So Friday night, Royler gracie came to the Pedro Sauer Total Self-Defense Academy here in Sterling, VA to do a seminar. We had a great turnout with about 90 or so people on the mat. A least 6 of which were black belts, including Professor Pedro Sauer. He showed some great techniques, covering both self-defense and sport Jiu-Jitsu techniques. I particularly enjoyed one of the guard passes he showed. Definitely something I'll be putting into my game.
In the middle of the seminar he spoke about something you don’t hear much in the Jiu-Jitsu community. That when you are training with a new student it is your responsibility to teach them so they don't do anything that they shouldn't. For example he said when training if you get caught with an errant elbow or something from a new student of Jiu-Jitsu it isn't their fault because they don't know any better, but rather your fault for being a bad teacher. This really hit home for me as you hear countless times about the "new guy" and "spazzes" but the truth is that they are just trying to get better like the rest of us. The difference is that they have been doing it for a few weeks versus a few years.
After the three hours of instruction, he had a Q and A portion. Many of the questions were not grappling related, but about stories from Brazil, or memories he had with Professor Sauer. He also went into his negotiations with ADCC and his possible super fight with Eddie Bravo. He said that when he was young that he would fight anybody anytime for free. But now he has a family and he doesn't need to fight to prove himself. He wishes only to cover lost income that he would have made doing seminars, etc.
Overall he was a very nice and down to earth guy. He was a great instructor and I would definitely recommend attending one of his seminars if you have the chance.
We have had quite a few seminars here, including Rickson Gracie, Relson Gracie, Georges St-Pierre, Urijah Faber, Maurico "Shogun" Rua, and of course now Royler Gracie. They have all been top notch. Definitely looking forward to our next Seminar here at the Academy, which will be Caio Terra on August 27th.