I typically don’t write much but decided to this time. This past weekend Samir, Queixinho and Caio headed to NYC to conduct seminars and compete in the 2013 Pan American No Gi Championships. The end result was awesome; Samir Chantre won his second No-Gi Pan’s title in a row, closing out in the final with Queixinho. A truly amazing accomplishment!
A lot of people argue that Jiu Jitsu is an individual sport; after all, in a match the only people on the mats competing are you and your opponent. Although this is true in one sense, in another BJJ really is a team sport. You can not become great with out the sacrifices of your teammates and training partners and you would not learn and evolve without great leadership. It’s no surprise the best guys come from the best teams with the greatest leadership.
When I found out the results via a text from Caio (who texted “Samir and Queixinho won the title for the second year in a row!!”), I assumed Caio had not competed. When I saw pictures from the event and realized Caio HAD competed, it was truly humbling. Caio is arguably one of the greatest Jiu Jitsu players on the planet; he has been ranked number 1 in his weight class for a long time and is currently top 5 in ANY weight class, however, instead of reaching for personal glory and possibly moving up in the rankings, this weekend he conceded the victory to his teammates. I remembered then that Caio is more more than a coach, a teacher and a competitor; he truly is a leader. We follow him not because he is the best and wins but because he puts others before himself and cares about making them better. Congrats Samir on a great victory, congrats to the team for all they accomplished, and thank you especially to Caio. No matter where you place or your ranking, you continue to inspire us!
Thanks, and lets keep moving forward!
Nick
