“The ADCC is a house I helped build more than 10 years ago. I have two titles, two second places and one third, in 30 matches and 11 overtimes. To me that mission is accomplished, now it is to be a coach. We have a UFC belt in our sites, we have Alexandre in Japan trying for the belt and University of Jiu-Jitsu with worldwide visibility,” he said.

In Jiu-Jitsu Saulo won five Worlds, in four separate categories. Unless he changes his plans, he will also never again be seen in this event.

“The gi will always be recreation to me. I don’t compete more professionally, I no longer have the desire in my heart to compete at a Worlds. But I certainly will show up at the championships, like I did last week, when I competed at the American Nationals at weight and in the absolute master. Just for kicks, if it’s not in the professional category, it’s fine. I don’t need to be so well trained for that and it is always good to see old friends and catch up. Jiu-Jitsu championships are really just a big party.”

Saulo gave Rômulo Barral a hard time in Barcelona / Ivan Trindade.

At the Barcelona installment of the ADCC Saulo defeated Kouji Kanechika, Romulo Barral and stopped at Fabricio Werdum. Adfter losing the third-place dispute to Jeff Monson, he announced his farewell over the event’s official microphone. Now an option may be to help the organization.

“The importance of the ADCC in my career is total. I believe I’ve been one of the big champions of the event and now I’m the one who has disputed the most categories. So it is of enormous importance to my life. I will probably enter the administrative part of the ADCC now, I’ll help put together trials and I’m really happy.”

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Jacare beat Drysdale 2-0 inADCC Superfight

If you did not already know, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, beat Robert Drysdale in the recent ADCC Superfight. The match lasted all 20 minutes, and after his 2-0 win, Souza will now be defending his title in 2011 ADCC. The two time champion did an interview with tatame.com in Barcelona after his victory.

How did you feel on the return to ADCC?

I felt really great. Even far away from competitions, I know I have potential to make a big fight with who was the best of the year (2007) when was absolute champion on ADCC, and I came to show that, even standing still, you saw me fighting 20 minutes. Unfortunately we haven’t many positions, but wasn’t because of me.

You’ve trained with Drysdale before, at Randy Couture’s gym. How was to face him on ADCC?

I’m a Judo man, I’ve fought with train partner before and fight with a guy who was absolute champion is cool. I trained for a little time with him, I admire him, he’s an excellent person and athlete, but besides fighting, I needed it. It’s been 11 months that there’s no money on my account (laughs). I wanted to send a message: Dream didn’t pay me yet.

This victory motivates you to fight on Jiu-Jitsu again or on Submission?

Unfortunately, you won’t see me on Jiu-Jitsu nor Submission. I’m Strikeforce’s employee and I want to thank Strikeforce to let me do the ADCC fight. I want to thank ADCC to give me this credit, I could make the super fight.

Here are the results from Day 2 of ADCC action.

Fabricio Werdum v Saulo Ribeiro – Werdum by ref decision 2 OT

Jeff Monson v Robert Abreu – Abreu by ref decision 2 OT

Xande Ribeiro vs Vinny Magalhaes – Xande by points 4 x 0 OT

Gerard Rinaldi vs Glover Teixeira – Rinaldi by points 5 x 0 OT

Andre Galvao vs David Avellan – Galvao by points 2 x 0

Braulio Estima vs Rafael Lovato – Braulio by submission foot lock

Marcelo Garcia vs K-Taro Nakamura – Garcia by choke

Rubens Cobrinha vs Rani Yahia – Charles by submission – Kimura

Pablo Popovitch vs Gregor Gracie – Pablo by points 3 x 0

Leo vieira vs Rafael Mendes – Mendes by sub choke OT

Penny thomas v Cristiane Cyborg – Thomas by points -2 x -1 OT

Hillary Williams vs Sayaka Shioda – Shioda by Submission arm-lock

Rosangela Conceicao v Hannette Staack – Staack by Judges Decision 2 OT

Luana Allzuguir vs Laurence Cousin – Alzuguir by choke 2 OT

3rd Place Matches:

