Alliance Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Primer
November 14, 2008
Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti and Fabio Gurgel, the leaders of jiu-jitsu team Alliance accepting the 1rst place team trophy at the 2008 BJJ Mundials.
We have been talking a lot about Alliance lately so I thought I would put together some information for those hoping to learn more about the team which came in first place overall at the 2008 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Mundials.
Alliance Jiu-Jitsu was born in 1991 of the relationship between the two men shown above, Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti and Fabio “The General” Gurgel.
Jacare runs a jiu-jitsu academy in Atlanta, Georgia that serves as the base of operations for the team in the United States. Their website can be found here. Jiu-jitsu stars who train out of that academy include Chris Moriarty and Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, among other tough competitors.
Gurgel operates Alliance’s headquarters in the fourth largest urban area in the world: Sao Paulo, Brazil. Their website is here, and includes a blog in English, one in Portuguese, and offers some amazing photos from Gurgel’s personal gallery. Heavyweight Tarsis Humphreys, ultraheavyweight Gabriel Vella, newly acquired Bruno Malfacine, and others can be found on the mats in Sao Paulo.
To understand the extent of Alliance’s influence we must not forget Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller, who began training BJJ under Jacare Cavalcanti in 1989. Franjinha’s competitors from his own Paragon Jiu-Jitsu association compete under the Alliance banner in major BJJ tournaments, which is especially helpful considering that Franjinha has produced two of the United States’ toughest competitors, Jeff Glover and Bill “The Grill” Cooper.
Another long-time Alliance staple in the United States is Fabio Clemente. Clemente’s school in New York City was home to Alliance’s uber-popular Marcelo Garcia until last year, when “Marcelinho” relocated to Florida.
Bruno Malfacine Joins Team Alliance
November 12, 2008
Bruno Malfacine at the Mundials.
Team Alliance, run by Fabio “The General” Gurgel and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti, can add another heavy hitter to its roster of superstar grapplers. Or, depending on how you look at it, a not-so-heavy hitter.
According to this report on BSB Combate, rooster weight Bruno Malfacine has left his old team Gama Filho to become part of Alliance, the team which captured first place in overall team results at the 2008 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships.
At the BJJ World Championships, Bruno Malfacine earned third place in 2008 and first place in 2007 in his weight class.
Malfacine joins a stacked Alliance roster which also consists of the renowned jiu-jitsu competitors Tarsis Humphreys, Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, Chris Moriarty, Gabriel Vella, Marcelo Garcia, Sergio Moraes, Lucas Lepri and others.
#142 Braulio Estima, Copa Alliance in Sao Paulo
November 9, 2008
Gracie Barra’s Braulio Estima.
Today on The FightWorks Podcast cohost Dan and I start off by discussing the results of the most recent BJJ Poll (Should Blue and White Belts Be Allowed to Perform Heel Hooks?), with help from a listener who called in.
We will also get the scoop on the Copa Alliance which was held November 1st in Sao Paulo, Brazil from Steve Hall, aka Pesadelo Triangulo, an Alliance brown belt who made the journey to compete just that one day, returning the next! Pesadelo’s report confirms that Fabio Gurgel (aka, “The General”) and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti are indeed creating new Brazilian jiu-jitsu secret weapons we can expect to see in the future.
Our feature interview this week comes by way of FightWorks Podcast contributor Bruce Hoyer, who caught up with Braulio Estima, one of Gracie Barra’s big guns. Estima won the following medals in recent years (among others):
- 2006 heavyweight Pan-Ams gold medalist
- 2006 middle heavyweight Mundials gold medalist
- 2008 heavyweight and absolute division no-gi Pan-Ams gold medalist
- 2008 middle heavyweight Mundials silver medalist
In the interview, Estima talks about training in London with Roger Gracie, cornering Zelg Galesic in his match against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in DREAM, his own MMA ambitions, and tons more.
Don’t forget that you can contact us to get your questions answered here on The FightWorks Podcast: BJJ Radio too! Just call (877) 247-4662!
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
EXCERPT FROM BRAULIO ESTIMA INTERVIEW
The FightWorks Podcast: Tell us about your experience at the No-Gi Pan-Ams.
