The purpose of these interviews are to speak with people who have created successful outcomes for themselves and for others in the world of sports, business, and other endeavors. It then follows that the person interviewed will be talking about their life and / or business philosophy that they have grown into over the years.
Rarely is the path to any goal or successful outcome an easy and direct ride. Yet the public most often sees or hears only about the end result and / or when the media picks it up. What’s missed and what the public often doesn’t hear about is all that happened in route, the work that was done, the sacrifices made, the life lessons learned, and the temporary setbacks that had to be overcome on the way to any given goal or destination.
My objective is that through these interviews, the reader will pick up pearls of wisdom and overriding universal life principles that they can apply to their own life regardless of their destination.
- Joseph Sale, Founder, Optimum Performance / Human Performance Systems
Joe Sale / Gustavo, back in the early days of the UFC / Ultimate Fighting Championships, the moment that stands out in my mind is when Royce Gracie, at 170 lbs stopped Dan Severn, weighing about 250. It verified and validated much of Helio Gracie’s philosophy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. How has Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu changed since the early 1990s?
Gustavo Dantas / As far as MMA goes, Jiu-Jitsu is a requirement to be successful. It is essentially a bad choice to consider fighting MMA without wanting to learn Jiu-Jitsu. Most star UFC fighters will tell you that when they witnessed Royce Gracie defeating larger opponents, they immediately decided that they needed to learn Jiu-Jitsu. In the sport competition scene, Jiu-Jitsu has grown leaps and bounds. A good example of this is when I started promoting Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in 2001, I only had 45 competitors. Now in 2011, I have reached 705 competitors and the numbers are still consistently growing.
Joe Sale / In your early years, were there any specific defining moments that shaped you and put you on the path you are on today?
Gustavo Dantas / I always wanted to compete. The first school I trained with was a self-defense school which didn’t put much interest into competition. I was always asking my instructor about tournaments and I bugged him so much that he finally held an in-house tournament so I could compete. I was about 17 years old and a blue belt and I lost both my matches that day. I thought something was wrong because I attended every single class and did everything that my instructor told me to do and here I was with my blue belt and I didn’t know anything in comparison to the other competitors. That was the day that I decided that I really wanted to improve and compete. I walked into the first Jiu-Jitsu school that I saw that said, “Competition Team”. It was there that I met Fernando Cruz. He asked me if I wanted to try a class before signing-up, but I didn’t need to. From what I saw, I knew that it was the school I wanted to train with. It took me 5 tournaments to win my first match and the following tournament I finally won my division. I tell this story to my students because it helps them to realize that even though you may suffer some losses, hard work and dedication will always pay off. That is how I teach my students and that is also how I live my life.
Joe Sale / Tell us about your program. What kind of classes do you offer?
Gustavo Dantas / Including Kids, Women Only, Beginners, and Mixed Level classes, my program offers 25 classes a week. I focus mainly on traditional, sport Jiu-Jitsu, so my students learn the fundamentals along with how they can apply to competition. It is no secret that my program is geared towards competing in tournaments, so my students become great athletes. Even students who don’t intend on competing can still benefit from the competition styled training. A regular man in his late-30s who works a 9-5 job and has a family can train like a champion and help his team mates prepare for competition. If he ever did want to compete, he can know that he will be given many opportunities to compete within his age, weight, a rank and become a champion himself.
Joe Sale / Anderson Silva is unquestionably one of the best fighters lb for lb in the UFC today. He also has a well established Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game. What makes Anderson Silva so good?
Gustavo Dantas / I don’t personally know Anderson, but it is obvious to see that he is an amazing athlete surrounded by a great coaching team and good people supporting him. You can tell he is a hard-worker and very mentally strong. When you have a full package like that, it’s not hard to believe that he has accomplished all that he has.
Joe Sale / With the guys you coach, how do you shape their Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game to their inherent strengths, for example, tall vs short, explosive vs non explosive, etc?
Gustavo Dantas / I teach all my students everything I know. They are able to pick and choose which techniques and type of game works best for them. When I start to pick up on a student’s habits in training and competition, I offer them advice that I think will help benefit what they are already building for themselves. I also take into consideration their previous background before training Jiu-Jitsu. Did they wrestle in high school? Did they learn Judo? Things like that help me to put together a game plan that can work for them.
Joe Sale / What universal life lessons have you learned over the years that have had the greatest impact on your life?
Gustavo Dantas / I am a huge believer in positive thinking. This is also something I try to pass down to my students, particularly during the peak of competition season. The harder they train keeping themselves positive, the more confidence they build and the greater they believe in themselves.
Joe Sale / What are the biggest setbacks and obstacles you have had to overcome and what was your strategy for working through it?
Gustavo Dantas / When I left Brazil to move to the US, I only had $3000 to my name and the clothes in my bag. I had to learn a new language, adjust myself to the norms of US society, and had to work a number of jobs just to pay the bills. It was very challenging, but I knew that the only way I could make my dreams come true would be to stay in the US, away from all my family, friends, and comforts of home. My goals kept me focused during this time and the positive thinking paid off.
Joe Sale / Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently, knowing what you know now?
Gustavo Dantas / No. I wouldn’t change a thing. I am happy with how my life is now and if I had done anything different in the past, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
Joe Sale / What are your observations on women in Jiu-Jitsu?
Gustavo Dantas / Women’s Jiu-Jitsu has grown so much over the years. More and more women are beginning to train and compete and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Jiu-Jitsu is a sport that really caters itself to women. In a self-defense aspect, women can protect themselves against an attacker who is most likely bigger and stronger than them. It’s so important that, at the very least, women learn basic Jiu-Jitsu techniques that can get them out of a bad situation. At my school, my fiancé, Kristina Barlaan, has been able to start a Women’s Exclusive class to help foster the female students’ feelings of empowerment while training Jiu-Jitsu. She even hosts women only open mats to help build the female Jiu-Jitsu community in AZ and it really has been showing. Her last open mat brought over 60 women on the mat and the amount of women competing in my tournaments has at least tripled in the past 3 years.
Joe Sale / You have earned numerous National and International titles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Which one are you most proud of?
Gustavo Dantas / There are many titles that I have personally accomplished that I am proud of, but honestly, what I’m most proud of are the accomplishments of my team. I have helped change people’s lives and outlooks of themselves, given them confidence in their daily lives, and developed many champions, being able to produce 20 World Championship medalists. For me, that outshines any Gold medal I have won.
Joe Sale / In closing what piece of advice or wisdom can you share with people reading this interview regarding improving their life and reaching goals?
Gustavo Dantas / Achievement begins with belief. I would not have been able to accomplish the things I have if I didn’t believe with my heart that I could get there. It’s very easy to have doubts and worries, but I always try to reinforce that with the belief that I will be able to overcome and work through everything. Just as in Jiu-Jitsu, life will present its road blocks and traps along the way and you must do your best to find a way around them.
Joe Sale / Anything else you would like to add?
Gustavo Dantas / You can find more information about myself, my program, news, and upcoming events at http://www.gdjiujitsu.com/
About Gustavo Dantas
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Gustavo Dantas has over twenty years of experience in jiu-jitsu. Gustavo received his purple belt while training with De la Riva’s black belt Fernando Cruz. Gustavo took 3rd place at the world championships 1996, in the purple/lightweight category, still training with Cruz. After this, he switched to his present team Nova Uniao, where in 1997, he got his first world championship title in the purple/feather weight category. In 1998, Gustavo took the first place again, in the brown/featherweight category.
Photo by Cooperfoto
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