Professor Rafael Ramos is constantly striving to bring Gracie Barra to the next level. Not only does he own his own schools in Encinitas and Carlsbad but he is also one of the people in charge of GB Compnet. Check out what he has been up to and what he is doing to bring Gracie Barra to the next level.

Tell us about how you got started in Jiu Jitsu.
I started Jiu Jitsu in 1994 mainly because of my friends. I used to see Professors Ricardo Almeida, Flavio Almeida, Marco Joca, Pedro Brandao (R.I.P), Marcelo Brandao, walking with their Gis to go to Gracie Barra HQ in Rio and one day i decided to try it as well since we lived in the same street in Barra back in the day. So here it is, friendships of over 20 years.That kind of bond only Gracie Barra Jiu Jitsu provides!

When did you know you wanted to dedicate your life to spreading the art of Jiu Jitsu? Well, in my early 20’s I was a little lost and I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my life so I tried Law School which I did for 4 years and after that 1 year of Nutrition school, but none of that was what I wanted to do. So after a lot of thinking and after having conversations with my parents (they are awesome by the way) I realized that there was something in my life that I was doing for over a decade that I never got tired or bored of doing……GRACIE BARRA JIU JITSU! And one day Master Nelson Monteiro called me from San Diego asking if I would like to come over to US to help him with his school. We were really good friends in Brazil and he was actually my strengh and conditioning coach back then as well as a training partner at Gracie Barra. So in the beginning of the summer of 2006 I got on a plane with Professor Luca Atalla who was coming to USA to start the graciemag in English and I spent 10 days with Master Nelson, living at his house, teaching with him, and getting to know the area. Of course I fell in love with Encinitas and a couple of months later, more precisely on August 10th 2006, I arrived here where I am today! We also opened Gracie Barra Carlsbad on August 2010 and it has been a blessing to get involved with such a nice community!

You are one of the main people involved in running the GB Compnet, what new things are currently going on with our competition network?
We are trying to improve the experience of our competitors and also make sure that our competition team is ready for all the tournaments out there, So we’ve doing the training camps, which Prof Ze radiola is the person in charge of those classes and this year we will have our first GB Compnet Nationals in October.

What are some of your goals regarding the competition network?
The main goal is to provide a competitive and safe environment for our students where they can compete, have fun, and most importantly better themselves as individuals.

Anything else that you would like to say to the Gracie Barra community?
Keep training and make sure to pay attention to the lessons that Gracie Barra is teaching. Not only the chokes and joint locks but also the life lessons that happen everyday on the mats : humility, cooperation, brother and sisterhood, persistency….  These are some of the most important lessons on our mats, this is what we will make our challenges in life easier!

Check out Professor Rafael show the Inner Thigh Throw http://youtu.be/jIlHPhF1qRY