Interview - Romulo Barral on BJJ in the Olympics

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Last week, Romulo talked about BJJ in the UK, online training and his favourite DVDs. In the fifth and final part of the interview, Romulo discusses the Olympics, before we wrap things up.

slideyfoot.com: Do you think it would be a good thing – and this has been mentioned quite a lot recently - if BJJ somehow managed to get into the Olympics, or could that result in watering down the sport due to rules changes?

Romulo Barral: Yeah man, that’s a good question too, you know? [laughs] Everybody wants to see BJJ in the Olympics, who wouldn’t. But at the same time, I think it would change a lot of rules. I want to see BJJ, because it would be a big sport, because I think everybody knows what it takes to become an Olympic sport, so when jiu jitsu becomes an Olympics sport, for sure it’s gonna be very big.

But, I don’t know, I’m a little bit scared about the rules, like what are they going to change. I hope if it goes to the Olympics, they don’t change too much, so it can be a fun sport to compete and to do as well.

slideyfoot.com: Yeah: when I’ve thought about this question, there’s the other option, which is FILA trying to get what they just call ‘grappling’ into the Olympics. So, that wouldn’t be as BJJ, it would just be a grappling event that BJJers could enter, along with people that do judo, do wrestling etc. That would seem a bit safer, because you wouldn’t have this danger of changing the rules, because it wouldn’t be BJJ, it would be ‘grappling’.

Romulo Barral: Yeah, I’ve heard of that: that’s good it’s not BJJ, because I don’t like it at all. [laughs] It’s like a very weird sport man, I don’t like it. People, they invite me to compete in this stuff, but I say, you know what, I don’t know, I never train this thing, so what am I going to compete? So, I'm going to stick with my jiu jitsu. [laughs]

slideyfoot.com: Do you have any interests outside of jiu jitsu, or does that completely consume you?

Romulo Barral: Like outside of fighting, something like that?

slideyfoot.com: Yeah: for example, Cobrinha is known for his love of baking. So do you have something, that’s nothing to do with jiu jitsu, but you enjoy doing?

Romulo Barral.com: Oh man, that’s a tough question. You can ask my wife this one! [laughs] I think I like, it’s just BJJ. It is so hard for me to do something that is not jiu jitsu, even like the small things. I don’t know man, I enjoy the jiu jitsu. It’s not just the competing, I enjoy, it's great, you know? Besides doing that, just relaxing: I save my energy to do jiu jitsu, nothing else besides that. [laughs]

slideyfoot.com: Before we end, is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers?

Romulo Barral: I think we did a great interview, so I’d just like to say, to the people from the UK, it was a great pleasure to be there, great people, and I hope in the future, when I come back to the UK, they will be better, and then the jiu jitsu will be bigger. That’s especially for people from the UK. I had a great time there, I have a couple of students, I had a great time with Braulio, and then in a lot of places.

I hope in the future when I come back, probably next year, I will see everybody much better and then I will see jiu jitsu, BJJ, much bigger in England.

slideyfoot.com: Thanks very much, Romulo.

Romulo Barral: Thank you my friend, my pleasure, and thanks for the interview.



Thanks again to Romulo, I very much enjoyed the chance to speak with him. He’s not only an elite competitor, but a really nice guy. If you're interested in doing an interview with me too, or just having a chat about BJJ, feel free to drop me an email. Finally, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out RomuloBarral.com, and you can also follow Romulo on Facebook and Twitter

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Interview - Romulo Barral on Instructionals & UK BJJ

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Last week, Romulo discussed spider guard and injuries. This week, he considers UK BJJ, online training and his favourite instructional DVDs

slideyfoot.com: You’ve been to the UK a few times now, training with Braulio at his academy in Birmingham. What do you think of the jiu jitsu in this country?

Romulo Barral: Braulio, he’s doing a good job, I think, of spreading jiu jitsu in the UK. I was with Braulio for three or four months, I’m not sure, and Braulio was travelling, like almost all the weekends, to spread jiu jitsu, to teach at different places in the UK. He had a lot of people come from all over the UK to his academy.

