Written by John Owning
When you put together a list of the top non-black belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors, GD Jiu-Jitsu/Kimura Nova Uniao athlete Horlando Monteiro is among the first that come to mind.
The 20-year-old burst onto the competitive scene with a gold medal in the absolute division at the European Jiu-Jitsu IBJJf Championship as a blue belt in 2013. Since then, he has added a plethora of titles to his resume; including a stellar campaign as a purple belt in 2015 where he took first place at the middleweight and open weight categories at the Abu Dhabi Pro and a gold medal in the middle weight and bronze medal in open weight at the Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship.
Now as a brown belt, Monteiro, who recently won the IBJJF Santa Cruz BJJ Pro Open Heavy division, wants to continue the success he has had, while becoming a more rounded competitor:
“I’m going to look to win double gold in all tournaments I compete in, but I also want implement new styles into my game little by little to be more complete,” Monteiro said. “Takedowns, guard passes, playing guard, the goal is to be comfortable in any spot.”
Like any athlete that has had as much success as Monteiro, hard work and determination are some of the founding principles of his persona. With Monteiro training Jiu-Jitsu two times per day with three sport specific workouts per week, it is obvious that he understands the type of effort it takes to be among the best. However, Monteiro attributes a lot of his success to an aspect that many athletes ignore, mental training:
“It has helped me a lot in all aspects of life but mainly is before I was worried about the result and what people would think about me if I lost. If I lost people would be disappointed but if I win everybody will like me more is how I felt,” Monteiro said. “The BJJ Mental Coach, Gustavo Dantas, has helped me realize that no matter the result of my match will always support me. I have to focus on my performance, my preparation, things that I can control. It doesn’t matter whether it is in Jiu-Jitsu or in life, you’re always going to fall but it is important that you always get up.”
Even though Monteiro is always working hard at every aspect of his craft, he will make some strategic changed with his training in preparation for a match against the talented Sebastian Brosche at the Copa Podio in January.
“My routine is the same but I like to practice my strong positions that I use in tournaments more. I also like to work out of bad positions more to improve my escapes. On October 13, I will arrive in Brazil to do part of my preparation at Kimura Nova Uniao Natal with master Jair Lorenço,” Monteiro said. “Then I will go to Rio de Janeiro to do a camp for a few weeks with my teammate, Black Belt Brazilian National Lightweight Champion, Luan Carvalho who will be also fighting on the same Copa Podio card.”
Most of the best black belts in Jiu-Jitsu first made their name in the lower belts as they honed their craft. It is always difficult to project the success of an athlete who has yet to compete at the highest level, but Monteiro is as good of a bet as any to develop into one of the stars of the new generation.
Fore more info on Horlando Monteiro, please visit his Facebook athlete page at https://www.facebook.com/Horlando-Monteiro-465896693487836/
