1.Camil , please present yourself to our community, where are you from, how old are you, what do you do for a living?
Hello, I am from Bucharest, Romania , 25 years old. Since I graduated university (3 years ago) I founded a small IT business. I try to be as professional as I can in both directions (IT business consultant and BJJ fighter). If you do not work in the law enforcement, security companies, etc. I think that owning a business is the next best thing in order to have time for training every day and still have enough money to support your trips for competitions, seminars, equipment needs, lifestyle, etc.
2. Please tell us how you got started in bjj , your bjj journey and who did you train under?
I started bjj in January 2009, at our best bjj club in Romania, http://absoluto.ro/ under Tudor Mihaita ‘s guidance (he was a purple belt at that time under Eddie Kone, black belt, UK). A friend explained to me the fitness benefits of practicing grappling sports. When I was in high school I played professional basketball until the first year in university and after that I got quickly overweight, in 2 years reaching 152 kg (aprox. 335 pounds ), from 100 kg. I knew that I had to do something about it, and I could not get motivated to work out in the fitness gym so I tried a new approach with BJJ.
At first because I did not have a strong knowledge about grappling sports, I thought that it wasn’t as efficient as striking sports, but that if it gets me very tired, it is good for losing fat.
After 3 or 4 weeks I started to understand the basics in using leverage, weight and strong positions in order to dominate your opponent. I started to realize that just a small guy can sweep me, throw me, dominate or put me to sleep. It was a big shock for me, as I was starting to understandow how efficient grappling is.
In the summer of 2009 I was boarding a plane with Tudor (my coach) and some other close friends from our team to train in Brazil, for 2 weeks. One week in Buzios at Felipe Costa’s beach house and another week in Rio de Janeiro, at all the big teams. There, I think, was the first time when I was really thinking that I want to have this BJJ lifestyle for the rest of my life. I realized that I was really happy, that I made lots of new friends and brothers and that I was living a really healthy lifestyle.
I had trained with my first instructor and also, one of my best friends, Tudor Mihaita. Three or four times per year our head coach, Eddie Kone visits us and shows us techniques and new moves.
3. Camil, you have won almost everything in Europe at all belt levels. Can you tell more about how you train? What type of strength and conditioning routine do you do etc..
My training week looks like this :
Monday : judo x 1,5 h , bjj x 2 h
Tuesday : conditioning x 1 h , bjj x 1.5 h
Wednesday : judo x 1,5 h , bjj x 2 h
Thursday : bjj x 1.5 h
Friday : conditioning x 1 h, bjj x 2 h
Saturday : conditioning x 1 h, bjj x 2 h
Sunday : FREE
Supplements : Protein shakes and Animal Pak .
*before major competitions I don’t do the judo workouts 1 month ahead and with one week before I also don’t do the conditioning . Just easy sparring in Bjj.
Yes, all I do is work and train, except half of Saturday and all Sunday when I spend all my time with my fiancée. The only thing that I am not happy with is eating healthier and sleeping more, but I am sure I will get them going this year.
4. What has been your biggest success so far?
The biggest thing that I am proud of, is winning the European title in 2010 (white) , 2011 (blue) and 2012 (purple) in the adult division .
5. Whats next in store for you in 2012?
My next target is the Worlds 2012, in California , where I will go with my team members . I will also try to have a good run in the open division. We will represent our sponsor that covered all our expenses: DUREX (laughs).
6. Do you plan on competing in MMA in the future ?
Until now I did not feel the need to compete in MMA. From time to time I attend MMA sparring sessions with my teammates, but only to see how efficient my grappling skills are and to remember that we are not just playing chess.
