving than just that won-
derful Sunday on the mat.

could ever ask for”

ster to take his bow amongst Certainly, all the work gave
the elite of our sport. It was us this certainty and con-
during an Abu Dhabi Nation- fidence to get among the
al Pro event in Brazil that he great names of jiu jitsu and
would claim his first major scalp. In beating the legend, Xande Ribei- get to exhale all energy and heart. Everyone who trains at Av. Ben-
ro, he turned many heads within the community. In a sense, it marked jamim Constante 1228 not only believed this success would come,
his arrival - but Meregali wasn’t fazed. but were sure of it.

“Maybe, for some people, that put me on the map,” says Nicholas
on beating Xande. “I guess some people wait for wins like this as
proof to feel confident in an athlete. It is extremely normal, but it is
not pleasant to know that someone only admires you or follows you
after you have done something like win one match. I believe that
“We worked hard for a long time. Reaching the black belt and be-
ing World Champion has always been a daily dream and the basic
tracks were essential for growth and development. Getting the title
so quickly after gaining my black belt is a result for everyone who has
been with me day after day. I have a wonderful team, friends, a sen-

30
sational family and especially teachers who built my confidence
and showed me that it would be possible.

“The work that Mario has done to me, mainly in these last
months, even having lost the Pan Ams twice to the same oppo-
nent, strengthened me and put a very strong belief that I have the
conditions to achieve what I want. They were three months living
intensely and Mario demanded 100% commitment. Every day I
was exhausted when it came time to sleep. Having a teacher who
knew the way to success, and giving him all my trust, is why I think
I gained the success I’ve had.”

Many had Leandro Lo down as a dark horse to scoop double gold at

the Worlds this year, with the big question being whether he could
de-throne Marcus Almeida in the absolute division. Having not read
the script, and denying his adversary a heavyweight title, Meregali is
quick to stress that he holds no athlete in too high esteem.

“He really is an idol of our sport. He’s done - and continues to do -

so much in jiu jitsu, states Meregali. “For me though, I try to never
admire any athletes and idolise them. I’ve never been a fan, and I’ve
never put a name on a pedestal. I admire and am a fan of people
who live with me, who give me examples of being human, who
motivate me, laugh and cry with me, suffer in training and make
my life special.

“It’s impossible for me to gain the motivation and psychological

edge I need in life by idolising an athlete who wins medals - im-
possible. It’s about the people around me. I’ve always heard Mario
talk about this approach, and I think I can now understand in prac-
tice how well I’ve done it myself.

“It’s a strange feeling to be the black belt World Champion. It’s

been intense, and I’ve been a little overrun with emotion during
the last few weeks. I have fulfilled part of a dream, and maybe that
makes me euphoric, but it brings a little fear. Now I have more
responsibilities and expectation on my shoulders. Mario always
prepared me psychologically for this moment, so that when the
time came we would be ready to control bad thoughts; vanity
and ego.”

In conversation with Meregali, you gain a feeling of a man totally

in control and focused on his journey; the 2017 successes are no
doubt just the tip of the iceberg. Delving a little deeper, we dis-
cover the Gaucho has a passion away from jiu jitsu, which explains
his deep-thinking, philosophical approach to life.

“I think my main hobby is reading - I love reading”, says Nicholas.

“I am sure that the greatest source of knowledge and evolution is
reading and if I could only give one piece of advice to someone it
would be to love books. Love books, because what you read and
learn shapes your character.”

Jiu jitsu offers so much to its practitioners; something we can all

agree on. In a refreshingly open and apt passage of conversation,
we are delighted to hear Meregali values his love of jiu jitsu – and
everything it offers him – way more than he could ever value a
gold medal.

“Jiu jitsu allows you to discover new things about yourself dai-
ly; living intense feelings and thoughts,” he says. “This spiritual
evolution that jiu jitsu provides, consciously and unconsciously, is
such a gift. The hours I spend on the mat are the most joyful of the
day. Every human being cries out for evolution and our art is an
amazing tool for this. We experience so many emotions: anger at
being submitted, sadness when losing, tranquillity during the roll
– so many feelings in just a few minutes. Jiu jitsu shapes people for
life. By knowing how to control your state of mind through jiu jitsu,
you are better equipped at dealing with problems in your life.”

With the smoke now clearing after the biggest competition of his
life, the sky is the limit for Meregali. We expect plenty more show-
downs with the likes of Leandro Lo, undoubtedly more medals,
and Nicholas continuing to bring his unique style to proceedings.
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for this rising star.

“There are many ideas and dreams to be fulfilled,” says Nicholas

in closing. “I have become a black belt world champion, but I
want to write a different story, something that never existed be-
fore. Having won one world title does not change my goal for
evolution and my ambition.

“I believe that this glory I received only motivated me and con-

firmed that the work we have been doing is the correct and the
shortest way to reach our goals. We want to take advantage of the
rest of the year and work much the same way that we have been
working for the World Championship and also to know a little of
the World, spreading our knowledge about the art. It’s been an
amazing time for me, but I’m ready to work!”

31
 o t D o n e
u m e c i : O ne and N
Mikey Mu s
In 2015, we interviewed an up-and-coming Amer-
ican who had caught the attention of everyone
by getting the best of Joao Miyao. Still a teen-
ager, and only recently minted a black belt, we
asked him what he had planned after such a
gruelling first year of top-level competition?

e answered, “Right now, I’m just focusing on fixing up any injuries

I have on my body. It’s been a long year of competing and some-
times when you compete so much you lose that drive and I just want

H
to make sure I feel physically better. I’m focusing on that right now
and we’ll see what opportunities come up for me to fight this year.
I’m focusing mainly on next year because I’m gonna win black belt
Worlds next year. Hopefully. God willing.” It turns out that Mikey
Musumeci was only off by a year when predicting his future.

The fourth American-born male IBJJF Black Belt World Champion

sat down with Jiu Jitsu Style to fill us in on how his game evolved to
achieve such a distinguished accomplishment.

A MINOR HICCUP
Coveting something is easy, but putting in the work to turn that de-
sire into a reality often isn’t. In the world of BJJ, sometimes all the
hard work and preparation in the world can come up short when
it comes to medal chasing. Mikey’s been a star on the rise in the
jiu jitsu world since he began competing as a black belt, but he’s
been driven to become a world champion in his sport almost all his
competitive life.

After years of hyper-focused dedication, Mikey has achieved a life-

long dream at the ripe old age of 20. When asked how it felt to
stand on top of the podium, he said that he felt elated. “It is honestly
insane, the feeling! It still feels fake to me! For the past seven years I
dreamed about becoming a black belt world champion and to finally
accomplish this - I’m still in shock. I feel extremely more motivated
to train harder and to make history; to be the only American to win
black belt Worlds twice; this is my new goal,” said Musumeci.

During our first conversation with Mikey, he told JJS that he want-
ed to become roosterweight world champ during his first black belt
campaign, but he came up short in his first run at Worlds. Not de-
terred, Mikey reassessed his immediate priorities and made some
lifestyle adjustments in order to come back strong and win the 64kg
division in 2017. One of the problems Mikey needed to address was
his hectic schedule between school and training.

“In 2016, my biggest problem was I was taking 17 credits in school:

biology and chemistry with labs. I would be in school Monday
through Friday from 3pm-10pm. I wasn’t able to compete at all
in that time period. My first black belt tournament was American

