Gilbert Durinho hasn’t yet set into the 2011 season. He ended up losing the World Pro tryouts in Rio and missed the Euro Open after missing one of the flights on his way to Lisbon.
“I didn’t arrive on time,” laments the Atos black belt, currently the No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu champion of the world.
Photo: Carlos Ozório
Nevertheless, the fighter falls back on one of the greatest lessons he has learned in the gentle art and doesn’t give up. In his sights: the World Pro tryouts in San Diego and the Jiu-Jitsu Pan. Check out the chat the fighter had with GRACIEMAG.com.
Is it true this will be your first Pan?
The Pan is like a preview of the Worlds. It’s an important title and it’ll be the first time I compete at the event. I want to go in there and do my free flowing Jiu-Jitsu, getting takedowns, going on the attack… I want to attack more. At the World Pro tryouts in Rio I ended up kind of stuck in the fight with Langhi; I want to attack more than that. Before that, though, I’ll fight at the San Diego tryouts for Abu Dhabi.
Atos closed out the featherweight division at the European Open with four athletes and promises to make life hard on everybody else at other events. Is it true that the team is putting together a squadron for the lightweight division?
Rodrigo Caporal and myself will be in there tearing things up, as will Davi Ramos. We’ll go in together at the San Diego tryouts, the Pan, World Pro, Brazilian Nationals, ADCC tryouts. We’re training a lot. There’s still Jonatas Tagarela too. We have four at featherweight and at lightweight.
Now it isn’t one against everyone else, we’re going in with four!
What are your thoughts on the tryouts you did in Rio?
I lost to Michael Langhi, who’s someone who, like I’ve said before, you can’t make a mistake against. I messed up early in the fight. My strategy was to stay in the lead, but I ended up suffering two points early on, two more advantages, and I even was on top later on, which is a tricky situation against him. It’s rough to be behind and have to attack his guard.
You two have really tough matches, with lots of rivalry. What did you learn from yet another match against him that you can carry with you into the next one?
Losing is awful, but I feel you can learn from it. Every situation that comes up, mainly against Michael, teaches me a lot. Jiu-Jitsu gives me strength to do that. I train a lot and, even when I mess up, although it bugs me, the next day I’m back in training. Jiu-Jitsu teaches us not to give up. I have a rivalry with Langhi – we’ve been competing against each other since purple belt –, besides the usual rivalry between Atos and Alliance. But I feel it only strengthens me and I learn when I win and when I lose.
Do as Durinho does, be a part of the Jiu-Jitsu Pan-American Championship. Find out more here.
And to sign up for the World Pro tryouts in San Diego, click here.