Braulio Estima: The Pan-Ams was a good experience, even though it didn’t have as many guys, the level was there. Tarsis Humphries was there, Roberto “Tussa” Alencar, Pablo Popovitch, Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, Samuel Braga, all the top guys. Macaco, Rolles Gracie, so it was good. A lot of people were watching as well. It was very cool.
The FightWorks Podcast: Yes it seemed like there was a really high level of black belts but not that many blue, purple, and brown belts. When I was looking through the list it looked like there was a lot of good black belts.
Braulio Estima: Yes it was pretty good and I am very struck that I did pretty well. I have been training very hard here with my brother (Vitor Estima), and Rominho (Romulo Barral). You know he is here with us now, and on the seventh of November he’s going to come with us and do seminars around Europe, and then he is going back to America. But he helped in training for the Pan-Ams, pushing me with the cardio. I did a very good preparation with my trainer Stevie B, and I was very confident in my power and my timing. Back in the Worlds (BJJ Mundials), these were the two things that were missing: my cardio and my timing. The rhythm of competition, you know? And I was very happy because I was doing a lot of specific training as I was coming back, and my knee feels very solid. I exchanged takedowns and stuff, so it was very good and I am very happy with where I am now. Everything happened to me this year. I started this year with the left foot forward, doing a surgery, and four months after the surgery, after two months I could step on the floor and start training for the Worlds. I fought in the finals at the Worlds to Andre Galvao and lost by submission. I started getting better but not as good as I was supposed to…
Poll: How Many BJJ DVDs Do You Own?
November 8, 2008
In today’s BJJ Poll I’m wondering how many Brazilian jiu-jitsu DVDs you own. They can be instructional DVDs like the ones from Saulo Ribeiro
If you have a question you think would make a good poll, you can email me at caleb @ (this website) .com, or leave a recorded message for us by calling give us a call at 877-247-4662!
Gracie Barra San Clemente Video
November 6, 2008
Flavio Almeida faces portraits of Gracie Barra leaders.
Twenty Gracie Barra black belts made the trek to San Clemente, California on Sunday to celebrate the official opening party of Flavio Almeida’s academy and take part in his promotion to a three-stripe black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The FightWorks Podcast headed north from our headquarters here in San Diego to check out the event firsthand, and brought back a three-minute video for you.
The video is posted over on YouTube but I still really recommend you subscribe to our BJJ Video feed in iTunes so that every time we release a new video it will be automatically downloaded to you, your iPod and / or iPhone, so you won’t miss anything!
#141 How BJJ Helps You Off the Mat
November 2, 2008
Rhalan Gracie attempting a triangle.
What does Brazilian jiu-jitsu do for you when you are not actually doing BJJ? We asked you, The Mighty 600,000 that question and you responded! We received some great phone calls on our toll free number from you, which we put before our guest, a sports and forensic psychologist here in San Diego, Albert Oppedisano.
The range of answers we got was really interesting and just go to show how beneficial jiu-jitsu is for people. From helping people deal with daily struggles, to being better at their jobs, to bringing families together, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a very healthy lifestyle.
We will also speak with Andrew Smith of US Grappling, who conducted their second tournament yesterday where you can only win by submission! That’s right: no time limits, and no points. Just submissions. So we will catch up and see how that turned out.
Don’t forget that you can contact us to get your questions answered here on The FightWorks Podcast: BJJ Radio too! Just call (877) 247-4662!
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
Poll: Should Lower Belts Be Allowed to Perform Heel Hooks in Competition?
November 1, 2008
Today’s BJJ Poll is based on a thread that was posted recently on a popular Brazilian jiu-jitsu forum.
Some people are against heel hooks as a submission technique for Brazilian jiu-jitsu white and blue
belts as the margin for error in applying the submission is very small, as is the margin for error in knowing when to tap when someone applies a heel hook on you. Further, when something does go wrong during a heel hook, the damage to the grappler’s knee is often severe enough to warrant surgery.
Others argue that heel hooks are not that different from any other submission grappling technique and that with good instruction and under supervision, white and blue belts can safely perform the technique.
What do you think? Cast your vote above, and if you have more to say on the topic, leave us a recorded message for us by calling 877-247-4662! I am guessing there are some FightWorks Podcast listeners who have personal experience in this arena.
