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Rafael Lovato Jr. is the most decorated BJJ competitor from the United States. He is known for an aggressive style and being fun to watch. In 2007, he was the first Non-Brazilian to win the Brazilian National Championship (Brasileiro) in the Black Belt division. Again in 2007 Lovato became the 2nd American to win the World Championship (Worlds) as a black belt. Lovato has a lot going on and we cover a big range of topics in this interview including his injury, BJJ goals for the year, his Save Jiu-Jitsu Podcast, MMA career, and much more.

Some Highlights from the interview:

“My goal, is to jump right back into the Worlds. If I can be healthy and strong enough to train hard in March, that will give me two months to get ready, as long as I don’t miss the Worlds I am happy.”

“If you are so afraid of losing that you play not to lose instead of to really win…. then you are not going to learn very much walking off the mat…. you will not be able to go back home and find what you need to work on.”

About his Save Jiu-Jitsu Podcast, “Really my goal with it was to inspire people”.

When asked about what rules should be changed Rafael says “The number one thing that I would do is get rid of advantages…. they really don’t make sense”.

“The most evolution that you see in jiu-jitsu is from the guard, there is always new guard games, there is always new grips, angles, and ways to sweep….but there is not new submissions…. most of the evolution is from the guard and it is mostly sweeps.”

“I remember when I felt like I knew the rules in and out….Nowadays there are many of the refs that struggle with knowing.”

About what he would like to do this year. “Some pretty big things, Worlds, ADCC, another MMA fight…. If I could get on a Metamoris show I would love to be there.”

We talk about:

What he has been doing with his extra time, because of his injury is keeping him off the mats

The Save Jiu-Jitsu Podcast

How he is healing after his surgery

Changing the rules of BJJ

How having advantages makes the game less exciting

Some ideas of how we can deal with tied matches

Rule changes in other sports

Advice for students who are competing

How he explains advantages to his students before a competition

Training advice for different competitions

Training with Saulo and Xande

Doing Metamoris in the future

His goals with MMA

ADCC 2015

His plans to write a book

Keeping up with Rafael Lovato Jr:

Quote of the week: “Through the sports, our mission is promote a better quality of life and add social value, education, morals, and create a better citizen not only on the mats but in life. Propagate values in our community is valuable for the future” Andre Monteiro Check out Andre’s new Gym A-Force.

Article of the week: “What Is The Etiquette For Rolling With Black Belts?” JiuJitology.com

Want a better Guillotine Choke? Check out this seminar by our friend Roy Marsh!

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast!