Sadohana Dojo in Gibsons had two guests in town for a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) seminar last weekend. Black belt Giacomo Zanini and brown belt Ricardo Rosa instructed local BJJ students in competition and self-defence techniques.
“Jiu-Jitsu is a lifetime journey where the main goal is to improve yourself every day, little by little,” Zanini said. “Try to improve yourself in all parts of your life – that’s one of the key elements that I always try to have the students understand.”
Sadohana Dojo instructor Jason Wilson said that different students find different reasons to practise Jiu-Jitsu.
“It’s kind of whatever mind frame you want to train under, which is really cool in Jiu-Jitsu,” Wilson said. “Some people don’t really care about the self-defence aspect and they train in a competition mind frame. But you can always take any move and make it self-defence.”
Zanini and Rosa covered a lot of varied techniques, Wilson said; one of his favourites was a series of moves that started from the ground and on your back.
“From that [starting position] there were multiple take downs and submissions you could use in a self-defence situation,” Wilson said.
“We learned how to frame their hip and take both their posts away on one side,” he said. “It’s really like, you’re taking all their mobility away with pressure and angles. You’re adjusting and reacting to what they do.”
At the end of the seminar, students could ask Zanini about various moves they were working on or having trouble with.
“These seminars bring everyone together even tighter as a family,” Wilson said.
Zanini and Rosa are both from Torres, a small town in Brazil. Zanini trains in the Ribeiro school of Jiu-Jitsu while Rosa trains under the Rickson-Gracie school. Wilson said that it was an honour to have such prestigious Jiu-Jitsu experts come to his school.
“Not having an ego, accepting failure and always trying to get better. That’s the main idea behind everything we do,” Zanini said.
