Photo: BJJ Pix

Frenchman Luc Rousseau has been living a crazy BJJ life that has taken him all over the world with his gi. The BJJ brown belt is currently training and competing in Poland. In this interview with BJJ Eastern Europe, the ‘Doberman’ tells us more about his BJJ journey:

Hi Luc, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe? 

Hello, my name is Luc Rousseau, I am a 26 year old French, BJJ Brown belt. I hold a professional MMA record of 5-0. I also competed in amateur pancrase, boxing, full-contact, wrestling. I won competitions at every BJJ belt but nothing major for exemple : Spanish open, European open of a small federation, Macau open, and at brown belt I won Copa America and Rio Summer Open in Rio de Janeiro…

How did you start training?

My story I bieleve is quite crazy especially into martial arts. To make it short, I quit school at 16, started to train krav maga and at that time I was totally lost, ultra rebel and aggressive. I could have ended up in jail. After a lot of adventures I started maybe at 18 yrs to grapple, and at 20 I started BJJ with the gi, in Bayonne, France under Pastel (Rio grappling club). My life then changed, I came back to living with my family and decided to just compete and be a calm person. I got my blue belt in 7 months after competing few times successfully.

Luc took first place at brown belt at Copa America in Rio

You then started travelling a lot to train BJJ and MMA?

Yes, I went to brazil for 2 months in Recife (Gracie barra Pernambuco under Ze Radiola, master of Braulio Estima) where Ze made me believe jiu-jitsu would be my life. I just had to keep going, I then trained in the north of Spain, and got an opportunity to go to teach in Singapore. After 2 years, and also wining some blue belt comps, I got my purple in the airplane lol.

i started living in a locker room 6 months with thai coachs, i have a lot of very very crazy storys lol. But going to compete at purple with only white belt students of 60kg, havin almost every night hookers and drunk thais in the locker room, was part of my life at that time lol.

I joined Evolve fight team in Singapore too, for 3 weeks, when Shinya Aoki also just joined (I could say so much about this whole experience). They proposed me to stay but I left, didnt like it at all.

I went back to France but for sentimental reasons went back to teach in Asia, in Singapore and then in Malaysia. I then decided it was enough waste of my time doing some low level MMA fights without training hard. I felt like i had to chose easy life or go challenge myself and reach my dreams. So i left to Brazil 7 months and a half, at Checkmat Rio, under Ricardo Vieira, and then due to some personal problems, couldnt join the Checkmat Camp in USA. So I went 6 weeks to Cobrinha, to prepare for Worlds, as my house was very near. I then went to kyrgyzstan, needed time to re-think my BJJ career. We opened the first BJJ gym there, with a lot of high level judokas, and wrestlers. I left after 2 months and a half, to follow my own path. And I am now in Poland lol.

You are currently spending time training and competing in Poland. Tell us about the training there, the BJJ scene and about the level of Polish BJJ.

Ok so I am training at Berserker’s headquarter, which is one of the best club in Poland. I have to say, Poland is I believe one of the top top nations of BJJ in Europe, and to be honest, the level from white to brown is tougher here compared to Brazil and USA in my opinion. But it is also a different game. Polish people,  like Scandinavians, are very strong, mentally and physically, love leglocks and defend them well (which is really not the Brazilian style)

I noticed also how Polish peoples dont have much ego, compare to other places….and are really nice to foreigners, which is really not the case in most gyms in Rio for exemple.

Bagi (Polish BJJ legend Piotr Baginski), our coach is a very interesting person, and is truly the viking chief of the team ! I am totally in love with my Polish lifestyle, it is the coolest place I have ever trained in, and I really plan to stay here now if I can survive with money.

Luc at 2013 Worlds

How would you describe your BJJ game?

My bjj game…I used to attack leglocks non stop at brown. I got 90% victories by subs, but I’m trying to evolve to become a complete fighter. I also have a pretty good mix of freestyle-judo takedown game for bjj.

Please tell us about your time in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a beautiful country, with very nice people. I wish them all the best, absolutely everybody there is a boxer, wrestler, sambo or judo guy. I was eating kebabs almost everyday with regular customers having cauliflower ears, same in clubs you could see everybody with a broken nose or cauli ears lol.

What is next for you in 2013/2014?

Well I will be fighting in NAGA europe in Paris november 16, then my main goal is EURO IBJJF in january, then I will still compete around and train in Poland. I then plan to go to the USA for worlds and spend 2-3 months there in San Diego at ATOS with my best friend. I don’t have an ego, I just try to become the best I can, and enjoy life, and BJJ lifestyle the most I can. Actually BJJ has been a passport to a happy life for me so I must not be lazy and give my best.

If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

I’d like to thank my sponsor Ken Fightwear, new brand with a clean mentality of the sport, and of course my amazing family, for their inconditional love, and all my close peoples, you know where I come from and you know where we are going.
Thank you very much for the interview, anyone interested in sponsoring me or any questions, i have a facebook page, Luc “Doberman” Rousseau.
Osss.