Shanti Abelha is a Brazilian-Danish top black competitor who trains out of Arte Suave academy  (home to Alexander Trans, Ida Hanson, Janni Larsson etc..) in Copenhagen, Denmark. She talked to BJJ Eastern Europe about how she combines her demanding job as an engineer with competition training. She also talked the mindset to have when facing world class opponents. 

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

A first degree black belt training out of the ArteSuave/CheckMat academy in Copenhagen, Denmark. My main achievements this year are winning gold in my weight and open class at the 2014 European Championships Master’s division and bronze in the World Championships. It’s my fifth bronze at adult black belt level at World’s, so I’m always consistently medalling at the top level. I also participated in ADCC in 2009, but haven’t had the time to prioritise No-Gi training much since then.

You are one of the top worldwide BJJ competitors. How did you discover BJJ and how did you start training?

I was doing some Kung Fu for self-defence, but realised that I also needed to learn some “ground self-defence”. At around the same time, I went to Brazil on an exchange programme for my university studies, and my cousin there kept bugging me to try out BJJ, so I did. I figured it would be good to learn. I actually didn’t like it the first few months, but I was determined to learn it, and then somehow I just never stopped! That was over nine years ago, and of course now I love it.

Shanti, Shimon Mochizuki, Leozinho Vieira, Ida Hansson

Nowadays competitors at your level train full time. How are you able to combine your hectic job as an engineer and a competition training schedule? What’s your secret?

I don’t have any secret. I work hard, just like everyone else. I finished my Master’s degree in 2007, same time as I won World’s at blue belt. Since then, I have been juggling a career within management and consulting during the day, and trying to get as much training in as possible in the evenings. It’s tough, and I’ve made a lot of sacrifices, and I don’t have much free time (I have yet to go to the cinema this year!!). It’s worth it for me, for now. Not so much for the medals, but for everything else BJJ gives me. I love the training, the challenge of competing, the endless possibilities for improving. Through BJJ, I’ve travelled to so many wonderful places, met so many amazing people, gave seminars places I would probably never have gone to otherwise. One day, my priorities will have to change if I want to have a family, but for now, I am enjoying it as much as I can.
To keep up at the top level, I’m a firm believer in planning, consistency, good habits, and in making sure you are surrounded by people who can help you achieve your goals. It’s important to be effective (do the right thing) and efficient (with least possible time/energy use). I am thinking of doing a blog series at some point (when I have time…hahaha) about how to be succesful in BJJ without training full-time.
Usually, I train BJJ 3-4 times a week, including teaching once a week. On top of that, I try to do about 2 strength and conditioning sessions a week, usually only about an hour long each. A month out from the big competitions like European’s and World’s, I can usually be a little flexible at work and get a morning session in 2x a week, and make an extra effort to get to the gym early after work so I can drill and/or do a double class. I am always analysing my game, and I use the Jiu-Jitsu Journal to plan my training.

Please tell us about your BJJ instructor Shimon Mochizuki and your academy and team Arte Suave which has produced mutiple world champions.

As I often say to other who ask about this, I think Shimon and the other founders of ArteSuave have done something unique and incredible, at least within Europe. No other gym in Europe has so many high-level fighters medalling at the big tournaments, and definitely no other gym whose founder isn’t Brazilian and who didn’t have a black belt from the start.
We have existed for about 12 years, and the gym started in a time when a blue belt in Scandinavia was considered a celebrity, and when VHS tapes and trial-and-error were the main sources of techniques. I myself joined in less than nine years ago, at a time were we had a few training slots in a government-owned sports facility, and had to put mats in place before each training (and pile them up again afterwards).
From there, we have grown to have our own space, which has now expanded to two floors, many classes, and more people training than I can remember. Shimon is not Brazilian, and has never had consistent daily instruction from a black belt. Of course, we have received a lot of support from the whole CheckMat family, but everything here was built up not just from the ground, but from the foundations!
We have really great training, I have travelled a lot and not that many other gyms can provide the level of training that we have, and the diversity in terms of styles. Our good reputation is spreading, and we often have guests who come and train with us when visiting Copenhagen, or come and spend a period of time training with us.

What do you think about the growth of BJJ and MMA in the Denmark? What are threats and opportunities for them there? How does it compare with the other Scandinavian countries?

BJJ and MMA is growing here at a steady pace, but still a little slower than the other Scandinavian countries. Luckily, you can say that the Danish BJJ and MMA scene is more about quality than quantity!! Besides top BJJ athletes, Denmark also has some really good MMA fighters doing well internationally, like Nicolas Dalby, Mikkel Parlo and our own Joachim Christensen (also an ArteSuave black belt).
Unfortunately the public is still a little slow on getting hooked on MMA, and even though there have been several really good attempts at MMA promotions making a breakthrough with the general public through TV deals etc, MMA is not as popular yet as it is in e.g. Sweden.

How would you describe your BJJ game?

I like to think I have a technical game – I rarely have the strength or size to use that as a main attribute! In the gym, I like to go at a high pace when my stamina is good enough for it, but that rarely shows at competitions. By now, I am equally comfortable on top and bottom, I think it is very important to be well-rounded at the black belt level. You don’t see me pulling off many fancy moves – I keep to safe, high-percentage techniques based on having a good BJJ foundation, and I prefer to look for holes in my opponents’ game than to try and force my own moves through. It all comes back to the time factor. If you want to be good at positions like the berimbolo, you need to spend a lot of mat time drilling just that, and I don’t have that time. I pick and choose techniques that I can see easily fit into my game.
Tell us a bit about your mindset when you’re competing against the world elite.

This is a tough one for me. For a long time I didn’t believe I could win over people training three times as much as me, so I was mentally “behind” before the fight even started. That hampered not just the result of the fight, but also my performance during the fight. Whether I win or lose, the most important thing for me is to do my best! And to do that I have to believe that I can win. So I fixed that, and now I believe in myself a lot more.
My biggest confidence when I step on that mat is always that no matter how good my opponent is, or how hard the fight is going to be, it’s never going to be any tougher than sparring with my coach and some of my training partners!

What has been the pinnacle of your career so far? What’s next for you and your team?

For me, I don’t believe in pinnacles, I don’t think like that, it’s always about improving. I had a really good year in 2014 so far, haven’t lost a fight on European ground yet this year, but I am always looking to do better. I considered “retiring” from Adult World’s and start fighting Master’s, but after a good chat with Leo Vieira I am still looking at giving it one more shot in 2015, I know I have it in me to do better than a bronze medal!
Besides that, ArteSuave just started a really exciting project, there is now a formal Elite Team for the serious competitors, which is going to ensure the right structure and support to current and future athletes. We have some great up-and-coming competitors in blue belt, so look out for us at European’s 2015!

Also, I really enjoy coaching and teaching, and look forward to doing more of that.

Thanks Shanti and all the best.

Thank you BJJ Eastern Europe for your interest in me and this interview. I would also like to thank my sponsors Shoyoroll, Biohack.dk, selecteddesign.dk and Crossfit Copenhagen as well as my coaches and teammates. Please follow me on Instagram @shantibjj.
See you on the mats!