Unless you are very plugged into the tournaments going on in Brazil right now last weekend featured the 2015 Brasileiro tournament which is kind of a big deal. Unfortunately unless you were there or have been able to see some of the posted matches it's a bit difficult to stay on top of the results. One match that jumped out at me as very impressive is that of fairly new Black Belt Luan Carvalho (Nova Uniao) over Alliance powerhouse Michael Langhi! Note this was a semifinal and a real nail biter but most did not expect this result. Luan would go on to win the division and I can imagine this is the biggest win of his career. I would definitely keep an eye on this prospect in the Leve (Light) division at future events!
Our gym was fortunate enough to host Gustavo Dantas in December 2014. We are affiliated with Robson Moura so during that time we have developed a relationship with many of the current and former Nova Uniao gyms throughout the country. Gustavo is the President of Nova Uniao USA with his gym based in Tempe, Arizona. Gustavo is a 4th degree black belt under Andre Pederneiras.
The content covered in this seminar was very good. Rather than show a series of moves from a particular guard or position Gustavo focused heavily on concepts. We began with his most successful closed guard sweep, the "Roleta sweep." After spending some time breaking down the move and the timing of how to execute it properly we switched things up a bit. Gustavo spent some time showing proper posture in the guard when trying to stand up. A lot of emphasis was placed on doing this properly and how if the posture was not very good it would be easily exposed by the Roleta sweep. This method of teaching really made it an "ah ha" moment because while we were learning the Roleta sweep it really drove home the importance of good posture when trying to break the closed guard.
The other concept we covered worth mentioning was chaining the guard breaks into passes without much delay. Obviously hanging out in the open guard is not going to be favorable for the guard passer. Gustavo showed us a slick way to control the pants sleeves and prevent spider guard bicep control. I had not seen this particular variation. Importance was placed on being purposeful with your grips and not hesitating to initiate the guard pass. A good deal of time was spent working situational guard passing with the guard player trying to defend.
One thing I liked was during specific moments throughout the seminar Gustavo would queue up matches online that we could review and he would point out specific examples of executing techniques in competition. He has a very analytic approach to teaching which is very refreshing.
Something some people may not know about Gustavo is that he is a Certified Mental & Life Coach and excellent public speaker. He has developed a DVD series: The BJJ Mental Coach "Inner Discovery for Outer Success." Gustavo described how he himself experienced a lot of performance anxiety competing in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in the past. Through this series he is trying to help others achieve their goals by taking a more mental approach to competition. I personally purchased the DVD set and watched a good portion of it however I have not completed it so I will review it at a later date. After hearing his speech at the seminar about the program and some of the free videos he has put out on his YouTube channel I felt like I could benefit from it both for Jiu-Jitsu and in my personal life. A lot of the concepts discussed do not have to only apply to the sport.
If you get a chance I highly recommend checking out some of his BJJ Mental Coach videos and see if you can benefit from them. To wrap things up, the seminar was great. I'm a huge fan of Gustavo Dantas, his analytic teaching style and wish he was more local to us. If you get a chance to drop in at his gym in Tempe, Arizona or attend one of his seminars I highly recommend it. There is also an excellent three part series he participated in on Budovideos Rolled Up from late 2014 that I have linked at the bottom of the article.
After taking a year off from doing any big tournament articles I got the pre-Pan excitement. I am really looking forward to the tournament that seems to get bigger every year with each division getting more stacked from lower belts all the way through black belt. Tournament info can be found here: http://ibjjf.org/championship/pan-jiu-jitsu-championship/
This preview will focus on divisions that interest me and/or I feel like I know enough about the competitors to make comments.
Brown / Adult / Male / Light Feather 2014 Champ - Andris Brunovskis (Atos)
This is actually a pretty stacked division with some exciting guys to watch and picking a winner is difficult. Michael Musumeci, Ostap Manastyrski, Woolf Barnato, and Darson Hemmings are my personal favorites in this division. Woolf came up short and finished second in 2014.
My prediction: Woolf Barnato (Ralph Gracie)
Brown / Adult / Male / Feather 2014 Champ - Fabio Caloi (Alliance)
Watch for Isaac Doederlein and Rick Slomba (Atos) will be big contenders. Slomba is coming off a big year but Doederlein is likely to claim the title this year. My pick: Isaac Doederlein (Alliance)
Brown / Adult / Male / Middle 2014 Champ - Dillion Danis (Alliance)
Marcelo Garcia protege has to be the favorite to reclaim his title this year.
Brown / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy 2014 Champ - Manuel Diaz (Brasa CTA)
Reigning champ Manny "Beats" Diaz was promoted to black belt late last year making way for some new blood this year. Another Marcelo Garcia protege, Matheus Diniz (Alliance) will be a big favorite this year. Don't overlook Cyborg's sutdent Hunter Ewald (Fight Sports) as he is a gamer. These two would make for a great final.
My pick: Matheus Diniz (Alliance)
Brown / Adult / Male / Super Heavy 2014 Champ - Erberth Santos de Mesquita (TLI)
Not familiar with many of the guys making up this division but one name stands out by a lot.
