Written By Ivan Miroslavov Dimitrov
On December the 1st a real live jiu jitsu legend held a seminar in Sofia, Bulgaria. Master Luiz Palhares a 7th degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coral belt, three times Pan-Am champion and 1998 Brazilian national champion was invited by Fight Club Bully Team`s leader Sevastiyan Kostov for a stop in the newly founded dojo where the team trains together with one of the best BJJ in Bulgaria – Twisted Jiu-Jitsu. Undoubtedly, this event was a very inspiring one for all martial arts fan that joined the sessions with such a senior trainer. Being a direct student of Rolls and then of Rickson Gracie, he is actually a live witness of the development of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu back in the 80s and 90s which makes his character even more interesting one, because he actually could be considered a “walking history book” of BJJ.
Master Palhares, who currently trains the U.S. military and law-enforcement officers in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, received his black belt back in 1984. A student under the one and only Helio Gracie and his son – probably the most dominant BJJ fighter who ever lived – Rickson Gracie spent a large part of his life and BJJ career in Rio. Then he moved to the USA where he settled down in Florida and started his own school there. Since then he is trying to spread the art of BJJ teaching and organizing different tournaments and events.
Having said all of this every one can easily imagine the excitement of all the participants in the seminar. To learn from such a distinguished teacher was definitely an early Christmas gift for everyone. Everybody was eager to meet this great teacher and to experience some classical Jiu-Jitsu. Before the seminar itself we had the opportunity to train for two days with Master Palhares. During that time he showed us a few simple but yet effective techniques. They were a testimony that when you get in trouble, it is not the fancy stuff that is going to save you, but the good old basics. All of us managed to polish their game and to find additional details regarding moves that looked easy and familiar. More than twenty five people attended this seminar and enjoyed the excellent and relaxed atmosphere. Among our foreign guests was Bosnia`s Dragan Pesic, the former K1 and King of the Ring champion, who currently competes in UCFC and didn’t miss the chance to add some techniques to his ground arsenal. Master Palhares helped everyone to add nice and easy to learn throws, sweeps, and submissions to their arsenal, and to further understand the biomechanics behind every move. In the end, only with proper understanding of the basic features of the game one could be successful in mastering the more advanced techniques and positions.
For everyone who loves this sport it is a dream to visit Brazil and train there at least once in their lifetime. Some people may never get the chance to visit Brazil but during this weekend they still had the chance to touch and learn from a renowned teacher who has been around some of the biggest names in our sport! A huge THANK YOU to Master Luiz Palhares for his time with us! Oss!
