Episode 145 Mentorship Over Medals – The Real Victory Beyond the Mat with Marcelo Motta Watch Now https://youtu.be/zUAiMAbPbq0 Listen Now Description

In this powerful episode, Chris Burns and returning guest Daniel Calvert sit down with legendary Jiu-Jitsu Professor Marcelo Motta. With decades of elite success in the sport, Prof. Marcelo reflects not just on championships, but on what he considers his greatest victories—mentoring, coaching, and the lives he’s helped shape through discipline and dedication. From heartfelt coaching lessons to life-changing mentorship stories, this conversation dives deep into how martial arts can save lives far beyond the mat. Thank you Prof. Marcelo and Prof. Daniel. For more information, check out Prime Jiu-Jitsu in Colorado Springs.

Talking Points Introduction to the Show Why Prime Jui-Jitzsu? Development through the community Knowing what it takes Being a great human Setting the example The importance of mentoring the youth Integrity in your career Trauma and Jiu-Jitsu Self awareness The greatest moments Teaching is an art Final thoughts Quotes “We are not in the business of martial arts, we are selling confidence”. – Professor Marcelo Motta Episode Transcripts Episode -145- Transcripts

think the responsibility I have on my shoulders when I step on the mat adults mentors needs to know what the responsibility it is in teaching kids man that’s everything that was my potential that was a glimpse at what I’ve been pursuing all these years is a glimpse at my potential yeah jiu-jitsu found me i was born in the right place at the right time and my personality I think just matched [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey everybody and welcome to another exciting enthusiastic and amazing episode of Finding Peaks yours truly President and founder Chris Burns i am sharing the stage today with two people that are very very important in my life they’re important in the community not only for kids teens young adults adults mature adults you name it i’m sitting with two individuals that have impacted the community in a really really special way uh a few weeks ago we had Professor uh Daniel Calvert on the show we got him on the show again today so grateful to have you on the show sir appreciate it thanks for having me yeah absolutely and we have the legendary the one and only Professor Marcel Moto fifth degree black belt thank you for joining us today the pleasure is all ours thank you Chris very much for having me thank you for the opportunity i’m super excited for this conversation today thank you also Daniel for coming to have this uh chat here and I’m grateful I have both of you in the room because um you know you get a feeling when you walk into Prime Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that I’ve experienced and I remember when Daniel got his black belt from you he was able to curate in a in a way the time that he had in there what that meant to him um and so so grateful to have him on the show and what I was talking to DC about the other day as well is like all the black belts that are currently at Prime have a lot of success in their lives you know and and and I get to connect with those people on a daily basis and so what is it about Prime you think that gives it that special feeling because everybody feels it every single person I have the opportunity to sit down with um every human every 5-year-old every 75year-old has the same experience when they walk in um how have you been able to create that um I think I’m uh ever since I was little I’ve been always a very passionate person and I think uh I do a pretty good job at passing on that passion not only to kids but you know from kids to adults i think uh it’s not about what you teach it’s
about teaching the passion teaching them to love something so much and they stick to it i think uh you know the also the originality of jiu-jitsu that is taught at PrideBJ in my academy yeah it’s a beautiful thing i it so much so you weren’t at the competition last week but we were at it and Garrick won his final match and I did what you Hey and you should have seen his face he’s like “Somebody had to do it.” But that’s the special sauce man that’s the Hey the cast was like I’m so glad you did that because the boys love hearing that it’s like a sign of like I’m supported there’s someone here right um and we got this it’s very very cool and very very special i have to imagine as we were kind of talking about before the show is like this goes back a long time ago right to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil um where you found jiu-jitsu um and what that meant to you as a young
person I think it meant it like I said you know jiu-jitsu found me i was born in the right place at the right time and my personality I think just matched with it um you know first of all being uh young and not having uh a purpose right like finding something like that at such a young age it was it was very important i fell in love because it was my way out of uh so many old ways of living you know like you know being bored and you know how it goes right like when you find something that you can live for your life is much happier you you know you wake up every day with that that feeling inside your heart you know like oh you know like for example my Monday Wednesdays Thursdays my every day pretty much my Saturdays like you know I wake up like you know I gotta go I gotta teach I gotta sometimes you have the same uh topic but you know you you can use a different way to teach it you know what I mean you can Yeah it’s interesting too because it’s not just all of your coaches carry the same passion like they mean you know just as much to me you know i think like I said you know the most important thing about uh jiu-jitsu for me is to teach them that p that passion and uh you can see nowadays there is you know othermmies around but the passion I I don’t think there is and and I’m not only talking Colorado I’m talking about all over the world you know like it it’s something different i feel very very passionate about jiu-jitsu and I’m able to teach that passion yeah and I mean if I can speak to that just a little bit like I can remember the first conversation I ever had with you when I walked into the doors of Prime it’s infectious do you know what I mean like um I the I remember I walked in cuz I was a little unsure like I was I was a just out of high school skinny kid you know what I mean never really an athlete or anything but I was bored and I happened to live close to prime and I looked it up on the internet you know what I mean and when I walked in the door Marcelo’s right there like “Hey how are you what makes you want to train?” Like he I told him I was like “Oh my brother and I sometimes we fight a little bit.” He’s like he’s like “Oh yeah you got to learn how to love that kid i got you teach him too but he’s like “You guys got to figure out who’s going to win the remote here.” You know you know and then just from then on that sets the tone you know what I mean and sweet memories a great job he does a great job of Daniel was what 17 19 19 at the time yeah are you 30 now 30 yep i’m getting old that’s such an important like developmental stage you speak to a lot and I think it’s important for the viewers like you speak to a lot of the the kid that came in in the man that sits here today like what what was that I know we talked a little bit about on the show but now professor’s here was it is is it all community is it purpose is it a foundation in life is it all the things what was it for you that you know I mean there’s a lot to it I would say I’m still that kid you know what I mean like you kind of never get out of that like I still um not to say I’m like surprised when when I see myself in the mirror but like you know you still you still have those feelings and everything else but um the confidence that jiu-jitsu has given to me is