Words: Felix Rodriguez

Iluustration: James Wilson
Pictures: Blanca Marisa Garcia

33
 "I celebrated my first world champion-
ship cooking pasta marinara for my
family. I love to cook and watch them
enjoy what I made!"
Nationals in 2015, then I started my semester
and my next tournament at black belt was Pans,
which I was able to win. It was very difficult with
this schedule; I was getting no sleep because I was
constantly studying and doing schoolwork. Then I
would wake up at, like, 6:00am and train as much
as I could before going to class at 3:00pm. I would
get sick every week; it was just a terrible schedule.”
BECOMING A WOLF
As talented as Mikey is, at the top level, experience
can often be the difference-maker in determining
who is the lamb and who is the wolf on the mats.
Mikey’s school schedule kept him from gaining val-
uable mat time against top competitors in his first
year as a black belt. He noted, “Worlds was only
my third tournament at black belt, and I needed
the experience competing a lot at black belt. At
black belt, experience is super important; at first
it was super scary competing centre stage with all
these people living on the mats! Now it’s the norm
for me!! The loss in the Worlds helped me so much
to learn from it, grow and come back stronger, and
that’s what I was able to do!”
Mikey stayed in school, but changed majors to
business, away from the medical track, for now,
and picked out a course schedule that accom-
modated his training regiment. “I really love
medicine and science, but it was impractical for
me to study medicine and to compete and train
full-time. I was sick every week for a year, it was
extremely unhealthy for my body and mind. I still
do 17 credits every semester, just online, so I can
have a more flexible training schedule and can
be wherever and not necessarily in Florida during
the semester. Possibly, in the future, after accom-
plishing what I want to in jiu jitsu and having an
academy, I might want to pursue medicine again,
but right now I really like business and it will help
me for sure in the future with jiu jitsu, opening a
school,” said Musumeci.
According to Mikey, his training methods didn’t
change much for his second go at Worlds; there
was just a lot more time to get it done. To pre-
pare for Worlds, Mikey spent countless hours roll-
ing with Rene Lopez, his “main training partner,”
his sister, Tammi Musumeci and his head coach,
Caio Terra. He also spent time rolling with John
Freeman, amongst others. When discussing his
training in 2017 Mikey noted, “My preparation for
the Worlds was the same as other competitions. I
usually train twice a day, once in the morning and
again at night, depending on my school schedule
and homework. I usually roll harder in the morn-
ing than at night.
“I lift no weights at all. I prefer just to focus on
my technique and making it work regardless of
34
my strength. I started my training in Las Vegas,
where I train with a lot of friends and people.
Then, for a week, I went back to Florida and
trained with AJ Sousa and all my friends there.
Two weeks before the competition, I went over to
my coach, Caio Terra, in San Jose for a week to
adjust positions and fine-tune everything for the
competition.” The hours spent with Caio, Tammi
and Rene forced Mikey to elevate his own game.
He explained, “They all pushed me in different
ways technically, which is my main focus in train-
ing; never force or grinding, just on technical im-
provement. I love rolling with Caio because he is
so technical and it pushes us both- not strength
wise just technique wise, and we usually figure
out so many positions when we train.”
Mikey put in the time he didn’t have before and
spent the year working relentlessly to become a
well-rounded competitor, capable of giving op-
ponents fits no matter what position he found
himself in. He wanted to become “flawless form
everywhere, top and bottom” so that his oppo-
nents would feel uneasy, regardless of their po-
sition. “I want my opponent to not want me in
either place, that’s the goal. I have been trying to
learn as much as I can from everywhere; always
looking to surprise my opponents with some-
thing new and different,” said Musumeci. The
additional time to focus, coupled with an extra
year of seasoning and another year of filling out
his still-growing body, made a big difference for
Mikey’s second run at black belt gold, because he
came back with a vengeance.
GOLD DIGGER
In order to win gold in 2017, Mikey was going
to have to face some serious competition. His
four-person bracket included three of the tough-
est challengers he had fought in his division. “The
three toughest people I have faced in competi-
tion I would have to say, are Joao Miyao, Isaac
Doederlein and Ary Farias, which was my Worlds
bracket. Isaac Doederlein is super technical and
very smart, which makes this match-up difficult for
me. Joao is always super tough and we always
have had wars, every match stale-mating due to
us both knowing all the positions we both will at-
tempt, which leads to such tough matches. Ary
Farias is a beast; super tough and strong,” ex-
plained Musumeci.
Winning Worlds wasn’t going to be easy, but
Mikey was up for the challenge, starting with
Washington Lima, which he won via ankle lock.
“My first match was against a tough guy from GF
Team named Washington Lima. I was able to sub-
mit him with my signature ankle lock from double
pull in about a minute to move onto Sunday,”
said Musumeci. The following day Mikey would
be up against the three-headed chimera that is
Doederlein, Farias and Miyao.
On Sunday, Mikey was paired against Doederlein
for his first match of the day. Losing to Doederlein
would have meant exiting the Worlds twice in a
row at the hands of the same man. Beating Doed-
erlein would not only allow Mikey to advance to
the semi-finals, but would also afford him the op-
portunity for a little payback. “My quarter- finals
was against a good friend of mine, Isaac Doeder-
lein, who beat me at the Worlds last year in the
same spot. We have become good friends since
then and it was a war. I was able to secure an ad-
vantage in the match to win by an advantage,”
said Musumeci.
Beating Doederlein must have provided a brief
feeling of vindication for Mikey, but the hill he had
to climb to reach gold was only getting steeper.
Only two more people stood in Mikey’s way. Ary
Farias was up next, and to beat him Mikey was
going to have to stop seeing him as someone he
looked up to and start seeing him as a peer – who
would happily choke him if possible.
“My semi-final match was against Ary Farias,
who I have been watching before I was even a
juvenile, so it was a crazy experience to be on
the mat competing with him. I was able to get
ahead on the scoreboard, and towards the end
of the match secured a toe hold to roll him out of
bounds.” Readers who saw the match can form
their own opinions, but it seems as if Mikey was
the recipient of some unfavourable refereeing
here. He noted, “I assumed the referee would
award me two points, but he only gave me an
advantage. With 30 seconds left we both shot for
takedowns, and I dove for an underhook on his
arm. Ary charged forward without touching my
legs and the referee awards him two points!
“I remember hearing the Atos people cheer and
I was shocked from this decision that he got two
points without even touching my legs!” Moments
like these can make or break a fighter but, instead
of getting deflated and frustrated, Mikey stormed
back from behind to get the win and advance to
the finals after he “was able to sweep him back
and win the match by two advantages in the last
15 seconds.” At this point it was three down and
one to go; Mikey was moving on to the finals.
"The three
By winning gold at the Worlds in 2017, Mikey
would become a part of an elite and rarefied club
of competitors - one of five out of the 210 men
toughest people
to have fought for gold at the IBJJF Worlds who
are not Brazilian. Mikey was one win away from
becoming a world champ. Across the mat an ee-
I have faced in
rily calm Joao Miyao stood waiting for him. This
would be the fifth time they had met in competi-
tion and if Mikey defeated Miyao again he would
join BJ Penn, Robert Drysdale and Rafael Lovato
competition I
Jr. as one of only four American men to have ever
conquered the podium at Worlds. would have to
Mikey had beaten Miyao before, but this time was
a little different because of what was at stake. This
time Musumeci, an American, was facing Miyao,
say, are Joao
a Brazilian, during the IBJJF finals. It was safe to
assume that if Mikey won, he would have to do so
without the help of referees, and hopefully with-
out their interference either. “My final match was
Miyao, Isaac
against Joao Miyao. I always try to fight a match
with him with very little windows for attack, to get
him to open up more attacks for myself. I started
Doederlein and
the match going for his feet and we had some
exchanges there. Then we both double pulled
guard, and for the first time in all the matches,
I come up and got right into a knee cut position,
Ary Farias, which
completely clearing his hip into side control.
“He is so flexible that he threw his leg over my
was my Worlds
head while I was in side control, such a crazy po-
sition.” This was a second controversial call that
could have swayed the match against Mikey’s
bracket"
favour. He explained, “In my understanding of
the rules I thought the leg on the chest didn’t
matter, since you can pass with lasso and spider
into side control and still get three points. I held
the position for a while and stared at the referee,
letting go of his tricep, which I was holding, think-
35
36
"I feel extremely more motivated to
train harder and to make history; to
be the only American to win black belt
Worlds twice; this is my new goal"
ing I would get the points. I was very upset, but I
learned my lesson about that rule when you pass
the guard.”
At this point in the match, Mikey’s experience,
and evolved fight IQ helped him to develop some
minor adjustments to his battle plan, to emerge
victorious. “I was moving on top and managed to
secure a toehold position, which I held on to and
fell down. In the IBJJF rules if you have a submis-
sion and the person comes on top, there are no
points for a sweep unless the person clears the
position and holds you down for three seconds.
I was already up on the score so I knew it was a
good idea to play this strategy. In the last five sec-
onds or so, I believe he started clearing his foot
from the toehold. At this point I shot my hips off
the mat, so only my head was on the mat, so even
if he cleared the position it would be no points
because my back and butt are both off the floor.
“I switched into a kneebar continuing on from
my initial toehold attack, to win the match by two
advantages, said Musumeci. He had taken full ad-
vantage of the rules to deny Miyao the opportu-
nity to recover points, thus securing his first world
championship as a black belt. When discussing
the friendly rivalry they share Musumeci had noth-
ing but good things to say about his counterpart.
“It’s always a war with Miyao; much respect to him.
We have fought so many times I feel like we are
teammates training in the gym now. I was a huge
fan of him when I was a blue belt in 2011-2013,
so at first it was very difficult competing against
someone I looked up to, jiu jitsu wise, for so many
years. But over time, you get comfortable and it
becomes the norm. Competing against him, and
having him as my rival, motivates me to train so
much harder and to keep improving my game as
much as I can. This rivalry has helped my jiu jitsu
grow so much, and I’m thankful to have him to
keep pushing me to grow more,” said Musumeci.
THE ENCORE
Mikey is a jiu jitsuholic with a truly contagious pas-
sion for jiu jitsu. When discussing his future after
competition, he couldn’t help but gush about the
art. “Yes, I love jiu jitsu extremely. I invented a
guard we call the puppet guard: I have to hit it in
competition first before its considered a guard, but
it is awesome and people will like it for sure. I’m
always learning jiu jitsu. One of my favourite ways
to learn BJJ is teaching it to people. I always learn
so many more details to positions when I have to
teach someone and I really love helping people
improve, so for sure a goal of mine one day would
be to have an academy”.
Mikey’s passion for helping other jiu jitsu lovers, his
teammates in particular, is not always a good thing
though. At the time of this interview, Mikey was re-
cuperating from a coaching-related injury that mo-
mentarily left him unable to talk. When describing
how he lost his voice Mikey said, “basically, from
constantly screaming; I’m guessing from coaching
friends and teammates in competition I developed
a nodule in my throat, which is a cut in my vocal
cord that formed a ball of blood blocking my vocal
cord and making it difficult for me to talk. The doc-
tor did surgery, going inside my throat and cutting
off the nodule, so my vocal cord isn’t blocked any-
more. I had to go mute for three days, not talking
at all, which was very difficult.”
When Mikey isn’t training, he’s a typical college
kid; he’s very wholesome and has tight-knit fam-
ily values. For example, his idea of celebrating a
gold medal is cooking for his parents and sister;
“I celebrated my first world championship cook-
ing pasta marinara for my family. I love to cook
and watch them enjoy what I made! Then we went
back to Florida and drove to New York where I
got to eat so much pizza! It was a very fun trip;
I enjoyed it a lot. Luckily, my whole life my par-
ents were very disciplined about me eating all
healthy foods. I never eat fast food or anything
unhealthy; the worst thing I will eat is pizza, which
isn’t so bad. For sure, nutrition is super important
in performance. My biggest problem is when I get
over-trained and am dieting; I need to overeat to
recover so I can keep training, which sometimes
makes losing weight harder. I usually eat a lot of
pasta, that’s my favourite thing in the world. Pasta
when I’m dieting, pasta when I’m not, but I’m al-
ways eating pasta!”
As wholesome and nice as he is off the mats, he’s
a pretty ruthless monster on them, and the scary
thing is that, barring injuries and other unforeseen
circumstances, Mikey may get another 10-15 tries
at winning another gold medal, and with every
attempt he’s going to be wiser and stronger. If
he pulls this off, then he could become the most
successful American-born athlete to compete
as a black belt in the IBJJF. If the measure of an
athlete is the sum of his achievements, then be-
coming a multiple gold medal winner would allow
Musumeci fans to argue that he is either the most
successful, or one of the most successful, Amer-
ican-born black belts to compete for the IBJJF.
The last time we spoke with Musumeci, before
saying goodbye he told us what his goals were
for his first year competing as a black belt. When
asked if he had any new goals he’d like to share,
he had the following to say, “My goal for the rest
of the year is to heal up my body after so many
months of killing it. My new goal now is to be-
come the most accomplished American to ever
compete in jiu jitsu. Three other Americans have
won a black belt world title, so my goal is now
to win a second one and to make history being
the only American to win two black belt world ti-
tles. I am now obsessed to fix my mistakes from
this year and to add on to my jiu jitsu in this rare
time period I have free. All I do everyday is obsess
what I can fix and how I can fix it.”
If Mikey succeeds with his goals again, then
he could go from great to one of the greatest.
Only time will tell but, when passion and talent
abound, the possibilities are limitless!
37
Slowly but surely the landscape for women
in jiu jitsu is changing. Numbers at acade-
mies are growing rapidly as the stigma of
women participating in combat sports con-
tinues to dissolve, while the competition
scene is awash with a new wave of talent-
ed athletes staking their claim for the spot-
light. Enter Nathiely Jesus: black belt under
Cicero Costha and one of the most techni-
cal female guard players at black belt level.
WORDS: CALLUM MEDCRAFT
ILLUSTRATION: JAMES WILSON
PICTURES: DANIEL BRISENO
orn and raised in Sao Paulo, Nathiely was not a naturally gifted athlete.
Adolescence saw her struggle with her weight, and also chronic bron-
chitis – forming a vicious circle that stunted any athletic endeavour.
“So, I’d always suffer with bronchitis, which is a really horrible thing
to have to deal with,” Nathiely reflects. “I was always short of breath,
feeling tired and generally just not 100% at any point.”
Thankfully for the would-be world champion, it was an introduction to
jiu jitsu that not only ignited a passion, but also prompted the demise
of her debilitating bronchitis: “I remember as if it was my first day at
training yesterday - it was just so much fun,” Nathiely explains. “I actu-
ally first started training judo, which I found a lot more strict and it just
didn’t appeal to me like with jiu jitsu. You could say it was love at fist
sight when I started to train jiu jitsu.
“After I started to train regularly, my bronchitis started to get better
and better, to the point where now I don’t have to deal with any issues
at all. It’s been so great to be free from it, and my physical training
through jiu jitsu was the key for that. I would recommend anyone who
has suffered with the ailment to try getting active, and jiu jitsu is some-
thing fun you can do instead of just going to the gym.
NATHIELY
JESUS
“Now the idea of not being in this environment, not having jiu jitsu as
my job, it’s actually quite a scary thing for me. It’s my life, it’s my job;
it’s everything. If I’m not in the gym, I’m competing – even if I’m not
competing I’ll be at the event to watch my friends. I just can’t imagine
a life without jiu jitsu.”
Nathiely grew up in Embu das Artes, with her local acad-
emy, Lotus Club Jiu Jitsu, being run by Claudio Felix. It was at Lotus
Club that the future champion would start to forge the foundations
for her success. “With Claudio Felix, I really learned all the basics
of jiu jitsu and started to build my foundation,” says Nathiely. “It’s
where my love for the art developed and I realised this was going
to be my passion, so I am always happy for that experience and
time in my life.”
As her love for the sport continued to develop, Nathiely began enter-
ing competitions, and with it the idea of becoming a professional jiu
jitsu athlete started to form in her mind’s eye. As often can be the case,
a change in training mentality proved to be the catalyst that really
elevated her to the next level of success.
In 2013, Nathiely visited her boyfriend – and fellow jiu jitsu en-
thusiast – Manuel Ribamar at Cicero Costha’s academy. Cicero’s
academy has spawned numerous standout athletes over the years,
including Leandro Lo and the Miyao Brothers, and the environment
was instantly appealing to Nathiely. “Cicero Costha’s gym really is
a special place, I think,” she says. “It is full of like-minded people:
people who want to compete, train hard and live their life through
jiu jitsu. It’s a very different environment from my first academy, and
I’ve found it to work perfectly for me, as I have big goals, which my
team can help me achieve.”
Being based at Cicero’s academy gave Nathiely new-found access to
athletes she idolised, and this has undoubtedly shaped her style of
fighting over the years. Leandro Lo is one such athlete, and someone
Nathiely has trained with him since he was a brown belt.
“Since I started to train, I have always been inspired by Leandro Lo,”
Nathiely states. “He has gone through lots of trials and tribulations,
worked so hard, and I have been lucky to see this first hand since he
was a brown belt. The energy he brings to training, as does everyone
at our gym, is just amazing – it really is hard to explain how good the
energy is at Cicero’s academy.”
39
At the age of just 21, Nathiely has
already achieved more than most
could ever hope for within our
sport. In this, her first year as a black
belt, she’s been crowned both an
IBJJF and Abu Dhabi World Pro
black belt champion – a truly excep-
tional introduction to the elite stage
of jiu jitsu.

“Every since moving to train with

Cicero as a purple belt, I’ve had
the dream of becoming both an
IBJJF and Abu Dhabi World Pro
champion,” says Nathiely. “It’s an
easy thing to say, that you want
to become a world champion, but
it’s something I have worked so
hard for. This year has been a com-
plete dream – thanks to God – I’ve
achieved something I’ve always
wanted to do. Becoming world
champion in my first year of being
a black belt makes the achievement
even more special to me. I hope
there’s more to come; I’ve more
goals I want to achieve.

“I know I won a black belt title in

my first year but, believe me, it
really wasn’t easy to do that and
so much work went on behind the
scenes. I have spent everyday thinking about the ultimate goal: to fight at
that level, so when I got my black belt it wasn’t a shock to be competing
at that level. My experiences competing at the Abu Dhabi World Pro really
helped me prepare as well. I faced many tough black belts even while I was
a brown belt, so that helped so much with my confidence and made me
realise I can fight with the best.”
IBJJF and Abu Dhabi World Pro titles are – without doubt – the
most desirable accolades a jiu jitsu athlete aspires to win. Nathiely has been
a stalwart competitor under both banners throughout her career at the lower
belts, so which black belt achievement does she cherish the most?
“They are obviously two extremely important titles to have, and I cherish them
both – even though they are totally different from one another,” she explains.
“The Abu Dhabi World Pro has an amazing structure and gives the athletes
support that no-one can say isn’t amazing. On the other hand, the IBJJF
Worlds is still the event that people look to the most when people talk about
titles, so it’s a special title to have.”
Away from the academy, Nathiely tries to lead a normal life. Going out party-
ing, staying up late and eating junk food is not something you associate with
professional athletes, but the Sao Paulo native loves nothing more than relax-
ing with her friends and family:
“Life is pretty busy for me because of jiu jitsu. If I am not training, I am usu-
ally travelling to compete, so even the idea of a free weekend is something
that rarely comes my way. If I do get some spare time, I like to keep things
simple; I like to rest with my family, go to the cinema – stuff like that. I also
love to eat (laughs).
When I’m actually training, it can be very hectic. When I am home in Brazil,
I actually have to travel quite far to get to the gym, so I will get there in the
mornings and won’t leave until it’s time to go home at night.”
Nathiely’s other notable passion away from the jiu jitsu mats is her successful
YouTube Channel: Jiu Jitsu A Bordo (jiu jitsu on board), where she shares her
experiences travelling and competing all over the world.

