Canal at Brazilian Team Nationals 2010. The GFTeam beast won in style. Photo: Gustavo Aragão.
An event this reporter has competed at in the past and come up spades, Copa Novo Leblon went down again this December 10 and 11 in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. Held in the eponymous condominium complex, the tourney is a chapter unto itself in Rio gentle art history. Stalwart fighters galore have competed there since the 1990s.
This time around, the thousand-real prize went to Theodoro Canal (GFTeam), who won the lightweight absolute, and Renan Vital, who shared the loot with Victor Bonfim, his teammate at Gordo JJ, for conquering the heavy absolute.
Also standing out in the mix was Paulo Miyao, who ran roughshod through the lightweight division, and Victor Honório, top in the purple belt absolute. Now Rafael Cotonete left everyone’s mouth agape as he annihilated his opposition in the brown belt absolute. For the achievement, Cotonete took home a 750-real cash prize. In the team contest, Gordo JJ took the title, followed by Kbelinho and GFTeam, second and third place, respectively.