something I didn’t have before and that’s such a valuable vehicle to get to wherever you want to get to in life so um you know look I can look back at that time and just see where I was who I was and see what I lacked and the things that I have now a direction that confidence just some accomplishments under my belt mentorship you know what I mean community that I didn’t have so I mean take your pick that’s Yeah I love that man i know we heart we harped on it a lot in our show about community but talking with professor before the show it was like community in Brazil when you were growing up as a kid was huge what was that like and what was the jiu-jitsu community like um where you were growing up i think the the so we are talking about uh early 90s uh I started ju so I started uh grappling uh in judo in the mid80s 1985 but I started jiujitsu in 1991 right around the the time where um Hoy Gracie uh fought at the first UFC in Denver Colorado wow which is super uh which is super coincidential that I ended up moving to Denver in uh 2011 when I you know came from you know Brazil Emirates and then I came to uh to the US so yeah it’s uh and what was the question again as far as like as far as just community we had chatted a little bit before the show about just Brazil and what it was like and like paint a picture maybe for the viewers of like what that community was because we we talk about prime being such a a center point for community for all of us you talked about for the show how important community was in Brazil and I’m wondering like what was that jiu-jitsu community like when you first walked in right so the community was not very big no it wasn’t very big in the early ‘9s okay uh but there was a community uh there was about two schools uh in my town when I first started jiu-jitsu wow actually one then later on to three years later uh Carson Gracie School came to my town but first was a pitbull academy called Pitbull it’s a lineage of Baja Gracie that’s what I started jiu-jitsu okay yeah a community was small because it was theademies were ran like fight clubs survival of the fittest yeah jiu-jitsu were was very exclusive not like it is nowadays and I’m excited to talk about it um you know how much it changed you know what I mean like let’s say you know when uh I first started let there was like 30 practitioners in my academy yes and those are guys that I train with every day every day um you know we talk jiu-jitsu for everybody back in the days jiu-jitsu for the tough if you are tough if you don’t prove you’re tough you’re not going to stay you’re not gonna be here right exactly and yeah it’s it was pretty much like that and I’m glad that it changed the way it did now it’s jiu-jitsu for everybody because jiu-jitsu doesn’t only have the competition aspect but especially like training at the time under Carson Gracie it was very competitive it was jiu-jitsu for competition on top of that for MMA because of the confront confrontation of styles back in the days it wasn’t oh you know a jiu-jitsu guy is going to find fight another guy no a jiu-jitsu guy is going to fight another modality of fighting like striking boxing or judo guy you know what I mean i have to imagine you just made me think of that when that fight happened the first one in the UFC i have to imagine people in Rio de Janeiro were like that could be us right we could go do this like it created this hope where like hey maybe we could be on the UFC we could be on TV we could do these things and the Gracies were doing it um to all the fighters over here in the United States and so was it one of those things where you guys fought with purpose with this idea that you wanted to come to United States or go to um different place or stay in Brazil what was like the focus my vision wasn’t that at the time but I’m sure that you know uh Master Hor Gracie uh after moving to the US they all had it in mind the Gracie family they knew what product they had on their hands and they believed so much in it i think uh their purpose might have been that but mine it wasn’t i just I I just needed a a direction in my life and through the the through jiujitsu and first judo I think it gave me that uh direction you know what I mean yeah when was it that you decided um or when did you leave Brazil and why i left Brazil later on after I started I started jiu-jitsu in around uh 1991 as I said but I left Brazil in 2007 okay and you didn’t come strictly here did you no I I went to the Emirates uh I I had the opportunity and to teach at the AD Abu Dhabi Combat Club which is ADCC that’s where all the the ADCC events were held back in the days really so I was I I later on in 2008 became one of the head coaches at the ADCC Abu Dhabi conduct club the original building where you know everything started wow that’s pretty unique too i had no idea that is that that’s where it all started like ADCC that’s where origin yeah wow that’s pretty cool did you know at that time like you know obviously you’ve always been a grappler a fighter and and really good at you know focusing in and doing this thing but did you know at that time like I’m pretty good at this teaching thing and to your point like it creates a lot of value for me um in your life did you start seeing it then or was it before when did you know like I’m going to I’m going to continue to teach this thing long term i think it was uh after I realized uh you know I could do it myself as a smaller guy you know competing in competition like open weight and stuff and people would come to me to ask hey how do you do this stuff you know cuz like you know I never relied on strength I’m not that big of a guy I’m not that strong but timing balance you know what I mean like the way I was able to move and translate into teaching knowing how to encourage knowing uh when to correct something because you know like a student at first the most important thing is encouragement hey you know you’re getting there giving them that positive feedback nobody’s good or you know great at first when you start to do something you need that you know repeating you need a coach to motivate you to say hey you’re on right track especially in our culture here in America it’s so interesting you jiu-jitsu guys in your compliments when you first start it’s so funny you’re just getting your ass kicked all over the place great job real strong you’re Oh my god that was horrible maybe because we know because we know what it takes to come back tomorrow yeah for sure and and it’s a common it’s natural to happen to everybody you you know if you’re a computer guy you’re not good at computer first for you’re going to make a lot of mistakes you’re going to get your butt whooped here and there and you know showing up the next day is the most important thing I think for sure and and also just I mean on a on a technical level like we’re we know more what we’re looking at and so our job trying to coach you is uh you as a newer student or whoever is our newer student is to point out good habits and point out bad habits and point them out as such so like hey that thing you did you don’t know what you did when you first start you don’t know what you did you just know you tapped a few times and you know you tried to get your legs in the way and it didn’t work you know what I mean you got taken down that’s all you know but you don’t necessarily know that you did a really good job framing me away with the right with the correct arm you know what I mean you did a really good job turning your hips and keeping your hips in the way you didn’t do such a good job when I passed and you turtled up you didn’t do a good job protecting your neck so now being experienced and trying to instruct and help people get better you have to point out what was good what was bad and try to help people see that so they can build on those that’s huge sorry about that no no you’re good as a martial artist uh you know what’s