More:  Rodrigo's Biography

Rodrigo: I started training in Judo when I was 5 years old and became a brown belt. At the age of 11 I started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Gus: Who do you consider to be your teacher?

Rodrigo: Carlson Gracie the master of the champions. His academy is known as the “Champion Factory”.

Gus: What other sports did you train?

Rodrigo: I have trained in boxing, yoga, surfing and swimming. I also love soccer.

Gus: What is your favorite technique?

Rodrigo: The triangle and the roll choke. I consider myself an expert in the triangle choke - that is why I put it in the logo of my BJJ Revolution Team.

Gus: Who was the greatest inspiration in your life?

Rodrigo: My father, Armando Medeiros.

Gus: Do you have other athletes in your family?

Rodrigo: My father was a natural athlete. He trained in various sports and judo.

Gus: Which ones were your greatest matches?

Rodrigo: All my matches that I won I consider great, but against Renzo Gracie in Abu Dhabi in 1998 was a great challenge for me because of who my opponent was. After 30 minutes with no points and no advantages, he won.

Gus: What is your relationship with Vitor Belfort?

Rodrigo: I have known Vitor for more than 15 years. I am his first BJJ instructor and we lived together in LA for 3 years. He is like my little brother. I am also in his ringside whenever he fights.

Gus: What makes BJJ so effective?

Rodrigo: BJJ is a simple art where the small and weak guy can beat a big and muscular guy. It is effective because it is all about leverage , balance, control, flexibility, speed and pressure.

Rodrigo: The key is to open your mind to learn forever with anyone. You have to treat training as if it was a game you must play. Leave your ego outside the mat and be ready for anything. Jiu Jitsu is the only martial art whose techniques are infinite.

Gus: Do you have any advice to those who have started training in BJJ?

Rodrigo: To have fun and do not worry when they tap because they will keep tapping forever. Just try your best and make sure you choose a legitimate instructor.

Gus: Why did you stop fighting in free fight events?

Rodrigo: The only non BJJ event I still have desire to participate in is Abu Dhabi. It is a professional event in that the best of all grappling arts are there. I still didn’t digest my last time there. Besides that I am interested only in teaching, training and fighting in BJJ, which in my opinion is the mother of all martial arts.

Gus: Tell us about BJJ Revolution team...

Rodrigo: It is a new team that my friend Julio Fernandez, one of the first black belts from Carlson Gracie team, and I constructed together with the objective to organize a strong, serious family to compete all over the world with or without gi. The results are already showing. We just got the 3d place as a team in PAN AM and we are always in the higher spots of the competition around the U.S. We hope in the future to spread the team with a high quality of instruction, union and respect of other instructors. Our objective is to spread the team in Europe. Talking about that, we just welcomed our new members in Greece.

Gus: What are your future plans?

Rodrigo: Keep training, learning, teaching and having fun. Maybe compete one more time at the world championship and make the BJJ Revolution Team a guiding force in BJJ.

For information on classes or seminars with Rodrigo Medeiros visit ww.rodrigomedeirosbjj.com.

More:  Rodrigo's Biography