I think the UK is going to be the next United States. You remember when jiu jitsu came to the United States, a long time ago? It was small, but look how big it is now. I think the next country is going to be the UK. I think it will grow and grow, and then in like five more years, it must be the same as the United States.

slideyfoot.com: Are you planning to hold any future seminars here in the UK?

Romulo Barral: Oh definitely. I’m probably going to have a trip to Europe in January, and I’ll try to go to as many places as I can, and also compete at the European Championship. For sure, if I go to Europe, I will be stopping by the UK. I teach a few times in the UK, so I have a couple of students, I want to see them, how they’re doing, I want to stop by Braulio’s academy. For sure, I’ll be stopping in the UK, it’s going to be like my main place to stop by for my seminars in Europe.

slideyfoot.com: What do you think of online training, like Gracie University, or the website your own instructor, Draculino, has set up?

Romulo Barral: I think the online training, it can help you get close to very good people, like Draculino. I’m too far from him: I watch Draculino’s class – I have an account there – I watch, because you can see different ways to teach, a couple of different details. I think they can help a lot. Of course, you need somebody good to teach you.

I think it’s really good for you to learn things, you can learn how to teach, and then I think it can be good for everybody, as long as you go to the mat and then you try to apply, it can be great. You cannot be a black belt from online training, you know, but it can help you a lot to develop your game.

You cannot go there and train with Draculino, but you can go online and train with him on his website. I think that’s awesome. You just need to do same thing as if you go train, you learn the position, and then you go and try to apply it, but I think it’s awesome, a good idea. I’m happy I can see Draculino teach a different position every day.

slideyfoot.com: Have you ever used DVDs and books to help your own training?

Romulo Barral: Yes, I have watched a couple of DVDs – I think it is a little bit hard to learn from DVDs, but anyways, I try. [laughs] I have a lot of DVDs, you know, like fighter’s DVDs, like my favourite fighters. So I have of course Draculino, it’s my favourite one. I really like Braulio, the way he teaches, he’s a very good teacher.

Then I have a couple of guys, I like to watch their fights, I like to know what kind of positions they do. Great fighters, good guys, like Cobrinha - he has a pretty good DVD. Andre Galvao, I like his DVD too. My favourite DVD is Draculino, and Braulio, I like a lot the way he teaches closed guard, I like Cobrinha and yeah, I like Galvao. I think in my mind now, as I remember, those are my favourite DVDs.

But, the DVDs I really learn, is like when I watch a World Championship, Pan-Ams, learn the position in real-time, you know? So I can figure out when is the best time to apply the position. On a DVD, you can learn the position, but it is a little bit hard to understand out how to apply, it takes a while. When I watch a DVD of fights, I learn faster.

slideyfoot.com: I’ve heard a few people say that. So do you think that’s something you need quite a lot of experience, to learn from watching competition, or can it help at any level?

Romulo Barral: Yes man, I think you need a little bit of experience, it cannot be like “ok, let me just watch this and then I’m gonna see.” It takes a little bit of experience, like...I cannot tell how much experience, but you need a little bit, you cannot just go there and see all the details. You’ve gotta have good experience to learn this way.

slideyfoot.com: Yeah, I guess a beginner would miss details, they wouldn’t understand the position, it would go too fast, that kind of thing.

Romulo Barral: Exactly.

In the final instalment next week, Romulo has some comments on BJJ in the Olympics, then we wrap things up. To read more about Romulo, check out RomuloBarral.com, and you can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter

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Interview - Romulo Barral on Spider Guard & Injuries

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Last week, Romulo spoke with me about competition. In part three, he talks about spider guard and the scourge of elite competitors, injuries.

slideyfoot.com: Speaking of spider guard, it can often cause a lot of strain on your fingers. Do you have any tips on how to toughen them up, or specific grips that you use to minimise damage?

Romulo Barral: That’s a funny thing, a lot of people ask me that, because they see I play spider guard for a long time. I answer this question a couple of times, you know, “I do pull ups with the gi, I climb the rope.” All this, it helps you develop a strong grip. But, for the real thing – I think I have really strong grips, my fingers are really strong, and then I develop this – it’s like, play spider guard.

