History, Tradition, Respect - Part 2

Many people ask me about Roberto's history and when he started training. So I thought I would get it straight from him.

"I started training in Brazil in 1982 with Carlinhos. Carlos, Crolin, Rilion, were my primary teachers. Leao Texiara, Renzo Gracie, Jean Jacque, Johnny, and Rigan Machado at Carlos Gracie Jr academy not called Barra Gracie yet. In 1988, I got my black belt. "

One of Roberto's first students was Patric Barbieri. I stole this post off the mass bjj site and thought I would share it with everyone:

"I am very thankful for the people I trained with years ago. Everyone I trained with had an open mind and no ego. It was just about learning. They were humble, respectful and they truly exhibited martial arts values. Anyone who came in that did not cultivate this did not last for long and never really would be able to be taught or listen to what they needed to learn.

Prior to training at Boston Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I worked out many years with a group of guys who were into grappling. I then began to teach jiu-jitsu at a karate studio. One of our students was going to B.U. and we needed a new place to train. He organized the club, got us space, and we started to have structured classes there. This was called the Boston University Brazilian jiu-jitsu club which is still running today. I met Roberto through a friend of mine and I started to also train at Boston Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I wanted to spend more time training at BBJJ and I planned to leave the B.U club. I left the teaching responsibilities to a student who was a black belt in judo and was training with us in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a few years.

I continued to intensely train and teach at Boston Brazilian jiu-jitsu six days a week for 4-5 hours a day. I didn’t do it because I needed to train for a fight or grappling competition, I just did it. I didn’t think about goals other than trying to be the best I could be. Jiu-jitsu training for me was an obsession. So many hours sparring, drilling, weight training, stairmaster, Yoga, taking supplements (I drank so much Myoplex I get sick everytime I see an advertisement for it) was just a daily routine we did year after year. I trained this routine until I was about 38 years old. I was lucky that I never had any serious injuries that kept me off the mat too long, although I did have knee surgery and had a back problem for a short while.

Getting on the mat and just rolling was something that I needed to do every day. Furthermore, I was determined to progress each day and would never be satisfied by just going through the motions of training. My training partners where great and we had a group of serious practitioners that progressed very fast, we really push each other. Many of us had backgrounds in kickboxing or boxing and we shared our expertise. Mixed martial arts training was very important to our weekly routine.

We had many students come in and train very aggressively in the early days. It was all about testing if jiu-jitsu was for real. Many people who were in martial arts had a glimpse of the UFC and wanted to try it out. For me this was great. I wanted the challenge. Training with high level jiu-jitsu players was good, but training with unorthodox wrestlers or people who were just strong and athletic was just as good. When I trained with another jiu-jitsu player it was easier to relax because I knew what to expect. There was a tempo and flow that you were familiar with. When you went against a wrestler or someone who was very strong and they just went wild trying to take your head off, that was when you really tested your ability to use jiu-jitsu. If you just look good going with another jiu-jitsu player how functional is that? It frustrated me to see many people who were good at jiu-jitsu just fold when a strong athletic guy went at them; they were not able to generalize their techniques that they were learning. This is when I realized that teaching jiu-jitsu needed more of a focus on mental training; you just couldn’t learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques and expect it to work.

Back in the early days we had many opportunities to go against people who were coming in to test their skills against jiu-jitsu. Roberto’s first school location was about the size of our back room at our academy and we trained on foam mats. You would be laden with bits of mat material all over yourself after you were done training. We simply just vacuumed it up and trained again. There were only about 20 guys or so at the most and only die hard martial artists would hear about the school. I remember when someone would come in that was big and it was evident he wanted to go hard, Roberto would always say, “O.k. Patric, I want you to go against this guy when we spar. Make sure he knows what jiu-jitsu is.” Roberto would always have a smile on his face when we started sparring.

To be continued…"

Thank You

I see so many guys helping out during open mat with others. I see Phil rolling, teaching, here everyday - the Iron Man of Jiu Jitsu. I see Al and learn from him every time I am on the mat with him. I see Roberto's enthusiasm on the mat. I see Chris Page and Marlon kicking my butt with a smile on my face. I see Steve Medina taking time out of seeing his new beautiful daughter to spend time with other families. I see Rob stepping up to fulfill a need. I see Joe and Alex coming in regularly. I see Johnny working with our smallest students with a smile. I just wanted to take a minute to thank these guys and all of you that make the academy what it is. I see a bright future.