Sebastian Brosche is one of the biggest European BJJ hopes. He is a brown belt in BJJ and second degree black belt in judo. He was raised in Northern Sweden and is currently living in in Oslo – Norway with his fiance Stine. He won the Mundials 2010 in purplebelt, both middle-heavy and absolute. He won European Open in white, blue and purple and World Pro qualifier in London 2011. In 2013 He has also won the World Pro and 3rd place at the IBJJF worlds at brown belt. Sebastian has a website called YOGA FOR BJJ.
Sebastian first of all congratulations on the silver and bronze at the Europeans. What did you think of this year’s event and about your performance?
Thank you BJJEE! I think the event has grown out of proportion to the arena, and that JiuJitsu is becoming a big sport. The staff and structure has improved massively since the first time I was there in 2007, and except from the issue of not having a place to sit down, I think the event was a huge success.
Since I got to fight 8 times against very skilled opponents, I feel more than happy with the results. Watching the fights in replay, it is obvious how much there is to improve, and going back to training feels great.
I watched a few of your matches and was really impressed by your cat like reflexes and amazing balance and flexibility. How much does yoga have do with that?
From my past judo days my base has been decent, but some years of yoga has improved the precision of my movement dramatically.
Reflexes can only come from hours of sparring with different opponents, but the way I feel yoga has helped most for this championship is the factor of energy conservation.
I did not have time to prepare at all for this weekend in Portugal, and still after 8 fights I felt like there was plenty of gas left in the tank.
As a purple belt (before yoga) my only plan was to gas out my opponents with unlimited cardio, but as the years are passing and a new breed of fighters are entering the scene my only chance to stay on top is to play smarter.
Why should a grappler incorporate Yoga into his or her training regiment and which are the greatest benefits ?
This is my top 9 benefits for grapplers:
- Lesser injuries.
- Better breathing [huge!]
- Better use of energy, so you can spar more.
- Moving smoother and quicker.
- Increased flexibility, of course.
- More powerful submissions and being able to hold them much longer.
- Improved balance,base and control from top.
- Your core will get much stronger, and this will help all aspects of your game.
- The number one thing for me is the mental calmness (Keeping Cool) you get from yoga, which is paramount and crucial in a big tournament.
The more i practice Yoga and BJJ, the more similar they become. The underlying principles for improving in both genres are the exact same, so they improve and boost each other. If you are into BJJ for the long run, then Yoga is your greatest tool to stay healthy and nimble, no matter how old you get.
How often and how long should a grappler train yoga?
The simple and most honest answer is: The more the better. When you practice yoga with the right mindset, it is not possible to overtrain. Starting your day with a easy flow, and finishing the day with some relaxing stretching will 100% guaranteed transform you, as a grappler and a person.
(and when you start finding your favorite exercises and start warming up before class with yoga, great things will happen in sparring)
When and why did you start doing yoga?
I started with yoga when I met my fiancee Stine, a little over three years ago.
I went from having serious troubles with my body to enjoy training and sparring more than i ever did before.
Can doing Yoga and BJJ everyday replace the more conventional strength and conditioning model of supplemental training for BJJ? Please explain how.
To put it very simple; the more yoga you practice, the more BJJ you can train.
Yoga makes you sleep better, it relaxes your nervous system, and helps your muscles heal faster. When you have made practicing Yoga into a habit you will be able to train much more than you would think possible, if that is what you desire.
What advice would you give a BJJ player who wants to start Yoga? How frequent. What benefits will they achieve.
The main advice and rule number one is definitely: Go easy.
BJJ is tough and hard, so Yoga should not be practiced with a “no pain no gain”-mindset.
Instead of going hard and long for one class per week, try 10 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes after training and do that every day for two weeks.
Persistence and patience is the two main ingredients for progress in this practice.
Please tell us more about Yoga for BJJ.
Every week someone sends me an email with something similar to this:
“Hi Seb, I am John, 43 year old blue belt. I have practiced Yoga for BJJ for 3 weeks now, and it feels soo good! My knees are better, and the lower back pain i used to have after sparring is completely gone. Thanks for awesome videos, and keep it up!”
This makes me happy, because the very reason I started yogaforbjj.net is because people who want to have BJJ as a lifestyle has to stay away from injuries and take care of their bodies. Nothing is more inspiring than a middle-aged person deciding to jump in to the crazy world of BJJ, and many of the defiently need some advice and help how to take care of their shoulders, knees, hips and spine. I’m here to help.
What are your plans for 2015?
Stine and I are getting married in July, and we are dedicated to find space in our schedule to train more BJJ together. World pro and World championships are my competition goals, and I will put my 100% into finally win worlds in brown belt.
If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free
I want to thank the whole BJJ community for watching out for each other and making BJJ into a special sport with both feet firmly on the ground.
Roll Supreme deserves a thank you for high quality Gi’s that are great for me to compete in.
I feel happy to live and train in Oslo with my friends and partners at Frontline academy, which you all are more than welcome to visit if you are in Norway.
