Bráulio “Carcará” in action during the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship 2009. Photo by Regis Chen/GracieMag
Braulio Estima has a whole season ahead and at least two electrifying super-fights this year. The first opponent will be his old friend Xande Ribeiro at Copa Podio in May. Five months later, in October, he takes off the gi and faces Andre Galvao at ADCC in Beijing.
The marathon will be strong, but Braulio starts it without being able to stand up. He explained it to GracieMag.com during a chat via Skype.
“I’m only training with the gi and wanted to get back to action in Abu Dhabi, in WPJJC. It is always a pleasure to fight there, but I had a severe back spasm last week. It’s terrible, I can’t stand up,” said Carcará. “I hope to be okay next week. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to fight in early April.”
According to the GB professor in England, the plan is to train only with the gi on almost until the ADCC.
“As I have dedicated the last three years to only training without the gi, I’ll invest on it now,” he said. “I believe that just two and half months are needed to go well without the gi in Beijing. In 2009, when I won the ADCC absolute, I trained only a month and a half without it after the World Championship.”
Against Xande Ribeiro in the Copa Podio super-fight, the tactic is already decided.
“With Xande I’ll play my game,” he explained. “It’s more dynamic than ever this time. Me being away might be an advantage because my game has changed and the guys didn’t follow. I think I have a good chance of making him get lost in my spins.
“Of course Xande is coming from a large battery of championships, and it was clear that he has also evolved since the Abu Dhabi WPJJC in 2012. If you compare Xande’s game in early 2012 to today, the difference is huge. He is active, while those who stay away get rusty. This is my negative point for this fight.”
