was very young and he came to ask me if he could watch my seminar. After that, I also gave him some private classes and we have become good friends. Miletich has good students.

OTM: Your student, Paulo Caruso, is the main conditioner of a lot of fighters. Did he learn from you?

MOA: Caruso started Jiu Jitsu classes with me when he was just a kid. Caruso and my others students all have a great physical preparation; gas is never their problem. Caruso is well schooled in Physical Education and has his powders graduation, but I can affirm, the things that he introduces for the fighters were taught by me. Meantime I did not invent that, I passed to my students what I learned in Japan and in USA.

OTM: You trained Judo in Japan, what were the differences between the Brazilian and Japanese Judokas?

MOA: In my opinion neither Judo nor Jiu Jitsu has changed. What has changed is the system of training, for example our Judo is technical and it has subtleties, and the Japanese's Judo was very strong when I went to Japan.

OTM: Why did you go to Japan?

MOA: Because I was young, a Brazilian Judo prodigy and the owner of the best techniques in South America. Everybody had a lot of hope for me. I was a complete fighter with my Jiu Jitsu background.

OTM: Did you try to compete on Olympic Games or Mundial of Judo?

MOA: I did. I was plagued with injuries close to important events, one time I broke my leg on the mat at the Trials for the worlds, I won my match, but I did not get to proceed for the main event. I have a Pan Arm medal from Cuba.

OTM: OK Back to Jiu Jitsu. Who are the best Jiu Jitsu fighters in your opinion?

MOA: I admire Royler Gracie and Nino "Elvis" Schembri. Nino represents the best of Jiu Jitsu of the old times, because the Jiu Jitsu has changed a bit, but Nino continues to practice the Jiu Jitsu of the good times.

OTM: What do you mean with good times?

MOA: Let me explain. The training system has changed and it has changed for better, nowadays a Jiu Jitsu fighter has to do more than more than just to learn from his master. He also has to do conditioning, weight training and other things to make sure he is improving all the time. In the past you did not fight against the time. Nowadays people fight against the clock. We have time and the regulation of points, with that the Jiu Jitsu has a new intelligence. You know, you need to think fast and be the fastest. I think Nino is a new fighter of Jiu Jitsu way but with the same explosion of position that we fought in the time before. He will in 10 minutes, makes 50 attacks and if he mistakes 15, this is good because he get his points and still get to submit his opponent. This is the real Jiu Jitsu and not just get an advantage and to stall the fight like we see so many doing now.

OTM: Why do you think this new style has developed?

MOA: Jiu Jitsu was an art in the past and developed. Then some person had to adapt new winds to Jiu Jitsu. I introduced conditioning ot Jiu Jitsu. I first made a program of physical preparation for Rolles, to work his heart, then his pace and his muscular explosion. Jiu Jitsu is explosions and balance. So after Rolles, Rickson and Sergio Penha, all fighters began focusing their trainings to that system. So some got to improve positively and others only got strength and make an ugly Jiu Jitsu style. But Jiu Jitsu is growing anyway, actually we have more than 400,000 Jiu Jitsu fighters.

OTM: Why did some improve and others regress?

MOA: I do not want to speak bad things about anybody. But a lot of Jiu Jitsu instructors need a recycling, when you get a University diploma, then after that you go to Masters-degree and then Doctorate. In JiuJistu the instructor get his black belt and then goes to teach Jiu Jitsu or open a school. But don’t forget that the sport never stops evolving just like life. So if these same instructors stop at a point, then their games will be quickly surpassed. Thank God that the main Jiu Jitsu champions are tigers and continue to train fighters such as Nino, Marcio Feitosa, Fredson Paixao, Fernando "Margarida" Pontes, Leonardo Vieira, Robson Moura and others. I think that the Gracies has this methodology. You arrive in Gracie Barra and you can see the all the students of this academy training Muay Thai, Wrestling and conditioning because this is the sport’s evolution and it will only survive those who have this philosophy. Fighters like Paixão, Feitosa, "Pe de Pano", Roberto "Roleta" Magalhães are always are good fighters to watch because they fight 6 times and make their 5 or 6 opponents tap out in the tournaments. They are not just looking to win on a few points.

OTM: How can the game be changed to solve this?

MAO: I think that the Brazilian Confederation should give seminar to recycle these instructors and to keep their teachings up to date. But I think that these fighters also should look for a more capable professional Jiu Jitsu Master. For example we have 500 Jiu Jitsu academies in Rio de Janeiro but only 10 are showing good results on the events, why? Because this is the result of the instructors of these academies, this is a lack of technique of the instructors. We have a lot of guys who put a purple to black belt and then go to the inland of the Brazil to teach Jiu Jitsu, so his students will be his mirror, limited.

OTM: We hear that you made Marco Ruas wear a gi, true?

MOA: This is a very interesting story. Reyson, Arthur Netto and myself introduced the Jiu Jitsu to Manaus. There are fighters from other Brazilian states who challenged the Manaus's fighters and nobody had accepted these challenges. Then one day when I arrived in Manaus, the people told me that there was a fighter named Rei (King) Zulu. He was known as such a terror. So I went to a TV show and I replied to Rei Zulu's challenge. I came back to Rio and looked for a Jiu Jitsu fighter to fight Rei Zulu. But nobody wanted to fight him. So I asked Ruas who was training Jiu Jitsu in my academy and already had skills in Muay Thai. Ruas agreed to fight and did so representing JiuJitsu. We arrived in Manaus and Rei Zulu backed out of the challenge. So Ruas fought twice in Manaus and brought Jiu Jitsu a lot of success through out the land.

OTM: