Anybody ever roll with this guy? There seems to be a lot of questions about his lineage.
Well, his website speaks highly of him.
Also, there were bulldogs.
Seems pretty legit to me.
flipdid- are you in Pensacola?
Two of my friends started with him. They are excellent purple belts with great skills...going by them, I would say he's legit.
(Hey, I think dave321 is one of my friends I'm referring to)
He has brought a team to several competitions in Louisiana and ms and they always do well. 
I trained at his place when I was on vacation in Pensacola. I didnt roll with him, but he had some very skilled blue belts there and the instruction was good also
dave321 - you are correct kying haha
twin?
dave321 - Yep I'm a twin, you have a crazy memory. Remind me never to bad mouth you or jokingly dare you to punch me under this username.
I wouldn't say I have a crazy memory, but Mike Lee always spoke highly of you guys and I enjoyed meeting you two.
I've heard the same concerns about Alex Silva Ruas's lineage, if I remember correctly, on this forum. I'd like to know more, seeing as how the Florida panhandle is a largely untapped area for BJJ/MMA.
I believe there is an Alliance school in Tally now. I have heard good things.
dave321 -wiu81 - I believe there is an Alliance school in Tally now. I have heard good things.
Alex is in Pensacola no where near Tally. Tally is central florida not the panhandle.
I have no idea one way or the other on how good Alex Silva Ruas is, and I'm not here to question, just to learn more.
I've been on the mat and put in time with plenty of white belts. The closer I get to fights the less I will train with someone inexperienced, but I train all year 'round because I absolutely love MMA and its components. A lot of times teaching beginners is a great way to get better because it forces you to be introspective with your own technique.
And Tally isn't Central Florida by definition either. North Florida yes...Central no.
dave321 -wiu81 - I believe there is an Alliance school in Tally now. I have heard good things.
Alex is in Pensacola no where near Tally. Tally is central florida not the panhandle.
LOL Look at a map. I believe you will find its in the panhandle. Howerver there is also an Alliance school in Central Florida.
<quote>I don't know if you ever trained (wasted your time) in the panhandle/small town gyms. But there are tons of horrible "legitimate" lineage black belts.</quote>
Can you be more specific about which panhandle area lineages you feel are horrible?
You just make it sound like you have someone specific in mind. I'm just curious.
Twin number 2 checking in.
LurkingOtis, me and my brother don't want to speak bad about anyone in that area.
We've visited every school and they've usually be friendly and welcoming.
That said, do you think any BJJ school could adequately prepare someone fighting in the UFC? All of the schools are very casual. They're great for non-professionals.
But there is a huge difference between most BJJ black belts and the black belts fighting in professional MMA.
For instance, there are some schools in the area that teach very traditional gracie jiu jitsu with a lot of emphasis on self-defense. Now that is legit (I mean shit, you could make an arguement that is the most authentic type of BJJ out there), but its way different than your legit BJJ BB in MMA.
As far as Pensacola being a potential business opportunity, the area in generally is very depressed. The economy hit the city pretty hard.
And in Pensacola, there is Alex, the Wanderlei Silva affliate, a Pedro Sauer affliate, and a Adriano Lucio affliate.
And LurkingOtis, what school are you from?
That said, Alex has been doing BJJ for somewhere around two decades.
He knows his stuff, encourages competition, and rolls with his students. Is he Marcelo Garcia? No. Is he a very good BJJ BB? Yes.
Pensacola MMA scene is mostly local stuff. Home grown and picking up. Not my cup of tea though. There are some larger MMA schools in the area that have grown into quite a regional force. Specifically Capitao in FWB. They are doing very well in MMA, and would probably be a great place for a high level professional to train.
In Pensacola there is also a Helio Soneca Affiliate, and a Rodrigo Pinheiro Affiliate. All strong lineages.
I didn't pick up on the twin thing earlier in the thread, Sorry. I realize who you all are now. Haha. I know you 2 would not talk bad about anyone.
I'll give you a hint who I am. I am a tall Adriano purple ;)
LurkingOtis, I'm guessing you're Michael? I thought I recognized that username.
I've been away from the Pensacola scene for so long I didn't even know about the other affiliates you metioned.
Shit we haven't been to Alex's place in probably over a year and I've been off all the mats for probably 2 months (knee surgery).
It's just whenever anyone posts something questionable about Alex, me and Dave usually try to respond.
Alex isn't on the internet boards so he can't really respond in time before these threads get buried.
As for any corny things you read on his site, I made it when I was in high school and I'm not exactly an English guy so bare with it.
Also, shen, you're posts make life were living. It's an honor to see you comment about the bulldogs on Alex's site (I designed that logo when I was 17! I'm about to turn 23.)
:)
Yep. That's me. Alex gets brought up on here about once a year. I think a lot of the rumors about him come from before he ever came to pensacola. I've always gotten along with him. We are friendly each time we see each other around town.
Making any kind of business successful in Pensacola is damn near impossible. Too much nepotism.
I didn't mention his site, that was another member on the board.
Good luck on the knee. I hope you can get back on the mat soon. You don't want your brother to get to far ahead of you. lol.