BJJ Legends interview, we get an inside look at Lachlan Giles and his journey which has led him to the ADCC.

A tournament that comes around every two years, the ADCC Championship is considered the Olympics in submission grappling competition.  Established in 1998 this event features a collection of elite grapplers from across the globe. Emitting live from Sao Paulo, Brazil the 2015 edition of ADCC will feature a diverse pool of  seasoned veterans, rising stars, and unknown talents all competing to be recognized as the best. For some participants it’s just another day battling to claim a prize. Yet for some entrants being a part of this event has a deeper in fulfilling a lifelong dream just to compete.

Thirteen years of blood, sweat, and tears have finally culminated for Australia's own Lachlan Giles. Winner of ADCC's Asian Trials, this will be Giles ADCC debut as he looks to not only to fulfill his dream but also showcase the talent of the submission fighters from down under.

Talk to us a little bit about your journey and how you got started?

Lachlan Giles: I initially started martial arts when I was 14 years old; I watched a kung fu movie and thought it would be cool to learn kung fu. At some point my instructor showed me a VHS of UFC 1. I watched Royce Gracie dismantle everyone, including a kung fu expert, but I refused to believe BJJ was better.

After about 6 months of denying that BJJ was better than kung fu, I finally gave in and decided to try a class. I think I was almost 16 years old at that time, after that I was hooked!

I have had a large array of coaches and influences throughout my BJJ career. Until purple belt I was under Tyrone Crosse, he left the gym I was training at so I then had George Sotiropoulous as a coach for a brief period. George left to pursue his MMA career and John Simon came in to replace George. I received my black belt from John Simon/John Will in 2012. However John was unable to train due to injury since I received my brown belt, so I had a heap of help from some of the best grapplers in Melbourne (Dave Marinakis, Lee Ting, Cam Rowe, Dave Hart, Kit Dale, Michael Hourigan, Jamie Murray, Ninos). It was a great experience to receive my black belt in the presence of all these people who had a profound impact on my BJJ.

Becoming a black belt what are some of the challenges you face at this rank and most importantly what keeps you motivated?

Lachlan Giles: The most challenging aspect of being a black belt in Australia is the difficulty in competing at an international standard. We have a lot of talented grapplers in Australia but it is rare to see them all on the same mat. Therefore the environment is different to that you would see at the headquarters for some of the bigger teams in the world. That said we are developing a great competition team at Absolute South Yarra and there are a bunch of people training full time. Two of our female athletes took silver medals at the worlds this year (Livia Gluchowska-purple, and Nikki Lg- White). Keep an eye out for guys such as Ben Hodgkinson who are sure to make some waves in the next few years. These guys push me every day!

My main motivation for training is that I enjoy it. I think people get bored of BJJ when they stop trying to learn. There is always something new to work on, and that’s why I want to keep training until I am 70.

What does being a competitor mean to you?

Lachlan Giles: Competing is always a good reality check and it keeps me motivated. It is a way of testing myself to see how well I can implement my game. I think it’s easy to not compete, especially as a black belt and a coach where there is a fear of having my students see me fail. The funny thing is that it’s my failures that have given me the most of my success. I think as a blue, purple and brown belt I probably lost as many matches as I won. Even at black belt I wouldn't say I am too far off. However, every time I lose I am back at the gym the next day, my motivation skyrockets.

The reality is that your students/training partners don't actually care when you lose. Sometimes I think you can do much more as a role model for your students by losing and fixing your mistakes, than you can by winning a match.

You recently achieved a major accomplishment by winning the ADCC Trials. From the traveling to another country to compete, advancing in the rounds, and winning the event. Talk to us about that memorable day?

Lachlan Giles: Winning the ADCC trials was always a dream of mine. I had 3 goals in BJJ, receive my BJJ black belt, open up a gym, and compete in ADCC. The event itself was a bit of a surreal experience.

The tournament was held in a large hall. This was in the middle of the Korean winter, which was below freezing temperature. They turned the heater on after everyone arrived and it wasn't until about 12pm that the venue was warm. I competed around 10 am so I was warming up with all my clothes on! There was a large mix of people from different nationalities. The majority of competitors were from Korea, although there was a reasonably large Kazakhstani and Australian contingent.

I won my first 2 matches by submission, which advanced me to the semifinal. I was told by an Irish-man living in Korea that the guy I was fighting in the Semifinal was the favorite. I managed to get an early heel hook in that match, which advanced me to the final. In the final I was facing Benjamin Aldridge, from New Zealand (now lives in Australia). Ben's aim was to run down the clock and force overtime, where he would implement his wrestling more effectively. I had a few submission attempts from guard but none of them stuck. With about 10 seconds to go the score was even and I managed to lock up a triangle. I knew there was very little chance of finishing the choke in that time so I switched to an omoplata and sat up for the sweep. I came on top with about 2-3 seconds to go, and then the buzzer went.

There was a long pause as the judges were discussing, and then I was awarded the 2 points, and the victory! Australians won 3 out of the 5 divisions that day. We celebrated that night with some Korean BBQ and Soju.

Your division in ADCC features stacked pool of talent Kron Gracie, Garry Tonnon just to name a few. How do you feel going up against them and what do you feel your chances are coming out with the victory?

Lachlan Giles: There are definitely a lot of big names in the division, which is very exciting for me. I have trained with people the same caliber as the people in my division (and even some of the people) so I know what to expect. I am not going into the event as the favorite but I think it’s possible to beat anyone, particularly in no gi where the pace is very high and a single mistake can cost the match.