important for you to stay stick to the martial art yeah using the example of you know myself you always I always had heroes training jiu-jitsu and I remember when they mentioned my name how how much that lit the fire inside me to keep going i remember um winning a a trial at the Carson Gracie Main Academy at Figero Magal Rio Copa Cababana because there was before big events worlds there was a trial so I won the trial was the seed number one for Carson Gracie gym at the time it was as a purple belt oh wow and I I I fought against this very good guy from northern Brazil and I beat him in the trial and I encountered him in the competition and I ended up lost losing the match by a kimura and the guy was well known for that kimura and I beat him in practice and then you know all the rumors you know oh Marcelo lost to that guy so Carson Gracie senior was in the academy and they taught him how I lost the match and he was obsed obsessive with winning the competition overall and then you know they say hey so losing by a kimura and I you know somebody goes and talks to Carson about it and he’s like turns around like bish stupid you don’t know how to defend a kimura I was like no I made a mistake hold inside your thigh stupid but the fact that he spoke to me and I I wasn’t bothered by that I I was a pro athlete for me was a honor to have Carson Gracie Senior teaching me how to defend a Kimura I was in heaven you know what I mean now if he had given me an accomplishment sorry uh an a compliment it would have been even better but just because he mentioned my name and say “Hey man,” called me stupid at the time I was like “Man you know that guy knows who I am now.” And uh yeah I ended up losing the finals there was for me I I think that day when Carson Gracie Senior spoke to me cuz I never had a class with him he taught me he was in regular clothes sitting uh by the edge of the mat watching you know watching it uh rumble yeah for me it was you know just even even though it was you know negative but whoever knows Carson Gracie Sr knows that he’s he’s a teddy bear and I I I love that guy so much just being that day on the mat with him changed my life that’s cool you know how you probably know how to defend a Kamura better than anybody now huh i’m sorry you probably defend a Kamura better than anybody now maybe because it’s very simple that’s so cool those unique stories it’s like I talk about it a lot on the show but I and I kind of a broken record but it’s it’s about being seen valued and heard by people outside of your family that you look up to and when those people you you both said it best it’s about this connection when somebody has a connection with us or we have a connection to them and they’re in a position of power or mentorship their influence matters a lot very much you said it you both just said it without saying it but without connection we don’t have influence so you draw into that connection first you all do hey great job this is how we’re doing it you’re doing this and then as as you as you kind of blossom and you all see this person is taking this pretty seriously now we come with some criticism and some real life stuff and in balance and I think it’s really really integral not just for adults but like childhood development and those stages are really really really important and it’s kind of what I wanted to touch on next is like you went back to school and got a degree in some sort of like it was childhood development right yeah physical education yes um you know uh growing up I was always taught to open the doors what if I don’t make it as an a professional athlete and back in the days there was no money in jiu-jitsu to be a professional jiu-jitsu fighter so you would have to go in MMA and that’s how I grew up training jiu-jitsu with MMA alongside so um I decided to go to school just to open another little door to hey maybe I’ll apply a lot of the the knowledge into teaching jiu-jitsu when did you actually go back to get your degree how old how old were you uh in 20 in 2000 uh I was uh 22 that’s really cool i I think it’s really unique too you know to have somebody in in uh jiu-jitsu gym who owns it is the founder who also has a foundation and an education and some sort of childhood development physical education that’s literally what you’re doing i don’t know why and I’m not a degree person my brother bless his heart he’s a big degree snob he’s like “What do you got behind you?” I’ve never been like that but something about that when we started at Prime I think I might say it on the website I was like that’s unique and that feels valuable you know so even though you’ve got it in an effort to balance oh if I couldn’t be a fighter do this I think it really fortifies or supports the mission and the vision and the connection at Prime i think it’s really cool and really unique i don’t see a lot of people around town with that on their resume you know and I think the results speak for themselves you know what I I mean we the prime is top to bottom really a world-class gym there’s no two ways about it but the kids program is exceptional and you don’t see kids programs like what you’ve built you just don’t see it no I think and I mean who’s to say is it all the degree it’s not all the degree obviously but it’s Is that a big part of it probably but right i wish you could get a degree and be like hey this is a degree in being a successful gym owner there you go yeah it it is it is really unique and very very special and prime not only like world class world champions all over the place but really really good people world champions in life yes that’s what uh beats my heart good people you know what I mean yes yeah you always say you always say it we go into bel gives me chills man because it’s been the impact that you guys you had on my life but also like on my kids’ life over the last three years i don’t know that there’s another adult that’s had that impact on my kids’ lives i We don’t have family we don’t have a lot of family out here so it’s been really really big my kids look up to you they look up to the gym they sing they have the prime spirit they know what it’s about it’s about working hard and showing up and being present and when you lose getting back after it and you’ve you guys taught them all that i couldn’t have touched that with a 10-ft pole now I get to support it with the way that I show up in my life but it really really is aggravated by the way that Prime supports our family system and so I guess my question is is like how do we how do you continue to cultivate in such a special way this idea of being a great human and a great athlete because so often in our culture one raises over the other and we have these super athletes that don’t know how to treat people you know and it’s kind of sad to me so what do you think it has been for you and the development of kids and teens and young adults that makes it so different think of the responsibility I have on my shoulders when I step on a mat can’t every athlete high level athlete they’re selfish think about themselves and I think Daniel seen when I’m competing professor when professor is competing professor when professor is just teaching so getting older accomplish accomplishing some personal goals as an athlete brought me to where I am nowadays where I don’t look back I was like oh you know I want to win this I want to win that I am personally satisfied and when I step on the mat I come last i want to do my best especially when I’m teaching kids adults mentors needs to know what the responsibility it is in teaching kids molding human beings they are not all going to be professional athletes they might be tomorrow mayors of the city you know CEOs in the company
