Jeff Graham has been training BJJ since 1997. In this time, he has trained in Hawaii, The Philippines and Las Vegas where he is an instructor at Carlson Gracie Las Vegas. In this interview with BJJ Eastern Europe, Jeff tells us about his interesting BJJ story:
1. Hi Jeff, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe?
Hello BJJEE! My name is Jeffrey Calma Graham, I’m 33 years old, brown belt under Ricardo Cavalcanti ( Carlson Gracie lineage) I was born in Tucson Arizona USA but moved to the Philippines when I was 14 years old. I lived in Manila until 2012. I’m based in the US as of now. Profession: security field.
I train at Carlson Gracie Team in Las Vegas, Nevada. My last tournament win was at NAGA Las Vegas in 2008.
2. Please tell us about your Jiu-Jitsu story.
Jeff with Ali Sulit
My BJJ journey started back in 1996 when I saw Royce Gracie fighting in the UFC. I was really shocked how a 180lb guy could beat opponents much bigger than him! Usually outweighing him by 40-50 lbs! I had no idea what Royce was doing but I wanted to try it. There was this old martial arts store located in Green Hills, San Juan, Metro Manila. It’s was called Squadron. My best friend Jed Escueta was also into Jiu Jitsu during the time and we got the whole set of Gracie Jiu Jitsu basisc by Rorion and Royce. Jed was my only training partner and we would watch the tapes and try to do the techniques to each other. We had no idea about drilling or the dynamic of leverage/control. I would use flattened out card board boxes covered by a thick blanket as our mats. I remember having the worst bruising after rolling. We had no idea what we were doing but it was really fun to tap each other out! We both didn’t have kimonos, so it was our mission to get our own. I started saving my lunch money so that I could get one. During the time, I had a cousin living near Torrance California where the Gracie Academy was located. I really wanted an official Gracie Academy gi so I asked my cousin to get it for me. My buddy Jed was able to find a Judo gi at Squadron. We would roll as much as we could all while studying the tapes and looking at the pics in grappling magazines. We had no official training and we didn’t know of any schools teaching BJJ in the Philippines.
I had my first experience in Gracie Jiu Jitsu during a vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii. I went to the Gracie Academy located in koko head. When I walked in the door, there were stairs heading up to the academy. Once I got to the top, all I could see was this giant green mat that looked like you could have 15 pairs rolling at once! To the left of the mat was an office where I was greeted by a man in a kimono that looked very familiar. It was Royce’s older brother Relson. I was really excited to be in the presence of a Gracie! All he said was, have you trained Jiu Jitsu before? I said, just from Gracie Academy tapes. He smiled at me and said, follow me. He took me to a room where they had semi private lessons with 5-6 people. It was great learning from 7th degree red/black belt! I remember getting tapped by everyone in the class! It was a learning experience to say the least. I actually still use the techniques he taught.
When I got back to Manila, I was excited to tell Jed about my time at the Gracie Academy. I had a gracie academy shirt and patch for him, that he still has to this day. I think the shirt was too big though!
We would continue practicing the tapes for another six months, rolling everyday and trying to invent our own moves. It was fun.Jed and I eventually lost touch because his parents put him in a different school.
Jeff with Ricardo Cavalcanti
From time to time, I would visit that old martial arts store squadron, and look for new tapes. I was able to to find Gracie intermediate and advanced. When I was paying for the tapes, I saw an ad on the wall. It said Carlson Gracie Jr Team and a contact number. I couldn’t believe it! There was a BJJ school in the Philippines! I called the number and got an answering machine. I left my info and got a call later that day. I spoke with a guy that sounded American but wasn’t too sure. He introduced himself as Myles. He mentioned that they would be having a private invitation for people that wanted to train Bjj. I was interested right away!
The meeting took place in green hills at a Starbucks. I brought my friend Andre with me since he was interested in Jiu Jitsu as well. We arrived a little early and we both got something to drink. While waiting, we saw a group of guys coming up the stairs to the Starbucks. The whole group was wearing Carlson Gracie team shirts with the bulldog logo on it. It was Myles Vives, Don Cunanan and Paolo. I can’t remember his last name. They were really nice guys so Andre and I signed up right away!