Looking at Nathiely’s run to gold at both events, she didn’t just win her black “So, it was actually my cousin who suggested that I start the YouTube channel
belt world titles; she won them in some style. Her tall, slender frame offers the – it wasn’t my idea,” she says. “She thought it could be interesting for people
ideal framework for playing guard – and boy, she knows how to play guard! to get an insight into my training, travelling and whatever else is going on with
Her de la Riva and spider setups generally lead to opponent’s hurtling through my life. The internet makes it really easy to share your experiences, and I’ve had
the air and onto their back, or on the receiving end of a triangle choke. If you a lot of fun playing around with the YouTube channel – hopefully people like it.”
want to show kids an example of how to use the guard both aggressively and
progressively, look no further than Nathiely Jesus. It’s hard to imagine how Nathiely can top such an amazing debut year as a
black belt, with only Tayane Porfirio stopping her short of an IBJJF absolute
“One thing I will say is that I don’t like close fights, or fights that end by advan- title. Truth be told, no other athlete looked close to derailing her success, so
tages,” says Nathiely when questioned on her fighting style. “I don’t go into we predict plenty more gold on the horizon for this talented young women.
a match with a strategy; all I do is try to impose my game. I like to play guard,
that’s my strongest point, but I have an attacking guard and like to look for sub- “I want to leave something special behind so people will remember me,” says
missions. Recently, I have been enjoying playing from top position, so there’s Nathiely in closing. “I’m focussed on trying to add as many world titles as I pos-
always plenty for me to work on.” sibly can to my name, build my profile, then one day open up my own academy
to teach. That’s my dream now.”
With her black belt calibre confirmed in 2017, and with the best years of her
career yet to come, Nathiely could well become one of the most prominent fe-
male grapplers in history. She may be on top now, but there’s a new generation
of athletes waiting to de-throne the current champions, as women in jiu jitsu
continue to force innovation within their field. "It’s an easy thing
“You know, since I started to train jiu jitsu, the number of women in the sport
has increased a huge amount – both at the academies and at competitions,”
says Nathiely. “It’s important that women who train jiu jitsu unite as much as
to say, that you
possible and work together to create opportunities at events and better train-
ing at academies. This mentality is something people are now buying into but, want to become
believe me, it wasn’t always the case.

“Things are going in the right direction, and women are getting more recogni-
a world champion,
tion, more opportunities and growing in numbers, but things need to continue
like this. I think more can be done, but we will get there.” but it’s something
One of Nathiely’s good friends, Mackenzie Dern, is another female athlete
pushing the boundaries and creating new-found opportunities within combat
sport. “Mackenzie and I are really good friends,” says Nathiely. “I have always
I have worked so
loved watching her fight and appreciate her style of fighting. When we train, it’s
always a great experience – I think we learn a lot from each other.” hard for"
41
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44
SCAR AND MUFASA? YEAH, THEY ROLL
GEORGE ASPREY & SHAUN ESCOFFERY

G eorge Asprey and Shaun Escoffery - blue belt under Andy

Roberts and brown belt under Eddie Kone respectively –
are just your average jiu jitsu enthusiasts. Well, sort of… For
the best part of ten years, the duo have been performing in
Disney’s West End production of the The Lion King, with Asprey
playing Scar and Escoffery taking on the role of Mufasa. Despite
their hectic acting schedule, they make sure to find time for
training in between shows (on the stage) and – like many of
us – jump at the chance to talk about the gentle art. We caught
up with The Lion King’s jiu jitsu double act straight after a
matinee performance to discuss how jiu jitsu has become their
obsession and forged a brotherhood off the mat.

WORDS & PICTURES: CALLUM MEDCRAFT VENUE: LYCEUM THEATRE, LONDON

Hi Shaun, can you tell us a little about when
you started jiu jitsu, because we understand
you’ve been training for quite some time?
Shaun: Well, like many people, Royce Gracie
fighting in the early UFC events sparked my in-
terest. Royce fascinated me; he wasn’t a big fella,
but he was smashing these monsters. I’d come
primarily from the striking arts, so I thought this
grappling stuff looked wicked.
I checked out a traditional ju jitsu school to start
with, because I didn’t really understand the dif-
ferences between BJJ at the time, but it wasn’t
what I was looking for. Then one day, I was driv-
ing past this little shop front in Dagenham and I
saw a sign above the door that said ‘Royce Gra-
cie Jiu Jitsu’, I was like, ‘no flipping way!’ I spun
the car back around, was a bit hesitant to walk in
at first; I remember the windows being steamed
up so you couldn’t see anything. Anyway, the
head coach at the time was Marc Walder, who
was a purple belt at the time – so this was some
time ago. I walked in, had a chat with Marc, and
decided this was for me.
So this was all back in the mid to late 90s, and
there were some great names who came out of
that gym: Shane Smith, Speedy, Mike Russell, Ed-
die Kone – who’s also my professor, just loads of
guys. They’re all either professors with their own
schools or black belts nowadays. But, yeah, that’s
how I got into it.
So George, it was Shaun who got you into jiu
jitsu on set at The Lion King, right?
George: Yes that’s right. Shaun and I have known
each other from 2008 - in fact we’ve seen each
other every day since 2008 pretty much. I remem-
ber when he got his purple belt; he arrived at
work all excited and said ‘mate, I’ve just got my
purple belt in jiu jitsu’. My reaction at the time
was pretty indifferent – it didn’t even sound like a
colour that’s used in martial arts to me. I did judo,
and didn’t remember a purple belt (laughs). Now
I train myself, I wish I could turn back time and
relive that moment, because I’m so gutted I didn’t
understand how big of a deal that experience was
for my brother.
I remember Shaun was going for his brown
belt testing, as they do at his professor Eddie
Kone’s academy. Eddie is very hot on the Gracie
self-defence system, so Shaun needed someone
to practise his stuff on – he needed a crash test
dummy. There’s a twenty-minute break in act two
of the show where we are both off stage. We
are both fully made-up still, and I’ve got Shaun
running through his moves with me. As soon as
he started running through the techniques, I was
intrigued; he would go through a situation and I
would be like ‘wow, what have you done there?!’
So, my introduction to jiu jitsu was full on, Gracie
self-defence.
On Wednesdays between shows we used to do
a Krav Maga class, where we would do bits and
pieces of sparring. The instructor there was a little
bit of a character, and he liked going pretty hard
in sparring. I remember him coming up behind
me in one class and grabbing me around the
neck, to which I instinctively reacted by grabbing
his arm and throwing him over my shoulder. I in-
stantly thought to myself, ‘this jiu jitsu s**t works’.
I absolutely loved it, so Shaun told me there was
also a lot of ground stuff to go over. We bought
four 20mm jigsaw mats and put them in the bar
at the theatre. I had the cheapest judo gi I could
find and we started training every week – I fell
completely in love with it.
George, you now train at the Andy Roberts
Academy, so how did that come about?
George: I remember the first time I went to his
academy, I told Andy I’d only be able to come
once a month or so because I had my little girl
to look after. He straight away just said ‘bring her
along, that’s fine’. So I brought her along, she
thought it was hilarious. We’ll be rolling and all of
a sudden one of the lads will shout out ‘George!
Connie needs a wee, mate’. I can’t thank Andy
enough for allowing me to bring my daughter
along to training, it’s made a huge difference.
Shaun, tell us a little bit about the belt test-
ing system your professor, Eddie Kone, has
implemented?
Shaun: It’s tough man. When I went for my brown
belt, I had to stand in the middle while an on-
slaught of people come at you with different
weapons and attacks so you can showcase your
knowledge of self-defence. So, you demonstrate
an understanding of the techniques, then after
that we have a thing called the defence circle,
which is pretty much like a shark tank style situ-
ation – again demonstrating self-defence tech-
niques under duress. This is followed by another
shark tank situation, but this time pure ground
grappling. To be honest, it’s horrendous, but
when it’s finished you can sit back and say ‘I did
that’, it’s a real badge of honour.
So what does a regular day in the life look like
for you two?
George: We’re up at around 7:30 and either my
wife or I will take the kids off to school. On a train-
ing day, Kirsty will go off to work while I take my
little four-year-old, Connie, off to nursery. I’ll then
head out with the dog for a walk, which is usual-
ly around an hour. I’ll get Connie’s packed lunch
ready before maybe doing some stuff around the

45
 GEORGE ASPREY & SHAUN ESCOFFERY

house; if I have time I’ll do some stretching before
heading to pick her up and head off to the acade-
my. I’ll set Connie up on a little desk, get changed
and just about make the warm-up. I’ll train until
2:30, try and squeeze an extra little roll in at the
end before panicking because I’m running late to
pick the kids up from school. After that, I get to
chill out for a little bit, before leaving at 4:30 to
get to the theatre.
Shaun: I wake up, have some breakfast, then I drop
my daughter at school. I head to the academy and
normally I like to help Eddie with the private class-
es from around 11, then carry on with the class until
about 2:30. Same as George, I head back home,
rushing around, grabbing a quick shower, before
getting straight across London to work.
How have your training sessions at the Lyceum
Theatre developed over the years?
George: Well we started in one bar, but we soon
got kicked out of the bar because we were steam-
ing up the windows. We soon got kicked out of
another bar and were thinking this could be a
struggle to find space. We even tried a stairwell in
desperation! Finally we thought, well what about
the stage? We asked and the powers that be said
‘yes’, so we’ve been there ever since.
George: Listen, if anyone would like to come and
train with us, please do email us or message us
on Facebook. Obviously, we can’t have thousands
of people coming down, but if you’re in London,
bring your gi and get in touch.
Shaun: For sure; we’re always open to some nice
friendly rolls – we do have to work afterwards, so
the emphasis is on friendly (laughs).
George: We’ve had Eddie Kone down, Jay But-
ler down, and even Mauricio Gomes as well. That
was funny actually – Andy Roberts called me say-
ing ‘I think I’ve just told Mauricio that I can get
him Lion King tickets’. Obviously we sorted him
out, and then we were so excited to have this leg-
end come down to visit.
It came to the day that Mauricio was coming
down, and Shaun had to call in sick, he had lit-
erally no voice at all. He was gutted, so we did
this video in the theatre where Andy started off at
the back of the room, walked down to the stage
where Mauricio and I were sitting. When the cam-
era reached us, Mauricio turned to say, ‘and that’s
the secret of jiu jitsu’. So I sent that straight to
Shaun to rub it in (laughs).
With Shaun as a brown belt and George as a
blue belt, you must have some very interesting
training: do you both get plenty out of your
sessions?
George: I listened to a Joe Rogan Podcast inter-
view once where he talked about the best way
to get good at jiu jitsu is to smash blue belts. So
you keep on smashing blue belts to perfect your
technique, so I’d like to think Shaun is getting
something out of our sessions (laughs).
Shaun: Let me tell you something though,
George is a natural teacher and a real student
of the game. There are times when I’m busy with
my writing and music life and I don’t get time to
train at my academy. When we’re training at work

The only issue we have is that people often come

around backstage for tours. So, you’ll quite often
have people being shown around to the tune of,
‘here’s a giraffe, here’s an elephant; here’s Scar
and Mufasa rolling around on the floor (laughs).
Now it’s become part of proceedings and every-
one expects us to be there between shows train-
ing. We rush straight from the mat up to makeup
still sweating. The Lion King has been very cool
about it as well, and they actually did a promo-
tional video about our training and how we like
to keep fit.
And you invite people to come and train with
you guys as well?

