Renato Tavares working from half-guard against Ulpiano Malachias / Photo: Mike Calimbas
Professor of Jiu-Jitsu Renato Tavares was one of the standouts at the Dallas Open, a championship held last weekend at TWU’s Kitty Magee Arena in Texas.
Despite belonging to the senior age group, Renato stuck his neck out in the masters division and nabbed two gold medals, one in the featherweight class and the other in the absolute.
“I was overjoyed; I won at weight and absolute and we as a team took runner-up in the kids competition and third in the adult. The only thing comparable was my happiness at getting promoted to black belt by Carlson Gracie. First of all I’d like to thank God, my parents, sponsors, trainers and all the association’s students, Fred, Ethan, etc. And special thanks to Piet, who encouraged his students to compete,” said our GMA at ATT Vero Beach, Florida.
In the video below, Renato Tavares put to practice one of the virtues of Jiu-Jitsu—never give up. Playing on bottom against a heavier Ulpiano Malachia, Renato persisted with the half-guard until managing a sweep. Watch and learn.
