Bruno Bastos in photo by Gustavo Aragão
After making it onto the stand at the Rio International Open and International Masters tournaments held simultaneously in Rio de Janeiro last July, Bruno Bastos readies himself for new challenges.
“I’m back in Dallas and starting my preparations for the Chicago Open. I’m all in this event for sure, and I’m just waiting on confirmation to guarantee I’ll be at the Honolulu Open too. I’m going to take some of my students with me and we’re also planning for two more competitions, the Jiu-Jitsu Nationals and the World No-Gi Championship,” says Bruno.
The Chicago Open takes place August 22 and the Honolulu Open on September 4. Bruno is putting his foot on the pedal for these championships after his unprecedented campaign in Rio de Janeiro.
“I checked out the IBJJF website and realized I’m the first black belt to win medals at the International Masters and Rio Open at the same time. I took second at the Rio Open and first at the International. My cousin André Bastos also managed to do so, but he took third at the Open and second at the Masters. I would have liked to compete in the absolutes too and won four medals, but there were too many matches and I was unable to. I was competing in my weight group and all of a sudden I realized the absolute was going on,” he says, going on to comment on the hardest part:
“It was really taxing. I even read Eduardo Telles say so in an interview on GRACIEMAG.com. He tried it last year and said it was really tiring. I had five matches in the master division on Saturday and when I went to compete at the Rio Open on Sunday I was all beat up. But it was worth it,” he says in finishing.
To sign up for the Chicago Open, black belt males and brown/black belt females can do so by clicking here. The other belt groups can sign up here.
To sign up for the Honolulu Open, black belt males and female brown/black belts can do so by clicking here, and the other belt groups can sign up here. Anyone to register by August 15 will pay the promotional rate of $82, after which the full price of $97 will stand until the August-28 final sign-up deadline.