46

George will show me stuff that Andy or Jay have
shown him and I’m always learning stuff via him.
I’d always been teaching George, but he’s at a
stage now where he can teach me, so it’s a really
good relationship.
George: It’s pretty annoying at times. I’ll show
Shaun something I’ve learned, then he’ll be
catching me with it five minutes later in a roll say-
ing, ‘oh, thank you mate – that works great’.
Shaun: Also, because it’s just us two, we can re-
ally set aside the mental game and relax; it’s just
us two, so we can play around with things and
everything starts to flourish.
So, you’ve forged a very close bond as training
partners and friends through jiu jitsu?
George: You know, I grew up with four sisters,
so I never had a broth-
er. I would never have
guessed my brother
would turn out to be
some six-foot black
“OFTEN PEOPLE ARE BEING
guy from East London.
Shaun: (Laughs) visa
SHOWN AROUND BACKSTAGE TO
versa. I love him to bits
as well. THE TUNE OF, ‘HERE’S A GIRAFFE,
Do you struggle to
HERE’S AN ELEPHANT; HERE’S
get yourself motivat-
ed for the evening
show after a training
SCAR AND MUFASA ROLLING
session at all?
Shaun: It’s actually the
AROUND ON THE FLOOR!’”
complete opposite;
the endorphins have
kicked in and we’re just
raring to go come the
evening show. Often, when you start a show, you
can be a little tense but relax throughout the per-
formance. Coming from training means we’re al-
ready relaxed and in a really good frame of mind.
George: It really does help get us ready for the
show; it’s not a hindrance at all. Even though I’m
off stage for the first scene, Shaun and I always
give each other a little nod of acknowledgement
to say ‘yep, we’re ready’. I mean, everyone read-
ing this will know how they feel after a jiu jitsu ses-
sion – you just feel amazing; you want to hug peo-
ple and say thanks for that experience. Imagine
that high of training, then literally going straight
to work – for us it’s amazing.
As actors, and with the nature of performing
on stage, you have to face certain fears that
many people would struggle to overcome. Do
you see any similarities between performance
anxiety and the butterflies we all get when
stepping on the mat? Has one instance helped
you overcome the other?
Shaun: I’d say definitely. As performers, we do
have to conquer nerves, and you form a sort of
mental attitude. It’s better to think, right, I’m go-
ing on stage and if I mess up my lines or whatever,
then so be it. I find with jiu jitsu it’s the same thing:
the attitude of ‘so be it’. You walk into the acad-
emy, take a breath and realise you’re amongst
friends, and whatever happens on the mat will
happen. The more you can approach jiu jitsu in
a light-hearted, yet serious way, the better you’ll
enjoy the session.
George: And in jiu jitsu, once you start running
around the mat, those butterflies tend to drain
away don’t they? So I think it’s the same with the
acting; once you walk out on stage the nerves
just melt away. Geoff Thompson talks about the
adrenaline
dump, and the
understanding
that we will all
have it. It’s fine
to have it, but
you have to
recognise what
it is.
What sort of
reaction do you
two get when
you tell people
at the acade-
my about your
day job?
Shaun:
The
thing is about
jiu jitsu and
what makes it
so special is that once you’re on the mat, everyone is
the same. People I train with will sometimes say,
‘Shaun, I heard your tune the other day,’ or ‘ah
mate, I saw The Lion King, finally’ and it’s all pret-
ty normal. No one treats you differently; it’s that
mutual respect of people and the understanding
that we all have jobs and it’s all the same.
What would you say are the biggest things jiu
jitsu have given you?
George: You can get pretty deep with this. Shaun
and I talk a lot about how man is made to do
difficult things and face challenges in life. I think
facing fears is something we’ve somewhat lost
in a very comfortable, modern, Western society.
Doing the same things every day can make you a
bit soft, or a bit brain dead, and I literally do the
same things every day; I know at 7:45 I’ll be say-
ing the word ‘Mufasa’. No matter how hard you
train in a regular gym lifting weights, it’s just you
against the weights. I was always looking for this
thing that would give me a great workout, would
be competitive and would stimulate my brain, so
jiu jitsu has given me that – 100%. After the first
time I rolled with Shaun I knew this was for me.
Shaun: I suppose what I love about it is the ca-
maraderie, for a start; I’ve made some amazing
friends, and Eddie (Kone) is one of my best friends
as well. Sharing a mat with a group of guys and
girls who are all really, kind of, alpha – that’s very
special. We all know about the physicality of the
game, but clashing with people on a mental level,
trying to out-think them as much as anything, it
just sharpens you for sure. The confidence and
humility it gives me has just been invaluable and I
truly believe the world would be a better place if
we all did jiu jitsu.
Thanks so much for your time gents; are there
any shout outs you’d like to make?
Shaun: First off, a huge thank you to my wife,
who’s put up with this weird, mad obsession of
mine – without her encouragement I wouldn’t be
able to do it all. A big thanks to everyone at the
Eddie Kone academy and Eddie Kone especially,
as he’s taught me everything I know in jiu jitsu.
So, yeah, just a big thank you to everyone who’s
put me on this journey, guys like Marc Walder and
anyone I’ve trained with.
George: Like Shaun, a big thank you has to go to
my wife. Even though she considers my jiu jitsu
a mid-life crisis, it’s still definitely cheaper than a
Porsche.
Huge thanks to Shaun really for getting me into
it - if it weren’t for Shaun, I’d never have started
jiu jitsu. I remember listing to Simon Hayes talk-
ing about hidden lineage on the Raspberry Ape
Podcast, and Eddie Kone is definitely part of my
hidden lineage via Shaun.
I am also the luckiest man on earth to have
bumped into Andy Roberts – once again it was
Shaun who suggested I head down to his acad-
emy. I also have to give a huge shout out to Jay
Butler, who teaches at the academy. We were
warming down once and I was complaining about
getting old; Jay just turned to me and said ‘I nev-
er want to hear you say that again, George, it’s
not about that’. I really heard him, and I love be-
ing in his classes, so thanks to Jay as well.
Shaun: Just for the record, I have every issue of
Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine, so when George told me
you wanted to speak to us, I’m not joking when I
say I had tears in my eyes, man. Thanks so much
for setting this up and showing an interest.
George: 100%. I remember you mentioning that
you’d rolled with the guy who plays Scar in The
Lion King on the Raspberry Ape podcast and I
was just so excited. You didn’t even mention my
name (laughs). We’ve done interviews for the
Times and stuff like that, but being in this mag is
a huge thing for us, so thanks!
47
 WORDS: SAM JOSEPH
PICTURES: DANIEL BRISENO
WHEN BJJ BECOMES WORK
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a labour of love for most practitioners. We sacrifice
free time, minimise the severity of injuries, ignore pain, spend lots of
money to train, compete and live the BJJ lifestyle.
W hen our friends and family ask us why we
spend so much time on the mat, we often dis-
miss the question with the belief that unless they do
BJJ, there is no way for them to understand. Some-
times, if we train long enough, the euphoria wears
off and BJJ can start to feel like a chore or job; we
begin to see it as something we “have to” rather
than “want to” do.
This feeling can be the result of a variety of things
but, regardless of the reason, we must deal with the
problem quickly or we risk losing momentum in our
progression or even quitting BJJ altogether. Here
are some suggestions as to what we can do if BJJ
starts to feel like a job!
TAKE A BREAK FROM OUR GOALS
On the face of it, this seems like TERRIBLE advice.
Goals are good! Goals help us improve and they
give us focus. All of that is true… but what is also
true is that goals, and the desire to achieve them,
can be a source of pressure. Sometimes we just need
to have a little fun.
As a blue belt, I moved to the Washington DC area
- with a new job and fiancée - and began training at
the Yamasaki Academy. Shortly after relocating, LIFE
happened in the form of a break-up and enormous
work pressure. Up to that point in my BJJ journey,
I had always been working towards competition
goals. In light of what was going on in my life, the
pressure of preparing for competition started to turn
my training into a negative experience.
48
I was miserable, until a training partner and friend
made a random comment about having fun that I
took to heart. I decided to take a break from compet-
ing and just trained for a couple of months. Almost
immediately, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my
shoulders and BJJ became fun for me again. I actually
spent more time at the academy as I felt like it was
an escape and it also re-charged me to face the chal-
lenges in the rest of my life. The months “off” flew by
and I came out of the competition hiatus refreshed
and hungry to achieve my previously set goals.
ENJOY OUR TEAMMATES AWAY FROM THE MAT
One of the best things about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is
the people we get to call our teammates. We sweat,
work hard and learn with them and that dynamic cre-
ates great friendships. One of the ways we can keep
our time at the gym fresh and fun is by spending
time with teammates off the mat.
At my gym, Buckhead Jiu Jitsu in Atlanta, students
do things like go to movies, have dinners, watch
MMA fights and participate in community services
projects together. This activity bears fruit in how
people show up to the gym and get energised by
the mere presence of real friends. Spending time
away from the mat with teammates keeps us excited
about spending time on the mat.
REVISIT THE THINGS THAT MAKE BJJ FUN FOR US
David Jacobs is an old teammate of mine who now
runs a successful school in Northern Virginia in the
United States. While the David Jacobs Brazilian Jiu

“ GOALS, AND THE DESIRE TO
ACHIEVE THEM, CAN BE A SOURCE
OF PRESSURE. SOMETIMES WE JUST
NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN”
Jitsu Academy has tough athletes and excellent in-
struction, it is most known for its open-door policy and
enthusiastic participation in the larger BJJ community.
This philosophy is a direct reflection of David and it
has its seeds in what he has always considered “fun”.
Coming up together, we not only competed in lots
of tournaments but the expectation was that we
would be training hard every time we were on the
mat. David had a full-time job and a family so the
grind was especially taxing for him.
I often saw him “re-charge” by focusing on the
things he loved in the sport. He was always open to
learning and new experiences on and off the mat.
He learned Brazilian Portuguese, volunteered to
host visiting athletes, attended seminars and always
looked to learn new techniques. Actively focusing on
these things, rather than any difficulties, helped him
keep the joy and fun in his BJJ experience.
We all have different things that we love about BJJ.
Some enjoy learning new techniques while compe-
tition charges others up. Seminars are popular with
many, as are open mats. The point is that BJJ cap-
tures the hearts of people in a variety of ways. When
training starts to feel like an obligation, we can often
rekindle the fire we have for the art by revisiting the
things that make it enjoyable for us.
BREAK OUR PATTERNS
Training BJJ, we tend to fall into patterns; we go to
the same classes weekly, train with the same handful
Sam Joseph is a
2nd degree Black
Belt in BJJ under
the Yamasaki
Academy. He
was awarded
his black belt in
2007 and has
vast experience
as a teacher, BJJ
competitor and
MMA fighter.
of teammates and try the same moves/techniques.
This is natural as most of us are creatures of habit.
Usually this is not a problem, but habits can become
tedious and even stunt real growth. When that hap-
pens, we must take action and break those patterns
for the good of our BJJ experience.
I started BJJ in 1998 and came up very “old school”.
Classes were simple: warm-up, do some technique
and then spar like it was a tournament. As a brown
belt and new black belt, I got to spend a few years
training with Renzo Gracie black belt and head coach
at 5 Star Martial Arts Academy, Shawn Williams.
One of the main things I took from that time was his
prioritisation of technical growth and advancement.
Shawn always pushed himself and his students to
fully understand positions, in terms of when and why
they worked. Sparring was more a lab than physical
exertion or conditioning and he encouraged tech-
nical experimentation on a variety of partners with
a wide range of BJJ-games and body-types. Shawn
paid much less attention to who “won or lost” in
sparring and keyed on improvements in positions
and techniques.
I learned a lot technically from Shawn and I got the
added benefit of experiencing a different approach
to BJJ training. It re-energised me and showed me
how being open to new ideas and trying new things
could have a positive impact on my BJJ in terms of
improving and having fun.
CHECK OUT THE KIDS’ PROGRAM
Kids have a way of keeping things simple. If it is fun,
they want to do it. When they see improvement in
something, their enthusiasm is obvious and their
ability to learn and apply their new knowledge can
be awesome to observe.
One of my favourite pieces of advice to give to grap-
plers in a rut is to plug into their academy kids’ pro-
gram. Whether it is talking to the head coach about
becoming an assistant instructor or simply showing
up a little earlier to adult class to catch the kids
sparring, the energy is infectious. I have seen and
experienced first-hand the positive impact that ex-
posure to children training BJJ can have on grown-
ups. Kids can be the spark that gets our fire for BJJ
going again.
CONCLUSION
There are many things we have to do as adults. We
must pay our bills, buy groceries, fill our gas tanks
and pay taxes. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu should never be on
the list of “have-to do.” If we find ourselves in this
situation, we need to take steps to regain the love
we have lost for BJJ or we risk losing it and all its
benefits in our lives. Taking the simple steps outlined
above will help us get back on track, looking forward
to and enjoying BJJ.
See you on the mat!
49
 WORDS: MATT JARDINE
PICTURES: DANIEL BRISENO

FALLING HEAD OVER HEELS FOR THE ART

As are many of the ideas for magazine articles, it was changing room chat after
class that made this piece inevitable. “I just can’t quite believe how much I’m
hooked on it”, says a new white belt.

I had denied my feelings for the longest time;
turned away from the butterflies in my stomach
that hadn’t fluttered like this for years. But, it
seemed there was nothing I could do to prevent
them, even if I wanted to. Yes, gut-wrenching
guilt would be a consequence, but, as they say,
‘once bitten, forever smitten’. And, apparently,
I’m not alone.
I have met countless others who have felt the
same way, lying awake in the dark hours trying
to fathom answers from the cracks in the ceiling.
How would we explain this to the significant oth-
ers in our lives? Could our relationship survive
this betrayal? Could we openly admit that, ‘yes,
it’s true, we prefer BJJ to the other martial arts to
which we were previously and loyally committed’?
Damn it! The truth is out.
Joking aside, I am as genuinely surprised at
how much BJJ has well and truly wedged itself
under my skin. A previous twenty-year career in
knockdown karate had changed me down to the
cellular level; I was a traditional Japanese-arts
striker, through and through. But, how fickle the
hands of fate, and during an MMA contest when a
youngster negated my striking with a belly-down
armbar, I knew I had to fill the gaping gaps in my
knowledge.
Initially, I traded my gi for a kimono, and a bow for
a fist bump, with the intention of knowing enough
of the ground game to allow me to avoid submis-
sions. I simply wanted to continue doing what I
did best: knocking opponents down. But, gradu-
ally, BJJ study became more than a means to an
end, it became the means AND the end.
pinned, rolled and they transitioned. It was evi-
dent that these young cubs were grappling and
loving every minute of it.
LEARNING FROM ANIMALS
Sergio Pellis, a researcher and scientist at the
University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, spe-
cialises in the questions of why people ‘play’ and
how play relates to life, learning and brain devel-
opment. Although much of what scientists know
about this field comes from research on animals,
Pellis says that play behaviour is remarkably sim-
ilar across species. Rats, monkeys, children and
many mammals all abide by the same rules re-
garding brain development and needs. His sug-
gestions imply that observation of animals has
something to teach us about ourselves.
Following his findings, he concludes that ‘rough-
and-tumble play’ is essential for the balanced de-
velopment of most mammals. Initially, researchers
believed that this sort of game might be a way
for animals to develop skills such as hunting and
fighting. However, the more recent studies sug-
gest that this is not the case.
Jaak Panksepp, another researcher at Washington
State University, has come to believe that play has
another purpose: “The function of play is to build
pro-social brains, social brains that know how to
interact with others in positive ways,” he says.
In his new book, ‘Social’, Matthew Lieberman ech-
oes Panksepp’s findings and makes the case that
our need for social connection and development is
as fundamental to survival as food and water.
“In the West,” says Lieberman in an interview
featured in ‘Scientific American’, “we like to think
of ourselves as relatively immune to the sway of
those around us while we each pursue our per-
sonal destiny. But I think this is a story we like to
tell ourselves rather than what really happens.
“Across many studies of mammals, the data sug-
gests that we are profoundly shaped by our social
environment and that we suffer greatly when our
social bonds are threatened or severed.
“When this happens it can lead to long-term
health and educational problems. We may not like
the fact that we are wired such that our well-being
depends on our connections with others, but the
facts are the facts.”
This type of research on rough-and-tumble play,
of which BJJ is an obvious example, is eye open-
ing, but further studies from Russia are equally, if
not more, enlightening.
A RUSSIAN ORPHANAGE
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the num-
ber of orphans, and orphanages grew exponen-
tially due to a combination of political, social and
economic conditions. Following a high-profile
legal case in America involving Artyom Savelyev,

As are many of the ideas for magazine articles, it

was changing room chat after class that made this
piece inevitable. “I just can’t quite believe how
much I’m hooked on it”, says a new white belt
who seems to be at the academy more than the
instructors! “I used to do Muay Thai six times a
week, but I don’t go now, I just wanna do this”,
admits a blue belt wearing a kickboxing t-shirt. “I
just can’t get enough of it, I love it”, says an im-
passioned purple belt with a background in Kung
Fu. They were all, of course, referring to BJJ.

Why do so many of us get hooked, line and sink-

er, by BJJ? After all, isn’t it just another martial art
and pastime? What makes it so undeniably ad-
dictive? We may find the answers in the gardens
of suburban London, the plains of wild Africa and
the orphanages of Russia.

GRAPPLING CUBS
No, this is not the name of a new BJJ class for
children, but literally what I have at the end of my
South West London garden. One April morning,
my wife called me to the window to spot one,
two, three, four, five, six tiny fox cubs cautiously
popping their heads out from the undergrowth
before venturing out into the open.

