- 5th March 2020
- By New School BJJ
- News
Leão Teixeira Seminar 2020
On Friday the 28th February, New School BJJ held a seminar under, 7th Degree Red and Black Belt, Leão Teixeira. It wasn’t surprising that we had a huge turnout, as it’s not everyday that you get a chance to train with someone who received their black belt over thirty years ago. To begin the session, Leão Teixeira, known by his nickname Zé, thanked everyone for attending and then gave an explanation on his philosophy of how he trains in Jiu-Jitsu and what he focuses on. He explained that the fundamental aspect everyone should train is their ability to have a good defence. His reasoning behind this is that when your defence is good, it makes it easier for you to attempt different attacks, which will then lead to you achieving the ultimate goal of Jiu-Jitsu – a submission.
Zé then began to demonstrate the techniques that he wanted us to work on, using the first one as a warm up. What was important about all the techniques, that Zé showed us, is that they all started from the stand up position. He said that this is the position in which you’ll start most of your fights, whether in BJJ competition, MMA or in self-defence. So, it’s an aspect that cannot be ignored in training. All of the techniques that we practiced followed the same sequence: stand up, then using a feint to get your grips; taking the fight to the ground via throw or guard pull; moving into a strong position, whether a guard pass or breaking your opponent’s posture in guard; controlling the opponent; finish with a submission.
It was obvious to see that after years and years of experience, Zé has become attuned to the very smallest of details that, when added together, make the techniques even more efficient. Plus, he has also developed a very relaxed, patient, clear and precise way of giving instruction. It was this experience and teaching method that really made it a seminar for everyone, as the techniques Zé had us practicing were simple and did not require any special degree of athleticism, such as flexibility, strength or power. However, the degree of detail that everyone had to pay attention to, whilst practicing, made getting basic techniques to become more efficient, an enjoyable challenge.
On behalf of everyone from New School BJJ, we would like to thank Zé for giving us a great seminar and the privilege to see the skills that can be developed a very long time after attaining a BJJ black belt.
By Jasen Vassoodaven