Young Buck, Old Bull

A few years ago i was in Brazil, holidaying and visiting various Jiu Jitsu academies. When i was in Rio - know as the epicentre of BJJ - i managed to find my way to the famous De La Riva academy (de-la-hiva). It was hidden inside a small doorway off the main drag in a gymnasium called Equipe 1 (eh-ki-pi-um). De La Riva is a famous BJJ player from way back, well known for developing his own complex form of open guard, appropriately called the De La Riva guard. He also was and still is an instrumental part of keeping BJJ alive between Japan and Brazil.

I was met by De La Riva, a gentle and experienced man, wearing spectacles and crisp gi. The dojo was  a rectangular room covered in vinyl mats, with a massive AC unit pumping crisp, cool air into the place. The current class was wrapping up so i sat to the side and waited to be invited onto the mats. Once that class ended, i was invited onto the mats along with the other Jiu Jiteiros waiting to train. The class was small and informal. DLR ran us through an escape technique for when an opponent had taken your back. Control the arm and scoot the butt out on to the floor, before turning back into their guard. Old school basics. Classic.

After the technical drills we went into rolling (sparring, for those who don't know). I matched up with another blue belt, as was i at the time, and we had a competitive and mutually beneficial round against one another. Following that i was matched up for a round with a black belt who i had noticed doing some hard rounds previously, and appeared to be tired. We slapped hands and the guy fell straight onto his back allowing me to pass his guard. This was too easy. I worked for the mount, and got it. Next thing i had a collar choke on him and the guy tapped out. I was pretty stoked with myself. The black belt was gassed, hard. I asked him if he was OK, and he said - "man i am exhausted, i haven't trained at all for about 8 years, its my first class back today!". I was deflated..

Helvecio Penna

Next round, i was approached by a gentle older guy also with a black belt. He looked friendly and passive, but definitely strong with that typical old man strength. We slapped hands and engaged, and i felt a gear change from the previous round. This guys was strong, and his positions were tight. I managed to open his guard and fall back for a foot lock. I threw it on quick, and he tapped - though i felt he had tapped early. He said to me in broken English - "here we don't use footlocks in training, just competition". I felt like i had pissed him off a little, in having taken that opportunity. We slapped hands again, and that was it. The dude jumped up about 4 gears and continued to pass, dominate the position and tap me out with one submission after the next. He didn't lose his cool, but he made sure to let me know that i had used up my chance of a gentle roll, and now i was being exposed to full scale domination. The guy was a beast! Helvecio was his name. It took me a while to get that..

In my subsequent training sessions at Equipe 1, i got to know Helvecio and another couple of beasts that trained there. Helvecio told me one day, "i am 50 years old and i still compete and win in the adults division!" he laughed. The other beasts hanging around nodded in agreement, confirming that he truly was a beast. He said the masters and seniors division didn't have much to offer him in the way of good fights anymore and he preferred to go against the younger opponents. They were a lovely group of guys, very encouraging and complimentary of my BJJ. A bunch of animals.