This week we interview four people who won IBJJF worlds as a white belt in 2016. The interviews are comprised of the same four questions that we hope give you some insite into why they are winning. This is a great way to find out how some people are finding competition success early on in their BJJ career.

Janine Mutton (20m 40s)- Middle From Action & Reaction Mixed Martial Arts Toronto. Janine started BJJ with no background in martial arts. She quickly found a passion for being on the mat and training hard.

Janine talks about:

Starting BJJ

Setting the goal of winning worlds

Competitions before the worlds

Making an eight week plan

Training 3 or 4 times a week to avoid over training

Positive self talk

Pressure passing with her body type

The take down game

Her favorite submissions

Her training schedule

Her background in body building and soccer

Doing squats and deadlifts

Advice for white belts

Maui Lacaze (39m 56s)- Light Feather From GF Team. You will find Maui training at Millenium. Maui was able to submit all his opponents at worlds.

Maui talks about:

Winning every match at worlds by submission

What BJJ is like in French Polynesia

Starting BJJ with his cousin

His game plan

His training schedule

Surfing

His plans for competing in the future

Getting his blue belt

Gabriela Lembcke (45m 40s)- Rooster From Alliance. You can find Gaby training at Snow MMA. She credits some of her early success to wrestling and having a great BJJ team. You can watch a video of Gaby’s match in the finals here.

What got her started in BJJ

Training at Snow MMA with Samuel Snow

Having confidence in her BJJ

Her favorite submissions

Her off the mat training

Her diet and having a nutritionist

Her background in wrestling in highschool

Advice for white belts that want to compete

George Mandujano (57m 15s)- Ultra Heavy From Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu. George trains at Ralph’s House Fight Gym.

What got him started in BJJ

Staying calm

Not working too hard for a submission

How he starts his matches

Playing a top game

His wrestling background

How playing football helped make him tough

His strategy while on the mat

His plans for the future

A recent match that resulted in a knee injury

His training schedule

Training with other gyms

Training with smaller teammates

Not being affraid to ask questions

Quote of the week: “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. This will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” -Ernest Hemingway

Article of the week: Why Everyone Should Lift Heavy

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Mat Tales 11 “Not a Hero”

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