A Masterclass - Part Two

https://admin.headliner.ai/a-masterclass-part2-mp3

Uyi

Hey, guys, welcome back to The Point of View. My name is Uyi Agbontaen, and I'm your host. Welcome to the second episode of a two part special. If you haven't heard the first episode, stop what you're doing.

Uyi

Go back to that episode and listen to of that one and come back to this one.

Uyi

I continue the conversation with master Mauricio Gomez.

Uyi

I'm sure you're going to really enjoy the second one.

Mauricio

That guy take his T shirt off to go for the wind. Let's go home.

Uyi

He's a big guy.

Mauricio

A big guy, man. Roger seemed skinny and coming out of a flute, said, God damn, my son has to fight that guy. And now he can get punched in the face. I think that's the worst thing in that kind of level is to see a son of yours. Obviously, you see him training, so in training, they do kind of the same thing. But when it gets in the ring, then it's the real deal. I don't know what happens when you get on that ring and they close that door. But that guy checked Roger on the floor like he was a piece of cloth. There was a wrestler, Grecoroman. I think Roger managed quickly to put him in guard. It would save him. And then he climbed the legs up, went for an armbar, and it worked. But the first attempt for the armbar, Ron Waterman, picked him off the floor. Just one arm. Arm was caught in the armbar. You picked him off the foot, slammed him down. Try to give him a few punches. His left ear. Excuse me, where he took one of those punches. But Roger tightened the arm off so badly, and it was so intense that he couldn't shake our hand. In the end of the fight, he was holding his elbow here when the arm goes short arms sort of thing. And he tapped angry. He got angry. You didn't expect that. It was nice. But all the fights, after a while, I stopped watching them. The ones in Asia, I didn't go because of the stress first. It was too far away. The others were all in different parts of the United States. So you can easily manage that. Go to New York always, because that was where he's trying from there to the event, Missouri or California. And then came the UFC in that fight with Tim Kennedy. That was the last one I saw after that. Said, you know what? I don't want to watch this anymore. And then he did the one FCSA miles away.

Uyi

I remember you telling me about one particular fight with King Moe.

Mauricio

Oh, God damn it. Yeah, that was awful. That unexpected punch rider landed on the floor. And then the event films the guy's face. The camera is in his face, lying down, man. When he passed out, like, the problem is not passing out, because sometimes they punch the guy on the floor. The guy is already out and they continue to hit. Yeah, I know that it's part of the process. It's the end game and it's up to the rep to stop that immediately before it gets too ugly. But that was my major concern. That would happen, that that would happen because he was the type of guy that he would do that.

Uyi

I remember you telling me about just walking into the arena and then the walk towards the edge and you could hear the crowd chanting, oh, King Moon.

Mauricio

It was the entire Stadium. I remember because my seat was in the stalls and when Roger got knocked out, I wanted to go in the dressing room. It was a traumatic experience.

Uyi

And King Mo was big. He was a big guy.

Mauricio

He was strong, he was fit.

Uyi

He was a seasoned fighter in his hands, very good.

Mauricio

He's a striker. King Mo. That fight that he had with that guy in Singapore, the guy said, I'm going to kick his face to the floor and finish him off with kicks to the head. I just hope that doesn't happen and rather punch them out. Yeah, that's a nice site.

Uyi

Yeah. So you were in America when you were a kid. Your dad was working there, right?

Mauricio

Yeah.

Uyi

How many years were you there?

Mauricio

Between five and six. Five and a half years.

Uyi

You didn't enjoy your experience? I remember you telling me.

Mauricio

Don'T get me wrong, I loved living there. I was heavily bullied in school and stuff because I was a foreigner and I didn't speak English in the beginning and couldn't make friends. Kids are very mean to each other in certain aspects. In five years, I think I had one with two friends. It's not the quantity anyway, but you're a kid. You're just trying to fit in and be like everybody else. And it's very hard when you go to school and you want to be like everybody else. What's your name? Mauricio. What? There it goes. It's gone from that question onwards. Forget it. I love living there, I really did. But the transition was hard. Luckily, I have Gomez in the end, so there's a lot of Spanish names with Gomez, but they end with a Z, so I had a lot of. Okay, Gomez. So people start calling you by your last name, which ends up being easier to make them say Mauricio. And then you go home and say, Why the hell did you give me that name that left an impact on you? Oh, man. Why didn't I call Bob or Steve or what have you? Something simple. Yeah. That's why my kids all have simple names that can be said in any language. So if they go somewhere, they won't have a problem that I have, right? Roger, Patrick, Kadena, Vanessa, Peter. They're all easy, easy going. Nothing like Mauricio.

Uyi

Easy names like my kids. Easy names. Aria, Eden. I can relate to that.

Mauricio

Welcome to the club.

Uyi

What's your name?

Mauricio

What?

Uyi

How do you say it? Before you came to London, you were in Brazil, America, the UK. You've also lived in Asia.

Mauricio

There was the sponsor in Tokyo. They needed an instructor with fluent English. It would have been the first Gracie Baja Academy outside Brazil. So Kanye asked if I wanted this opportunity, and I went there for three months, and I went back for another three, and then I went back again for another three. The visa would be for three months at a time. It didn't work out, but it was a good experience, which led me to come here. If I hadn't gone to Japan, I would probably never come here. Really? Yeah. Because one of my students there was from Birmingham. He was there studying Japanese. Right. And his friend had a gym in Birmingham. He hired me to work there.

Uyi

What was it like being in Japan?

Mauricio

It's a very interesting culture. The problem with Japan or any country, so to speak, is when the immigrant doesn't speak the language properly, that is a major setback. That means spoken, written everything. And in those days, there was no Internet. So you couldn't read a sign, you couldn't watch TV, you couldn't listen to the radio. You can't read a magazine. I used to teach there seven days a week, so it was hardcore. The second three months, I told the guy, Listen, I need a day a week. Come on, give me the Sunday, but ends up the Sunday is the busiest day in the gym.

Uyi

No, really? Why is that?

Mauricio

I have no idea.

Uyi

I remember you telling me an interesting story about traveling on the trains in Japan.

Mauricio

Oh, God. Yeah. It's funny that you don't walk into the train. You stop at the dorm, you turn backwards and then you revive. It's weird.

Uyi

You walk backwards to get on.

Mauricio

Yeah. Because it's so full that you can squeeze yourself in. Life comes a guy with the bamboo to check if everything is fine. Doors closed, off you go. But the funniest thing was that nobody would sit beside you because you're a fauna. You're what they call Gaijin.

Uyi

Is it's not a good word?

Mauricio

No. Funny enough, once they know the reason why, before they even know your name, what do you do? I'm an instructor. You're giving something, and that's good.

Uyi

Okay.

Mauricio

Once they know what you're doing there and everything changes, it's like anywhere, basically, even here. I like that life in England, especially in London. London is a city where you can live, and there's so many people from all over the world here that it's okay to be here.

Uyi

I think in London, for sure. It's such a big city. And like you said, it's very multicultural. There's so many people. And London is like everyone accepts anybody here because there's so many people, not even just from around the world, but from other cities in England. They come to London.

Mauricio

They do.

Uyi

You have traveled Britain extensively.

Mauricio

I probably know Britain more than a lot of Britain.

Uyi

You know more than me, that's for sure.

Mauricio

Listen, from Inverness all the way to Coldmore, I've been everywhere.

Uyi

You've toured in some interesting places.

Mauricio

Oh yeah. In the beginning I had to make money. So you end up offering your services to anybody who wants to do anything. So in some cases in the back of pubs, it's not everywhere, man.

Uyi

And now when you see where Jiu Jitsu is in the UK now, what do you think?

Mauricio

You know, when I see Jujitsu now in the world and I entered the gym and I look at the pictures of Carlos and Eduard, they started something that is today one of the most respected and the most popular martial arts in the world.

Uyi

In a short space of time.

Mauricio

Everybody there's an Academy everywhere. So you look back and say, wow, what a change, what a difference. I go around in the UK nowadays to do seminars and the same thing happens. The amount of interest that there is is so great, it's very satisfying that a martial art that you've been doing your whole life became what it is today. So popular. Well, it wasn't like that in the old days.

Uyi

So I know, like me. You're a big fan of films.

Mauricio

Yeah.

Uyi

And you've actually been in a film. Oh come on, I want you to tell this story because this is a pretty funny story.

Mauricio

Well, a guy was in the gym and they were finishing the second Sherlock Holmes and they were going to film the next day in Richmond Park and he said, why don't you go there at 07:00 in the morning? That's early, seven in the morning. All right, so I got there, Ivan said you got to pass by that place first. And there was a costume trailer. They put me in these Gypsy clothes with a hat and leather boots, a knife on the waist. We spent the whole day filming a scene for the film.

Uyi

You had no idea by the way that this was going to happen?

Mauricio

Oh no, it was a really nice surprise and you got to stay in that part of the so when the camera goes, you're going to see because people were looking at me. Who the hell is this? Just an extra. And guys talking to you. Why? Who are you? But everybody heard it. So everybody would go to that specific place.

Uyi

All the extras, right?

Mauricio

Yeah. One of the guys was very persistent. What the hell do you do? Come now. You really think you're the only one who can play this game? Target weakness. There we find the boxing champion of Cambridge. Predictable. Allow me to reply. Running dry. Just strategy. There was a queue to get in line to give the detail, your bank details or what have you. I said, what's this queue for? I just want to take this off. Oh, that's over there. All right. Nobody got to come here first. No, I can't spend the day, man. I didn't come here to get paid. That's really weird. It was just the experience. That's funny.

Uyi

What was the film?

Mauricio

It was a Game of Shadows. It was the second one. Anyway.

Uyi

Sherlock Holmes, 2. If people are really vigilant, if they look really carefully, they'll see you in the scene.

Mauricio

In the scene, yes. A friend of my son saw me. He lives in Florida, and he took a picture of that scene that sent me to look what Brian saw on TV. I said, oh, God.

