Written by Jessica "The Proud Chicana" Martinez
10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder, Eddie Bravo, has been no stranger to resistance and negative criticism in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts community. A pioneer of the No Gi sport, it's not surprising that he has some haters. It's almost certainly a requirement to stir up controversy as a pioneer within any industry; Madonna and Tupac in music, D.W. Griffith and Michael Moore in film, and Charles Darwin in Science. Even after submitting the legendary Royler Gracie at the 2003 Abu Dhabi Championships in San Paulo, Brazil, many in the BJJ community still claim Eddie Bravo isn't the real deal. But Eddie doesn't let any of it detour him from his journey of success. In fact, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu is stronger than ever and will be making its debut on the silver screen soon. Never Back Down 2 is currently in production, and promises to appeal to the MMA community, unlike the first installment. Eddie takes a few moments to discuss where it all began and how Hollywood came to knock on his door.
Eddie "The Twister" Bravo, 40, began his wrestling training in 8th grade, and continued for a couple of years. He became really good at securing and executing "the twister", known as the wrestlers guillotine in H.S. wrestling. When he started training Jiu-Jitsu, Eddie kept the twister in his arsenal and began applying it when opportunities presented themselves. "There was already a 'guillotine' in Jiu-Jitsu, submission wrestling and wrestling, so Jean Jacques (Machado) would always just call it "the twister". I actually hated that name, it sounded conceited. But it stuck, and when people started yelling out the name in tournaments, I kinda started liking it."
In 1992 at the age of 23, Bravo began his martial arts training in Karate. He trained for about a year before moving on to a Jeet Kune Do concepts in 1994. Around the same time, Bravo began his Jiu-Jitsu training with Machado. He cross trained both martial arts for about 2 1/2 years before discontinuing his Jeet Kune Do training, to focus solely on Jiu-Jitsu. I've noticed that Bravo wears a Karate patch on his blue Gi pants, so I inquire what his rank is. "I think I had 2 or 3 green stripes on my white belt, which is hilarious. I have the Karate patch because it looks cool. It's a guy breaking bricks or boards. I wear it because I love the patch, not because I'm representing Karate."
Bravo began his teaching career in 2003 at "The Bomb Squad" owned by Chris Reilly. In 2007, Reilly teamed up with a couple of famous former heavyweight MMA Champions to form LA's first premiere MMA facility, changing the name to "Legends". "We moved gym locations a few times, but I've been with Chris since the beginning." Eddie is aware he has many critics out there who claim his Jiu-Jitsu system is not legit. He pauses a moment before stating. "It's not legit 'Gi' Jiu-Jitsu, but it's legit 'No Gi' Jiu-Jitsu."
There were recent reports that Bravo left the UFC to focus on training and cornering some of his top MMA fighters. "George Sotiropoulos and Dan Hardy are my two top UFC fighters. I quit the UFC temporarily to corner George because I was working in the production booth working on the grappling replays and at first, they didn't want me to do both, they wanted me to pick one or the other, and now they are letting me do both. So I'm actually back with the UFC. I'm cornering fighters when I have to, and when I'm not doing that, I'm in the truck helping out with the replays."
I ask Bravo if he has any female MMA fighters. "I have an aspiring female MMA fighter, Gabby Falabella, who's 15 and trains out of 10th Planet Delaware. She's dedicated to becoming an MMA fighter, but she still has a few years before that can happen. 15 to 18 is a long time when you think about it. I think she has what it takes. She's naturally gifted. She's a great grappler. If she can stay on the right track, she definitely has the potential to make some noise in female MMA." I mention to Bravo that I am an amateur MMA fighter myself representing 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. I share my aspirations of going pro sometime in the near future. "Nice, I guess I do have a female MMA fighter. Check it out!" We discuss my upcoming November title fight. "That's awesome! Good luck with that and keep me posted."
On my recent August trip to California, I was able to train with Eddie again, this time at the new headquarters location of Legends in Hollywood. As always, his classes are priceless. He's an incredible instructor who takes the time to explain complex submissions to the advanced class, which even a beginner like me understands. I happened to drop in on a class with not only very talented grapplers, but also a couple of 10th Planet instructors, Alder Hampel and Scott Epstein. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend you stop in and check out his classes!
With Bravo's unique instructional techniques, he is highly sought after for seminars all around the world. When asked what some of his favorite places to teach at have been "Stockhom, Sweden and Buenos Aires, Argentina were probably the coolest places that I've taught at so far."
In regards to the controversy surrounding his well known advocacy for Marijuana, Eddie had this to share: "People who are going to criticize me probably just haven't done the research on marijuana; the history of the plant. I'm interested in teaching the kids the truth about everything. I'm not interested in lying to them. I disagree with people who want to lie to youth until they are 18 or 21 or whatever, about pot. I think you should tell them the truth. Obviously people don't agree with that." I ask what his response is about critics who attempt to discredit him and his system due of his marijuana use. "I think it's funny. It's all part of the process. Without all the resistance it wouldn't be as sweet. I'm loving it. None of that affects me at all in a negative way. If anything, it motivates me."
