Ary won the brown belt featherweight division at the 2010 World Championship. Photo: Luca Atalla.
At twenty years of age – nine of those practicing Jiu-Jitsu – Amazon state native Ary Farias (Atos) has made it. On his black belt debut, he got the submission in two of his matches in the Euro Open 2011 light featherweight division and won the final with a riveting display against Bruno Malfacine by 6 to 4.
In the hustle and bustle between one seminar and another, Ary had a conversation with GRACIEMAG.com.
What did you do to beat Malfacine?
Only those who put in the work win, and it was a war. If you want to be successful, you have to be totally dedicated, push the limit and give it your best. I think that’s what happened with me and I won, but he’s a phenomenon and is still number one in the division, a true warrior. He has all my respect.
How many hours per day do you train?
I train Jiu-Jitsu in the morning with the Atos competition team, and in the afternoon we do physical conditioning using our trainer Thiago Mendes’s method. At night we do more training. I’m always training, but I confess that now I’m training like never before. The important part is that I’m happy with the quantity of training we do and the support I get from my team.
You’ve been training for nearly ten years. Did you need to drop out of school?
No, even though I’m not a good student, I never had to drop out of school. And every day my dad nags me and my brother about going to college! For now I’m focused on Jiu-Jitsu, but my greater ambition is to go to college abroad. But I know it won’t be easy reconciling training and study, but I’ll try to in the future.
You’ve been a true competition rat since you were a yellow belt. What’s the best match you’ve ever watched?
Ronaldo Jacaré against Roger Gracie at the 2004 Worlds with the Tijuca Tennis Club going off! A historic match!