Uyi

There'S a funny story.

Mauricio

I've met Jude Law on the night before we went to the UFC together. It's funny saying that a guy from Brazil ended up on a boat in the River Thames with Kyrigi Jude Law, Robert down to Jude on Winston Churchill's boat, going down the Thames to the Two Arena to see the UFC. Look where life brought me home.

Uyi

Incredible.

Mauricio

It is. And that was it. That was funny.

Uyi

Yeah.

Mauricio

And in the end, one of them actually came to one of my seminars a few months later, and he was like, yeah.

Uyi

So you've got an event coming up soon, a big event on this weekend, right?

Mauricio

Saturday. It's a Legacy Cup. It's a competition that my wife decided to make this event. And it's hard work, man. She's been working really hard on it.

Uyi

The Mauritio Legacy Car.

Mauricio

Yeah.

Uyi

You're a parent, obviously. Now I'm a parent.

Mauricio

I'm a grandparent.

Uyi

You're a grandparent. Yes.

Mauricio

I've been a parent twice.

Uyi

Yeah. What advice would you give parents who have their children doing jiujitsu?

Mauricio

Keep at it. And for those who are not doing jujitsu, man, put them to do a sport. Any sport there's so many could choose one, but they have to do a sport. I don't like that one. It doesn't matter. Which one do you like? Choose one. Well, I'll choose one for you. I always put my kids to do stuff. I always did stuff. And that stays for the rest of your days that you learned to be disciplined. It's different than school. Doesn't matter if he doesn't like collective sports, like individual sports, it doesn't matter. That's going to be up to each kids. I think it's so important for the development of the mind and body of the child to see something. There's always something to do.

Uyi

There are a lot of parents now who do jiujitsu and they're trying to pass something on to their children.

Mauricio

That's so nice. It's repeating itself. I went that with my son, and I'm going probably with my grandson if he continues and if he likes it because you never know.

Uyi

Yeah.

Mauricio

They may like it or they may not. And that's what happens with fathers and mothers that do this used to take their kids to jiujitsu and they expect their kids sometimes to like the sport as much as they do, and the kids don't, which is normal. Right. People. Not everybody likes the same thing. So they have to be patient with that, maybe insist a bit and see what life brings them. And if they like it, they'll continue. And believe me, if they continue. My wife teaches a lot of kids. She does adults as well, but mainly kids. She teaches in schools. And I see that in the kids that she teaches. Again, you can't make things happen. You can't force that much. It has to be a balance then. But in the end of the day, it's beneficial. We see that every day. We see how good it is for parents. And sometimes if we have cases that hold, the entire family trains.

Uyi

Right.

Mauricio

Father, mother and a bunch of kids. Yeah, everybody. How cool does that be in the house?

Uyi

It's special. What would you say are some of the mistakes that you see people making when they're learning or training?

Mauricio

I think that's up to the instructors of each and every gym to plan what they want to teach their students. What happens, unfortunately, is that people go on the Internet and they see people doing some fancy move or what have you. Oh, I want to try that. A lot of people try stuff that their body is not prepared to do yet. When you're trying to run before you can walk, that comes in stages. I was teaching today side control amount, which something spoken like this is very easy on the side, throw the leg over your mouth. But the amount of details and stuff that goes on between that simple fact of throwing the leg over the person's body, we're not getting caught in halfguard. It's gradual.

Uyi

Yeah.

Mauricio

Step by step by step. And sometimes they want to skip two, three, four or five steps, and that will catch up later on. Oh, I've never seen that before. Well, should have. And that happens a lot. But then again, I think it's part of what we say. Oh, it's progress. It has to be like that. I don't know. Nowadays I just try to mind my own business, whatever.

Uyi

Yeah. You do what you want to do.

Mauricio

Yeah. Not here to change anything. I'm just here to do a job. I do my job as much as I can as well as I can do. And he's doing his job the way he wants to. That's up to him. They come to me for advice. I can explain. Yeah. Now you can see my point of view, but other than that.

Uyi

Yeah, that's true. Okay. We've been talking for a while.

Mauricio

We have, actually.

Uyi

So we're going to wrap this up. Where can people reach out to you?

Mauricio

I have Instagram. I think I have a website. I'm not sure, but I think I do.

Uyi

Okay. So people can contact you Mauricio Gomez on Instagram. And your website is Marcia Gomez BJJ, and you teach at the Roger Gracie Academy as well in London.

Mauricio

That's the easiest place to find it is going to the gym. I'm there all day. That's the easiest place.

Uyi

Yeah. And obviously the Mauricio Gomez legacy cup so people can look out for that.

Mauricio

Yeah.

Uyi

Cool. All right. So let's wrap it up. Thank you. Thank you for coming on. It's been fun.

Mauricio

It's my pleasure.

Uyi

Thank you. Okay, guys.

Uyi

Thank you for listening. That was part two with the legendary Gomez. I really hope you enjoyed the show. Don't forget to share like or subscribe. I really appreciate the support. Remember the show comes out biweekly. I will see you in two weeks time you.