Also, if you have a question you think would make a good poll, you can email me at caleb @ (this website) .com.
Goodbye, Old Friend
October 30, 2008
Professor Marcus Nevel, me, and my Old Friend in 2002 at Gracie Humaita in Rio.
How could I have known that I would meet you during my visit to train jiu-jitsu in Rio? It seems one cannot predict when someone as special as you comes into one’s life: a loyal companion who would experience all my highs and lows, my injuries and victories for the following five years.
We met back in 2002 during on my first trip to Rio de Janeiro. Breno brought FightWorks Podcast cohost Dan and I to his friend Malibu’s Rags FightShop and the minute I took you from the rack and tried you on in the fitting room, I sensed we would be together quite a long time.
Sure, the patch on the back of you was silly. The image of an Incredible Hulk wearing a gi and BJJ black belt while breaking out of prison was ridiculous. But no one is perfect, and hey, it’s the little quirks about us that make us special.
And when I brought you back to the United States, I knew no one else would be wearing anything like you. You were unique.
I have seen photos online where folks are standing next to a closet full of hanging gis. I’ve never been able to make lots of shallow acquaintances like that. No, cultivating a few serious relationships like ours has always fit me. Yes, I know I have that Atama I’ve used as my backup gi. But you know you have always been my favorite.
I knew nothing lasts forever. But I tried to avoid the inevitable. I took precautions to keep you safe and healthy!
Despite the flack I caught for insisting on air-drying you, I never subjected you to the dryer!
Alas, as they say, “time waits for no gi”. There were signs your end was on the horizon. With really no fabric covering your collar at all anymore, the rigid material underneath was exposed as if you’d been held up to a power sander.
And two weeks ago a bullet-sized hole appeared in the end of your right sleeve after training with the very tough folks at Relson Gracie Austin. In denial, I pretended it was not there.
For a larger, sadder view of my Old Friend, click here.
And last week, the death blow: a gaping six inch slit appeared in your right shoulder when an enormous black belt was crushing me during open mat.
So it’s time, Old Friend. Being too attached to say goodbye for good, I will probably put you away in the back of some closet somewhere, where you’ll stay until my fiancee comes across you and throws you out when I’m not around sometime. It’s probably better that way.
If any of you out there have recommendations on gi jackets, let me know in the comments below! (For when I am able to move on! Too soon now! *sob* *sob* )
#140 Roberto “Tussa” Alencar, Emily Kwok
October 26, 2008
Roberto “Tussa” Camargo at the 2008 BJJ Pan-Ams.
Roberto “Tussa” Camargo is a black belt from Gracie Barra who has been a common face on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition scene here in the USA for the last few years now. If Tussa enters a competition, you can expect to see him on the podium! Here are recent results in some of the bigger competitions for Tussa:
- 2008 Mundials: bronze medal, heavyweight division
- 2008 Pan-Ams: silver medal, heavyweight division
- 2008 Pan-Ams No Gi: gold medal, heavyweight division
- 2007 Mundials: silver medal, heavyweight division
In this conversation we will learn about jiu-jitsu in his home city of Brasilia, which is 1,610 km (1,000 miles!) from Rio de Janeiro, how jiu-jitsu competitors at his level prepare for tournaments, and much more.
And that’s only the first half of our show! This week we will conclude the conversation we had last time with Ricardo Almeida brown belt Emily Kwok. Emily was a world champion in the women’s brown / black belt division in 2007 and will receive her black belt in November. We’ll discuss the state of elite female BJJ today and her theory on the different stages of learning in jiu-jitsu.
Don’t forget that you can contact us to get your questions answered here on The FightWorks Podcast: BJJ Radio too! Just call (877) 247-4662!
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show
Poll: How Long Have You Trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
October 25, 2008
This is the first of regular polls we will do here on The FightWorks Podcast. I’m sure there is a ton we can learn from asking you, The Mighty 600,000!
If you have a question you think would make a good poll, you can email me at caleb @ (this website) .com, or leave a recorded message for us by calling give us a call at 877-247-4662!
Many thanks to Matt for suggesting that we get this thing going!
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