We eventually met Myles other two brothers, Mark and Mike. Both really cool guys. Myles and Mike were both blue belts during the time and Mark was still white. Today, all three brothers are black belts.
I was training with them for almost a year then I had to stop since I was starting my first year of college. So for the next couple of years, I would get to train here an there but wasn’t really dedicated since college was taking up so much of my time.
In 1999, I was back in the US for a year since I took a year off from college to work. I trained at J-SECT Jiujitsu under John Lewis for about a year. John was the head of Nova Uniao USA and black belt under Andre Pederneiras. While there, I got to train with some of the biggest names in BJJ and MMA. Marc Laimon, who later on started Cobra Kai was teaching most of the classes. BJ and JD Penn would stop by for weeks at a time and this was before BJ was even doing MMA. BJ was pure BJJ. This phenom purple belt named Robert was one of my training partners and was the first guy who taught me spider guard. Today is he is one of the most accomplished BJJ guys out there. He’s Robert Drysdale.
In 2003, I started training under Ricardo Cavalcanti and I’ve been under him for 10 years.
3. Please tell us about your experience teaching and training Jiu-Jitsu in the Philippines. How do you view the bjj scene there?
Teaching in the Philippines was a great experience and a challenge at the same time. When Bjj first hit the scene in Manila, it was mostly private gyms and by invitation only. Nobody was cross training at other gyms. There was a lot of politics among gyms and that’s what slowed the growth of BJJ in the Philippines.
It wasn’t til Stephen Kamphuis started to organize Bjj competitions in the Philippines. The first big competition was the BJJ OPEN in 2004. He was basically the bridge that helped pave the way for other gyms to compete with one another in fair competition. He is doing a great job and today, Stephen is recognized by the IBJJ and holds several competitions every year. Ali Sulit is also one to mention. He organizes the rollapalooza competitions and he’s been doing very well with that. Training is top notch in the Philippines. Atos Philippines is the most successful team right now and they always do well in local competitions. Ali Sulit, Ralph Go, Carlo Pena and Eros Baluyot have been making waves at international competitions such as the Asian championships, Worlds and Pan Ams.
4. Please tell us about your BJJ academy and team in Las Vegas, and your instructor (s).
I train/teach at Carlson Gracie Team Las Vegas. We have a very successful team and have done very well in competitions. We compete at all the competitions held here in vegas as well the Pan Ams and Worlds in California. We have standout names like Romulo Caiado, the Alvarez brothers, Antonio Lopez, Cierra Smith and Taylor Leonardi.
Our head coach is Ricardo Cavalcanti. He’s a 5th degree black belt under Carlson Gracie Sr. One of the few names on the black belt list of Carlson. He’s a great coach and gives his all to his students. He’s like father to us.
5. How would describe your bjj style and game?
I have a very relaxed basic game/style. I like to play a very open game with spider guard and dela riva. I have so many favorite Bjj players that I try to emulate such as Michael Langhi, Marcelo Garcia, Leo Viera and Braulio Estima. . I’m not a big fan of the berimbolo, 50/50 etc. You definitely need to know them and how to defend them especially if you compete a lot.
6. What’s next for you and your team in 2013?
I will be doing IBJJ World masters this year and IBJJ Vegas Summer International open. As for the team and those who compete, we all just want to improve our games and get better. We will be bringing in a lot of high level black belts to help out and do seminars.
Jeff with BJ Penn
7. If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free
I’d like to thank Guillaume of BJJEE for this opportunity, Jose Tugas of Jotunn kimonos for sponsoring me. Will always support you bro! My best training partner, Romulo Caiado for always beating me up and helping me improve my game and lastly, my Coach Ricardo Cavalcanti for supporting me and helping my dreams become a reality. “Nothing is more important than Jiu Jitsu” OSSS
8. Thanks Jeff and all the best!
