Hywel Teague - TRAILBLAZERS Stories of Training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio de Janeiro 1988-2005

TRAILBLAZERS

Stories of Training

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

in Rio de Janeiro

1988-2005

This eBook was written by Hywel Teague

Twitter: @hywelteague

The author asserts his moral right to berecognized as the creator of this work.

This eBook is Copyright 2015 BJJHacks.comAll Rights Reserved

No part of this eBook may be copied orotherwise reproduced without the express permission of the authors.Dont be a dick and share it online!

This eBook was originally published and madeavailable as a free download in January 2014 via TrainBJJinRio.com,part of the BJJ Hacks media network.

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Contents

About this eBook

The website TrainBJJinRio.com wasdeveloped on a whim and was created and maintained as a labor oflove. There was never any intention of monetizing it in theabsence of anything suitable, I simply wanted to provide a resourcefor fellow gringos who were interested in coming to Rio to trainBJJ.

My first trip to Rio in 2010 saw me scourthe internet for whatever info I could find on what to expect whenI got to Brazil. Unfortunately, my searches turned up very little there were some personal blogs, one or two raw videos on YouTube,but not much else.

Id been led to believe that BJJ waseverywhere in Rio. But I could barely find details of any exceptthe most well-known gyms. There was no database or guide withaddresses, contact details, prices or pictures. As a consequence, Ispent far too much time figuring out where to go and how to getthere and would never know what to expect when I arrived.

In this age of information it made no sensethat it was almost impossible to get reliable reports about what itwas like to come to Rio to train BJJ. My aim was to provide a solidresource that enabled you to focus on enjoying your time in Rio asmuch as possible, without the many wasted days I hadexperienced.

Also, I wanted to show that Rio is not whatyou might think. People from around the world have the desire tovisit Rio but outdated misconceptions and downright lies existabout the city and what youll find here.

Rio suffered a bad rep thanks to films likeElite Troop and City of God. These movies highlighted some realissues, its true. But to be put off from visiting Brazil by amovie makes as much sense as skipping on a trip to New York becauseyou once saw a Scorsese flick.

Things have changed a lot for the better inthe last few years, and the city is very different to how peopleimagine. To show how things have developed and why Rio is now sucha great place to visit, I interviewed a selection of well-knownblack belts from within the international jiu-jitsu community whohad all visited Rio during times when the city was very differentto as it is today. They really were trailblazers, and I hope youenjoy their experiences of training in the birthplace of Brazilianjiu-jitsu.

This eBook is something Iwish I could have read before coming to Rio for the first time. Itwould have allayed some of the doubts I had, and that I know manyothers have too. Hopefully their stories will help you see whythousands of people from around the world have made a similar visitto the spiritual home of jiu-jitsu, and maybe theyll even inspireyou to visit the Cidade Maravilhoso yourself one day.

Enjoy, and hopefully see you here soon!

Hywel Teague // @hywelteague

John Will

A 4th degree black belt from Australia, Johnfirst visited Rio de Janeiro in 1988, making him among the firstever outsiders to visit Brazil specifically to train jiu-jitsu.

Which year did you firsttrain in Brazil, and how old were you?

I first went to Brazil in 1987 I was 30years old.

Why did you decide to go toBrazil, and how did you go about organizing your first tripthere?

I had met Rigan Machado in Los Angeles on mysecond training trip there. I was training some kickboxing at theJet Centre and had just begun my BJJ journey with some privatelessons in Rorion Gracies garage. Rigan suggested I head to Brazilfor some more serious training; and as he was heading down there,he offered that I join him. And so I did.

What rank were you when youfirst trained BJJ in Brazil?

I was just a white belt. The first gringowhite belt in Brazil I believe; a unique time.

How did you decide whereyou would you train?

The Machado Brothers were teaching at GracieBarra at that time in fact, they were part owners of it; sonaturally, I trained there. But as they were all pretty much BJJlegends in Brazil, they opened many doors for me to visit a numberof other academies. Almost all of my early training though, waswith Jean Jacques, Carlos and Rigan Machado with some of theircousins also in the classes people like Renzo Gracie, Ralph andRyan Gracie, Rillion and Crolin Gracie they were usually on themat as well. Really interesting times.

What were your firstimpressions of the the training there? Was it very different towhat you'd already experienced?

I had experienced very little BJJ at thattime but yes, it was very different from anything I had done tothat point. BJJ was very challenging and very humbling it wasdifficult to get my head around what was happening to me back then,especially as very few of the guys on the mat spoke anyEnglish.

Which guys were youtraining with?

Most of the classes were being taught byRigan Machado but there were many other interesting people on themat; people who have since gone on to do great things themselves:All of the Machado brothers, Roberto Gordo Correa, Renzo Gracie,Ralph Gracie, Rillion Gracie, Helio Soneca, Soca The list goes onand on. It was the best BJJ laboratory you could possibly hopefor.

How did everyone receiveyou? Did they treat you differently because you were agringo?