Here they sniffed and lay lazily in the morning sun,

but mostly they played. They tussled, pounced,

50
“WHY DO SO MANY OF US GET
HOOKED, LINE AND SINKER, BY
BJJ? AFTER ALL, ISN’T IT JUST
ANOTHER MARTIAL ART AND
PASTIME? WHAT MAKES IT SO
UNDENIABLY ADDICTIVE?"
a Russian orphan, and his adoptive parent, Torry
Hansen, the interrogative spotlight turned glar-
ingly onto the Russian orphanage system.
Amongst many other things, research and investi-
gation uncovered these worrying statistics:
• About a third of babies placed in orphanages
with stark conditions will die
• Half of the rest will suffer from mental illness;
at least double the rate that was seen in the gen-
eral population
• Each month spent in an orphanage in early life
reduces IQ and increases risk of behavioural and
psychological problems
DYING OF A BROKEN HEART
When researching why the mortality rate of or-
phans is so high, it is shocking to discover that,
essentially, they die from lack of love. When an in-
fant falls below the required threshold of physical
affection, they fail to produce growth hormone.
This lack of hormone affects the immune system
and eventually the body shuts down.
In animals, this is called the ‘runt syndrome’. In
large litters, often one or two animals will be
smaller than the rest. The weakness exhibited
suggests to the mother that chances of surviv-
al are limited. In the wild, where resources are
scarce, she turns away from the weak and redi-
rects her efforts to those most likely to survive in
the long-term.
A denial of the mother's licking and nuzzling, so
essential to the turning on of growth hormone
production in the brain, sends the runt into a
downward spiral of neglect and underdevelop-
ment until, without intervention, it will succumb
to death. There is now one less competitor com-
peting for limited resources.
We are not animals, but the process of physical
neglect is similar. With advanced consciousness,
we are able to intervene, but it is interesting to
note the importance of physical touch in human
development, health and happiness.
Drawing conclusions from the research, is it possi-
ble that we enjoy the physicality of grappling be-
cause it is, literally, essential to our survival? Could
it be that rough-and-tumble play is built into our
neurology? May it be true that the type of game
that constitutes BJJ is entwined in our DNA? Is
BJJ somehow a compensatory measure for the
lack of physicality from either our childhoods or
from the stark sterility of modern day life?
KING OF THE CASTLE
Further investigation suggests that grappling
might fulfil another basic need: the establishment
of dominance hierarchy.
A dominance hierarchy is when members of a
social system interact to create ‘unspoken social
ranking’. The order is established to ascertain
leaders, workers, parents and a myriad of other
positions necessary to uphold a healthy society.
Sheri, my wife, is an early years specialist teacher.
She says this of the natural phenomena of ‘jostling
for position’ in the social setting of a classroom:
“Every school year begins with the children uncon-
sciously finding and establishing their role within
the group: the clown; the leader; the manager; the
nurse; the bossy boots; the victim; the victor; the
passive; the active and the relentless. Mostly, these
roles and positions are established effortlessly, but,
with other children, the jostling may become ag-
gressive and we must temper it.”
The leaders amongst humans and the alpha males
within the animal kingdom are those most likely to
‘bare’ teeth as a method of establishing dominance
in the hierarchy. The baring of teeth, however, is
often a bluff in the wild, with both animals predis-
posed to avoid the consequence of ‘striking’.
In the wild, striking or biting is the last resort, as
it will more often than not result in a lose/lose sit-
uation; the loser is often fatally wounded, but so
too the victor, at a delayed date, from an infected
wound picked up during the fight. Dominance,
then, is often ascertained in more benign ways:
battling with horns, barking loudly, or feinting a
charge, to name just a few. All of these methods
are adequate to determine the naturally fearful or
fearless without the need for loss of life.
In martial arts academies across the globe, it is
possible to observe this natural behaviour every
day of the week. Men and woman are striving
to be the best they can, often referencing their
qualities against those of their peers: winning by
points in Tae Kwon Do, throwing an opponent
from a ring in Sumo, a victory by triangle in BJJ.
But, I believe there are inherent problems with
jostling for position in a martial art that is re-
quired, albeit for obvious safety reasons, to ‘pull
its punches’. The cost of being ‘safe’ is that you
never actually determine a strict hierarchy of
dominance. It is just impossible to honestly de-
cide who would have won if the fight was ‘real’.
In contrast, the brother and sisterhood of the full
contact striking arts answer this problem through
brutal contests. Yet I urge them to consider this
question: how long are you able to keep striking
each other with such unbridled ferocity before
you are forced to limp off into the wilderness and
retire with your wounds like those overzealous al-
pha lions on the African plains?
A rhetorical yet unavoidable question.
NATURE’S CALLING
Having now stood firmly in both camps -striking
and grappling- and after researching the necessi-
ty of both physicality AND the establishment of
dominance hierarchy in the healthy development
and socialisation of humans, I must concede that
BJJ is the ideal method of delivering both needs
simultaneously and safely. I believe that this, in all
probability, is why BJJ is so addictive.
I hear the strikers baulk at this last of my traitor-
ous assertions. I understand them trying, one last
time, to call me back from the brink of leaving
the strikers' homestead in search of greener grap-
pling pastures. I’m sorry, brothers and sisters, I
can no longer lie to myself, or to you. I must speak
of what I have discovered!
Like it or not, us strikers must concede that BJJ al-
lows us to enjoy the full benefits of fully engaged
physical contact and the establishment of where
we fit- for today at least- within the community.
Both of these can be established without having
to suffer severe, life-changing injury (I acknowl-
edge that serious injury does occur, but it is the
exception rather than the rule- it is not the goal of
grappling) or by losing friends that we have had
to concuss. Instead, we can play hard and safe, do
our best to beat our teammates, then leave it all
on the mats as we go for a drink together.
So now that the truth is out, as painful as it may
be, we can go on with our days. And although
there will need to be further conclusive studies
and research, for now, we can muse that it is na-
ture who is calling us to the academy.
Well, that's my excuse; next time my wife asks me
why I’m home late.
Matt Jardine is an author, writer
and teacher of the martial arts. He
would like to take this opportunity
to acknowledge publicly, send con-
dolences and offer well-being to
those involved in the Grenfell Tow-
er tragedy. Sometimes it’s hard to
know what to say or do. But our
love and thoughts are with you.
51
 WORDS: OLIVER GEDDES
DAVID AND GOLIATH: PART 1
One of the most incredible things about jiu jitsu is that two stu-
dents can start on the same day, go to all the same classes...
...and end up developing into totally differ-
ent practitioners with different skillsets and
preferences, even though they know all the
same techniques.
Sometimes these differences may be due to men-
tality or aptitude, but a lot of the time it comes
down to body types. Whether you are tall or
short, heavy or light, have long limbs or not - all
of these will determine which techniques are me-
chanically easier for you. That isn’t to say that cer-
tain techniques are off limit for anyone; in theory,
everyone can do any movement. However, your
body type will certainly make a subset of all the
techniques in jiu jitsu more appropriate than oth-
ers. In this article, I’m looking to talk about the big
guys - the “Goliaths” of the title.
A quick disclaimer - when I talk about big guys
and girls in this context, I am generally discounting
taller, super-athletic people. I consider them to be
regular-sized people, just scaled up; there tends to
be very few limits on what their bodies are capa-
ble of, particularly when they are in their physical
prime. To me, a big guy starts at around 100kg and
for this discussion, is under 6’2” (and yes, I am well
aware I am mixing my systems of measurement).
So, a stockier, heavier-set individual.
BOTTOM POSITION
The first rule of being a big guy on the mat is that
you can’t be on your back, with your opponent
able to apply direct pressure to you. Ever. This
is because when you are on your back, you are
carrying your own weight as well as the weight
of your opponent. This additional pressure means
that most movements will be difficult to pull off in
the first place. And, even if you can begin them
successfully, your execution will usually be slow
enough that it can be countered by an adjust-
ment from your opponent.
This means that bottom side control is a mas-
sive no-no. As a result, when someone is threat-
ening to pass your guard, it is imperative to do
everything you can to try to make it to your knees.
With smaller fighters, giving up your back is usu-
ally a death sentence, but this is predominantly
due to their speed and flexibility - meaning that
once they get access to your back, you are, basi-
cally, doomed.
Much larger fighters need much more space to
place hooks and have to carry their own weight
more effectively to avoid falling off or discon-
necting from their opponent. This leads to larger
players being more wary when it comes to com-
mitting their weight and attacking the back. As
a result of this, the threat of a full back take is
significantly diminished and ending up in bottom
turtle isn’t necessarily the end of the world as it
would be in a smaller weight class.
THE GUARD
Guard play as a bigger guy is complex. Closed
guard is safe, because it prevents your opponent
from putting their weight on you. But attacks can
be awkward, because climbing your legs up and
avoiding stacking escapes to submissions is of-
Oli Geddes is a seasoned
competitor, referee, globetrotter,
half guard connoisseur and black
belt under Roger Gracie
ten extremely difficult. Half guard bottom with a is the key to winning, so if you are in mount you
cross-face is pretty much death, and the typical don’t take the armbar unless they gift-wrap it for
progression tends to be closed guard attack that you. You go for the arm triangle, or you take the
fails, to guard break, to half guard. back (as long as you are confident you can stay on
top with the hooks) but risking the top position for
Once the top player is able to flatten you out a single submission attempt is a dangerous move
in half guard, passing to side control or mount at the best of times.
tends to follow eventually, even though it may
take some time. For a heavier, less dynamic and Should your opponent make it to their knees and
less flexible athlete, the guard of choice should you feel that it will be difficult to place your hooks
generally be deep half guard, for several reasons: in, focus on turnovers instead. If you can off-bal-
ance them (by picking their ankle or collapsing their
• It’s an exceptionally good way to prevent your shoulder) into side control, you won’t score for it
opponent from putting their weight on you directly, but you will get the ability to control them; wearing
because your hips are hard to control when they’re them out while you can still attempt submissions
underneath and behind someone and it also pre- from top side control or score for the mount.
vents the top player from cross-facing.
Another valid alternative for dealing with the tur-
• You create an unstable base underneath your tle that doesn’t risk losing position as much as
opponent, preventing them from being comfort- throwing the hooks in, is the clock choke; a move-
able in their own position and in turn limiting their ment where your weight works in your favour but,
capacity for putting their weight on you. more importantly, keeps you in top position whilst
threatening the submission.
• Since heavier players tend to be less mobile
compared to lighter ones, it is much harder for This is obviously a very superficial overview of
a top player to make substantial transitions from ‘big man tactics’. But, it is important to highlight
deep half top, whether for a back take or a leg- that bigger people do have different attributes,
lock attempt. This in turn means that you have and I think it should be made clear that there are
to worry less about the various counters to the subsets of techniques that will work best when
position and can more easily focus on disrupting you are heavier. Just because you are taught a lot
their base and setting up your sweep. of techniques, it is important to select the ones
amongst them that are most appropriate for your
PASSING body type.
In general, passing from standing is awkward, be-
cause to stand you need to first get to an upright
posture, then you need to make it to your feet
whilst carrying your opponent’s weight as well as
your own. On the plus side, should you be able
to stand, you will probably be able to break your
opponent’s guard.
Getting to your feet is just harder, and it’s often
more efficient to try to break and pass from your
knees. This also prevents nimbler opponents from
getting underneath you and utilising the space
there to set up attacks. Your two primary routes
are going to be trying to force a guard break and
move to half guard, or to set up a stack pass, de-
pending on the hip position of your opponent.
If their hips are high and you can get under them,
you stack. If their hips are low, you pass over their
knee to half guard. From there, you control their
hips and work your way up their body, making the
smallest movements possible to avoid creating
space until you can start to work your leg free and
move to a dominant position.
TOP POSITION
All the rules of bottom position apply here, just in-
verted. If you are on top, your priority is to stay on
top at all costs. This will rule out a large number of
techniques that, should they go wrong, will have
you wind up on the bottom. Sticking to strong,
stable attacks that don’t require that risk will al-
ways be the way to go.
In a way, it’s much the same as the route that
MMA has gone in the modern era. Being on top
53
 In this instalment of
Masterclass, Juniao
showcases a range
of closed guard
sweeps and a neat
submission.

MASTERCLASS
HENRIQUE JUNIOR
Showing some of his favourite attacks in this issue is
European and British Champion, Henrique Junior! ‘Juniao’ is
one of the head instructors at the Roger Gracie Academy,
known for his aggressive style and dominant closed guard.
Portrait: Andre Camara

54
 1 2

1: Your opponent is in the turtle position, and you’ve gained a grip 2: Often you will find your opponent tries to grab your leg, but this is
of their collar with your left hand as pictured, locking your elbow to a mistake.
their hip.

3 4

3: Bring your right arm underneath your opponent’s arm, bringing
your whole body over the top of their arm to break the grip and set
up the finish.
FINISHING DETAILS
MODIFIED AMERICANA
4: From here, grab your own collar. You can see the arm is in a
position where you can attack with an Americana style finish

FINISHING DETAILS

5 6

5/6: Sit through with your left leg and start raising your chest upwards to
hit the submission. Be careful with this one, as it will come on quickly!

55
 1 2

1: Starting from closed guard. 2/3: Your opponent looks to open your guard on the floor by bringing
their right knee to the middle and widening their left knee outwards.

3 4
CLOSED GUARD SWEEP TO MOUNT

4/5: Switch your grips so you are controlling their left sleeve with
your left hand and their left elbow with your right hand.

5 6

6: Your opponent will try to hide their elbow by digging it into your
leg to prevent the arm drag.

56
 7 8

7: Open your guard and block their left knee with your right leg on the 8/9: Keep pulling your opponent’s arm up towards your head,
floor, maintaining your grips. but the real detail is that you must throw your left knee high
underneath their right armpit to knock them off balance.

9 10

CLOSED GUARD SWEEP TO MOUNT

10/11/12: Once your opponent has lost their balance, maintain the
grip with your left arm, but post out with your right elbow to help
move yourself into mount.

11 12

57
 1 2

1: Starting from closed guard. 2/3: Your opponent looks to open your guard on the floor by bringing
their right knee to the middle and widening their left knee outwards.

3 4
CLOSED GUARD FLOWER SWEEP

4/5: Switch your grips so you are controlling their left sleeve with
your left hand and their left elbow with your right hand.