Over 99KG – Jeff Monson vs Saulo Ribeiro – Monson by Judges Decision 2 OT

Under 99KG – Vinny Magalhaes v Glover Teixeira – Magalhaes by submission arm-lock

Under 88KG – Rafael Lovato vs David Avellan – Avelan by sub foot-lock

Under 77KG – Gregor Gracie vs K-taro Nakamura – Gracie by pts 10 x 0

Under 66KG – Jeff Glover vs Ryan Hall (Vieira and yahia out with injuries) – Hall by pts 3 x 2

Ladies Under 60KG – Laurence Cousin v Hillary Williams – Williams by pts

Ladies Over 60KG – Cristiane Cyborg vs Rosangela conceicao – Cristiane Cyborg by judges Decision

Finals:

Over 99Kg – Fabricio Werdum vs Roberto Cyborg – werdum by pts 9 (-4) x 0

Under 99KG – Xande ribeiro vs Gerardi Rinaldi – Xande by points 2 x 0

Under 88KG – Braulio Estima vs Andre Galvao – Braulio by submission triangle

Under 77KG – Pablo Popovitch vs Marcelo Garcia – Popovitch by points 3(-1) x 2(-1)

Under 66KG – Rubens cahrles vs Rafael Mendes – Mendes by pts 7 x 4 2OT

Ladies Over 60KG – Penny Thomas vs Hannette Staack – Staack by submission knee-bar

Under 60KG – Luana Alzuguir v Sayaka Shioda – Alzuguir by pts 3 x 0

Absolute:

Marcelo Garcia v Bruno Bastos – Garcia by submission choke OT

Braulio Estima v Janne Pekka Pietilainen – Brualio by submission arm-lock

Dean Lister v Vinny Magalhaes – Magalhaes by Judges Decision 2OT

Chris Weidman v Antoine Jaoude

Ricco Rodrigues v Xande Ribeiro – xande byy submission key-lock

Andre Galvao v Tom de Blass – Galvao by pts 3 x 0

Jeff Monson v  Gunnar Nelson – Nelson by pts 3 x 0 2 OT

Roberto abreu v David Avellan – Avelan by Judges decision 2 OT

Quarter Finals:

Marcelo Garcia v Braulio Estima - Braulio by sub choke

Vinny Magalhaes v Chris Weideman – Magalhaes by sub arm-lock

Xande Ribeiro v Andre Galvao – Xande by pts 3 (-1) x 0

Gunnar Nelson v David Avelan

Semi-finals:

Xande Ribeiro vs Gunnar Nelson – Xande by submission Knee-bar

Braulio Estima v Vinny Magalhaes – Braulio by pts 3 x 0

Finals:

Xande Ribeiro v Braulio Estima – Braulio by submission arm-bar

We have all heard the adage “practice makes perfect.” This applies to mental skills training too. But the unique thing about training the mind is that, over a period of time the mind gets conditioned to think along particular lines, and mental preparation comes to you almost by rote, automatically without having to consciously put yourself in a mental practice mode. However, for your mind to reach a conditioned state, a significant amount of regular mental preparation and use of mind techniques is essential. In other words you can reach a level where mental skills become a part of your life, if you employ mental skills training regularly. If you resort to mental preparation just before a match, and not follow up regularly, its effect on you will be temporary in nature and also incomplete. Consistency is the key here. You can bring focus to your game through the following aspects of mental discipline:

• make good use of practice sessions to develop both technique and mental skills

• follow the principles in mental skills training consistently

• improve memory retrieval to efficiently apply the mental skills techniques

Making Good Use of Training Sessions

1. Prior to starting your practice, spend a few minutes thinking about what you would like to do, learn, and improve. Clearly outline issues that you want to deal with, like styles, moves, concentration, intensity , alertness, and so on.