I realise this when I started to teach, because when I teach spider guard, when I travel and do seminars, I get people to do spider guard drills, for one minute. Hold the sleeve, and then do simple drills. Like eighty five percent of the people, after a minute, they have weakness on the grips, on the fingers, the forearms, this type of thing, you know. They’re not used to holding a grip for more than a few seconds.

It’s because when you climb a rope, you climb the rope to the top, in maybe ten seconds, twenty seconds. When you do pull ups with the gi, you do ten reps, or fifteen, or twenty. So it’s like, thirty seconds. When you play spider guard, sometimes you need to play for ten minutes. That’s what makes your grip strong.

Same thing to put somebody to run a track, a hundred yards, and somebody to run a marathon. That’s the difference between somebody who uses a normal grip, and then somebody who uses spider guard. I use spider guard, I can hold my grip for an hour. If you don’t, if you just play half guard, closed guard, something like that, you’re not going to be able to do the same thing.

slideyfoot.com: So it’s just a matter of doing it more and building the endurance, there’s not any particular route other than time?

Romulo Barral: Yeah. They have a couple of things that help, you’ll have a strong grip, but to last, strong grip, it means it’s hard to break. A good grip, you can break, but you’re going to make the grip again and then you’re going to last for a long time.

slideyfoot.com: You’ve had a number of injuries in your competition career, most recently on your knee: do you have any tips for recovery?

Romulo Barral: My first tip, take care of your body. When you get the small injuries, make sure you take care of your body. How to recover fast, after injury, you need to do good rehab, don’t rush, don’t try to step on the mats soon. But the most important thing is to take care of your body, you have a small injury, you take care.

Then in another way, you know what? I have injuries because I train really hard. I never give time to my body, to heal up after small injuries. So, if I have small injuries, I don’t let my body heal, then I become a big injury. But that’s the price you pay, to become good. Everybody good, top athletes, they have the same problem. I guess, it’s really hard to become a top athlete without getting injured

slideyfoot.com: Do you try to train around your injuries? Like say you’ve hurt one hand, so you just train with one hand, or would you stay off the mat completely?

Romulo Barral: I had surgery in my shoulder, 2008, and then I had a little complication in my surgery, the doctors, they stretch my nerves. I was not able to move my arm for six months, but I step on the mat one month after my surgery. I start to do my training with one arm, doing drills. Then in two or three months, I was training full power, with one arm.

I train with the one arm, I think, for almost a year, you know? Then a funny thing: 2008, for the Worlds, I came here to train at the Gracie Barra, just to train, to watch the Worlds, at Gracie Barra headquarters. Then I was training with one arm, with a lot of black belts. Master Carlos Gracie Jr – I don’t know if he was joking or if he was serious – he came to me, and then he told me, “Hey Romulo, I think you should compete with one arm.”

I look at him, and then I say, “No, you’re kidding me, Master.”

He say, “No, I think you compete with one arm, you can win this thing, you can make history.” [laughs]

It was very funny, you know, to hear that from him, but of course, I was not gonna go compete, because in training, it’s different. Nobody was going to pull my arm, nobody was going hard. In the tournament, people would go for my injured arm, pull, do something like that, and then go full power. So I don’t think it would be fun. But it was good to hear this from him.

I was training really hard, to try to improve my game, even without one arm, and then I improve a lot, you know. My right shoulder hurt, so I improved a lot on my left side. Right now, it’s kinda a little bit hard, because it’s my knee. It’s different, but very soon I’m going to start doing specific training. I’m going to wrap my knee, without move, maybe do like side control specific training, back specific, make people attack me, so I can get as soon as possible on the mat and start my training again.

In the next instalment, Romulo talks about BJJ in the UK, online training and his favourites DVDs. For part one of this five part series, click here, and here for part two. To read more about Romulo, check out RomuloBarral.com, and you can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter

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Interview - Romulo Barral on Competition

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Last week, Romulo discussed his thoughts on teaching. In part two, he talks about competition.

slideyfoot.com: You began competing quite early in your training: how would you advise a new student coming to you saying “I want to compete”?

