Jacare of Team Alliance

Interview by Rebecca Motte, posted 26 July 2002

I recently attended a Brazilian jiu jitsu seminar taught by Romero 'Jacare' Cavalcanti (http://www.alliancebjj.com ) and hosted by Professor Luis 'Sucuri' Togno at his academy - Sucuri Jiu-jitsu (http://www.sucuribjj.com ) - located in Charlotte North Carolina. The seminar was awesome and very informational and Professor Togno has a wonderful academy with a lot of really good students to train with.

The seminar consisted of a short 15 minute stretching warm up, followed by over 3 hours of intense technique training, followed by some mat time where students could "roll" and try to practice the techniques they had just learned. Jacare and Sucuri were both extremely skilled, helpful and very friendly. Both instructors took a lot of time with the individual students to answer questions and to observe that the students were performing every detail of the techniques correctly.

After the seminar I had the opportunity to interview Jacare as well as photograph one of the techniques which is featured on this site.

Rebecca: When and why did you start training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu?
Jacare: I grew up in Copacabana in a tough neighborhood and because I was very active playing soccer, volleyball and body surfing I felt I needed to learn jiu jitsu to defend myself, I was a skinny kid and you know I had to survive, plus I grew up with the Gracies and it was love for the art as soon as I saw how well it worked in a real situation.

Rebecca: What made you choose Atlanta Georgia for your academy?
Jacare: First I went to Miami for a while then had an invitation to open one school in Atlanta by Dr. John Keating a guy that owned MARS. a company similar to the UFC. in 1996 and after passing some difficulties in the beginning everything started to go well and here I am.

Rebecca: Who do you consider to be your greatest influence in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and why?
Jacare: The biggest influence in my opinion was ROLLS GRACIE he transformed the old jiu jitsu into the one the world knows today.

Rebecca: I have noticed that in a lot of martial arts schools in various styles other than Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, the higher belts and instructors appear more as 'figure heads' within the academy, you never really see them doing anything to put their skills on the line so to speak. In Brazilian Jiu-jitsu it seems the opposite is true. Every academy I have visited and every seminar I have attended, the black belt instructor seems to be in excellent shape, training constantly, and always gets out on the mat and grapples with the students. There seems to be the necessity for the Brazilian Black Belt instructors to continuously prove their skills instead of just SAYING that they are skilled. Why do you think there is this difference?
Jacare: In BJJ. the mat time is very important and I don't know any real black belt that doesn't have to keep himself in shape and roll with the students on a regular basis, of course we have some that receive their belts because they mean business to the instructor, that I don't know, but a real one that really loves and spends the right amount of time to receive the belt from a QUALIFIED INSTRUCTOR doesn't care to much about the belt, just on getting better and learning the real thing.

Rebecca: When the Brazilians first came into the mixed martial arts scene, they took the world by storm -- beating every other stylist with ease much to everyone's surprise. Now, I hear comments that Brazilian Jiu-jitsu has leveled out or may even be on the decline, since other fighters have made a come back and started beating the Brazilians. However, my observation is that these other fighters have started training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in order to accomplish these wins. So, I am not clear what these fighters are bragging about since THEY are using Jiu-jitsu to improve their game. What is your opinion on this?
Jacare: My opinion on this matter is before it was about which martial art is more effective and jiu jitsu proved to provide more tools than any other art then with all fighters learning BJJ.and some being experienced in other styles as well we don't have nothing to prove anymore but if you look at the best NHB. fighters you will see some of the best like Rodrigo Minotauro, Murilo Bustamante, BJ. Penn, Shaolin and others are primarily BJJ. experts.

Rebecca: There are a lot of tournaments popping up everywhere for the grappling arts. It seems that every one you go to has a different set of rules. How do you feel about this and what rules do you prefer to 'play by'? What rules are the most advantageous for a traditional Brazilian Jiu-jitsu stylist.
Jacare: Well we have been having grappling tournaments since 1970 in Brazil and we've developed very good rules that if enforced by good referees it's just perfect, but a lot people here try to make their own rules it's valid to experience new things but we have to be very careful not to dilute the art otherwise in a little while it's gonna be difficult to control, you know, look what they did to the traditional Karate now they have American Karate, Bla Bla Karate etc... JiuJitsu is Jiu Jitsu we perfected in Brazil but then we don't call Brazilian Jiu Jitsu there, we call Jiu Jitsu and that's it.

Rebecca: How do the tournaments in America compare to those in Brazil?
Jacare: In Brazil they are bigger with more competitors, we have been doing longer there than here and we are more organized already, but things are growing here, in a few years it's gonna be the same, if the real instructors get together and plan things well.

Rebecca: I saw your Team Alliance compete at the Pro-Ams 2000 in Raleigh NC and most recently at the ISCF Submission Grappling Tournament in Simpsonville SC. The rules at these two tournaments were about as different as you could possibly get, however, your team dominated at both events. How do you train them to be so diverse?
Jacare: If you are a good instructor and know what you are doing the rules don't matter too much, we adapt to them, so since I started to teach on my own in 1985 my Alliance Team has been very successful always winning many types of tournaments no matter what: sport jiu jitsu, no gi, NHB. submissions you name and we always do well, it is what you train, who do you train with and the tradition you carry what makes the difference and of course some secrets you will just find out if you train with us.

