Gus: Who do you
consider to be the most influential martial artists in
your life? Please name both teachers and martial artists
that inspired you to start training in martial arts.
Franco: To be honest
with you, it was my mother who brought me into Martial
Arts because she felt that it would do good for me to
train in Judo and become physically stronger. However,
my mentor in Martial Arts is Master CHAI SIRISUTE, who
was also my first MuayThai teacher from 1988 up to 1994.
He is a great person and he keeps all his students to a
very high level in Martial Arts. isHe teachings are
modern and very practical; that is everything that
influenced my life and my teachings. We use the term:
“Reduced to the Essence”, because that is what Ajarn
Chai taught me for years, and I keep up the same way
today.
Gus: You are a martial
artist who has trained in various styles and traditions. If
somebody wants to protect himself in a street fight, what do
you think is the most effective martial art?
Franco: First of all, let us
explain what is a street fight? For many people, a street
fight is an UFC match, which is totally wrong. Don’t forget
that UFC and other NHB matches have RULES, and in the
streets there are no rules!
Second, for me there are 3 different fights on the street:
the first is an attack, and you need to defend yourself us
fast and effectively as possible. The second is where the
attacker may have a weapon in his hand (it could be a broken
bottle); and the third and most difficult is where you may
be attacked by more than one person – which today even in
“Safe Switzerland” can happen at anytime.
I think that today any person (men and women alike) must be
all-rounded and open minded but try to find the fastest and
most effective answer for street scenarios. It is today very
important to know how to fight back in any position because
the attack can happen anytime and anywhere – so you must
have a good curriculum and it must be very effective. Many
teachers think that their work is entertainment, instead of
teaching people how to survive in real fights under real
conditions. But this is because only a few teachers have
been really into (street) fights.
Gus: Mixed martial
arts events opened our eyes in many ways. For example
there was a time when strikers thought that they could
stop a grappler with a few punches and that grappling
was too complicated to learn.
Royce Gracie
was one of the first to prove them all wrong. What in
your opinion makes jiu-jitsu so effective?
Franco:
Royce had
the advantage of “surprising” his opponents with a
totally new technique and fighting concept (ground
work). However, (Brazilian) Jiu-Jitsu is so effective,
because students learn not only how to do the technique
in a theoretical way, but they spar with their friends
every 2nd night and learn what the advantages and
disadvantages of all positions and techniques are. But
we must also understand that Jiu-Jitsu makes you
effective because it is based on leverage and simple
principles. In Jiu-Jitsu, in the way it is taught by
Grand master Helio Gracie, the techniques can be
effective and done by everyone, men and women,
regardless of their natural attributes. Unfortunately
many people today are doing submission wrestling and/or
Sport Jiu-Jitsu, and think that it is applicable on the
streets – which it is not.
The
Vasirca Brothers
Jiu-Jitsu in action.
Gus: A good
fighter is not always a good teacher. What do you think
makes a good martial arts instructor?
Franco: I think that the
difference between a good or bad instructor is caused by
his education and his training. If you are an
instructor, in my eyes, you are not allowed to sit back
and just teach or even only be the “big boss”. There are
many Black belts today in Martial arts and maybe this is
also the problem. The goal is not to be a Black belt or
instructor; it should be the interest of growing oneself
and to help others to go the same honest way.
In my organization, I keep it very simple: if you
achieve the Black belt level and you decide to become an
instructor, than it means that know you have to TEACH
AND STILL EDUCATE YOUR SELF by training with me.
The day I stop my personal training and learning, I will
also stop teaching, because I will lose the sense of the
evolution of the technique. More importantly, I see in
many seminars “old” teachers who still are into
learning. That says that I am not the only one who
thinks in the same way.
Gus: What is your
opinion about
Bruce Lee?
He used moves like the mount and choke holds in his
movies long before they ever became popular…
Franco: That’s true. He was
probably, with his interpretation of fighting, many
years ahead. But that was working only for him, and I
think he knew that. Recently we had one of his oldest
students, Sifu Jerry Poteet, for a seminar in my
Academy. He didn’t have any idea about ground fighting
at all – but he knew about all the other stuff really
well.
I met Sifu Dan Inosanto back in 1989. And I think that
he is the only true person keeping alive that “Bruce
Lee Experience”.
Please don’t forget too, that Lee was in my eyes a true
Rebel in Martial Arts. And he knew that. He was not only
using the mount and chokes, he was cross-training into
several different fighting systems from many different
countries, which was, for a Chinese man, not very
normal.
Lee left an ideal to the world and it is up to the
people what they will do or not do with that
information. Some people will use it in an honest way to
make their own research, and I consider my brother and
myself in this category. And others will just use the
name (which is in truth only a name) and try to make
money from it. But like we say in our family always:
EASY MONEY GOES EASY AWAY!
Franco and Demetrio Vasirca
Gus: Most fighters
believe that Jujitsu and Thai boxing are a deadly
combination. Do you think that both styles cover each
other’s weaknesses?
Franco: Yes and No. In truth,
it is a very good combination; but it can be the best
combination for everyone – because weakness is something
that is not from the style but the men behind it. MuayThai
is very good for stand-up fighting, and Jiu-Jitsu is a very
good ground fighting system. But to combine the things is
more a theoretical thing... you must put yourself in
research and try the techniques over and over again.
In some cases, both styles will work together and in other
cases not, because you may miss training both things in real
application. Just by combining two or more systems, it is
not certain that you can keep up with everyone in ever
situation. I think also, that for real street fighting, it
is important to understand the emotional and under-stress
factors.
It is not what you train – but rather how you train, that
makes you good or bad!
Gus: Thai Boxers believe that low
kicks and knee attacks from the clinch are the most
effective weapons against a grappler. Do you teach your
students how to defend against these vicious techniques?
Franco: My Jiu-Jitsu is based
on “Brazilian” Jiu-Jitsu, but because of our personal
background, we have our own way of teaching (our own
teaching method). YES, we do... our students will learn the
mostly used attacks and counters, and this includes also
against low-kicks and knee-strikes, which are very lethal in
street fighting.
Gus: Tell us your dreams both as an
instructor and as a human being.
Franco: I am living my dreams,
with the problems and pleasures of real life. Dreams will
always be dreams and stay dreams if honestly, YOU are not
moving forward every single day. I keep creating every day
new possibilities to promote our business and some days have
more success than others, but I keep it this way. I try to
achieve the possible every day and to work on the impossible
just for fun!
Gus: I know that you are among the
most popular seminar instructors. How can one contact you
for a seminar?
Franco: Thank you for asking me
that :o) – just send an email to me at
vjj-bros@bluewin.ch
and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
By the way, I would like to thank you for introducing me in
your website, and I wish you a healthy and safe year. Thank
you again for your interest in Vacirca Jiu-Jitsu.
