Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Cup preparation

With the aim to retain his title of the Gi World Pro Cup Champion  , Lagarto has already started his preparation for the 2012 edition of the WPJJC .

To be sure to be in the greatest shape possible for the event , Lucio decided to travel in Abu Dhabi for a week to fix a recurrent  problem for him.. The weather ! Indeed , everytime he went out there, he felt dizzy & tired for a while because of this really hot & dry environment ..

Helped by his good friend Salim , he spent 4 days of hard training , worked a lot on his cardio between 2 meetings..And then took some times to enjoy the sun & the shows  in Dubaï :

Short time before leaving Dubaï , Lucio was invited by his Black Belt Sergio Vieira Lopes ( Head Instructor at Gracie Barra Angola ) to come in Luanda.

During his visit Lagarto was amazed to see  the huge progress made by his students  and was more than happy to teach & train with them. He was also be able to help them in the Delta Imobiliaria Tournament , who took place on  Saturday , December 3 in Luanda ( Pics & results of the D.I.T. are on the facebook page of Gracie Barra Angola). During this tournament he could see 1 more time the evolution of BJJ and was really proud to be able to help develop it in South West Africa.

As referee during the Delta Imobilaria Tournament in Luanda

    After a great week training & teaching, ready to came back in London , where he just opened his new Academy in Soho ,Lagarto received an invitation from the Renzo Gracie Academy in Cape Town ( South Africa) to give a seminar. Because of the help of Leao Marinho ( John Paul Hartley , Lagarto’s Black Belt & Head instructor at Gracie Barra Preston ) who was agree to teach in London  at his place , Lucio could accept  the invitation & left for South Africa to share his knowledge in 1 of the most prestigious BJJ academy in Cape Town.

The level out there was so high that Lucio took advantage of his stay to do 2 hours training session everyday with all the guys after his class. He could also “enjoy” some really hard conditioning training with his friends Jenny & Richard , who consisted in doing 9 exercises, 3 rnd of 30 seconds each…The price to pay to stay the best all the time!!

With the RGACT team

  Cape Town remind a lot Rio de Janeiro to Lagarto…Lot of sun, beautiful beaches(where he made some mythical meetings ..watch the pics after), blue water & big waves gave him the irrepressible envy  to surf…until a warning panel & the perspective of a meeting with White Sharks stopped him ..As he said “ My biggest problem to Surf in Cape Town was the 6 metres White Sharks waiting in the sea, and I didn’t want to take any risk , I need my chicken legs to do guard & triangle…”

Sprint sessions with Heinrich JV Rensbrug has replaced surfing & he also did lots of “Ginastica natural” ( for those who don’t know what Ginastica natural is , please watch the video at the end of this article & enjoy ! ), movements he learned alongside his friend Alvinho in Rio de Janeiro. But he could managed some few  times to perfect something essential for a Brazilian…His tan!! Some rest time,well deserved in this crazy 2 weeks trip!

Just convinced a penguins to learn Bjj! Well done Lagarto

Futur Champion vs Champion !

Surfing or Keeping his legs, Lagarto chose..the 2nd option

   Finally , with the help of Jenny & Kurdt George, who spent more than 4 hours to deal with the airport to change his flight ,Lucio came back in London on Saturday , December 10 …Where he started the same day to train for the European IBJJF championship who’ll take place in Lisbon , Portugal, on January from 26th to 29th … Busy life but it’s that what it cost to be 1 of the best Bjj coach & competitor  in the World…

Stay tuned to follow his hard training for the European alongside Roger Gracie & others ….

Make sure to follow Lucio on Twitter to have his latest news:  @LagartoBJJ !