Eduardo Telles and Saulo Ribeiro at 2012 International Masters (Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG)
A Jiu-Jitsu practitioner’s routine is no walk in the park, and that’s precisely why we’re stronger and more confident even outside the academy walls.
When a practitioner is over 30 years of age, though, things get even tougher: there’s work, family life, overall responsibilities. But if you haven’t got an hour of your day to take care of your health and mind, you’re not making the most of the 24 hours per day at your disposal.
In a recent issue of GRACIEMAG, we featured two stories to serve as inspiration to those who have been away from the academy or are thinking to take up the practice once they’re already “getting up there”.
One of them is the decorated 33-year-old Vitor Shaolin. Not having competed in 11 years, he decided to try his hand in competition again last year at the inaugural Master & Senior Worlds, and he rediscovered the taste of victory.
“My wife was on my case. She said I was a nuisance at home, with no competition to go to… Besides that, some of my great friends were going to fight, like Robson Moura, Gustavo Dantas and Ricardo Bastos. That really going me going, and I decided to compete. Once signed up, I came up with reasonable enough time to train, which is no easy task when you have class to teach and kids to take care of,” the Jiu-Jitsu teacher living in New York told reporter Ivan Trindade.
Another role model from our pages is the black belt Itaborá Ferreira, 53. Itaborá had every reason in the world to stay at home—among them, prostate cancer.
But he too hit the mats at the Master & Senior Worlds and won: “I go to the hospital every day. I’m doing radiation therapy and chemotherapy but I wouldn’t let the chance to be here in Long Beach pass. This is my therapy, my fun park. Here I feel alive,” he said.
What about you? Still need inspiration to get out there and start training Jiu-Jitsu?
Refresh your memory of the tough old war horses of the 2011 Pan with the video above, and get your gi ready for the big 2013 season.