Throughout my BJJ career I have fought the likes of JT Torres, Murilo Santana and Roberto Satoshi so it won’t be a huge shock to go up against a big name. However I think the crowd in Brazil will bring the event to another level!

Talk to us about your training for this event?

Lachlan Giles: The majority of my training is done at my gym Absolute MMA. We have a great amount of high level guys. I am training a lot of wrestling as I think this is a very key aspect to ADCC that is often under looked by the competitors. We have some great wrestling coaches in Australia and I am trying to get as much out of them as I can!

Closer to the event I think we will be getting all the Australian ADCC competitors training together on the same mat, which is going to lift the level considerably. I am continuing to try to evolve my game at this point and I will start trying to do some really intense rounds as of about 4 weeks out from the competition.

Finally what would winning ADCC mean to you?

Lachlan Giles: I honestly think I train just as hard as everyone else in the division so it would be great to see that hard work pay off. I am trying to think of an example where a male Australian has beaten a really high level black belt and nothing comes to mind at this moment. To win the event would be incredible but you have to take it one match at a time. A victory against a big name would be a huge thing for BJJ in Australia.

Any finals thoughts or people you would like to thank thanks?

Lachlan Giles: Thanks to all my training partners from Absolute MMA who are helping me to prepare for this event, and the guys that are going out of their way from other clubs to help me out (David Marinakis, Lee Ting, Michael Hourigan). Special thanks to Livia Gluchowska, this wouldn’t be possible without your help and support

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2012 North American ADCC Championships is the Official ADCC 2013 World Qualifier. This tournament is for Experts only (3 Years + Experience). IMPORTANT: Competitors Must have a US or Canadian passport to compete!

Date: October 14th 2012

Location: Mira Mesa High School
10510 Reagan Road.
San Diego, California
USA

Time: 9am to 5pm
Cost: $80.00 (No Refunds)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADCCNorthAmerica
Website: http://www.adccna.com/

Weigh Ins: Will be done before the division is called the same day of competition.

Prizes:
Every male weight classes’ winner receives official invite to the ADCC World Championship 2013.
(Women’s qualifier takes place in 2013. Stay tuned for details)
Every weight classes’ 3 best fighters receive medals.
Every winner of each weight class will receive an official ADCC Kimono donated by Fuji Sports.

Jiu-Jitsu PED Survey

Editor's Note: Thank you to the nearly 700 participants in our online steroids study. The data collected was interesting but even more so was the information provided by the black belts and bloggers who answered our more lengthy questionnaire. If the numbers are too much of a bore move on to the Discussion section, read and formulate your own opinion. This topic is so faceted I am looking forward to the discussions still to come.

Some numbers to note: 143 of 690 people said they had used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in the past. That is 20%. Demographically, white belts and black belts were the least likely to have used PEDs.

My heartfelt thanks to Matthew Corley for the countless hours and tireless research to produce this paper.

Title:
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and the Culture of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs): A Review of Online Survey Data

Author:
Matthew Corley,RPh

Abstract:
There is a persistent perception in high-level BJJ competitions that many medal winners are using steroids and other PEDs to succeed.  This article collates the opinions of nearly 700 BJJ practitioners and provides a detailed breakdown of the opinions of those participants based on their demographics. 

Insight from current and former world champions was also solicited for a first-hand perspective on PED usage at the highest level.  The bios of the subject matter experts are available by hyperlink at the end of the article under the acknowledgements section.

Read More ->

Jeff Glover was added to the list of competitors at the ADCC for the Abu Dhabi - his profile is listed here at the site.

BJJ Legends also had an interview with Jeff at No-Gi World Championships...

Jeff is a 145 pound black belt under Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller. He is a teacher at  Paragon Jiu-Jitsu, with four training centers in California. He was recently quoted in Gracie Mag to have “the most respected guard in the United States”. In 2007 Glover won gold in the no-gi World Championship.

BJJ/ADCC Record:

7 times Grapplers Quest Champion
2 times IGJJF Champion

Live from the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England the 2011 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships brought its legions of fans some of the most spectacular action from the best grapplers in the world, that will be remembered in years to come.

Amongst this group of competitors was the 2003 ADCC Absolute Champion Dean Lister. After a brief departure from the grappling scene the 35 year old grappling legend made his return to action to the event shocking the world becoming the 2011 ADCC -99kg World Champion defeating some of the top grappling talent of today.

Read More >>

ADCC Title Fight: Absolute Match

Andre Galvao vs. Pablo Popovitch, a rematch from earlier in the 2 day tournament.

Galvao is a comeback to the BJJ tournament scene where he has been a phenom after letting his MMA career take a back seat.

On to the fight: Andre strikes early with a single leg takedown, after a miss on his trip.

Read More of the Fight Breakdown >>

The Men end the ADCC 2011 with a great set of finals.  Exceptional matches between true professionals and masters of the sport.

More Results - Read More >>

Semifinals Ending Strong at the ADCC 2011 in England

ADCC is coming to a strong finish. The semifinals are ending and there's a lot of action on the mat.

>99 kg Mens

Roberto Cyborg Abreu vs. Gerardi Rinaldi

Cyborg wins in seconds with a footlock.  Cyborg takes the Bronze.

ADCC Rundown

The ADCC 2011 Semi finals are looking hot. From Nottingham, England we've seen some great fights and match-ups you won't see anywhere else. Next we have the Absolute division and Renzo Gracie and Mario Sperry hit the mat in their Superfight prior to the Absolute finals. Here's a run-down on the fights remaining:

ADCC Semifinals:

<66 kg

Rafael Mendes x Robson Moura
Rubens "Cobrinha" x Jeff Glover

Read More >>