5 6

6: Your opponent knows you are trying to hit the scissor sweep, so
they will often look to posture upwards.

7 8

7/8: As soon as your opponent starts to posture upwards, use the

momentum of this movement to drag their arm across your body.

58
 9 10

9/10: Maintain the grip on your opponent’s left sleeve with your left
hand. Next, bring your right arm across their back and secure a grip on
their armpit.

11 12

CLOSED GUARD FLOWER SWEEP

11: From here your opponent will often stand up on their right foot and 12: Release the grip on your opponent’s sleeve and underhook their
drive their weight towards you in an attempt to recover their posture. right leg.

13 14

13/14/15/16: From here you can simply rock your opponent to your
right, arriving in a high mount position.

15 16

59

Send your questions
for Braulio to
u2us@bjjstyle.com
and we will publish
as many as possible
in the next issue of
Jiu Jitsu Style.
Hi Braulio,
One thing I’ve often wondered is what your diet
looks like day by day? Let’s say you’re training a
mid-day session, then an evening session; how
would you eat on that given day? What sort
of foods do you try to consume and also try to
avoid?
- Peter

Hi Peter,
So, I always try to eat as clean as possible, keep-
ing my body in an alkaline state. In the mornings,
I have a lot of water on an empty stomach, with
a lime shot and a teaspoon of apple cider. This
cleanses my body and keeps me in the alkaline
state, as cancer cells develop quicker in acidic
environments.

Apart from the morning ritual, everything is very

simple. I don’t use any pre-workout drinks; I just
eat something like scrambled eggs on toast for
breakfast and maybe have a coffee or a juice. I’ll
then train hard, followed by lots of water and after
half an hour I’ll have a protein shake. My next
meal before the evening training session is where I
have a lot more carbohydrates, so pasta, sushi, or
stuff like that. There’s no gap for junk food in my
diet, even when I’m not competing, but I think I
just have good willpower. I got used to not eating
desserts a long time ago, so I don’t miss it.

Like I say, I don’t have a specific diet really but just

try to keep everything as clean as possible. I never
mix carbohydrates on one plate, like rice and
bread. I mix vegetables and protein in one meal
though. One thing I do though is eat fruit before
my main meal, not after as a dessert. This is be-
cause I read that fruit is digested in the intestines,
so it’s best to let that pass through your system
first of all. One final thing I’ve introduced that
makes me very alert all day is therapeutic ketones.

Also, if you want to have a cheat day, do it on a

BRAULIO ESTIMA Saturday, so you have the Sunday to recover and
get yourself back to normal before training again
on the Monday.

ASK THE DOCTOR

Braulio Estima is Jiu Jitsu Style’s
resident BJJ Doctor, helping
prescribe our readers just the
right tonic of tips to improve their
grappling game.

Hi Braulio, such a great performance. He gave Hi Braulio, a self-defence situation as well.

What did you make of the recent
World Championships in California?
Any athletes who stood out for you,
or any general observations that
you drew from the tournament?
- Unknown
One thing that really stood out for
me this year was the level of the
blue belts and the purple belts – it
was really very high. There was one
purple belt I was watching who was
on such an amazing level, so that was
great to see. At black belt, I was very
impressed with Joao Gabriel Rocha,
having beaten cancer and putting on
Buchecha a very tough time in his
match, so that was great to see.
Erberth Santos brought his level up
yet another notch this year so he
deserved his title, but a big mention
has to go to Nicholas Meregali
as well. Not just because he beat
Leandro Lo, but the way in which
he reached the final was amazing.
He tapped everyone on the way to
the final, including Lucas Leite. That
was an amazing achievement in his
first year at black belt, and his style
reminds me a little of my early days in
competition as well. Meregali was the
headline for me this year.
Bit of a fun question really, but For that reason, I’d also teach
if someone could only know the rear naked choke. It would
five jiu jitsu techniques, what be worth teaching a head lock
would they be? escape because that’s a very
common situation in a street
- Ben fight, and finally, a takedown. I
think that’s a good starting point!
Hi Ben,
Ha! Good question…
First off, I would say a side
control escape, so that you can
learn how to get back to the
guard – or what is a more safe
position. Next, I’d teach the
triangle choke, because this is
such an effective technique in

60
Escape From Turtle 1. Your opponent has a seat
belt grip from turtle position.
DETAIL: Grip over the top of your
Hi Braulio, opponent’s hands as pictured;
What is your favourite way to replace guard when your opponent has from here you can separate
managed to get you to turtle? I find this position really tricky once their seatbelt grip and set up
they’ve gained a seatbelt grip. the escape. 2/3/4/5. In a quick
motion, straighten your arms out
- Claire as you stand up and literally run
away from your opponent. Like I
Hi Claire, say, it may look strange, but it’s
This is an escape that has been working really well for me. It looks a a great way to escape the turtle
little unorthodox, but it’s very effective. and prevent your opponent from
taking your back.

GRIP DETAIL

2 3

4 5

61
 Hi Braulio,
One thing that I really struggle with is ‘how’ I should be
training. What I mean by this is that I am susceptible to
raising or lowering my intensity during sparring, based on
whatever my partner is doing. If they’re going balls out, so
am I, and if they’re going super slow, I’ll just follow suit.
My question really is: How do you know when it’s time to
go hard, or time to flow a little?
If you’re in a situation where you don’t want to go as hard as
the guy you are sparring with, just try to concentrate on your
defences and not allowing yourself to be drawn into the roll
too much if you don’t want to. In theory, you have two options:
go hard and match your opponent’s intensity, or work on your
defence. At the end of the day, training is training - so don’t be
afraid to make mistakes. This is why I am such a fan of specific
training because it forces you to work on uncomfortable positions
and situations to develop.

- Harry

Hi Harry,
I always say that everyone has ego. I have ego, it’s just about
how you deal with it. Sometimes you don’t feel like going hard
but your training partner does, then it also works the other way
as well. I think first and foremost, I listen to my body; if you feel
you are ready to train hard then you should try to apply this in
the session. If you start pushing hard in a roll, but you can tell
your partner doesn’t want to match that level, just tone your level
down and work on something that’s not your A game.

Knee Bar 1 2
from Half Guard
Hi Braulio,
I feel a little limited with
submission options from my
half guard – any ideas? I am a
big Lucas Leite fan, so I love to
play half guard and also deep
half guard, but I feel other than
hunting for sweeps, I have few
attacking options.

- Maz 3 4
Hey Maz,
This kneebar is a solid option to
have in your locker, especially if
you like playing that sort of half
guard game.

1. Starting in half guard. 2/3.

Shoot for the underhook on your
opponent’s right arm. 4/5/6.
Switch your foot position so that
your left leg is now on the inside
of your opponent’s right leg as
pictured, with your arms secured
around their hip. 7/8. Draw your
5 6
opponent’s leg towards you as
you lift your hips up to apply the
submission pressure on their knee.

7 8

62
1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8

Reverse Half Guard Sweep

Hey Braulio,
Could you show an option on how to improve my 1/2/3. Your opponent switches
position once the guy turns to pass half guard from to a reverse half guard. As they
the reverse sitting position? I get in trouble from here, move, open up their gi lapel
especially when the guy advances their body up towards and pass it to your left hand
my head and isolates my arm with their back. as pictured. 4/5. Bring your
right hand underneath your
- Ray opponent’s right leg and grab
their lapel. 6/7/8. Open your
Hi Ray, guard and bridge to your left to
See how this sweep works for you. It is a secure option complete the sweep.
because of the lapel grip, so it should work well!

63
 In this issue, Tom
showcases a selection
of submissions and
transitions originating
from half guard.

SHEDDING THE GI

TOM DEBLASS
Tom DeBlass is a black belt under Ricardo Almeida,
head coach at Ocean County Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Academy and an ADCC, UFC and Bellator veteran.
Tom is also known as one of the best coaches in
jiu jitsu, having nurtured the likes of Garry Tonon,
Gordon Ryan and Nicky Ryan.
Pictures: Jeff Chu

64
 1 2

1: Your opponent is playing knee shield half guard. 2: Come up onto your toes and drive your head into their jaw.

3 4

KNEE SHIELD HALF GUARD PASS

3/4/5: Keeping your right hand on the mat in between your opponent’s legs, at the same time twist your hips so your left knee comes right up
against their waist, twisting their body. Notice that you must keep pressure on their jaw with your head and post out with your left hand on the mat.

5 6

6/7: From here, you can back step out of your opponent’s guard,
making sure you gain control of their head with your left arm as you do.

7 8

8: Secure solid head control to complete the pass.

65
 1 2

1: Starting from a knee slice pass position, pinning your opponent’s hip 2: Sometimes, when your knee gets through to the mat, your
to the mat with your right hand to prevent their movement. opponent manages to get the underhook.

3 4
KNEE SLICE PASS TO BACK TAKE

3: Straight away, back step with your left leg to reach reverse half guard, 4/5: In a quick motion, push your opponent’s right leg down to the
making sure you cup their right thigh with your left hand as you rotate. mat as you circle back over the top, basing out with your left leg as
pictured.

5 6

6: Slide your left shin tight against your opponent’s back.

66
 7 8

7/8: Cup around your opponent’s head as pictured, while starting to sit
backwards and set up the back take.

9 10

KNEE SLICE PASS TO BACK TAKE

9/10: Continue to roll to your right and pull your opponent’s head until
your right shoulder hits the mat and you can throw in your second hook.

11 12

11/12: From here, you are in a great position to attack straight

away with the rear naked choke.

67
 1 2

1: Starting from half guard with an active knee shield. You have 2: Push away with your arms and left leg to force a reaction from
created a frame with your arms to prevent your opponent flattening your opponent, as they will lean their weight into you.
you out.

3 4
ARM LOCK FROM HALF GUARD

3/4: In a quick motion, switch your grips so you have full control of
your opponent’s left arm on their tricep as pictured. Pull the arm
towards you to break their posture and bring your left calf across the
back of their neck.

5 6

5/6: Sit up and lock off a kimura grip to further strengthen your
control and set up the armlock.

68
 7 8

7/8: Throw your left leg right across their back and dig it into their
left hip.

9 10

ARM LOCK FROM HALF GUARD

9/10/11/12: Start threatening with the kimura and this will force your
opponent to roll into the arm lock.

11 12

69
 1 2

1: You are in your opponent’s half guard. 2: They manage to secure an underhook with their left arm as pictured.

3 4
HALF GUARD TO STRAIGHT ARM LOCK

3/4: In a quick motion, bring your left hip to the mat and your left arm
right over your opponent’s head, blocking their left arm to their body.

5 6

5/6: Reach back with your right hand to control your opponent’s arm
at the wrist, then securing the kimura grip.

7 8

7/8: Wrench their arm down so that their elbow is pressed against
the mat. As they try and twist out of the position, secure the straight
arm lock.

70
F I G H T E R S M A R K E T. E U
 TRADITION WITHIN

AT HLE T E - ANDRE GAL VAO

MI DDLE HE AVY W ORLD CHAMP 2 0 1 7

AVAILABLE AT

MAEDABRAND.COM
FIGHTERSMARKET.EU KIMONO | AKASHIO
 1 2

1: You are in your opponent’s half guard. 2/3/4: Start to sneak your right arm underneath your opponent’s left
arm and secure the back of their head, making sure to drive all your
weight through your shoulder to maintain good pressure...

3 4

DARCE CHOKE FROM HALF GUARD

...Reinforce your grip by bringing your left hand on top of your
opponent’s head, pulling it towards you and keeping them from
straightening their back and creating distance.

5 6

5/6: When you feel ready, shoot your left arm forwards so that you
can lock off a grip on your right bicep as pictured.

7 8

7/8: With your choking grip secure, drop your left hip down to the
mat. From here, it is easy to escape your legs and pass the guard.
You also have the finishing grips you need – squeeze for the tap!

73
 Nick Brooks is Jiu 1
Jitsu Style’s resident
technique guru and
a second degree
black belt under
Roger Gracie.

1: You are in side control with control of your

opponent’s head.

LAPEL CHOKES FROM SIDE CONTROL

NICK BROOKS
2/3/4: Pass your own lapel from your right hand to
your left hand as pictured. Try and do this as quickly
as possible, while also maintaining pressure on your
opponent.

Lapel chokes are always a great option to 3

CHOKE 1

look for when you’re in side control. Many

of them seem simple, but they’re very
effective, so it’s always good to have them
as options in your arsenal.

4 5 6

5/6/7: Bring your right hand to your opponent’s

right hip.

7 8 9

8/9: Walk your body in a circular motion, while bringing your head to the right-hand side of your
opponent to finish the choke.

74
 1 2

1: You are in side control with control of your opponent’s head. 2/3: Pass their lapel from your right hand to your left hand, but this
time you pass it over your opponent’s right forearm as pictured.

3 4

CHOKE 2
4: Normally your opponent will pull their hand out, sensing the danger,
but this sets up the choke.

5 6

5/6: Bring your right hand to grip the same lapel as your left with a
baseball bat grip.

7 8

7/8: Rotate your body in a circular motion over your opponent’s head to
finish the choke.

75
 1 2

1: You are in side control with control of your opponent’s head. 2/3: Free up a little bit of slack on your own lapel with your right hand.

3 4
CHOKE 3

4: Pass your lapel from your right hand to your left hand as pictured.

5 6

5/6: Rotate your left palm so it is facing your opponent’s shoulder, at

the same time pull backwards on your own lapel and drive your shoulder
into their neck.

76
Chokerepublic.eu
 Sardinia- Italy
1 6 - 1 7 September2017
Gi e no-gi
championship
info:
www.sardinianopen.com
sardinianopen@gmail.com

B J J
WEEK
20/24 info:
Www.bjjsummerweek.com
Bjjsummerweek@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER
 1 2

1: You are in side control with control of your opponent’s head. 2/3: Pass your own lapel from your right hand to your left hand as
pictured.

3 4

CHOKE 4
4/5/6: Switch your base and bring your right shoulder to the other side
of your opponent’s head.

5 6

7 8

7/8: Pull the lapel with your left hand and drive your elbow backwards
to finish the choke.