My pick: Jared Dopp (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu)
Brown / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy 2014 Champ - Pedro Henrique Moura (Ribiero Jiu-Jitsu)
This is a pretty small division with only 6 guys.
My pick: Ryan Sandhagen (Bruno Bastos Association)
Black / Adult / Male / Rooster 2014 Champ - Joao Rodrigues (CheckMat)
Seven competitors making up this division with Caio Terra returning after taking time off from health issues in 2014. He will have his hands full on the tougher side of the bracket with Fabio Passos (Alliance) likely in the semi-final. Bruno Malfacine (Alliance) has the easier path on the other side of the bracket. I'm going to predict a Passos / Malfacine final here as I'm not sure how healthy Caio is these days.
My pick: Bruno Malfacine (Alliance)
Black / Adult / Male / Light Feather 2014 Champ - Paulo Miyao (PSLPB Cicero Costha)
We will be treated to both Miyao's competing in the Light Feather this year and thankfully on opposing sides of the brackets.
My pick: Paulo Miyao (PSLPB)
Black / Adult / Male / Feather 2014 Champ - Mario Reis (Alliance)
This is probably my favorite division every year. The usual names are here minus Rafa Mendes, Tanquinho, and Cobrinha. Make way for Vitor Paschoal (Brasa CTA), Osvaldo Moizinho (Gracie Fighter), Gianni Grippo (Alliance) and Davin Maxwell (Cassio Werneck BJJ). My personal interest this year is to see how Gustavo Dantas (Nova Uniao) will fare competing with the younger guys.
My pick: Osvaldo Moizinho (Gracie Fighter)
Black / Adult / Male / Light 2014 Champ - Lucas Lepri (Alliance)
Usual favorites Lucas Lepri and Michael Langhi (Alliance) are not registered this year which should be a relief for the rest of the division. That said there is a lot of talented guys which should make for an interesting watch. Mario Reis (Alliance) has moved up a weight class, Jonathan Torres (Atos), Andris Brunovskis (Atos), Michael Liera Jr (Atos)...the list goes on. Lots of Atos guys here are likely to make some noise.
My pick: Jonathan Torres (Atos)
Black / Adult / Male / Middle 2014 Champ - Leandro Lo (PSLPB Cicero Costha)
Reigning champ Lo is back again this year and will be the favorite as usual. Otavio Sousa (Gracie Barra), Victor Estima (Gracie Barra), Magid Hage (Gracie Barra), Vitor Henrique Oliveira (GF Team), Tanner Rice (Amazonas), Sean Roberts (CheckMat) are just a handful of the superstars making up this group.
My pick: Leandro Lo (PSLPB)
Black / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy 2014 Champ - Gustavo Campos (Atos)
This will be a hotly contested division again with most of the big names returning including all of the medalists. Keenan (Atos), Gustavo Campos (Atos), Abmar Barbosa (Zenith BJJ), Murilo Santana (Barbosa JJ)
My pick: Keenan Corneilius (Atos)
Black / Adult / Male / Heavy 2014 Champ - Yuri Simoes (Brasa CTA)
Yuri has moved up to Super Heavy this year making way for Lucas Leite (CheckMat), Marcelo Mafra (CheckMat), and Timothy Spriggs (TLI).
My pick: Timothy Spriggs (TLI)
Black / Adult / Male / Super Heavy 2014 Champ - Luiz Panza (Barbosa JJ)
Guys to watch are Yuri Simoes (Brasa CTA), Bernardo Faria (Alliance) Joao Assis (CheckMat), Eduardo Telles (Brasa CTA), and Erberth Santos de Mesquita (Guigo JJ).
My pick: Bernardo Faria (Alliance)
Black / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy 2014 Champ - Andre Galvao (Atos)
First thing worth noting is no Galvao this year! Luis Panza (Barbosa JJ) has moved up in weight. Bruno Bastos (Bruno Bastos Association) will give it a run again with the younger guys. James Puopolo (Ribiero JJ) and Alexander Trans (UAE JJ Team). An interesting note is that Joao Rocha (Soul Fighters) has just recovered from cancer and will be in this division.
My pick: Alexander Trans (UAE JJ Team)
Black / Adult / Female / Light Feather 2014 Champ - Andrea Encarnacion (Elite BJJ Redmond)
With only 4 women in this small division this is a pretty easy pick for me. Michelle Nicolini (CheckMat) and Gezary Bandeira (ATT) are likely to meet in the finals.
Tammi is making her first big stage showing since suffering an awful elbow dislocation at the 2014 Worlds. I think we are likely to see a finals rematch with Mackenzie Dern and Musumeci (ATT).
Texan Lora Hallock (Atos) will be making her first attempt as a black belt this year. Fabiana Borges (Gracie Barra), Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaita), Angelica Galvoa (Atos), and Nyjah Easton (TLI) will be heavily favored here.
My pick: Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaita)
Wheeeeeeew that's about it. If you want to watch the Saturday & Sunday portion of the live stream go here: http://ibjjf.tv/
