On Sunday I headed over to Peninsula BJJ for the Andre Galvao seminar.  If you don't know Andre, he is 7x World Champion, including a victory this year at the Mundials against Braulio in the finals.  To make this even more impressive, he only started jiu-jitsu in 2000.  When asked about his secret of success he pinpointed two things: (1) Train a lot (duh!) and (2) Be open minded.  Andre doesn't stick with a single game (say x-guard, De La Riva, Closed Guard, etc), he plays everything.  This continous play and adaptation keeps it not only interesting, but more effective as well. 

I use the term "effective" since from a competitive perspective (paraphrasing Galvao), if he stuck with a single game (say pulling closed guard), over time his opponents would watch his matches and figure out the correct counter.  Therefore, he always is learning and mixing it up.  This ensures his evolution and helps to keep him on the top of the competition scene.  Andre credited Terere with encouraging him to have an open mindset when it comes to sharing.  Terere told him "When you teach your secrets, you open your mind to be filled again with new information".  Building on that, Andre said "I'm not one of those guys that keeps details to myself".   Personally speaking, I for one am very happy that Andre is sharing his game at seminars and in his unpcoming book, Champion Jiu-Jitsu.

The seminar was crowded, I would guess about 50 people.  The vast majority were white belts, but there were some other belts including 3 or 4 blacks as well.  Although room was cramped, everyone made space and we worked primarily on two positions, the reverse De La Riva hook and the Z Guard.  Andre has a very powerful game from here and I am doing my best to remember the details - what I can say is that you can immediately get a sense for his athleticism as he trains.  Simply put, he is powerful and effortless at the same time.  The seminar was worth it just to see that level of skill in action. 

I also enjoyed his humor - Although his english is not 100%, he managed to make some great jokes throughout the day.  My favorite was when he spoke of the importance of the adductor muscles and noted how most guys never work them in favor of bench presses.  His advice was to just keep doing what people consider "women's exercises" and then you can look over to the guys mocking you and know you can "kill them".  It comes off a bit odd in print, but trust me, it was hilarious in person.   I can only imagine if I spoke Portuguese what a great night I would have hanging out and listening to his stories. 

In the end, the key take away for me was not a technique, but rather a philosophy.  Andre learns games deeply and then moves on, unattached.  Sometimes I will move away from a game after practicing one or two moves.  I need to be more patient.  I need to really develop an area like Z Guard or Closed Guard before moving on.  It is a long process, but one I think will help me grow technically, but more importantly, in confidence.

Thanks to Andre Galvao for sharing and Marco and Angela for hosting this event in such an open and inviting atmosphere.

See you on the mat,

 Paul