July, 2007
10
Jul 07
Beginner’s Guide to Brazilian
Many new students to the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, who happen to be lucky enough to have a real Brazilian instructor, are often caught a little off guard with the language. So here, our dear reader, is your Gracie-Barra Brief Introduction to Brazilian. (Yeah, I know, it’s “Portuguese”, but the version of the language we know and love could just as well be called, “Brazilian”.)
e ai (eh-ay-ee) What’s up?
ta? (tah?) Did you see that? Example: “You trap his arm, ta? You shift your base, ta? You pass your leg over his head, ta? You subymit him with a triangle! Ta?”
Subimit (Su-bee-mit) Submit.
Cara (Ca-dah) No, it’s not Spanish for “face”, it means “dude”.
Fica (Fee-ka) Stay or stand. Combining with the above: “Si cada fica em pe…”, meaning “If the dude stands up…”
Chão (Shaum) Ground.
Po (Poh) Butt.
Cudo (Koo-do) Elbow.
Pé (Pay) Foot.
Nuca (Noo-ka) Neck.
Mão (Mohn) Hand.
Pow (like “wow”) The sound you make when you apply an armbar or other finish holds. Example: “So, you climb your legs up, pull his arm across, and POW, slap on the armbar!”
Porra (Po-ha) The most apparently versatile word in the Brazilian language. It can mean anything from surprise (“You met THREE girls Friday night? PORRA!”) to an exclamation of emotion (“PORRA! I just broke your left foot, now I’m gonna break the right! PORRA!”)
So, there are you students, all you need to know for successful participation in a real BJJ class. Until next time…
10
Jul 07
Follow-up: Seminar with Roberto Atalla
It’s great being part of an active, vibrant Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club. Sometimes we’re working on technique. Sometimes we’re training for a competition. Sometimes we’re welcoming new members to the club, or welcoming visiting black belts from Brazil. And sometimes, we’re treated to seminars.
This past Monday night, we had the pleasure of welcoming BJJ black belt Roberto Atalla to our academy for a one-evening seminar. It was a great experience, as Roberto is a tremendously friendly and competent instructor. (And, he’s fluent in both English and Spanish!)
The seminar focused exclusively on guard passing, with kimono. We focus on a few details to improve our general pass from the closed guard, and then we moved on to several passes from the open- and spider guards, including a nice counter to an attempted De La Riva guard. We trained the techniques for two hours, and then spent a final 45 minutes doing specific-position sparring.
All in all, it was a great evening, and we hope that Roberto can find time in his schedule to pass by again, and spend a bit of time with us here in Marbella. He’s got a busy schedule of seminars around Europe, but hopes to be back next year.
Be sure to follow Roberto’s blog at:
4
Jul 07
Seminar with Roberto Atalla!
Hey everybody, just wanted to announce that next Monday, 9 July 2007, we’ll be hosting a BJJ seminar with Roberto Atalla at our academy in Puerto Banus. The cost will be 25 Euro per person. The class starts at 20:00 until 22:00 (usual training time.) Check out Roberto’s weblog and don’t miss this opportunity. Bring kimono and grappling clothes.
http://robertoatalla.wordpress.com/
Hola a todos, el proximo lunes, 9 Julio 2007, vamos a tener un seminaro de BJJ con Roberto Atalla! El lugar es nuestro academia en Puerto Banus. La hora es de 20:00 a 22:00, y el coste es 25 Euros. No pierdas ese oportunidad! Trae ropa de BJJ (kimono) y grappling.
Un saludo, y hasta entonces!