GRACIEMAG #160 offers up all the goods on the 2010 Jiu-Jitsu World Championship and, of course, the big winner of the event, Roger Gracie, who became the first-ever three-time absolute world champion in the black belt division.
Eight of this year’s world champions interviewed the Gracie. Middleweight winner Tarsis Humphreys, for example, wanted to know what Roger does to keep up to speed in London, where much of the time Gracie Barra’s main black belts are not around to help out.
“It’s not just about training, it’s about your objective for each training session. You need to focus your training on something specific, some improvement. You need to train each position specifically, which I’ve been doing since I was a kid and continue to do in England, so one pointer is to go down the line with your students. When you’re tired, you end up at their level. Something else is to always put yourself in danger positions, positions people don’t like being in because of their egos. Sometimes you tap out, but when you come up against someone tough at a championship, you’ll know how to get out,” answers Roger.
“I don’t fight to be famous, I chose this as my life and all I think about is fighting. It’s my goal. When my career as a fighter comes to an end, then I’ll probably start my life as a teacher. But let me get this one out of the way before starting another!” he chides.
To learn more about Roger through the well-placed questions of champions, don’t forget to get your copy of GRACIEMAG in bookstores, academies and newsstands the world over.