Brown belt world champion Kristian Woodmansee recently left his position as instructor at Drysdale BJJ (Zenith) and joined the all star academy of Atos in San Diego which hosts such studs as Andre Galvao, Keenan Cornelius, JT Torres and much more. The move sparked a lot of controversy and Kristian chose BJJ Eastern Europe to explain his decision:

1. Kristian, you have recently left your position of instructor at Drysdale BJJ to join team Atos in San Diego. What were your reasons for doing so?

The decision to stop training, teaching, and competing for Drysdale was made because I wanted to accomplish specific things. My goals change according to what I accomplish, and the past 2 ½ years have been a success when it comes to that. While with Robert I won 2 Pan American titles, a European title, and a World Championship title, as well as medaled and many others, so I came up with new and exciting goals. Robert is an amazing guy and has helped me get to where I am and for that I am thankful. At the end of the day I looked at what I wanted to accomplish and how I was going to make it all work. The only thing that came to mind and I was sure of was Atos. I am the type of person that needs to be in a specific kind of environment to thrive. I will make more progress as a jiu jitsu practitioner from this point forward then I have thus far.

2. What are the main similarities and differences between these 2 academies?

I have trained at many places all over the country and for the most part they are all the same. I believe that everyone is different, and anyone can benefit training anywhere honestly. But I think each person uniquely progresses according to the environment they decide to train in. With that being said, certain academies better serve certain athletes because of who they are as individuals.

3. What are your next BJJ goals?

I want to be great at jiu jitsu, and grow more as an individual mentally first and foremost.
I will be going to Brazil to compete in the No Gi Nationals. If I win, I will grand slam as a brown belt (Pan Am, World, European, Brazilian National title consecutively)
Compete in the 2015 ADCC’s.

4. How did the guys at Atos welcome you?

Its only been a short period of time, and with worlds just taking place a lot of the guys are resting or teaching seminars. Thus far everyone that knows and I have trained with are fine with it. No one from ATOS has had anything negative to say at all. I am sure I am more excited than they are, but given time and proving my worth I hope to one day acquire their respect and trust as a teammate.

5. How do you see Zenith BJJ doing on the competition scene?

I think Zenith will continue to grow and I wish them the best. I have close friends that compete in all different affiliations and I see a lot of guys going far in this sport.

6. Tell us about time spent recently teaching and competing in Europe.

It was awesome. It was my first time in Europe and surely wont be my last. Everyone was really friendly and it was a great experience to compete in Rome. I even made some life long friends that I will see often. After competing I went to the UK and taught which was awesome, teaching seminars internationally is something I always want to do and I am looking forward to going back next year.