AMAZONAS TRAINING REPORT!!!

Recently, in the last 4 years, the state of Amazonas (Amazon) in Brasil, has been gaining popularity in jiu-jitsu as it has been producing champion upon champion in the grappling and MMA competitions. With fighters like Ronaldo Jacare, Saulo, Alexandre Ribeiro, Bibiano Fernandes, Fredson Paixao, Wallid Ismael and many more….The Amazon has been getting a lot of recognition lately because of the fighters and its training. So, what makes it so different in Manaus than let’s say, Rio de Janeiro OR Sao Paolo or any other place???

Well, for starters, it is hot as S*?T!!! From the moment you get off the plane, you are sweating! I am serious. You will find it very normal in Manaus, to be showering more than 3-4 times a day! What does this have to do with training? Well, most of the academies I visited, don’t have any nice, air conditioned training areas. Some of them didn’t even have a fan or even a window for that matter. I went to one academy where there were 30 students in class and there was only enough room for 3 pairs of people to spar. No A.C., no fan, just a door to go outside and enjoy more hot air!!!

So what does this heat have to do with training and becoming a good fighter? Well, here’s what multiple time Champion Bibiano Fernandes has to say “Manaus is extremely hot. We are used to training in burning temperatures. When we go to Rio, where the main Jiu-Jitsu events take place, we consider the weather there fresh. Everybody knows that Rio is a very hot city, but for us, from Manaus, Rio is a fresh place. That’s a great advantage during a bout' says Bibiano Fernandes, , who got the gold medal in the last Jiu-Jitsu World Championship.

So the people in Manaus are training in extreme heat and it’s hard training therefore they get tougher. So what else? Well, a lot of the academies I visited, seem to have scholarship programs as well for the kids. Ronaldo Jacare’s academy A.S.L.E., has a lot of youths which train very hard both in judo and BJJ! And a lot of the other academies had A LOT of youths training who were all trying to be the next Ronaldo Jacare or Saulo Ribeiro. I went to a Nova Uniao academy and the kids there were learning half guard stuff I had never seen before. Just imagine when they got older how good they are going to be become!

Okay so now you’re thinking, Manaus is HOT, with tough kids who train jiu-jitsu. So what else? Well, Manaus is very different from Rio. In that the lifestyles are very different. Rio, everyone is relaxed, they train go to the beach, go out…..But in Manaus, there is no beach! Just hot air, work and jiu-jitsu! There is no time to be lazy and hang around and do nothing. People who train jiu-jitsu, train hard. People who work, work hard! Not saying that nobody else does, but the people in Manaus seem to have a different work ethic.

Okay, so now I’ve told you that Manaus, is really hot, with tough kids training who work hard. What else? Well, Manaus has a federation for jiu-jitsu that sends it’s fighters to the major international competitions such as the mundials etc… Every year, the federation has a schedule set that all the instructors in Manaus abide by and contribute to. I think this is something that a lot of people can learn from to help with the growth of jiu-jitsu. From my understanding, as the owner of an academy in Manaus, it is an obligation to go to all the regular federation meetings, to discuss topics on the sport and other things. The federation has a tournament at the end of the year and the winners of the tournament are given sponsorship by the State and the Federation and have a trip to Rio in hands to compete at the mundials. So, whenever you see the name FJJAM as a club, know that you are fighting someone who fought very hard just to be on the mats to fight against you! They qualified at another tournament just be on the mats and flew 4 hours from Manaus to beat your ass! There are some in Manaus, who don’t have to qualify as from my understanding they are sponsored anyways, but usually those are the ones who have exceeded in all competitions or were previous world champions. As well, all of the academies in the federation each store a set of mats and bring them to all of the tournaments throughout the year.

So, now you know a lot of stuff about Manaus, but now youre probably wondering about where to train? To be honest, it is pretty easy to find jiu-jitsu schools in Manaus. Everyone I asked, either had a friend who trained jiu-jitsu or trained themselves. Mostly all knew who Ronaldo Jacare was and all thought I was the whitest person they have ever met. Anyways, there are a lot of academies in Manaus. The 3 most predominant teams I found of was Gracie Humaita, Nova Uniao, and Gracie Barra.


GRACIE HUMAITA

There are a ton of Gracie Humaita academies I found. Actually, down the street from my girlfriends house, there are like 3 Gracie Humaita affiliates. Some have broken off from Humaita and are now independent, but most come from the Royler Graice school in Rio.

Here are the ones I discovered:

LUIS NETO ACADEMY-Trained there last summer. Real tough guys at this academy, and some of the hardest training I ever had. The school is run by 3 brothers and now have expanded to several locations. The brothers, Chrisitano, Luis and Rogerio, (Royler Gracie Black belts) were some of the nicest instructors and very willing to help me out while I was in Manaus. Christiano is a very very tough dude. He is now training for MMA very hard but is a multiple time world and brazilian champion. Very strong and fast. His brother Luis is the main instructor of the academy. Unfortunately I didn’t really train with him as he was very busy last year running for a political position in Manaus and had his hands full. But he attended a tournament I competed at and helped me out a lot! The younger brother Rogerio, is a wiz on the mat. Smaller looking and not so intimidating, Rogerio Is super technical and loved to beat me repeatedly with the same moves! The Luis Neto academy has been competing and winning a lot of MMA events in Manaus as well and have some tough up and coming fighters such as Jean Capoeira and Risley Cavalcanti. Check out the website:( www.luisnetojj.com.br ) The site has some pictures from past tournaments and some techniques.

MONTEIRO- I never trained at the Monteiro academy but from what I understand, they are the one of the best clubs to train at! Saulo and Alexandre Ribeiro originally trained there and recently Monteiro has produced some recent lightweight champions who were victorious at the last 2 mundials , Gabriel Moraes and Fernando Viera. Monteiro seems to be the school who cleans up at all the Manaus jiu-jitsu competitions.

COMBATE CENTRE- This club is run by Rigoney Junior. He’s a black belt under Royler Gracie and Omar Salum, who has competed in the last couple mundial events and is a tough cookie.