University of Jiu Jitsu – Tournament Preparation and Training

The guys over at Fight Works Podcast did a great show involving one of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu places to train in the world. Many high level black belts are making UNIJJ their home for competition preparation. The level of training that goes on there, especially at this time of the year, has got to rival any other training atmosphere in the world.

The majority of the training sessions are now being run by Royler Gracie himself as the guys prepare for the Mundials.

And an interesting note is that Kron Gracie (son of legendary Rickson Gracie) is training there as well to sharpen his competition skills. In one of the interviews mentioned below, Saulo Ribeiro talks about what they are working on to improve Kron’s game.

But first, there’s a nice interview with Leo Santos, a guy who most MMA fans have probably never heard of - unless they also happen to be die hard sport Jiu Jitsu followers. But Santos is quickly making a name for himself. In 2008, he won the ultra-heavyweight division at the Mundials.

And it’s also worth mentioning that he submitted UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre back in 2005 at the ADCC Submission World Championship via armbar. This guy is going to have a big impact the BJJ world in the next few years.

It was interesting to hear Santos’s view on Jiu Jitsu and training. And you can tell by listening to many of the Brazilian fighters that they have a different view than we do here in the states. Here’s a quote from Santos (his english is not the best):

Thanks to God to give me the health and the opportunity to be training all those years without getting injury and to give me the ability to learn the beautiful art that’s Jiu Jitsu

How often do you hear people speak about their training as being beautiful? You’ve got to love the approach that these guys take. Jiu Jitsu is not just a sport to them, it’s a lifestyle. That’s just one reason I have so much respect for the passion and philosophy the Brazilian guys bring to the mat.

Next up was an interview with multiple time BJJ World Champion, Saulo Ribeiro. You’ll definitely want to hear him talk about how they are preparing fighters for such a highly competitive tournament as the Mundials.

Some Interesting notes from the interview with Saulo:

He gives his insights about the high expectations on his team and how they deal with those expectations, and then sheds some light on their training camp and philosophies. I think the fact that Kron Gracie is there training with Saulo, his brother Xande, Royler Gracie and the many other talent blackbelts really says a lot about the quality of Jiu Jitsu that is happening at the University.

Saulo mentions that the guys continue to train in the gi, even when preparing for an MMA fight, they only use a short transition period without the gi. This topic is somewhat controversial in the MMA scene so it’s interesting to hear how one of the top BJJ training centers is approaching it.

However, I must say I’m not very surprised considering many of these guys have been training in the gi since they were 5 years old.

Saulo points out that technique, good training partners, desire, attitude, bringing 100% and leaving everything on the mat are some of the most important attributes to be successful in these ultra competitive BJJ tournaments.

If you get tired, you’re going to lose…So you really have to be in a high level of training to be able to just react…

Saulo’s interview ends with him discussing one of the big problems in today’s Jiu Jitsu competitions: the Gentlemen’s Agreement. If you don’t already know…that’s when two competitors from the same school end up in the finals against each other.

In this scenario, many of the guys won’t compete against their training partners so no real tournament winner is determined.

(This actually happened to me at the finals of a tournament and let me tell you, it’s very awkward. My instructor, who was in my corner the entire tournament, was now cornering the guy I’m trying to beat, and the guy who was coaching him was now in my corner. Definitely a weird situation.)

The final part of the podcast is an interview with Saulo’s brother, Xande. He talks about Jiu Jitsu in MMA and competing against the very tough Roger Gracie. He gives a lot of insights about his state of mind going into a big tournament and how important it is to be in great shape.

All in all it was great to get an inside look at one of the top training camps in the world.

You can go here to hear the entire thing…it lasts about 35 minutes:

http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2009/05/24/saulo-xande-ribeiro-unijj/

Talk soon…