Romulo Barral: I have a lot of people who do that, and my advice is like this: the competition needs to be something natural. For example, I don’t push my students to compete. If I have somebody come to me and ask me how to compete, it’s become easy for me to advise them. My advice is always the same. The competition, it’s good to test yourself, you know, it’s a good feeling for most of the people, even if they don’t want to become professional.

The only thing I like to say to everybody, to my students – or everybody else, not only myself, all professional people – what matters for the competition is that you step on the mat and give a hundred percent, you leave everything on the mat. When you do that, win or lose, you’re going to be happy, because you put everything, you give everything you had. So that’s always my advice for people, if they want to compete.

It’s small advice, but it can be big, you know. Then of course, for people that really want to compete, it can take a little while. They first come to me, as a white belt, “I want to compete,” and that’s my advice, because I cannot put something on their head. Then they would be “oh, I’ve got to think about this, think about that,” I have different advice. So, this one, it’s general advice, I tell people to give a hundred percent, leave everything on that mat, and then you’ll be happy, no matter what.

I have different advice, for example, for people who want to be a competitor and they are a black belt already, so I have my own thoughts about competing. So if somebody ask me, some black belt, I can explain a big plan to do and then be successful.

slideyfoot.com: So you have black belts coming up to you and asking for your experience, if they’re a less experienced black belt, seeking out your advice?

Romulo Barral: Oh yes, a lot, I have a lot of people, they ask me what I do to be good, you know, but it’s hard for people to be focused and follow you. So that’s why I keep this, for when people ask me, what’s your advice. So, I give this one, and then I see, what they can get. If they really give a hundred percent, and then they ask me the next time, what’s my advice, I can give him a little bit more.

But I cannot just tell him everything for him, what to do, because otherwise, if they don’t do it, I will be like a bit disappointed [laughs]. Because I want everybody to be like me, not good, but to do everything as I want to be, to become good, you know. I don’t think I’m good or the best or something like that. For me, it doesn’t matter: if they work hard, that’s how good you’re going to be.

slideyfoot.com: There’s been a lot of talk recently about ‘self defence’ jiu jitsu, with groups like the Gracie Academy saying “Gracie Combatives, this is self defence, we don’t teach sport.” But do you think there really is that split between ‘self defence’ jiu jitsu and ‘sport’ jiu jitsu, or is it all just jiu jitsu?

Romulo Barral: I think it’s just jiu jitsu, you know, because if you want to do self defence, you can go do krav maga. So jiu jitsu is like a complete art, you learn how to punch. People think in jiu jitsu, it doesn’t have a punch, doesn’t have a kick, but jiu jitsu is a complete martial art. You learn how to punch, you learn how to kick, you learn how to have good distance, if you need self defence. It’s a martial art that involves everything. I don’t think they have jiu jitsu for self defence, you know, Gracie Academy, I think it is all the same. Everybody learns the same, at the end of the day, everybody is going to learn the same thing.

slideyfoot.com: Relson Gracie has recently set up a new tournament, the Gracie Pro Am Circuit, which he believes is closer to the original ideals of his father Helio. I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to look at the rules, but one of them forbids gripping both your opponent’s sleeves for more than 10 seconds. As you’re famous for your spider guard, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on that?

Romulo Barral: Man, it’s the first time I heard about it, but I don’t like it all, really. How am I going to play my spider guard? [laughs] I want to stick my hands on their sleeve and not let go for nothing. It’s not only me, actually, you know? I don’t know, it’s a pretty new thing for me, but if somebody doesn’t want to let you grab their sleeve for more than ten seconds, make a no-gi tournament. I don’t think because you hold the sleeve for ten seconds you’re stalling the fight or something like that, you know? So if you want to do something like that, just do a no-gi tournament, it would be better.

I like the IBJJF rules. That’s the guys, like Master Carlos Gracie, that have worked on this for a long time, to become a better sport. Whatever they change their rule, I will agree, because I know that these guys, they work really hard to make BJJ bigger and bigger, as a sport, everything.