79
 ‘THE SEEKER’
KIMONO
£127
www.jiujitsubrotherhood.com

SCRAMBLE
ATHLETE 3
KIMONO
£100
www.scramblestuff.com

MANTO
GYM SACK
€24
www.mantoshop.eu

80
CHOKE
REPUBLIC
T-SHIRT
£22
www.chokerepublic.eu

ADIDAS
‘RESPONSE’
KIMONO
£36.99
www.cimac.net

ROLL SUPREME
T-SHIRT
£22.95
www.rollsupreme.com

81
OLYMPIC JUDO ROGER GRACIE
SILVER MEDALIST BJJ BLACK BELT

8 SESSIONS PER WEEK:

WWW.RAYSTEVENSACADEMY.CO.UK BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU & JUDO
LOCATIONS: KINGSTON,
enquiries@raystevensacademy.co.uk WIMBLEDON & TEDDINGTON
GI SPOTLIGHT PROGRESS M6
MARK THREE KIMONO
OVERVIEW
Back for its third instalment, the
popular Progress M6 now features
fresh branding and a notably lighter
jacket, making this classically styled
kimono a fantastic ‘all-rounder’ for
the £95 price point.

THE JACKET
Progress branding has always
resonated with us: slick, stylish and
generally understated. We love
the choice of font and typography
positioning of the Progress wording,
which sits on the left chest section
of the jacket. The trademark, circular
Progress logos are located on both
upper arms and on the back of the
neck.

There’s also a very cool ‘M6’ logo

update for the MK3, which sits on the
bottom of the left jacket section. The
use of a deep, silver colour works really
well on the fresh white sample we were
sent, but the gi is also available in black
and blue (with the same, silver coloured
branding).

Weighing-in at 450gsm, the jacket is

within the light to mid-weight range
compared to other products on the
market; it’s probably an ideal weight for
our taste. The cut is very modern, with
no baggy material or long, wide sleeves
you’d more likely expect of a judo gi.

TROUSERS
Keeping with the clean, simple design, the
trousers feature minimal branding. The new M6
logo is found on the back of the left trouser leg and
also on the upper right thigh, while the regular Progress
logo is located on the upper left thigh. The trousers are made from
cotton, secured with a drawstring rope and do exactly what it says on
the tin; nothing fancy, just functional.

DETAILS
The use of slick typography and subtle, worded branding are what
really makes Progress products appealing, and their ‘go to’ M6 kimono
strengthens that opinion. Their ability to blend style and function
is second to none, and we love the fact that the M6, their standard
kimono, manages to bring its own sense of flair to proceedings.

SUMMARY
The M6 MK3 is another solid offering from the Manchester-based
brand. At £95, you’re getting a product that will work perfectly as
a competition gi or an everyday workhorse; it’s a great balance
between comfort, durability and price.

AVAILABLE VIA
WWW.PROGRESSJJ.CO.UK
FROM £95

83
UK, European and International subscriptions available
 DO YOU WANT YOUR PRODUCTS REVIEWED?
To have your jiu jitsu gear featured in JJS,
send us an email at info@bjjstyle.com

REVIEW CORNER

KINGZ CONVERTIBLE BACKPACK

AVAILABLE VIA WWW.FIGHTERSMARKET.EU FOR £99

As jiu jitsu players, it’s amazing how much room we actually need
in our training bags. So, you’ve got your gi (of course), then your
nogi stuff (just in case). Let’s not forget your towel (no one likes a
stinker), quite possibly a pair of boxing gloves (if you’re into that
sort of thing), a belt, a change of clothes, your shower stuff, flip
flops… did we miss anything? Anyway, you get the picture. It’s a
lot of stuff.

Kingz have recently launched their convertible backpack, which

literally covers all bases in catering for your trip to the academy.
You have two options with this bag: use it as a regular backpack,
or expand the additional compartment and use it as a large duffel
bag. Just need shorts, rashguard and a towel? No problem; use
it as a backpack. Heading out for two sessions of jiu jitsu before
a weight session? All good - just use as a duffel bag. Switching
between the two options is seamless, so there’s no need to worry
about unnecessary or over complicated faffing about.

Configuration options aside, there’s a number of great additional

features to this bag. The inclusion of a hard shell compartment
at the top of the bag is perfect for keeping your glasses, mobile
phone, or other delicate items from damage. There’s also a secret
compartment below this hard shell section to store your valuables.

There’s a padded laptop section, an insulated foil side compart-

ment to keep your water cold or your coffee hot, plus a ventilated
compartment for wet training gear that keeps it separate from your
dry clothes. All in all, Kingz have created the perfect, all round
training bag.

As a Kingz product, the bag features their awesome crown insignia

embroidered on the front, plus notable Kingz branding on the side
pockets. The Kingz zipper detailing offers a premium touch to what
is already a premium product for £99. If you’re looking for a bag
that’s got you covered for any eventuality, you can’t go far wrong
with this.

85
BJJ ANIMAL ALPHABET COLOURING-IN BOOK
AVAILABLE VIA WWW.BLURB.CO.UK FOR £9.99

Meerkatsu has long been one of the standout artists within the jiu jitsu com-
munity, having taken his artwork from blog posts to branded rashguards,
t-shirts and kimonos. His latest venture is the creation of a beautiful BJJ
themed colouring-in book, available via self-publishing website, Blurb.

In 2015, Meerkatsu – AKA Seymour Yang – created his ‘War Lion’ colour-
ing-in sheet: a single page lion illustration that fans could download, print,
then colour themselves. The War Lion project was extremely successful and
went on to form the basis of a popular rashguard.

Based on his successes with the War Lion, Seymour designed a limited run
of colouring-in art cards that were distributed with one of his kimonos. Feed-
back from fans was positive enough for him to go on to create the Animal
Alphabet colouring-in book.

The book consists of 29 original Meerkatsu artworks, with most of the illus-
trations printed on the right-hand page to prevent ink bleed when colouring
in (though it is recommended that you use pencils instead of pens). The
product itself is made from 105gsm paper, with a soft back, perfect bound,
laminate cover; it really is a lovely little collectable.

In typical Meerkatsu fashion, the illustrations feature whacky interpretations

of animals - all shown doing jiu jitsu related antics. It’s clear that a great deal
of time and effort have gone into this project, leaving you almost reluctant
to colour the pages in!

Whether you decide to pick the book up to colour yourself, as a gift for a kid
or to simply marvel at before storing away as a collectable, it’s an absolute
steal at £9.99. Meerkatsu has – yet again – offered up a really fun product
for his fans, which illustrates the creativity on show within the vibrant BJJ
illustrator subculture.

ROGER GRACIE TV Roger’s style of jiu jitsu and his tutorials at Roger Gracie TV reinforce
what we should all be learning if we want to build a game that will stand
the test of time. Ideal for beginners and experts alike, it’s a fantastic re-
MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTIONS £14.99 / $19.99 source that is only set to get better as more content is added.
WWW.ROGERGRACIETV.COM

It’s been a long time coming, but Roger Gracie, one of the most decorat-
ed grapplers in history, has finally launched his own online instructional
website. For a man who’s been notoriously camera shy during his fight-
ing career, Roger Gracie TV offers fans an insight into the mentality and
ROGER TV
training habits of a sporting great.

The website architecture is simple, but extremely easy to use. Videos are
organised in categories such as mount, closed guard or side control, but
GRACIE
the inclusion of novel groups like escapes and concepts are welcome
additions. As we all know, Roger has never been submitted in competi-
tion since his blue belt days, so the escapes category was a real favourite
of ours, while the concepts menu includes some excellent content sur-
rounding Roger’s approach to dealing with certain positions, as well as
addressing general fighting mentality.

When it comes to the actual content, there are some absolute gems to
look forward to. Roger’s game is often described as ‘basic’ or ‘simple’,
but his attention to detail in explaining technicalities behind seemingly
‘simple’ positions is second to none. There’s an excellent chain of videos
covering half guard passes that we found extremely useful, as well as his
mount retention concepts.

As with most instructional websites, some of the most popular videos

are those of sparring, and it’s amazing to be able to sit back and watch
Roger rolling with his students away from the competition mats. There’s
a ton of sparring footage, with Roger facing off against varying levels of
opponents– from purple belts to multiple world champions.

Another great addition to the website is that Roger’s father, Mauricio

Gomes, a coral belt and legend of the sport in his own right, has added
his own techniques. Mauricio covers a range of self-defence principles
and ‘old school’ guard passing, as well as his patented attacks from knee
on belly - a welcome addition in the era of berimbolos and 50/50 guard.

The database of techniques (which, at the time of writing, sat at around

260 videos) is added to at least every other day, so you can rest assured
there will be plenty of fresh content for you to get stuck into. The website
is also fully responsive, so it looks fantastic on mobile phones or tablets
and makes for ideal viewing while commuting to work or sitting in the
dentist’s waiting room.

The price point of Roger Gracie TV is really appealing: £14.99 ($19.99)

a month, or with a 25% discount if you buy the annual membership.
Refreshingly, you’re not tied into a contract with the monthly option and
can cancel at any time from within your own account.

86
 jiu jitsu

student

contest
Cimac I Cimac House I Highlands Road I Shirley
Solihull I West Midlands I B90 4NG
Tel: 0121 711 3612 I email: sales@cimac.net
www.cimac.net
response
Gym Featured: HFFS Deeside
 ANDY MARSHALL is the owner of Villain Strength and a
strength and conditioning expert. He has worked with notable
professional athletes including heavyweight boxing contender,
ANDY MARSHALL Dillian Whyte, and British grappling standout, Dan Strauss.

FIT TO FIGHT
WHAT IF I WANT TO LOSE SOME FAT TOO?
Mixing up a ton of different goals isn’t always the best idea, so I’d
recommend you focus on improving your strength and performance through
the training structure that I’ve presented. If you do that and start getting
your nutrition on point, then you will see yourself leaning out as well.
CREATING A RESULTS
BASED TRAINING PROGRAM
Sitting may not be too pleasant the next day the first time you do this. But,
your hamstrings and glutes will be looking pretty sweet.
FAT LOSS FINISHER #5 – ON THE MINUTE, EVERY MINUTE, SWINGS
This is one of my go-to conditioning protocols when I’m short on time.

Ok, so to break it down, to get leaner you’ll have to spend time on your
nutrition, period. But we can also add in some extra fat loss finishers to up
the metabolic effect at the end of the workout.
Here are 5 Fat Loss Finishers that you can add to your program and are
easily progressed (as I’ll show you):
FAT LOSS FINISHER #1 – THE AIRDYNE BIKE
This is old school – but it works! And just when you thought the bikes with
the moving handles couldn’t be used for anything productive.
The KEY here is to go absolutely all-out during your work set. In this case
we’ll go 30 seconds of work and 90 seconds of rest, starting with 3 rounds.
You may be looking at me and laughing and thinking ‘this is a piece of cake’
– but I promise at the end of those 3 rounds you’ll “get it.”
No matter what, go absolutely all-out in the 30 seconds of work.
How does it go? You take a reasonably heavy kettlebell and start swinging
on top of the minute for the prescribed amount of reps. Once you’re done
with the set, have a rest break until the timer hits the top of the minute
again, then repeat for the prescribed number of rounds.
You can start with fewer or more rounds than I’ve put in this program, but
this is a pretty good start for most people.
Intensity Recovery Repeats
Week 1 10 KB swings Rest of min 10
Week 2 10 KB swings Rest of min 12
Week 3 10 KB swings Rest of min 14
Week 4 10 KB swings Rest of min 16
I will typically work people up to 18 rounds and then go back to 10 and start
with 12 swings. If you’re more conditioned, you can start at 12 rounds and
more reps.

Intensity Recovery Repeats To get leaner, get on point with your nutrition (shop, prepare and cook the
Week 1 30 sec 90 sec 3 meals you have the hardest time with ahead of time) and keep a journal, as
Week 2 30 sec 90 sec 4 well as plugging in some extra work with the fat loss finishers at the end of
Week 3 30 sec 90 sec 5 your training session.
Week 4 30 sec 90 sec 6
STEP 8: HOW DO I PUT IT ALL TOGETHER?
Once you go through the 4 weeks of progressions, we’d usually start at 3 I knew it was coming, so below is something I cooked up earlier. Think of
rounds again but now drop the rest period to 60 seconds. this sample program based on the structure I talked about above. Since
I’m a visual person (and most people are), I believe this will help you see. I
FAT LOSS FINISHER #2 – THE LEG MATRIX didn’t include warms-up in here, but they precede every training session, as
This is another one that looks incredibly simple on paper but will have you you can see in Step #1 back when we started in issue 36.
cursing me by the time you come to round two. It’s a continuous series of
exercises that are all focused on the legs. This is a 3-day-a-week full body program, which includes a fat loss finisher.

Here goes… SAMPLE TRAINING SESSION A (FULL BODY)

10 vertical jumps 1. Trap bar deadlift 4 x 4
10 squats 2a. DB Bulgarian split squats w/ slow eccentric 3 x 8/side
10 lunges (each leg) 2b. DB bench press w/pause 3 x 8
10 step-ups (each leg) 3a. BB Romanian deadlift 3 x 15
3b. T-bar row 3 x 10
Time your work period, then rest for the same time before doing another 4a. Cable face pulls 3 x 15
round. Keep pushing to get your work time down and after 4 weeks you can 4b. KB suitcase carry 3 x 80m/side
add a couple of reps per exercise (for example, go to 12). 5. Fat Loss Finisher #1

FAT LOSS FINISHER #3 – PUSH-UP SQUAT LADDER SAMPLE TRAINING SESSION B (FULL BODY)
This is one of the ladder finishers we do a lot and if you push it, you’ll be 1. Incline bench press 4 x 4
feeling it! 2a. Half kneeling press 3 x 8/side
1 push-up, 1 squat 2b. BB front loaded reverse lunge 3 x 8/side
2 push-ups, 2 squats 3a. Pull Ups 3 x 12
3 push-ups, 3 squats etc. 3b. Glute ham raises 3 x 12
4a. Single leg glute bridges 2 x 25/side
Intensity Recovery Repeats 4b. Pallof press hold 3 x 30 sec/side
Week 1 1 ladder N/A 1-10 5. Fat Loss Finisher #2
Week 2 1 ladder N/A 1-12
Week 3 1 ladder N/A 1-13 SAMPLE TRAINING SESSION C (FULL BODY)
Week 4 1 ladder N/A 1-15 1. BB Front squat 4 x 4
2a. Double KB step-up 3 x 8/side
Nothing mind blowing, but it’s a lot of volume in a short time and it’s easy to 2b. Low cable row w/pause 3 x 8/side
progress. You can also make easy switches for exercises (i.e. KB swing/push- 3a. Single leg landmine RDL 2 x 15/side
up, KB goblet squat/ burpee, lunges/push-ups, etc.) 3b. Chain push-ups (3 sec. negative) 2 x 15
4a. KB side lunge 3 x 8
If you feel it’s too easy, no problem. Work up the ladder and then work back 4b. Reverse crunch 3 x 1
down as well. Enjoy! 5. Fat Loss Finisher #5

FAT LOSS FINISHER #4 – THE 5 MINUTES OF FURY Bada-boom, bada-bing! There you have a great recipe for getting stronger,
Here’s how it goes: packing on muscle, getting your nutrition in check and getting leaner.

