Pioneer: Probably the most challenging assignment for a jiu jitsu coach is to go into an area that has no jiu jitsu background and start a program from the ground up to produce good athletes and a jiu jitsu culture. The fruit of that culture can expand the sport and over time, convert naive students into knowledgeable teachers who can in turn create new students and a sustainable expansion of the art in what was once a place devoid of jiu jitsu. My sensei, Renzo Gracie was a true pioneer. He came to the United States when there was almost no knowledge of jiu jitsu. I still remember him having to tell us in beginners class that being bottom mount and bottom guard position were not the same and that one was desirable and the other was not! Yet from those unpromising beginnings he forged a very large body of students that now sustain themselves and contributors the sport in ways that would have seemed impossible twenty five years ago. One of my favorite jiu jitsu pioneers is Mauricio Gomes, one of only a handful of men promoted to black belt by Rolls Gracie and father to the greatest jiu jitsu exponent of all time, Roger Gracie. He is in many respects, one of the fathers of BJJ in England. He and his son, Roger have produced a great number of talented athletes in a country that got a relatively late start in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu. Our recent trip to England was more than just a chance to catch up with Mr Gomes- it was also a chance to see just how far jiu jitsu has progressed on English soil. There are many more schools and students than even just a few years ago, and the level of skill is rapidly rising. Here I talk to Mr Gomes about his incredible achievements in Great Britain and his plans for the future. I have always said of British jiu jitsu, they may have started later than others and with fewer instructors, but the black belts they got, spearheaded by Mauricio Gomes, Roger Gracie and Braulio Estima, were the very best they could have hoped for. With these outstanding men at the helm and the rapid growth of the sport, I have a feeling English and European jiu jitsu will be a power house in a short time!
