Interview by: Jake McKee    Photos by: Dave Contreras

One was the teacher, the other the student. One is a legend in BJJ, while the other is looking to forge his own path, and make a name for himself in MMA. Wherever their respective paths take them one thing will remain true for Gracie Barra black belts Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes and Romulo Barral. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is in their blood.

Interview with Draculino:

Can you talk about how you moved from Brazil to Texas?

Article by: Marcelo Alonso (in collaboration with Guilherme Cruz, Eduardo Ferreira, and Erik Englehart)    Photos by: Marcelo Alonso & The Gracie Family

After over 80 years devoted to Jiu-Jitsu, the man who revolutionized the Martial Arts concept around the world has passed away.

On October 1st, 2008, family and friends gathered to celebrate the birthday of Hélio Gracie. Though he was turning 95 years old, Hélio took center stage and delivered a heartfelt speech to those in attendance detailing his storied life, and thanking them for taking the time to celebrate with him. Following the party the general consensus among guests was that Hélio had never looked better, and not only would they be returning the following year to help celebrate his 96th birthday, they would also return years from now to mark his 100th birthday.

Technique by: Marcio Feitosa    Photos by: Dave Contreras

The single leg takedown is a common way to get taken down, particularly when training without the gi. While there are numerous ways to escape when your opponent has one of your legs in the air, this particular counter becomes even more effective the tighter your opponent holds on. This sacrifice throw relies on you being able to keep your opponent’s grip locked on tight to your leg. His committed attack is what ends up sending him flat on his back on the mat enabling you to get on top and apply a submission of your own - in this case an armbar or an americana.

Interview by: Dave Contreras    Photos by: Mike Poeschl

Gracie Barra is one of the top schools in all of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and their alumni includes a list of who’s who in the world of BJJ and MMA including Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Ricardo Almeida, and of course the Gracies themselves. Bringing their legendary techniques to Southern CA in 2004, Gracie Barra set up shop in Irvine (located 40miles south east of Los Angeles) with the help of Marcio Feitosa, Marco Joca, and Flavio Almeida (Ricardo’s brother) and quickly established that school as the premiere location for all Gracie Barra academies within the US.  In the following interview head instructor, and multiple time world BJJ champion Marcio Feitosa gives us a rare glimpse into what sets the Gracie schools apart from the rest.

Technique: Leo Vieira    Article: Kevin Howell    Photos: Dave Contreras

The following technique section originally appeared in Vol. 5 of the Budovideos magazine (now called Martial Generation Magazine). Below, multiple time BJJ World champion, and ADCC champion, Leo Vieira demonstrates some of his favorite half-guard techniques. The half-guard is a great position to attack your transitions.  The reasoning is simple - oftentimes when passing the half-guard, your opponent will go for a single leg takedown or simply try to bridge you over on to your back.  The trick here is to go for your pass, but to be ready for his proper escape with a transition of your own.  As with all of the techniques that I teach, I always show a few options based on an intelligent opponent’s defense.  When you are small like me, your best option is to have a deep bag of tricks!

Interview by: Kevin Howell    Photos by: Dave Contreras

The following interview was previously featured in Vol. 5 of the Budovideos magazine (now called Martial Generation Magazine). Multiple time BJJ world champion, and ADCC champion, Leo Vieira shares his thoughts on opening his new school (located in La Habra, CA), the current state of competition, and what it’s like being a new father.

Tell me a little bit about your academy here in La Habra, California.

Vinicius “Draculino” stopped in earlier this week to shoot his new BJJ technique DVD, and with him he brought fellow Gracie Barra black belt and 5 time world champion Romulo Barral. While we can’t give too much information away about the DVD, we can tell you that it promises to be one of the most interesting, and unique technique DVDs you’re likely to come across. With the amount of techniques we shot the editing will take a little while so the set won’t be available until early Spring, but we can promise you, it’s worth the wait.

Draculino's armbar defense

Draculino sits down for an interview

Fresh off the heels of a stunning submission victory over Kron Gracie at the 2008 World Jiu Jitsu Championships, undefeated MMA fighter and Alliance BJJ black belt Sergio Moraes sat down with BudoVideos.com for an exclusive interview.

The soft spoken champion discusses his humble roots in Brazil, where his path in life as taken him before, where he is now, and most importantly where he is going.

This choice footage is only available here and on the approaching release of the 2008 World’s BJJ DVD set.

Coming soon to http://www.budovideos.com