whatever they do I teach them to do their best mentor them whatever you choose in life try your best it’s achievable it’s not going to be easy you know you should go after that yeah i don’t mean to interrupt but if I can speak to that a little bit just having learned from you for over a decade at this point um it’s the example you put up that’s what we see you know what I mean it’s the example not only as like an athlete and as a tough guy who does jiu-jitsu and it will train with the big guy in the room and train with the new person and you know just respect everybody almost at that at that same level but that it’s it’s unique it’s cool to hear your perspective on it like you take that very seriously thank you but um but yeah that’s what we see as your students we see the example of not only someone who’s exceptional at jiu-jitsu but someone who is an exceptional person and uh I think we spoke about this the last last time I was here is um when we’re teaching the kids and we’re coaching the kids a lot of times in the realm of jiu-jitsu we see this kid has potential this kid could be great he’s he’s 10 years old or 12 years old and he’s already doing this and that if he sticks with it he could be a jiu-jitsu world champion well he could also be something productive you know what I mean and so we have this instinct to be like “Oh he’s leaving he’s not doing jiu-jitsu anymore.” Those lessons are lifelong even if he does choose to do something else but anyway yeah so yeah it’s it’s cool to hear your perspective on it it’s really because it’s it’s privileged right what I mean and that’s what you I am a privileged guy what I mean is like no to be able to like I think sometimes we miss it people open up jiu-jitsu gyms all over the place we got 100 members here they’re doing this we forget that like especially when it comes to kids like this is a privileged relationship it should mean a lot oh 100 you have an opportunity and that’s what’s I think so unique and special about prime is you look at it as such a special thing and that’s how every mentor should be you have your kids training with me not only your kids but you and your wife a part of my program i mean this this uh the fact that you know you have your kids train it it shows me a lots of uh trust you have in me i cannot disappoint you this is part of my culture this is who I am you trust me i’m not going to let you down i’m going to do my best you can feel that you can feel that yeah and if we you know we were talking on the last show is like the sum total of the five people I surround myself the most with you know are going to be who I am and what my kids are and today that’s titans you know and I love that it’s so important to you because that that’s the I think that’s the special thing at Prime is that you’re there your energy is there and the people um that coach your classes and your lineage and the people that are there doing it and fortifying that are carrying the same mission and vision authenticity and energy that you have um and it’s really really cool and really unique i I I liken it to like um we say like a doctor but they don’t see the doctor five days a week right you know that’s a privileged position a therapist people are going to come to you with some of their things i know you’ve sat with people in mentorship where they bring hard stuff in their life to the mat and they sit with you and you’re like “It’s going to be okay it’s a privileged position.” Like we can do really good with it or it can go south and I just love what you guys do at Prime because that’s the special sauce that’s what makes it so much different and that’s why it’s been so sustainable all of these years um I’m a big fan of when the heart is true the universe will conspire to support you meaning like this is just the thing yep you know and it’s got a lot of integrity in it which I think is um undervalued it’s very important integrity you said that word there that’s uh very important in my vocabulary integrity not only talk about it walk your talk yeah see a lot of people talking about it in front of the camera but you know when it’s time to do it shortcut what’s easy yep for sure what’s easy it’s not always what’s best for you and for whoever you’re teaching travel the extra mile this is the secret of success consistency doing your best traveling the extra mile there is no competition there mhm you know what I mean and the hardship when it’s hard to do something and you decide to walk all the way and do everything and the extra mile there is no competition over there no traffic there’s no traffic on that extra mile no traffic i love that exactly that’s a great way to put it yep and not only in jiujitsu Chris you know that in life there is no shortcut you have to do your best every day then there is no wonder you know like oh you know I got there is a reason it was I I knew where I was going the whole entire time yeah uh that just speaks to me in such a huge way because I remember when we opened up Peaks Recovery [  ] when I got into the field 17 years ago it was like there right when I got into the field you know this is everything I wanted to do my whole life i feel like God put me on earth to help people and I get into this field and I learned that actually not everybody cares about people in the way that I do and I thought if you’re helping people grow you care it’s not true and so I had this integrity about me to do the same thing on camera that I do at home or in the dark and we we moved into recovery this way and I didn’t think for a moment like I’m not the smartest guy on earth but when we open Peaks Recovery I was like I’m pretty sure we’re going to be the best treatment program because we’re authentic we care about people and they feel that and you can’t quantify that in your business model you can’t quantify it in your monthly rate you got to feel it and that’s something so synonymous with peaks and prime and mental health and wellness is it all goes together is it’s like people that truly care and to have those people in your life help fortify in a very intense and busy life a quality of life that’s really really solid you know and jiu-jitsu is a small part of it mhm it’s interesting you say it that way um cuz I think you know this I think you both know this about me i I worked on an ambulance i had a career as a EMT on an ambulance for about four years and you know when you get started it’s just what you said you think like “Okay yeah I’m gonna help people and I’m gonna you know save lives and you know what else whatever else.” And then you do it for a week you know what I mean and you’re like “This is awful.” Like and one that the job is just not a fun job but also it’s like this like how much am I helping this person that live has lived the last 10 years of their life in this bed that I’m taking from this bed to that bed you know and it’s it’s kind of soul crushing a little bit yeah uh and for me that was one thing that made that really made me think you know what I got to do jiu-jitsu for my career like I can’t just do I can’t just ride this ambulance and do this because I’m not actually helping anybody but we are that’s a good point you’re like “Wait a minute i this healthcare thing is not what I thought.” Yeah this is not the same but in jiu-jitsu it’s like I’ve seen people come in and lose weight and get these connections and you know grow in their confidence and have these tangible profound improvements to their life through jiu-jitsu and it’s like this thing that I thought I was really going to be helping people you don’t see that from well that happened that happened to me you know in uh different parts of my life you know like I nowadays catch myself you know using uh the things like especially uh consistency that I learned training jiu-jitsu right like for you to be able to execute certain movement you have to practice that over and over and over again and it doesn’t matter it’s not what you do in one day it’s on the long run so it’s teaching you uh consistency to persevere uh right like doing training no matter what and in school when you have a test hey I’m going