The first weeks of the half year I wound up living in Brazil were strange ones, indeed. It was right before the 2004 Mundials, so the Gracie Barra mat was crowded, to say the very least. Fighters had come from all over the globe to compete in the most prestigious and challenging arena in the Jiu-jitsu world. Collisions were impossible to avoid while training and you could see the academy favorites mentally preparing for the days ahead.

In spite of the fervor of the crowd, there was one local brown belt who went out of his way to make me feel that though I may have been just one more gringo on the mat, he was glad I was there and more than eager to train.

Since that time, Mario "Busy" Correa has since received his black belt from Gracie Barra patriarch, Carlos Gracie Jr. along with his degree in electrical engineering. In addition to serving as an instructor at the esteemed Gracie Camp, Mario has also traveled extensively to share his knowledge with students in England, Sweden, Southern California and Colorado.

I was able to be re-united with my old friend, catch-up and ask a few questions concerning his past, present and plans for the future.

OTM: So starting out, you were very young. Tell me about your experience entering competition at such an early age.

MBC: My whole life I had my father stimulating me to do sports. He was one of the first surfers in Brazil and he had graduated in sports. So I started Judo at 4 years until I was 6 and then started surfing. Starting so young resulted in more flexibility. Then at 12 I decided to return to Judo and practiced for a year when I discovered the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. All my friends were training BJJ already and I was the youngest and weakest of all. That helped me because I needed to learn the technique since I didn’t have the strength to fight them. After a couple of months, I got my yellow-belt and my teachers put me in a competition in which I was champion. I remember my teacher, Draculino, telling me that I was very talented and that I should train hard to become a big champion. And that’s what I did!!! So I was always training a lot to improve my physical condition, which gave me more confidence.

OTM: Draculino is renowned not only as a first rate competitor, but teacher as well. The same can be said for your other coach, Gordo. Tell me about the strengths and differences between these two as teachers and coaches.

MBC: I always had great teachers specialized in the guard. As I said before, I did Judo before BJJ, so I always wanted to be on top because I had a good base. But having so many good guard teachers made me start playing on the bottom and that was good for me because it made me a complete fighter.


Gordo was always a very calm guy and that was important because he always showed me the basic moves with precision. Draculino always liked to submit his opponent, so I got this from him. And that was a perfect combination because I was learning the basic and indispensable moves from Gordo and learning the dangerous and fast moves from Draculino.

OTM: So how has your game and your strategy evolved to the present day and what are the goals you have set for yourself?

MBC: Even coming from Judo, and having a good top base, I started to fight on the bottom and became a guard specialist. When I got my brown belt I started to work towards being a complete Black-Belt. And to do that I had to improve my top game. At that time, I was a Marcio Feitosa student and learned from, in my opinion, the best top fighter in the world.

OTM: I would have to agree with you there. Tell me, after having such amazing teachers, what is your perspective when it comes to the subject of teaching others?

MBC:I always loved to teach. Every time I see somebody studying some sequence I go there and give them my input or tell them what I do on that particular position.


Teaching and training at the Gracie Camp and Gracie Barra, I met all kind of fighters from different parts of the world. And I noticed that the Americans are perfectionists and that’s very important for BJJ. That’s why I decided to quit my Engineering job in Brazil to try and teach Americans and spread BJJ for the rest of the world, not only in Brazil.

OTM: So what was it like to teach and train both at Gracie Barra as well as Gracie Camp. How was it to be able to teach Jiu-jitsu players from other continents?

MBC: It was an honor to teach at the best academy in the world and I’m very proud of that. To see world champions learning from you and using your techniques in championships is very rewarding.

Teaching foreigners, it was very interesting to see how BJJ is different in every country. They appreciate being taught by a Black-Belt. I met people from many different countries: United States, United Kingdom, Poland, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Uruguay, Japan, Korea, etc. I had not only students but they became friends. I always kept in contact with my students and they always ask me about techniques, information about tournaments and where they should go to train in a specific country.

OTM: Do you notice any differences in habits and mannerisms between the game as it is practiced in Brazil and other parts of the world?

MBC: I think there are still some differences between Brazil and the rest of the world because in Brazil there are many good teachers and fighters, and in other countries we still have students learning from magazines and DVDs. This is changing with the immigration of Brazilian Black-Belts. Hopefully someday we are going to have not only Brazilian Black-Belts all over the world, but Black-Belts from different cultural backgrounds. Our goal is to spread to every single country in the world, this great Martial Art called by many “The Chess Fight” (because you have so many moves in so many different situations, like in chess).

OTM: So, what was it like to teach abroad -- namely in the United States and Europe? What was it like to train and teach Jiu-jitsu within the context of different cultural backdrops?

MBC: I’ve learned a lot teaching in different cultures because one has to teach in different ways, adapting to what your students want and can learn. In America the students are perfectionists, so you have to teach the technique with as many details as you can. In Europe I found myself teaching people from different