2. During the session try to be aware of what exactly is happening: How do you feel? What’s going on in your mind? What thought processes were effective? What thoughts or distractions drove down your performance? Were you able to give yourself the right cues at the right moment? Were you alert enough to execute perfect timing?-and so on. Being aware of all these finer points makes for a sharp focus that can add to your learning and bring about breakthroughs while practicing tough styles. The finer points also include details, such as the rush of adrenaline and surge in aggression, the rush of blood into your muscles, the process of calming down to get out of a hold, precise shifts and turns, etc.

3. Employ persistence and patience in learning difficult moves – persist until you perfect the technique.

4. For young athletes who are just embarking on their grappling or combat athletics careers, there will be a lot to learn and an extensive list of styles and moves to practice. Break down your learning objectives into manageable sections and spread out the training over a realistic period of time. Attempting too much, too soon may reduce the effectiveness of your training. Ensure that you’ve learned one set of techniques thoroughly before moving onto another. Your performance quality can be maintained at high levels when you’re learning progress at a realistic pace.

5. Display pro activeness and drive during training and treat it like a real game.

6. Exercise control over your thought processes during training in much the same way that you would have to do in a match.

7. After the practice session, spend a few minutes reflecting on what you learned and what you can follow up on in your spare time.

Enter your practice with an open mind and walk out with a commitment to rehearse your learning using mental skills. Here’s an interesting look at grappler Daniel lgali’s practice and training regimen and the reason for his success today (based on an article published in Reader’s Digest):

“In 1994, at age 20, Daniel came to Canada from Nigeria. In 1995 Daniel started practicing with the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club. Coach Dave McKay found Daniel to be lightning fast and powerful, but lacking in stamina and consistency. Grapplers had to train four hours each day six days a week, but because of his night job Daniel often missed practice. During matches, Daniel was easily fatigued and his expression gave away his tiredness to his opponent. Coach McKay felt Daniel had to master his emotions as well as his game. Daniel’s embarrassing defeat to Steiner in 1996 changed his attitude completely. Daniel started regularly attended practice sessions and worked hard and spent long hours in practice. He saved for a video camera and then studied his bouts thoroughly. Over two years, he also lifted weights and ran. Coach McKay, constantly pushed Daniel one step further until his confidence and determination grew.“

Daniel made his mark in 1988 when he was placed second at the World Cup. In 2000, he won the gold for Canada at the Sydney Olympics. Consistency in training and hard work certainly pays off, and Daniel’s case is testimony that grapplers and combat athletes benefit from a regular and consistent training regimen.

A Performance Monitor is a kind of diary or record to regularly track your training program and your skill improvement. You can either use a paper-based diary or record on audio cassettes. This performance monitor must be used after every training session to record different aspects of the session.

• What did you learn? – Styles, techniques, moves, submission, defense strategies, and so

• Your mental framework during the session. Rate yourself: poor, average, good, excellent – on each of the following factors. Your ability to handle distractions. Your calmness: Were you relaxed or not? Your confidence? Your alertness? Your attentiveness?

• What mistakes or slip ups did you make?

• What do you want to learn in your next session? Make a list of learning objectives and a list of mistakes that you want to avoid

As your training progresses, the aim should be to minimize your slip-ups and advance your rating on mental skills issues to either good or excellent. The performance monitor is a simple daily assessment method that has the dual advantage of taking into account your training on grappling or combat athletic techniques as well as mental skills preparation. You will be assessing yourself, and must be as objective and as tough on yourself as you possibly can to benefit the exercise.

Advantage of maintaining a performance monitor:

You always have on record, a benchmark of your previous session on which to build and improve in a new training session. You start out with a set of objectives for each new session, which makes the training sessions a lot more useful. Mistakes don’t get swept under the rug. You address them in your next session. You can monitor your progress over a period especially when you rate yourself on mental skills.

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