to have to write down on that test you know I’m going to have to pass it so I need to uh study oh I’m gonna set I I did a lot of that in uh school hey you know I need to study uh two hours today so I’m gonna split it up in you know to you know attention spam you know what I mean 45 minutes here there you know what I mean i would fit it in my day or between training I would study so and it helped me m so that’s when it transcends from you know in in in in my example here in jiu-jitsu jiu-jitsu adding to my personal life like same thing in relationships putting in the work you know what I mean like hey you know I got to spend more time with my kids with my wife that is nothing good that comes out of something without you putting work in it you know what I mean i don’t know that there’s a more relevant activity to the rest of life like jiu-jitsu like there’s it’s so re like you’re saying it’s so relevant to your career it’s so relevant to your family values like just you have to be consistent and you have to go through the moments when it sucks and you have to get better and you just and if you don’t do that it won’t work you just don’t you you won’t get better yeah it’s so interesting not just about the sport like you really do like I remember when I started like two years from now you’re gonna get it i’m like two years what two years you kidding me i can run a mile yeah doesn’t work here you know but consistency in showing up it’s not it’s not just like a a thing for life a jiu-jitsu but it it really teaches you to to formulate a better relationship with what you consider dead ends in life yeah right and we said it before the show it’s like when now we can take breaks and not quit we can move into things and move out but for sure the one thing we’re not going to do is stop right right because that’s not part of the the ecosystem that’s part of the foundation that’s not what we do to get better in jiu-jitsu and to get better in life so we’re just going to keep moving but first you need to find the real value and that for you not to quit yeah mhm that’s why the passion is very important to be taught before you found a passion somehow in jits i found mine the reason why I did it so I think if you have a reason not to quit even though it is hard at first well especially the the first two years the hardest belt to get in jiu-jitsu is not the black belt it’s the white belt because you don’t know what’s coming yeah it’s true you’re walking into a room like especially back in the days in the 90s scary guys in the room those guys are not there to jiu-jitsu for everywhere here’s a stripe you do great no hey if you don’t prove yourself if you don’t perform if you don’t fight that big guy well we’re going to bully you even more those are the changes that I love that you know comparing to when I first started and jiu-jitsu nowadays jiu-jitsu is for everybody mhm competition is not for everybody lifestyle community the therapeutical effects of jiu-jitsu is for everybody jiujitsu has so many virtues and if you think only about one competition you you’reing out a lot of uh great things about jujits it’s true i agree yeah there was a book I want to say Cass was telling me about it maybe she bought it don’t quote me um but it’s called Trauma in Jiu-Jitsu and it’s a book about women and moving through I’m pretty sure I’m getting this right uh moving through their trauma and their life experience that was really really intense through going into jiu-jitsu and learning reminds them of Yeah exactly and they’ve been able to like in essence and I I agree with this this i can’t tell you how many times I’ve left jiu-jitsu and text my wife and been like “Sorry I was being an [  ] earlier.” Yeah you know it helps me it’s therapeutic like you said very much but yeah there’s there’s books and there’s studies and there’s a lot of things coming out now that are talking about the therapeutic components of jiu-jitsu and how it’s sematically because I do a lot of um I have done a lot of therapy that’s called sematic therapy so it means like the the story lives in in our bodies right on the on the vagus nerve and it lights up with these traumatic experiences but it’s called sematic therapy and the goal is to move that energy out of the body so it doesn’t block and there’s no better way than to go into jitsu and release aggressive energy right sometimes yeah to have the wind kind of moved in there it is transforming trauma and jiu-jitsu so cast was telling me all about those so I want to read that book read about halfway through but there’s a lot of benefit that’s why I try to talk to a lot of people i There was a young man who came in um he came into morning class for a walk-in probably six months ago he was a guy who had been through our program he’s struggling with his depression nobody knew i said “Meet me Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m man just come meet me let me introduce you to my friends.” I could get emotional talking about this this is somebody I really care about but he left that and he hasn’t been back multiple times but he knows the seeds planted he said to me he said “Chris I’m still alive.” Right i’m like “Yes you are man.” And it was prime and we take that for granted many times you know it’s so crucial right and it’s so big for folks to feel that like whoa you know there was a study I was reading the other day and I say it all the time on here that half of adult Americans won’t sprint after 30 oh yeah like ever take off and run as fast as you can we do it on the mat all the time like this is you know and what that means for humans right huge so big you know it’s huge well and you’re talking about your friend who’s going through going through a tough time i mean I don’t think we know how many people that’s that they are because they don’t bring it up you know what I mean sometimes they don’t need to because they come in and they can cope with it and they can deal with it you know what I mean but sometimes I mean and that’s kind of where community kind of comes into play with it is sometimes they do have somebody they can talk to about it which is so powerful especially in the area that we’re in right like you know a lot of uh veterans a lot of military military veterans you know sign up in jiu-jitsu I’ve had the opportunity to teach uh I just looked uh into my system 5,128 people have and through prime i was going to ask you that number oh my god yeah I just checked it this morning from people that signed up and stayed for 10 12 years 13 years people that came in and took one class so um if uh let’s say you know only 10% of that 10% of the amount of people that came in I planted that little seed seed sorry and I you know impacted the their lives in a positive way i think I’m happy that’s the purpose yeah i think you’re touching thousands you know maybe beyond thousands and that’s kind of that trickle down effect is like I I’ve brought I’ve done three or four shows now where we’ve just talked about like jiujitsu and community and like and like so that was introduced by Prime to me i mean I’ve talked to hundreds of people about this right and I’m just one person one platform well and if you see if you look around if I can I mention other uh names yeah you Joe Rogan yeah i mean uh Dana White
