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Training Report: Pound for Pound BJJ, Munich, Germany

Training Report: Pound for Pound BJJ, Munich, Germany

 

 

Written by Hugo Miranda, Carlson Gracie Portugal

Recently I had to travel to Munich for work, along with my girlfriend. Since we both train and are sort of addicted to BJJ, bringing a Gi with us wasn’t really a choice, it was a given that we’d train. In the absence of a Carlson Gracie (where we train in Portugal) branch there, we sought the very best next thing, somebody with Carlson Gracie roots, as well as somebody who I knew of before travelling to Munich. Our choice was to visit Pound for Pound – Munich, led by Mr. Sergio Zimmerman “Canudo”.

From the first time I contacted “Canudo” he was very nice and welcoming, telling me that there wouldn’t be any problem for us to come and that we’d be at home. I knew of Sergio because of the time he spent in Portugal and through common BJJ friends, but I had never met him personally.

 

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Sergio 'Canudo' Zimmerman

Sergio ‘Canudo’ Zimmerman

Getting to the academy wasn’t really a problem, save for the fact that German bus drivers aren’t all that nice if you don’t speak their language, but we got there and we brought another friend who does Muay Thai and didn’t want to spend a week away from physical activity.

First thing you see when you arrive is a small room where it says ‘Shoes off’, so we knew we found the right place. At the time there were around 5 people finishing No-Gi class and a lot more waiting for BJJ in the Gi to start. The academy is comprised of large matted area, along with an octagon, a ring and a bunch of punching bags along a wall. The Carlson Gracie logo painted on one of the walls, along with Master Carlson’s picture, made me feel right at home. There are male and female locker rooms and Master Canudo kept reminding the guys to shut the door (I guess men are the same no matter which country we come from, haha). So, the first impression was great. The man is polite, enforces good manners and the gym is clean.

Everybody was friendly in the locker room, nobody giving me the nasty eye or anything of the sort. Moving on to the mat, there was one black belt, a female brown belt, around 6 or 7 purple, 10 blue belts and the rest was white belts. In all we were about 30 people, including almost 10 girls and Canudo tells me there are days with over 40 people on the mat.

Everything was conducted in a very relaxed but very professional way, from the warm-ups to the techniques. The training was comprised of a pretty standard warmup, with all the things that are common in most academies, two techniques explained in a clear way and rolling.

What struck me is that Master Canudo mixes old-school Carlson simplicity with new-age BJJ while keeping the same no-bullshit approach that made Carlson Gracie famous. No flying ninja youtube crap whatsoever. Keep it simple, keep it effective. I absolutely love that. For example, we trained a pass of the fairly new inverted de la Riva guard, but he made it so simple that everybody from white to black could do it.

 

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Both me and my girlfriend had been eating poorly for a week (at our work we couldn’t choose our meals, had to eat what they gave us), and we weren’t feeling so well after a while. Nothing to blame on the training, just on our meals. I ended up only rolling with a white belt and Master Canudo. My girlfriend rarely rolls with other girls so she kept finding other female partners to train with. It was great for her, no guys smashing her finally! The guy I rolled with was a bit heavier than me, but quite technical. Canudo of course destroyed me left, right, up and down. Wristlock, armbars from every possible position… And without using one gram of his strength. Just technique. The sort of thing you expect from a guy who’s been winning tournaments for 20 years. I loved rolling with him.

In the end we ended up talking a little bit, exchanging stories about common BJJ friends and teachers and with him inviting us to come back any time. Sadly because of work we couldn’t, but if we’re ever back in Munich, count on our visit.

I strongly recommend a visit if you’re in that area. The teacher knows his stuff, the students are polite and attentive and much nicer than the average german guy. Same thing with the girls. I had much more to write but this has turned out to be a quite large report, so bottom line is: Highly recommended, go there!