Intensity Recovery Repeats Here’s something that’s you MUST realise – the only way to figure out what
Week 1 30 KB swings 1 min 1-10 works best for you is to haul your butt into the gym, push yourself, find a
Week 2 35 KB swings 1 min 1-12 support group that challenges you, and then track what happens.
Week 3 40 KB swings 1 min 1-13
Week 4 45 KB swings 1 min 1-15 Until then, the best-written programs are just scraps of paper that never get
used. Do the work.

89
 TOURNAMENT REVIEW
PICTURES: DANIEL BRISENO
& BLANCA MARISA GARCIA

IBJJF World Championships 2017

The 2017 rendition of the IBJJF World Championships was yet another
example of how exciting and unpredictable our sport can be.

T he headlines went to Marcus Buchecha Almeida,

who became an astonishing 5x black belt absolute
champion, but this result was just the tip of the iceberg
so this was a major upset and a huge scalp for the new
black belt, Meregali.

in terms of standout moments. Bruno Malfacine continues to cement his status

Mikey Musumeci became only the fourth American
male athlete to win a black belt world title, picking
up gold in the light featherweight division. Still only
20 years-old, Musumeci has an extremely bright
future ahead of him and will be odds-on to become
the first American man to achieve 2x world champion
status next year.
It was Nicholas Meregali who shocked the community
in the heavyweight division, beating Leandro Lo in the
final and claiming his first world title. For many, Lo is
considered one of the best athletes of the modern era,
in the history books with yet another victory over
Caio Terra in the roosterweight division, while his
Alliance teammate, Lucas Lepri, added to his tally
at lightweight.
In the female divisions, Tayane Porfirio displayed her
dominance by winning both the super-heavyweight
and absolute brackets, while Nathiely Jesus continued
to impress after picking up gold at medium-
heavyweight. A special mention must be reserved
for Ana Carolina Vieira, who followed in her brother
Rodolfo’s footsteps in becoming a black belt world
champion, via a dominant victory over Monique Elias.

90
 BLACK / ADULT / MALE / ROOSTER
First - Bruno da Silva Malfacine – Alliance
Second - Caio Terra – Brasa CTA
Third - Lucas dos Santos Pinheiro – AMBJJ
Third - Tomoyuki Hashimoto – Brasa CTA

BLACK / ADULT / MALE / LIGHT FEATHER

First - Michael Musumeci Jr. – Brasa CTA
Second - Joao Miyao – Cicero Costha International
Third - Ary de Melo Farias – Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Third - Gabriel Afonso dos Santos Moraes – Alliance

BLACK / ADULT / MALE / FEATHER

First - Rubens Charles Maciel – Alliance
Second - Leonardo Fernandes Saggioro – Brazilian Top Team
Third - Gianni Paul Grippo – Alliance
Third - Shane Jamil Hill-Taylor – Team Lloyd Irvin

Above:
Mikey Musumeci
vs Joao Miyao
Above right:
Caio Terra vs
Bruno Malfacine
Bottom middle:
Ruben Charles
vs Leonardo
Fernandes
Bottom left:
Lucas Lepri BLACK / ADULT / MALE / LIGHT
Bottom right:
Gabriel Arges First - Lucas Lepri – Alliance
vs Marcos Tinoco Second - Roberto Satoshi – Bull-Terrier Bonsai
Third - Jhonny Loureiro Sigallis Souza – Alliance
Third - Yan Lucas Cordeiro Paiva – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

BLACK / ADULT / MALE / MIDDLE

First - Gabriel Arges – Gracie Barra
Second - Marcos Tinoco – Alliance
Third - Jaime Soares Canuto – GF Team International
Third - Otavio Ferreira de Sousa – Gracie Barra

91
 BLACK / ADULT / MALE / MEDIUM HEAVY
First - Andre Galvão – Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Second - Patrick Pontes Moura Santos Gaudio – GF Team
Third - Felipe Carsalade Araujo Pena – Gracie Barra
Third - Rômulo Claudio Barral – Gracie Barra

BLACK / ADULT / MALE / HEAVY

First - Nicholas Meregali – Alliance International
Second - Leandro Lo – NS Brotherhood
Third - Dimitrius Soares Souza – Alliance
Third - Guilherme Augusto Soares Santos – Alliance

BLACK / ADULT / MALE / SUPER HEAVY

First - Erberth Santos – Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Second - Bernardo Faria – Alliance
Third - Luiz Panza – Checkmat
Third - Mahamed Aly – Team Lloyd Irvin

Top left:
Nicholas Meregali
vs Leandro Lo
Top right:
Andre Galvao
vs Patrick Gaudio
Below:
Marcus Almeida vs
Leandro Lo

BLACK / ADULT / MALE / ULTRA HEAVY

First - Marcus Almeida – Checkmat
Second - Gustavo Dias Elias – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu
Third - João Gabriel Rocha – Soul Fighters BJJ
Third - Otavio de Souza Nalati – Team Lloyd Irvin

BLACK / ADULT / MALE / OPEN CLASS

First - Marcus Almeida – Checkmat
Second - Leandro Lo – NS Brotherhood
Third - Erberth Santos – Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Third - Luiz Panza – Checkmat

92
BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / ROOSTER
First - Rikako Yuasa – Paraestra Shinagawa
Second - Rayanne Amanda Carmo – Attack JJ Team
Third - Outi Järvilehto – Brasa CTA
Third - Serena Gabrielli – Flow

BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / LIGHT FEATHER

First - Talita Alencar – Alliance
Second - Gezary Matuda – American Top Team
Third - Kristina Sofia Puruganan Barlaan – Brasa CTA
Third - Thamires Diógenes de Aquino – GF Team

Top left:
Talita Alencar
vs Gezary Matuda
Top:
Rikako Yuasa
vs Rayanne Carmo
Middle:
Emilie Maxine
Middle Left:
BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / FEATHER Luiza Monteiro
First - Emilie Maxine – Gracie Humaita vs Beatriz Mesquita
Bottom:
Second - Ana Carolina Schmitt – Gracie Humaita Ana Carolina Vieira
Third - Aarae Alexander – Team Lloyd Irvin
Third - Jaqueline de Moraes Amorim – Checkmat

BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / LIGHT

First - Luiza Monteiro – NS Brotherhood
Second - Beatriz Mesquita – Gracie Humaita
Third - Jessica Cristina C. A. – Elite Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Third - Tammi Musumeci – Brasa CTA

BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / MIDDLE

First - Ana Carolina Vieira – GF Team
Second - Monique Elias – Alliance
Third - Amanda Loewen – SBG International (SBGI)
Third - Nivia de Souza Moura – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

93
 BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / MEDIUM HEAVY
First - Nathiely Jesus – Cicero Costha Internacional
Second - Andresa Correa – Alliance
Third - Jessica Oliveira – Gracie Barra
Third - Leah Roseanne Taylor – SBG International

BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / HEAVY

First - Claudia Fernanda – De La Riva JJ
Second - Talita Nogueira – NS Brotherhood
Third - Fernanda Mazzelli – Striker JJ

Top:
Nathiely Jesus
vs Andresa Correa
Middle right:
Claudia Fernanda
BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / SUPER HEAVY vs Talita Noguiera
First - Tayane Porfirio de Araujo – Alliance Bottom :
Second - Venla Orvokki Luukkonen – Hilti BJJ Jyvaskyla Tayane Porfirio
vs Venla Luukkonen

BLACK / ADULT / FEMALE / OPEN CLASS

First - Tayane Porfírio de Araújo – Alliance
Second - Nathiely Jesus – Cicero Costha Internacional
Third - Beatriz Mesquita – Gracie Humaita
Third - Jessica Oliveira – Gracie Barra

94
PHOTO ESSAY: DANIEL BRISENO

BATTLE PHOTOGRAPHY
The nuances of fighting captured through the lens:
highs, lows, triumphs, defeats, tears of joy, tears
of sadness; every human emotion all under one
roof. In this photo essay, Daniel Briseno showcases
some of his standout images from the IBJJF World
Championships at the Walter Pyramid, California.

96
97
 WORDS: MATT BENYON

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT JIU JITSU?

Jordan Peterson has recently been christened the ‘Father Figure for the
YouTube generation’. Dr. Peterson is a clinical psychologist from Cana-
da. Some of you may know who he is, many of you won’t.

stepping on the mat will constitute a small vic-

tory against the unknown and thus they will feel
good about themselves. For the average jiu jitsu
practitioner, you could say that entering a com-
petition would represent the hero’s journey to
slay the dragon.

Think about entering a competition in broad

terms. It represents a huge investment of time
and money. It represents a commitment to
self-improvement. It represents overcoming
stress, anxiety, and nerves. Ultimately it repre-
sents you venturing into the unknown, surviving,
and returning. Whether you win or you lose, you
return spiritually richer for the experience. We
as humans gain great satisfaction from going on
these kinds of journeys. Even the trip to the gym
to train two or three times a week - that rep-
resents a small-scale excursion to slay another
dragon. You are tired, you don’t feel like training
- and yet you go and you slay the dragon and
you feel good.

As human beings, we love to dramatise things.

I do not mean that we love to gossip or make
big deals of things - although that is also almost
definitely true. We like to act out archetypes and

H e has been in the public eye recently for his

stance on gender pronouns and their usage,
but that’s not why I mention him. Peterson has
a huge library of material on YouTube where he
talks about his philosophical view of the world
and how to navigate your way through it, and,
bear with me, this is where I have discovered
some incredible parallels that can be used to un-
derstand our obsession with jiu jitsu.
First of all, the world can be divided into two
complementary opposites that manifest them-
selves in various forms - chaos and order, neg-
ative and positive, female
and male, soft and hard,
nature and culture, the
unknown and the known,
and so on. As humans,
it is our responsibility to
“GOING TO JIU JITSU ALLOWS
Take the famous myth of the dragon that hoards
gold and kidnaps virgins, and the hero who at-
tempts to slay it. It’s quite a ridiculous story on
the surface of it - what need would a giant lizard
have of gold or virgins? It is of course a meta-
phor, common across hundreds of cultures, for
the hero and his journey. The dragon represents
chaos and the unknown. The hero is you.The un-
known is scary and unfamiliar, but it also can hold
great rewards. In the story, those rewards are
gold and virgins. In life, the reward is informa-
tion and experience that you can use. If you can
venture into the unknown and return unscathed
(or only slightly
scathed), you will
have gained some-
thing from it.
myths; it’s how our bodies and minds are set up
thanks to millions of years of evolution. Going
to jiu jitsu allows us to dramatise the hero’s jour-
ney, for ourselves, two or three times a week.
We get to experience the thrill of conquering
the unknown and gaining some new knowledge.
And we use this knowledge to improve the rest
of our lives.
Dr Jordan Peterson is a clinical psychologist. He
tells a story of how he helps those with agora-
phobia and social anxiety gradually reintegrate
themselves with the outside world. He will ask
the patient to take 10 steps out of his office. The
patient might refuse, so they agree on five steps,
or three. The patient takes those steps and feels

As humans, we need
anxious, but soon will relax when he or she real-
ises that nothing terrible happened.

walk the line between the

two, to find the happy
medium between them
US TO DRAMATISE THE HERO’S this kind of chal-
lenge in order to feel
as though we are
This process will be repeated, moving further
and further down the corridor until they reach
the elevator, then going inside the elevator, and
and navigate that line
successfully throughout
our life.
JOURNEY, FOR OURSELVES, TWO progressing in life.
And that can be in
any form. When lan-
so on, until the patient is able to step outside
freely. Is the patient learning how to overcome
his fear of corridors and elevators? No, but his

This has been symbol-

ised and mythologised in
OR THREE TIMES A WEEK. WE GET guishing in the same
job for too long, un-
challenged and un-
mind is learning to apply the lessons of over-
coming his fear of the unknown in general, and
using the strength gained from that experience

TO EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF

many religions and cul- motivated, our lives to improve his overall quality of life.
tures around the world become unfulfilling.
for thousands of years. When we do not In the same way, we can use the small victo-

CONQUERING THE UNKNOWN AND

Sometimes in our lives look after our fitness, ries gained from training and competing to im-
we will lean too far to one when we do not prove the rest of our lives. That’s what’s so great
side or the other, and we challenge ourselves, about jiu jitsu.

GAINING SOME NEW KNOWLEDGE”

will do our best to redress we do not feel good
that balance. For exam- in our bodies.
ple, if we suddenly lose Matt Benyon
our job, we will be in cha- And this is where jiu Creative Director
os, and to recover we will need to implement jitsu comes in. Jiu jitsu is a dragon, and if we Polaris Pro & Scramble Brand
order back into our lives. Conversely if we are venture towards it, we have the potential to reap
too rigid in our order, and too hard on ourselves, huge rewards. This analogy works on many lev- WWW.POLARIS-PRO.ORG
we will feel the need to break free and rebel. els within jiu jitsu. For the non-practitioner, even WWW.SCRAMBLESTUFF.COM

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