many other people speaking highly about this martial art from Brazil i mean you know it’s benefiting a lot of people yeah it really is and I love the way that actually Joe actually talks about it and he talks about jiu-jitsu as being specific to you know if we’re doing submission jiu-jitsu who again joe Rogan joe Rogan yeah because he talks about submission jiu-jitsu and that’s what you they teach that’s what you teach right you know we’re going to submit um he he talks about it so eloquently differently than judo i was talking to DC about this the other day differently than kickboxing which is a point system yeah eventually someone gets knocked out but in jiu-jitsu without getting hurt somebody says “I quit.” And you can push yourself you can train reality i mean talking to Daniel outside on uh when was it monday it was a geek Monday i mean we went out trained hard in Muay Thai you can’t do that without really risking your life yes kicking in jiu-jitsu you can go all out go have a asai bowl afterwards you know it’s so good you know what I mean like go have dinner lunch whatever i mean great it’s interesting how you talk about like jiu-jitsu starting and and how we you would kind of have to especially here it would be more kind of underground right because it’s like this thing that we do and it’s so cool to be sitting with you here today what 35 years later and it’s such a communitydriven thing it’s such a wellrespected thing it’s such a diverse thing that a lot of people are talking about when it used to be just kind of like this shady shady that’s what you say yeah well luggage like back in the day go ahead you Yeah you bring up the numbers you said that the first academy you were at there were 30 people at that academy being trained at the time fast forward 30 plus years and now you have your academy who’s who’s affected what was the number again 5,000 5,000 5,128 people have been through Prime that’s crazy that’s a crazy difference and it’s cool on the mat what’s what’s really cool to me about it too is it is more inclusive now and there are more people that can fit in on the mat and they can get all these benefits and everything else so you can affect those that huge number of people but there is still that element of difficulty the element of um what’s the word I’m looking for
um I difficulty is the only one I got anyway the elemental difficulty that you can benefit from even though it’s more inclusive even though we’re positively affecting 5,000 people live
ro where you know there is the guy on your back and he’s trying to choke you so you got to stay calm well you know you’re you’re walking outside you know a person comes to you to attack you well you kind it may not be the same intensity of a guy having a knife or a gun but it’s a similar situation that hey you know so you know that remaining calm is the most important thing i always talk to Andy in morning class about you know it’s a police officer here in town and he’s like “Everybody should be trained jiu-jitsu nobody pull out their guns you know because literally you’re safe you know I’m okay here regardless you start reading let’s say the room a little bit better like you know reading your opponent your your training partner mhm you know what I mean it’s such a I think it informs such a quality of life it used to be this thing like I’m tough and I do this but DC talks about like a convenience store and somebody like giving the clerk a thing and like I don’t have to engage with this in a way that maybe I would have or wouldn’t have because I know where my feet are yeah I can tell you that story yeah i was with uh uh my girlfriend and I were at a at a come and go or it might have been Maverick by now whatever it is but we were just getting a drink real quick and I was on my we walked in and there was a guy who was kind of going at it with the cashier they’re yelling at each other talking back and forth because the cashier accused the guy of shoplifting essentially so I pulled out my phone and I just kind of started noting it and just looking at my phone while I’m getting my drink and my girlfriend grabs me and she taps me on the shoulder she’s like “Do you see what’s going on?” And I went “Yeah yeah I do.” And so anyway we finish up we get our drinks we go back to the car and she says to me cuz she doesn’t train but she says to me she’s like “That makes me want to like do some like karate or kickboxing or something so I know I could do something about it.” And I was like “If you trained something you would know that you wouldn’t do something about it.” It’s huge right right i thought all these years like I was getting beat up by wrestlers in seventh grade i’m like “These guys that fight man they just go around beating everybody up.” No no those are the coolest calmst collected well-grounded intentional people that I know today and that that links to confidence right if you have the confidence you go on the mat and you fight you know you have let’s say five rounds a day well you know yourself you know you can perform you know how dangerous you can be because you also have to answer for you’re going to be held accountable for your actions mhm mhm so you learn how to control yourself how much you’re going to sting back if you need to get to the point where you have to defend yourself you know what I mean like I think the more confident you are the less you need to show off you don’t it’s so true and and those are two very valuable very practical lessons m I mean the one of the first lessons I think you especially if you’re like a tough athletic guy or somebody who comes into jiu-jitsu you learn day one okay I don’t want to fight cuz there’s these people that don’t look like me don’t look tough like me that can just beat my ass you know what I mean so that’s one lesson one and lesson two is later you know what I mean you don’t want to get that that confidence like “Oh yeah I can beat people up and then go out and do it.” Guess what you hopefully you got a good lawyer if you think that way you know what I mean 100% i’ve had students that learned jiu-jitsu from me and they had to use and they didn’t really choose uh how much they uh used from their knowledge and they ended up beating up a person that you know was uh wasn’t you know like a trained specialted as they were and one of the guys got arrested yeah that’s what I love about a lot of the um the the Gracie lineage is is when they talk about it at least the podcast I’ve listened to it was all in this attempt to not hurt someone too like you could get them to submit without hurting them now you could if you moved into it but that’s something so special about jiu-jitsu is that you could it’s this art it’s like Roric like these people we were in Hawaii i don’t know if I told you this professor i know I told D but we’re in Hawaii and this kid this 13-year-old is just like proping him names all this stuff and it’s going on for like two days and all Roric and Garrick want to do is play with his younger siblings and this guy’s likeup and I just listen like out of the corner and I hear Rooric he goes “You know what man like if you’re just going to keep talking like this do you just want to fight watch.” And he’s and they know like we’re not fighting unless you’re like in danger or somebody’s hurting you and and the kid of course was like “Absolutely this will be great.” And so he’s like “All right well we’ll just find this little square over here.” And he’s like “I’m not going to hit you man but when it hurts just make sure you tap.” Right and Garrick Garrick’s walking over there garrick’s like “You’re going to regret you did this man you shouldn’t do this with him you shouldn’t do this with him within one minute boom the guy swings this big old thing he’s Ror’s not trying to hurt him this kid’s trying to hurt him right swings ror ducks grabs his leg takes him down puts him arm bar boom he’s like tap it was over now he’s best friends with his siblings this is a beautiful thing he didn’t hurt anybody he didn’t call anybody any names he said “Man just stop talking to me like that.” Right it’s beautiful well uh goes back to you you know speaking of uh Roric doing that well remember a Japan Open Hung Gracie his last match the guy he found out that the opponent was hurt and uh he didn’t want to hurt the guy so in the locker room before he goes for the final he say I’m not going to throw one punch he’s going to you’re going to see a gentleman going in there taking him down closing the distance taking him down and submitting him i’m going to give him a