Team Assemble: Arriving at HQ
I arrived in San Jose ready to hit the mats for the first day of the 2018 Caio Terra Association Team Affiliates camp. One day prior to my arrival, CTA had secured the 1st place team title at the IBJJF San Francisco open. Many of the affiliates came to compete and contribute to this team title. There were affiliates from all over the world at CTA headquarters for this camp, from Zürich to Suriname, and all over the U.S. Everybody’s spirits were high but they were also tired from competition. So the first association class with Professor Caio was a very low-key Q&A. Professor Caio answered a slew of questions about positions and techniques, some of which proved to be obstacles for the CTA competitors at the tournament the previous day.
A Camp of Fundamentals
All of the team association classes taught by Professor Caio were fundamentals classes. However, a fundamentals class with Caio Terra is about as advanced as you can get. The level of technical detail that Caio goes into when teaching/reviewing fundamental techniques, and the volume of thought behind the conceptual framework, is nothing short of astounding. He has no wasted movements. Every grip, every turn of the hips, every placement of every limb is purposeful.
Caio’s Jiu-Jitsu is a thinking-mans Jiu-Jitsu. It’s rarely about the how, and always about the why. Mere mimicry is disregarded for true, authentic movement and spontaneous technical ability rooted in deep concepts. This is something that Professor Caio stressed throughout the week. Anybody can mimic a technique, but simply mimicking a technique will not allow you to apply it upon an opponent who is resisting and is capable of moving in a variety of ways, changing the available details of any given technique. On the other hand, if you understand the concept behind the technique – the overall goals of any given technique – you will be able to apply that technique in a variety of situations.
The first fundamentals class taught by Professor Caio had 90+ students attending. 10 black belts, 9 brown belts, 15 purple belts, 25+ blue belts, 25+ white belts. This included multiple world champions, a 2x ADCC champion, multiple American and Brazilian National champions, and multiple Pans champions. This really set the tone for the rest of the camp. I knew I was truly a part of one of the best teams in the sport and was ready to absorb a lot of information to take home with me to study for the next year.
Deep Waters
Aside from the classes taught by Professor Caio, I also attended classes taught by Professor Vitor Paschoal and Professor Yuri Simoes. Professor Caio’s good friend, training partner, and 10th Planet black belt Denny Prokopos also taught a special mini-seminar just for CTA team affiliates. All of these classes provided something different. Different perspectives on the same curriculum, different styles of teaching, and different personalities leading the classes each with their own unique strengths. Overall, it was quite humbling and awe-inspiring to be in such deep waters, sharing the mats with such a diverse group of highly skilled grapplers and teachers.
Sleeping at the academy provided sufficient incentive to train in the earliest classes. As soon as the instructor walks in the door, it’s lights on! Soon afterwards people are filing through the door and starting to get warm on the mats. At 6:30 A.M. Professor Vitor has a committed crew of early morning killers. Professor Vitor’s technique and instruction is nearly as exacting and technical as that of Caio’s. Training so early in the morning is a great way to start your day, and I will be looking to implement 6:00 or 6:30 A.M. classes into our schedule in the near future.
Yuri & Denny
Learning from 2x – and current! – ADCC Champion Yuri Simoes is truly an honor. Professor Yuri runs his classes a lot like a wrestling practice. Reviewing and drilling basic movements and general techniques in a fast-paced and high-energy format. This allows students to get a lot of reps in while also keeping them engaged and working up a huge sweat. On top of being an absolute monster, Professor Yuri is also one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He always has the time and generosity to go out of his way to explain a technique to any of his students or to address a question with an in-depth and thoughtful answer.
Denny Prokopos’ mini-seminar was a great time, and was a very interesting contrast to Caio’s teaching style. Denny taught mostly general concepts from a few positions that he likes, with not a lot of attention to specific details – unlike Caio – but with a more experimental and lassaiz-faire approach. Most importantly, Denny spoke about loyalty and how amazing Professor Caio has been to him over the years, and what he has seen Caio do for others – something I’ll talk about later.
Denny runs 10th Planet San Francisco, trains regularly with Jean Jaques Machado, and has trained with Caio for many years leading up to his EBI and No Gi worlds tournaments. He’s very passionate about his relationship with each of those teams, and his loyalty to them. I found this very interesting and instructive as they were all separate teams, yet he has such an intense loyalty to all of them as they have each contributed to his success in the various aspects of the art/sport (gi, no gi, IBJJF, submission only, etc.).
More Than a Team: A Family
Overall, all of the instructors, coaches, and students at CTA headquarters were incredibly friendly, welcoming, and helpful.
When I decided to join CTA – and they decided to accept me – I was told that I was joining much more than a team: I was joining a family. All teams say this, but seeing the interactions and relationships first-hand, I can attest that this is an absolute fact.
Professor Caio is always at the academy or a text/phone call away, ready to help anybody or answer any questions. One night during a kids class, myself and Professor Colin Grayson of CTA Irving were having a conversation about our academies and personal lives and we heard Caio Talking loudly so we looked over in his direction. We saw him in street clothes on the mats, providing detailed instructions on a particular technique while CTA black belt Kristina Barlaan filmed him. We realized that he was making a video to address a question somebody had asked him via text message. If you know Professor Caio you know that he’s always responding to people, helping them, and truly going out of his way to do so.
One Team!
This is our team, and I’m so excited for all Sanctuary Jiu-Jitsu students to have the opportunity to go to headquarters and train. All students are welcome to come with me anytime I go, and are strongly encouraged to come to camp next year. This camp has really inspired me, and I’m looking forward to implementing what I learned. Nothing mind-blowing, per se, but it isn’t the fanciful that creates success – however you may define it – but the small things you do everyday. It’s in the “mundane” details.
I’m so grateful and thankful for all of the students at CTA Madison for choosing to train with me and build Sanctuary Jiu-Jitsu together. We are a small school – and the newest in the Madison area – but we have a huge network in San Jose, Brazil, and in the U.S. Our Professor is arguably the most technical Jiu-Jitsu fighter of all time, and is the best roosterweight in the history of the art/sport. So while we may feel isolated out here in the proverbial provinces, we are an important node in an incredible network of great Jiu-Jitsu fighters and amazing people.
Jiu-Jitsu is an individual endeavor in that it is intensely personal and each individual faces different obstacles, has different goals, and defines success differently. However, it is together as a team and as a family that we can help each other, grow together, and flourish.
WE ARE CTA!
If you’re interested in joining Sanctuary Jiu-Jitsu, or just stopping by to train (all teams are welcome on our mats!), contact us and we can set up your free trial or a time for you to come by and train with us!