In a recent interview with Aaron Tru, Eddie discussed his desire at a Jiu-Jitsu rematch with Royler Gracie. I inquire if he'd be open to an MMA fight against Royler. "I would do an MMA match with Royler. I've said that before actually in other interviews. I would do it in a heartbeat."
Bravo had this to share about the recent reports that he and his system would be a part of the sequel to Never Back down. "I was brought in as a consultant on the script. The first Never Back Down, although it was the biggest MMA movie to date, was pretty weak. The script was filled with holes. Anybody that was hardcore into MMA saw that. It wasn't that great of a script, bottom line." For this next installment, a whole new cast has been brought in, as well as a new director and producer. "Michael Jai White of Spawn, and the Mike Tyson HBO movie, was brought in to produce, direct and star in the movie. He then recruited me as a consultant. I've been given a small role in the film. I'll be playing a dj/ring announcer for an underground illegal event. I'll also be involved in the music supervision for the film. At least one of my songs ‘I did it for Jiu-Jitsu’ by Compella & The Twister featuring Rakaa from Dilated Peoples, will be used. One of my Black Belts, Scott Epstein, has been cast as the lead villain in the film. He's also choreographing fight scenes. Filming begins in October in New Orleans. We're going to have fun with it and make it as legit as possible. The script has already been rewritten a couple of times. The main focus for Michael Jai White is to make it as legitimate as possible. There's gonna be lots of rubber guard and lots of twister in the movie too. He's a big fan of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. At the very least, for the people in my association, it should be entertaining to watch on the big screen."
I'm curious as to how it feels to have come such a long way from his humble beginnings, to which Bravo replies "It's surreal and amazing. I keep pinching myself to make sure it's happening and sure enough, it is. We're positive we'll get at least a nationwide release with this film."
Bravo is also working on a new book "Advanced Rubber Guard" which will pick up where the first book left off. "A lot has changed since that book was written. All the latest transitions, sweeps, submissions, it'll all be in there."
Eddie would like to extend a personal invitation to his newly revamped site. “All techniques on 10thplanetjj.com are free until October 1st, so go register today!”
Friday, 24 September 2010
Last Updated ( Friday, 24 September 2010 )
Next >
10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder, Eddie Bravo, has been no stranger to resistance and negative criticism in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts community. A pioneer of the No Gi sport, it's not surprising that he has some haters. It's almost certainly a requirement to stir up controversy as a pioneer within any industry; Madonna and Tupac in music, D.W. Griffith and Michael Moore in film, and Charles Darwin in Science. Even after submitting the legendary Royler Gracie at the 2003 Abu Dhabi Championships in San Paulo, Brazil, many in the BJJ community still claim Eddie Bravo isn't the real deal. But Eddie doesn't let any of it detour him from his journey of success. In fact, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu is stronger than ever and will be making its debut on the silver screen soon. Never Back Down 2 is currently in production, and promises to appeal to the MMA community, unlike the first installment. Eddie takes a few moments to discuss where it all began and how Hollywood came to knock on his door.
Eddie "The Twister" Bravo, 40, began his wrestling training in 8th grade, and continued for a couple of years. He became really good at securing and executing "the twister", known as the wrestlers guillotine in H.S. wrestling. When he started training Jiu-Jitsu, Eddie kept the twister in his arsenal and began applying it when opportunities presented themselves. "There was already a 'guillotine' in Jiu-Jitsu, submission wrestling and wrestling, so Jean Jacques (Machado) would always just call it "the twister". I actually hated that name, it sounded conceited. But it stuck, and when people started yelling out the name in tournaments, I kinda started liking it."
In 1992 at the age of 23, Bravo began his martial arts training in Karate. He trained for about a year before moving on to a Jeet Kune Do concepts in 1994. Around the same time, Bravo began his Jiu-Jitsu training with Machado. He cross trained both martial arts for about 2 1/2 years before discontinuing his Jeet Kune Do training, to focus solely on Jiu-Jitsu. I've noticed that Bravo wears a Karate patch on his blue Gi pants, so I inquire what his rank is. "I think I had 2 or 3 green stripes on my white belt, which is hilarious. I have the Karate patch because it looks cool. It's a guy breaking bricks or boards. I wear it because I love the patch, not because I'm representing Karate."
Bravo began his teaching career in 2003 at "The Bomb Squad" owned by Chris Reilly. In 2007, Reilly teamed up with a couple of famous former heavyweight MMA Champions to form LA's first premiere MMA facility, changing the name to "Legends". "We moved gym locations a few times, but I've been with Chris since the beginning." Eddie is aware he has many critics out there who claim his Jiu-Jitsu system is not legit. He pauses a moment before stating. "It's not legit 'Gi' Jiu-Jitsu, but it's legit 'No Gi' Jiu-Jitsu."