In the next instalment, Romulo talks about spider guard, and his opinions on dealing with injuries. For part one of this five part series, click here. To read more about Romulo, check out RomuloBarral.com, and you can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter

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Interview - Romulo Barral on Teaching

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Romulo was kind enough to grant me an interview on Saturday, which I'll be sharing in instalments over the next month or so. This is part one of five.

slideyfoot.com: You’re a top competitor in BJJ, but also an instructor. Is teaching helpful for developing your BJJ game, or does it detract from your own training?

Romulo Barral: I think teaching helps a lot, because when you teach, you work on details of the technique. When you roll, you have details, but sometimes you use power, sometimes you overpower somebody who is not as strong as you. So when you’re teaching, you develop a lot of details, and then every day you teach, even if it’s the same technique, you can see another detail.

That helps a lot to develop your BJJ. I think if I wasn’t teaching, just training, I would not be that good. [laughs]

slideyfoot.com: Your instructor, Draculino, is well-known for producing champions, like yourself. What do you think is the key to effectively teach BJJ?

Romulo Barral: I think the key, to teach BJJ or compete, you’ve got to put a lot into what you do. You need to put everything in to make people get better. I have seen a lot of people, when they’re teaching, they don’t put in a hundred percent. They don’t want to show everything, all the details for their students to get better.

So, Draculino – I train with Draculino since I was a teenager, it has been a long time, maybe more than ten years ago - his style of teaching is like this. He gives everything for you, everything. He is not teaching only his style, only his details. He is trying to show you everything, so you can choose your own type of game, or you can be complete, learning everything from him. His style, it is my style, you know. I learn from Draculino, and I try to pass to my students now what I learned from him.

slideyfoot.com: Do you think it is beneficial to split the beginners into a separate class for a few months, or is it more productive to have a mixed ability class from the beginning?

Romulo Barral: Definitely, you’ve got to split them. You cannot have somebody who has never seen jiu jitsu before in their life come into class and do spider guard, flying triangle, something like that. So, Draculino, that’s another thing Draculino has success with, because maybe like six or seven years ago, it used to be everybody in the same class. If somebody new came into the academy, they’re going to be the same class as the black belts.

So Draculino – I don’t remember, maybe more than six or seven years ago – he started to split the class, and then he started to do a curriculum class. Like, this is a fundamentals class, and these guys go to the advanced class. He’s got to take a little while here, you know, until they pass through the basics. When he was doing that, I think he made a big difference.

First, the students, they weren’t quitting the training, they kept going, because they were training with people on their level. Also, all the students had strong basics, strong fundamentals, so when they pass to the advanced class, they were learning much faster.

slideyfoot.com: So he had a set curriculum of say escaping side control for a few weeks, then mount, then submissions, that kind of thing, or was it more just general principles?

Romulo Barral: It was all the basic positions, you know. There were all the situations, but the basics. Like you said, side control, couple of attacks, basic attacks, and basic escapes. Then, mount, basic attacks, basic escapes. Very consistent, like that: couple of takedowns, self-defence. All the basics they would need to go to the next level, so they’re not going to be lost.

slideyfoot.com: Following on from that, if the beginners class is with that clear structure, how would the advanced class differ? Would it still have a curriculum or is it more of a “this week we’re going to do 50/50, this week we’re going to do reverse triangles”?

Romulo Barral: You know, a lot of places, they still don’t have a curriculum. My place, Draculino’s place, we always have a curriculum. You cannot go to the class, drive your car, and then think “oh, what am I going to show today? I’m going to show spider guard today.” Then the next day, you drive again, “what am I going to show today? Today, I’m going to show mount attack.” It’s very important you break down the curriculum, so you can work all the types of game. For example, let’s work for two months on spider guard, maybe spider guard sweeps, spider guard attacks.

I think that is the best way for people to learn and develop their own game, so you can teach everything, not focus on one thing. You’ve got to have a curriculum for both parts.

In the next instalment, Romulo shares some of his thoughts on competition. To read more about Romulo, check out RomuloBarral.com, and you can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter

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