By Jeff "JD Badger" Duarte

Who is your BJJ instructor and what is your rank?        I'm a purple belt with Rickson Gracie Which BJJ Blackbelts have you trained with?        Oh, the list is long. Everyone from Rickson to a little bit of {training with} Renzo {Gracie}. A little bit with "Margarita," A little with Royler {Gracie}. A lot of guys from Brazil, a lot of guys. How difficult is it to train for your Blackbelt while living in Canada?        Very Difficult! (laughs) Its hard because you don't have the access to techniques and you don't have the access to a high level instructor. Its challenging, its very challenging. How is having Rickson Gracie as your instructor?        {Its the} best experience in the world! He's the best instructor in the world. The best fighter in the world, without a question. How is having Rickson Gracie as a sparring/rolling partner?        Somebody asked me that once. I think the best way to describe it is its a good way to put your ego in check. Rickson can show you where your faults are, he can show you where your good points are in a way that it teaches you humility and a way to develope your skills at the same time. So I think if I had a choice with anybody {that} I wanted to roll with, it would be him all the time. How is the style of Rickson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu differ or is better then other styles of BJJ?        I don't know if its better from other forms of Jiu-Jitsu. From my perspective I think Rickson has a specific way of teaching. He has a specific way of breaking down techniques and they're taught in a specific order. They're taught in a specific fashion. {Its} kind of like playing a chess game. {The moves go from} 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and theres a definite logic to how he teaches and to how we do our techniques. Now if thats the case or isn't the case with other styles {of BJJ}, I'm not sure but from my experience there is a bit of a difference now. Whether its better or not? I don't know but I'm quite happy with what I do. Do you have any plans to enter any MMA events?        SI - Hopefully. I've been in a few. I'd like to do a couple more. I have a family, I have some kids. Its very difficult to train in Canada to a level I'd like to be training at but hopefully {I will compete} in the near future. With the sanctioning of MMA in Nevada and New Jersey, do you believe that Canada or more specifically the province of Ontario is next?        I don't know if we're next but I hope we're in line. We've got a lot of BJJ talent in Ontario. It we're to pick apart the provinces of Canada , probably the most {talent} that we have is in Ontario. Hopefully we are somewhere on that list. I don't know how far that is away or if its in the cards in the near future but if it was to be, somebody needs to take the lead and start pushing it through. When will you test for your Brown belt?        Whenever Rickson says I can test. (laughs) I'm not sure to be honest. I'm learning, I'm growing, I'm getting better. I think I get better at a steady pace so whenever Rickson believes I'm ready for it, I imagine he'll tell me to test or he'll give it to me. Can you tell us about your experience in the NHB Fearless Fighting Tournament?        Well if anybody out there {that} reads this interview knows this gentleman who held it, I'm hoping that he will actually pay me the money he owes me because he owes me money. He hasn't payed me, his check bounced. He hasn't given us a copy of the tape {of the event.} Other then that!... that was the first freestyle fighting event I fought in North America. I fought 3 individuals myself. I went down {to the tournament} with Carlos Newton and 2 other competitors from Ontario and competed in the event. We all did really well. I won the heavyweight division. Probably the most prominent individual that I fought in that event was in the finals and that was a gentleman by the name of Daniel Bobish. He was a wrestler from the United States and I submitted all 3 of my opponents including him. You were the 1997 Canadian Jiu-Jitsu Champion. Can you tell us about your experience in that tournament?        That was very exciting! That was probably the largest Jiu-Jitsu tournament then that I've been to. Rickson had came up {to Canada}. He did a seminar the day before {the tournament}. The tournament was big. It was a really good opportunity because we had a chance to compete against BJJ practitioners from around Canada and some from the U.S. We had Judokas there. We has wrestlers there. We had mixed martial artists, freestyle grapplers there so from a experience point of view I thought it was great. I won the heavyweight division and I competed in the grand {absolute} finals and I lost to Carlos {Newton}. Your also a winner of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the 1st Annual Rickson Gracie International Jiu-Jitsu Tournament. Can you tell us how Rickson's tournament format is different and/or better then other tournaments in BJJ?        Difficult question. I think from my limited {BJJ tournament} experience.......I've been to 2 of Rickson's tournaments. His first international {tournament and} his second international {tournament}. I think each time the tournament was better, the refereeing was better, the organization was better, the competitors was better {and} the support for the competition was better. I don't know if I can compare it to other BJJ tournaments but it was a big tournament! Both tournaments were very large. There was a large number of competitors from Brazil, from the United States, from Canada, from around the world! {There were teams} from France, from Germany, from Holland. We had a whole team from Japan. I haven't been in other BJJ tournaments that has competitors from around the world. From my understanding, the Mundial (BJJ World Championships held in Brazil), the majority of people {competing} are from Brazil where in Rickson's tournament we had people from around the world that are part of {his} association. You have worked as a Private Investigator. Have you ever had to use BJJ to defend yourself?        (Laughs) Specifically in a situation?.....Yeah, I think I have in a couple of situations. I practice the art and I train in the art with the idea to possibly having to apply my knowledge someday in a real situation and also for personal growth. So I think on a daily basis from all the martial arts that I have studied and learned I think I use BJJ in some form or another, be that physical, mental, spirtual or any other way. Its used on a daily basis. In the military you served as a security specialist and a hand to hand combat instructor. Do you feel the military is teaching its soldiers proper, practical and realistic self-defence? and knowing what you know now what would you change?        The military is a specific term. I served in the Yugoslavian military and I have some knowledge of what is being taught in the Canadian and U.S. militaries and the British military. I think that hand to hand combat isn't a major focus in the military because generally your dealing with weapons use. As for as the skills that are being taught to soldiers {it} could definitly be improved. How well that would be to a battle situation, a combat situation would kind of be a case by case situation but i think there is definite grounds for improvement and one of the ways it could be improved is through BJJ definitly. What is the main responsibility as an official representative of Rickson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu?        Oh, thats the worst question of all.(laughs) I think my main responsibility would be to the asscociation, to uphold the the values and the ideals and the techniques that are passed on to me from Rickson. So when I teach I try to teach as close as possible to the way that I was taught and bring forth the techniques the way Rickson taught me because in the long run he is the one that tests all my students for their belts and that shows on me. I have a responsibility to myself to do the best job I can because as for me, everyday I teach I learn, I grow, whether I'm actually learning a technique or watching two white belts roll or train, I'm still developing. I have a responsibilty to Rickson himself {and} to the art itself to pass it on in a proper fashion. I have a responsibility to my students to pass on to them the techniques, the ideals and the philosophy that Rickson passed on the me. What are your furture plans in BJJ?        Hopefully to get a Black belt before I'm 60! (laughs)

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