Great Seminar with Draculino
This morning, as I was driving to the Muteki Dojo in Málaga for our four-hour seminar with Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães, I have to say I was thinking about the questionable value of such events in an age where you can find half a million techniques instantly available on YouTube.
Well, today I was reminded that, when offered by a true “maestro”, the concept of the seminar still has its very important place in the training of the serious martial arts practitioner! The seminar was, in a word, excellent.
Draculino, who runs his famous academy in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, is known around the world as one of the best BJJ/grappling instructors on the planet. He’s the instructor of our own teachers, Edson “Sururu” Jorge and Marcelo “Uirapuru” Azevedo. And he’s been the trainer of famous athletes such as Vitor Belfort, Babalu , and Romulo Barral — recently crowned world champion in the Brazilian Mundiales.
Draculino came to town to inaugurate the opening of the Gracie-Barra Andalucia academy in Muteki Dojo, in Málaga, Spain. (The Muteki Dojo, by the way, is one of the nicest martial arts gyms I’ve seen here in Spain!) The seminar was split into two sessions — morning focusing on Gi (kimono) techniques, and the afternoon focussed on grappling (no-gi). It was a full house, as we had nearly 20 participants, coming from Marbella, Malaga, and as far away as Sevilla.
In both sessions, Draculino carefully examined some of the classical positions — arm drag with kimono, and no-gi attacks from the back. As any BJJ/grappling practitioner will recognize immediately, these are very common positions in the fight. What Draculino offered in the seminar, was an indepth study of the evolution of these positions, analyzing many of the defenses and counter attacks. In each session, we were shown improvements on classical techniques and shown some techniques that are completely new, never before seen. They were some simple techniques, and some complex techniques — but I was particularly impressed that all the techniques are directly applicable in a fight. Overall, it was a great seminar!
On behalf of all the participants in the seminar, we want so offer a big “Thank You” to Draculino for an amazing seminar, and we are looking forward to his return next year, to continue helping to guide the evolution of the sport.