There were recent reports that Bravo left the UFC to focus on training and cornering some of his top MMA fighters. "George Sotiropoulos and Dan Hardy are my two top UFC fighters. I quit the UFC temporarily to corner George because I was working in the production booth working on the grappling replays and at first, they didn't want me to do both, they wanted me to pick one or the other, and now they are letting me do both. So I'm actually back with the UFC. I'm cornering fighters when I have to, and when I'm not doing that, I'm in the truck helping out with the replays."
I ask Bravo if he has any female MMA fighters. "I have an aspiring female MMA fighter, Gabby Falabella, who's 15 and trains out of 10th Planet Delaware. She's dedicated to becoming an MMA fighter, but she still has a few years before that can happen. 15 to 18 is a long time when you think about it. I think she has what it takes. She's naturally gifted. She's a great grappler. If she can stay on the right track, she definitely has the potential to make some noise in female MMA." I mention to Bravo that I am an amateur MMA fighter myself representing 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. I share my aspirations of going pro sometime in the near future. "Nice, I guess I do have a female MMA fighter. Check it out!" We discuss my upcoming November title fight. "That's awesome! Good luck with that and keep me posted."
On my recent August trip to California, I was able to train with Eddie again, this time at the new headquarters location of Legends in Hollywood. As always, his classes are priceless. He's an incredible instructor who takes the time to explain complex submissions to the advanced class, which even a beginner like me understands. I happened to drop in on a class with not only very talented grapplers, but also a couple of 10th Planet instructors, Alder Hampel and Scott Epstein. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend you stop in and check out his classes!
With Bravo's unique instructional techniques, he is highly sought after for seminars all around the world. When asked what some of his favorite places to teach at have been "Stockhom, Sweden and Buenos Aires, Argentina were probably the coolest places that I've taught at so far."
In regards to the controversy surrounding his well known advocacy for Marijuana, Eddie had this to share: "People who are going to criticize me probably just haven't done the research on marijuana; the history of the plant. I'm interested in teaching the kids the truth about everything. I'm not interested in lying to them. I disagree with people who want to lie to youth until they are 18 or 21 or whatever, about pot. I think you should tell them the truth. Obviously people don't agree with that." I ask what his response is about critics who attempt to discredit him and his system due of his marijuana use. "I think it's funny. It's all part of the process. Without all the resistance it wouldn't be as sweet. I'm loving it. None of that affects me at all in a negative way. If anything, it motivates me."
In a recent interview with Aaron Tru, Eddie discussed his desire at a Jiu-Jitsu rematch with Royler Gracie. I inquire if he'd be open to an MMA fight against Royler. "I would do an MMA match with Royler. I've said that before actually in other interviews. I would do it in a heartbeat."
Bravo had this to share about the recent reports that he and his system would be a part of the sequel to Never Back down. "I was brought in as a consultant on the script. The first Never Back Down, although it was the biggest MMA movie to date, was pretty weak. The script was filled with holes. Anybody that was hardcore into MMA saw that. It wasn't that great of a script, bottom line." For this next installment, a whole new cast has been brought in, as well as a new director and producer. "Michael Jai White of Spawn, and the Mike Tyson HBO movie, was brought in to produce, direct and star in the movie. He then recruited me as a consultant. I've been given a small role in the film. I'll be playing a dj/ring announcer for an underground illegal event. I'll also be involved in the music supervision for the film. At least one of my songs ‘I did it for Jiu-Jitsu’ by Compella & The Twister featuring Rakaa from Dilated Peoples, will be used. One of my Black Belts, Scott Epstein, has been cast as the lead villain in the film. He's also choreographing fight scenes. Filming begins in October in New Orleans. We're going to have fun with it and make it as legit as possible. The script has already been rewritten a couple of times. The main focus for Michael Jai White is to make it as legitimate as possible. There's gonna be lots of rubber guard and lots of twister in the movie too. He's a big fan of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. At the very least, for the people in my association, it should be entertaining to watch on the big screen."
I'm curious as to how it feels to have come such a long way from his humble beginnings, to which Bravo replies "It's surreal and amazing. I keep pinching myself to make sure it's happening and sure enough, it is. We're positive we'll get at least a nationwide release with this film."
Bravo is also working on a new book "Advanced Rubber Guard" which will pick up where the first book left off. "A lot has changed since that book was written. All the latest transitions, sweeps, submissions, it'll all be in there."
Eddie would like to extend a personal invitation to his newly revamped site. “All techniques on 10thplanetjj.com are free until October 1st, so go register today!”
Friday, 24 September 2010
Last Updated ( Friday, 24 September 2010 )
Next >
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