Rebecca: I was very impressed with your fighters skills and also their apparent comradery . They seem more like a 'family' than individual Fighters. Is this something that YOU promote and instill into your team?
Jacare: Despite what some people say we are a real family, we care for each other, we train together, we do a lot of things together too, and I try my best to instill a good team spirit, so we are very close to each other, we really care.

Rebecca: Your Team Alliance is world recognized as the most formidable fighters to go up against, some of the most technical fighters, and one of the most successful winning teams. What factors do you feel are the most important contributing influence on the success of your competition team?
Jacare: As I said before I came from a good background my teacher was Rolls Gracie a legend and I put many years to study and train with the best, now I'm just collecting what I planted before, I have graduated some of the best fighters in the world, is more than 35 years dedicated to train and teach the art, jiu jitsu is my passion, is my life.

Rebecca: You are renown for being one of the best available instructors in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and also as one of the best coaches in the world. Some people are good instructors but can't coach, some the other way around, how is it different being a coach versus being an instructor? Which do you enjoy doing the most?
Jacare: I enjoy both going to the school everyday or going to a tournament makes no difference to me when you love what you do, is the way of life I choose to live, jiu jitsu is what makes me wake up everyday and feel alive.

Rebecca: Watching your fighters compete - they never look as if they get tired or out of breathe, or nervous & tense. They are always relaxed and focused. It has to be grueling training to maintain the superior physical fitness and the mental focus level they appear to have. How do you motivate your team to train this hard and maintain the level of dedication required to compete?
Jacare: Well we train hard everyday, the level of my classes are very high, I try to push my students to do their best in class, so when we compete is just another day, they are prepared for everything, and the rest only coming to try one class you will find out, we have our secret weapons, classes are never boring in my schools, they are always fun and exciting.

Rebecca: You train your fighters in no-gi as well as gi. What do you feel are the merits of each style and is it important to train in both?
Jacare: We train both it makes no difference to us, when you are good and know what to do there is no difference, it's fun to train gi, and no gi.

Rebecca: I don't know how to ask this without sounding negative, but it seems that in America, martial arts students are 'in a hurry' to get their training or their next rank level, as opposed to the Brazilians who seem to be unconcerned about the time required to rank and put more emphasis on details and technical perfection. It seems that there are a lot of 'submission wrestling' classes popping up everywhere as a result of this desire to see progress 'quickly'. How do you feel about this and how does it effect the reputation of true Brazilian Jiu-jitsu?
Jacare: Well I got my black belt at 32 years old, back then it was very hard to achieve that honor, nowadays with more tournaments and more improvement in other areas such as physical, supplements and many other things it can be quicker to achieve your goals, however if you look around in general people are in a hurry to get belts and that is totally wrong, you have to be patient to get there, train with a qualified instructor, check his background, his credentials, be aware that many schools don't teach the real deal

Rebecca: I understand that you are considering organizing a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Federation in America similar to the Confederation in Brazil. What are your plans for this? What goals are you hoping to accomplish with this organization?
Jacare: Yes to organize, to have standards similar to the BJJ Federation, to have decent tournaments, to recognize the real instructors, to show to the general public who is who in BJJ. in America.

Rebecca: I recently read an article in Grappling Magazine about the need to regulate or certify jiu-jitsu instructors in order to govern the legitimacy of the academies and instructors claiming to teach Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Are you in favor of this and do you think it will actually be successful?
Jacare: Its gonna be a long war, some instructors as I said before for business they will do anything, I know cases of people going to seminars and getting graduated to new belts, this is ridiculous but happens all the time, I even heard cases of people promoting themselves, so my advice is check truly your instructors background, ask questions, see who he is under who was his instructor and only then make up your mind who to train with.

Rebecca: I know that there are a lot of Americans that are awarded their blue belts in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, then go out and start their own academy. If these instructors are affiliated with a legitimate black belt like yourself, I can see the benefit of these academies since there are few places in America to get Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instruction. However, many of them have no affiliation, nor do they pursue their training under a legitimate black belt instructor. They justify their credibility to teach by saying 'a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is equivalent to a black belt in any other style'. How do you feel about this? Does this type of thing occur in Brazil?
Jacare: If the student don't check their background and support these fake instructors they only will lose, the real ones even if they are low ranked have to be under someone capable, a real black belt otherwise they are risking a lot and maybe gonna spend money for nothing.

Rebecca: What are some of your goals for your Academy in Atlanta Georgia and for your competition team?
Jacare: My goals is to be one of the best instructors of all times, is to leave a legacy, is to continue to teach and evolve and to have the best team or one of the best always and last but not least to enjoy life and have a good time.

Rebecca: Do you have any other comments that you would like to make.
Jacare: Just to advise everyone to be aware of the non qualified instructors around, also when you join a school work hard to achieve your goals, respect your teacher and partners, have honor and pride, try everyday to be a better person and never give up. Just to finish thanks for the opportunity is always an honor to talk about jiu jitsu.

Rebecca: Thank you for your time, it was truly an honor to talk with you about your life and jiu-jitsu. I am already looking forward to your next seminar.

For details about Jacare or for upcoming seminars visit his website: http://www.alliancebjj.com