chance of going home to his family without me hurting him and that’s exactly what it it he did hig Graci there is nothing more beautiful than that for a guy like me that live by the bushidto mhm it’s so cool and you know what Bidto is what does that mean the samurai code of life okay like a code of ethics kind of thing yes okay that’s cool so that’s awesome i think uh there is no better uh advertisement out there uh than you know such an honorable person you know what I mean such an honorable art that’s how I learned jiujutsu and even as a kid kind of get getting it you know what I mean kid understanding like you know we can talk and talk and talk and talk but we can take this one step further and then being able to take it that step further without hurting the kid having concern for this kid who’s been you know harassing him essentially and and Roor is just like “Hey let’s just let’s just fight make sure you tap.” Mhm and then fixes the issue we need more of that eight he’s nine nine yeah the kid was 12 or 13 i know that’s And that age three years is such a difference right and it is such a gentle but fierce martial art and I love that kind of ying and yang to it it’s got this way about it that demands control and attention but at the same time like we’ll let you off too you know and I love that you’re talking about it like I do think that people move into community a bit more confident and a bit more foundationalized when they know how to defend themselves it’s really really beautiful thing it’s interesting because I sit with um like the Jake and Jax of the world and I think to myself as a father I’m like how do you make kids like this like these kids are like such awesome what you’re making a choice to wake up and go train and like I’m like and my kids look up to them and like that’s the path now you asked me about uh you know what is it about the passion of uh teaching kids what you just said you used an example of uh you know three kids Roric Jake and Jack and I can bring up Han Borum Zion uh Jack uh little Jason uh John everybody yeah I mean a lot of very confident kids at Prime BJJ like uh Master Hanzo Gracie used to say we are not in the business of martial art we are selling confidence it really is and it’s and I think it’s naive of us to think for a moment like this isn’t valuable anymore we got cyber bullying we have all this stuff going on it’s kind of like the ghost in the room that nobody can really face but I see the young kids out of prime moving into community with people that are struggling with that intensity and moving through it really really well and with a tremendous amount of what we talked about earlier integrity you know right their integrity human and that’s a that’s a really really big deal not only as a as a a father or business owner but as a friend it’s a huge thing for me and it’s a huge thing at Prime um one thing that I definitely want to get into before we end the show is I want to talk about like your greatest jiu-jitsu moments uh maybe a couple for each of you um was it was it uh you know was it giving Professor Alli was I think you gave her a black belt was it on the podium was it you on the podium was it Rio de Janeiro what is maybe for the viewers maybe kind of encapsulate a couple of your greatest jiu-jitsu experiences as an athlete or as a professor ask the same question let’s do let’s do let’s do one each as an athlete and as a professor do you want to do one first or uh yeah sure so I’ll say uh I’ll kind of reiterate because we he asked me this question as well uh overall um I would say it was receiving my black belt was like a huge moment and to be able to kind of just have a platform just for a minute to express my gratitude to you and to everybody in the community in the in the gym that was huge just overall now as far as in competition I’m going to break the rules i have two um and one of them was when I was a blue belt it was one of the first times I ever went and traveled and competed alone and I went to the Vegas Open and I was the first match of the day 9:30 a.m and we double guard pulled and the guy foot locked me and finished me in 15 seconds there was nobody there with me i got off the mat i went to the bathroom i closed the stall and I cried in the stall by myself and I had a moment with myself right there and I said “You can quit.” Like you can stop doing this you don’t have to compete again you can just be done with it or you can get through this and you can see where you can go so not fun not a fun moment but a formative and really really important moment for me and then um kind of fast forward um few years I meddled one time at a major at at adult it was a brown belt and um it was against a guy named Javier Zeruski who’s now a black belt world champion but I uh fought him at pans and this guy I saw him warming up before the tournament and I saw him cutting the last little bit of weight i was he was big i was it was super heavy so a little big for me but I saw him cutting the weight and I was like “Oh this guy’s going to get tired i’m going to just smoke him he’s I’m good i’m fresh.” He did not get tired and so I just was up advantages i I extended this guy’s arm in a violin arm bar and it was everything pulling on it and he just ate it nothing could not break it you know what I mean and um and then he picked me up when I put him in a mlada and we’re just at the end of the match there’s 30 seconds left and I’m just hanging on to his leg like don’t let him have anything and I like I won that match and looking back at that match I was just thinking man that’s everything that was my potential that was a glimpse at what I’ve been pursuing all these years is a glimpse at my potential yeah so anyway those are that’s like like I mean to me just knowing a little bit about like I guess it’s like Mount Everest like people climb Mount Everest but I don’t think people understand it’s very similar what you’re talking about it’s an elite level of humans that are doing and having these type of stories um really elite so I appreciate you sharing that for sure yeah you know I think I think a lot of other stuff gets a lot of airtime and it’s fun to watch and things like that but what you all are doing in these competitions on the world stage brown belt black I mean it’s got to be like 012% or something like humans just don’t do what you guys do it’s incredible so thank you for sharing that story man i didn’t know that last one that’s cool how about you professor for me I would like to uh talk about uh as a coach first um you know grocery store buying something a kid taps on my back and hey professor I’m like that’s how this kid know me and then it’s a full grown adult now you know 19 oh I used to train with you when I was uh you know little bit younger at prime or then I was like hey I remember I don’t want to say the name oh professor you know I’m uh part of the national guard nowadays thank you you for introducing this uh sport in my life taught me a lots of uh um consistency showing up again taught me to be a better human being i think that’s the the most important and uh I was at one of the grocery store in town i don’t want to say the name we are not getting a cut right nobody is here but yeah kid you know after they train a prime and they jiu-jitsu help to achieve their goals in life outside of jiu-jitsu as a coach for me there is nothing more rewarding i think it’s a a great moment as an athlete uh when I was uh when I’m on the podium I win i think uh the whole point of competition is to win of course fair play sportsmanship but you try your best i’ve had a few of those moments but 2014 when I went when I competed at the open and my semifinals was against a big hero of mine open weight he’s 240 pounds i’m uh I was a lightweight at the time 162 without the GE and uh I pulled guard the match was uh very tight and like 10 seconds before the end I arm dragged him and I took his back and I won the match he’s a UFC champion former champion i’m not going to say the name because you know it’s a big hero to me but if the viewers uh followed my career they know who I’m talking about uh not I never had the ambition of uh or like you know like wasn’t like a you know a goal of mine but when you step on the mat you got to fight hard and that day I think uh I proved the point of jiu-jitsu to myself at 162 pounds uh be able to you know be a hero that’s huge in the match semi-finals of worlds and then the next match I end up uh winning uh Masters Worlds uh you’re on fire after that uh world champion that was uh what year was that 2014 about 11 years ago wow and with me was uh Professor uh Tim Boralo uh professor Adam Wheeler Professor Alli was there too uh I think Daniel wasn’t there for that one we were not yeah so it was great and uh we all brought gold medals uh to Colorado Springs i think it was one of the first times that uh we put Colorado Springs on the map you were all world champs yeah we won each uh each of us in our division uh Fester Tim was master two also uh Adam Willer was masters one wow he get he had a great match against uh uh some big names of jiu-jitsu so it was a great moment but between the two I I prefer my moments uh when you know you you run into a kid that have been part of the program and uh they they were able to transcend the the the benefits of jiu-jitsu into their personal lives that’s so true that you bring that up because the the competition moments they’re good you know what I mean and it’s cool and it’s fun to be able to look back and be like I was that guy that day you know what I mean but it’s nothing compared to positively affecting like your students it’s nothing compared to hearing like somebody come and talk to you and say “Hey you really helped me out that day.” You know what I mean or you really helped me out and taught me this as a mentor you know a coach a professor is nothing less than a mentor in your life you know so if you achieve your goal well there is no uh medals uh gold medals that will make me happy a medal that’s going to go at the bottom of my drawer and I’ll never look at those again you know what I mean but knowing that and it’s not only kids you know I have adults that you know cadets from the Air Force that came you know they’re uh in school uh to become a pilot and then now you know hey you know your student is a jet fighter pilot i’m like man you know like this is jiu-jitsu and it’s you know like we have lawyers we have doctors one of them is a best friend of mine i mean you know it’s it’s cool it’s cool it’s it’s such a diverse community that’s what I never thought i thought we’re just a bunch of fighters here no that’s like secondary to like all of these other really really cool things doctors and business owners and post office workers and police officers and first responders and all a dynamic view of the world but one thing we all share in common is like we show up with each other and for each other and it’s a very special thing in community and talking about the impact on the kids it’s uh you know when I got into recovery and I got into helping people my goal was like well if we could just impact a few people you know I haven’t we haven’t had 5,000 clients in this program but I know that we’ve impacted thousands of people um and the impact that you’re having on youth both of you guys on the developmental process is astounding in community and and the the the sum total of that um I don’t even think we could recognize right now it is so big um and I got to imagine for a moment and I do it a little bit too because we’ve been open 10 years now you all have been open 13 um where you get to have these people you know our our marketing guy was the first client that ever went through our program like he’s he came into he came into our program dead and he is alive and well and you get to sit there and you’re just like this is cool i guess I had a part of that gives me chills and so I just I not only want to thank you but also highlight as you did that the the cumulative impact that you guys have on a daily basis on the mental health and the foundation here in Colorado Springs and how you keep people coming back for more um it is really a wellness model that I think is fit for for distance and and uh intentionality in our world and I think it’s heavily missing in a lot of areas what would you guys say because I know what I would say but what would you guys say to somebody who like messes professor in 2015 and then doesn’t start jiu-jitsu until 2023 okay and I should have done it then cuz you’re like “You got to come train.” You know as he pulls off the lap pull down bar and puts his head thing on and starts like doing the weight that I was pulling down with my lats i’m like “Holy [  ] man i didn’t know this we’re in Villa Sport it’s one of the nicest gyms in town this guy’s over there.” He’s got this leather helmet thing that’s got a hook on it and he’s like “Hey can I get the next set?” And I’m like “Yeah yeah.” And I know people cauliflower ears don’t [  ] Don’t mess with them right and so I’m like “Yeah bro i’ll go I’ll go to another.” I’m thinking you know it’s like 100 lbs i’m thinking he’s going to change the weight no he’s just like “All right I’m just like oh my gosh this guy’s an animal.” And he’s like “You got to come to the gym got to be functional man got to be functional i should have went back in 2015 i’d be a lot further than I am now.” But uh yeah so what would you say to somebody that’s on the outside looking in that’s like “I’ve always wanted to do this because I always wanted to fight i always wanted to do this stuff but I was so scared honestly I was scared that it was going to be something so much different than you guys described today and so what would you say to those people on the outside i right away knew that based on uh how much I knew you and I’m pretty consistent with my my lifting too my my strength and conditioning training and I saw you there year in year out i knew you’re going to be successful in jiu-jitsu so you are doing very well i’m super proud of you thank you i appreciate that professor so yeah yeah yeah i mean just come in you know what I mean come in talk to us like and and be prepared it’s hard you know what I mean that’s what I would say to people is is come in and just try it try it you know what I mean because I like we we’ve said a few times on the podcast jiu-jitsu is for everybody that’s I mean we would love it to be right we and we want to make it as inclusive as possible but not everybody is like that you know what I mean not everybody can go through hard things day in and day out it’s just some people just kind of don’t have that but I would say there is a place for everyone on the map so if you come in and try it what I would say is give me a chance show up to my fundamentals class go to my academy i give me a chance do the fundamentals exactly and show up to my academy if you’re not around find an
academy the coach who is coaching you is very important find out about a little bit more about the coach you know look around see the if the academy is clean you know like what’s the reputation and uh if they have a structure very important and show up show up anything when you first start it sucks it’s hard showing up i have a friend great friend of mine Sig Dr sig um I used to live with him um and he told me uh 50% of success is showing up just getting there yeah and like you said you know you over the years you become an average of the five people that you surround yourself with and uh this guy is a great friend of mine and uh he also told me that so it’s that consistency and I think it really tells a story to the world that is really really important i have a saying on my wall it’s one of my favorite basketball coaches he died of cancer but it says don’t give up don’t ever give up and he formed uh I