More than a sport, Jiu-Jitsu is a way of life. To think otherwise would be to not understand the martial art, and the philosophy that drives it. The most practiced form of Jiu-Jitsu comes from the Gracie family, the legendary Brazilians whose strong morals were embedded deeply into the sport as it developed and grew. Grand Masters Carlos and Helio Gracie believed that the principles of efficiency, patience, and control held the key to success not just on the mat, but in all aspects of life.

The Gracie philosophy dictates that everyone who practises Jiu-Jitsu should be respectful, hardworking, morally correct and patient, eat healthily, not use drugs and not act irrationally. Despite the importance that true Jiu-Jitsu practitioners place upon these values, the martial art is seen with prejudice in Brazil due to the actions of a small group. Jiu Jitsu champion Lucio ‘Lagarto’ Rodrigues admitted to LUTA that one of the main reasons he left his home in Rio de Janeiro to live in London was because of this very reason.

In the late nineties a trend began in Brazilian cities for gangs of young, heavily-muscled males to start fights on the street and use their Jiu-Jitsu skills to hurt innocent passers-by. Calling themselves ‘Pit-boys’, owing to their penchant for owning pit-bull terriers, these delinquents gravely disrespected the sport they enjoyed practicing. Lagarto says the situation is improving and he hopes one day to go home and practice Jiu-Jitsu without being prejudiced against. 

LUTA Ambassador Nilton Garcia is another Jiu-Jitsu black belt who resides in the United Kingdom. “The Gracie family saved my life and I owe them so much,” he told LUTA. “They showed me how to walk and now I try my hardest to show others.” Indeed, Nilton’s Gracie Garcia BJJ gym in Camden, London is much more than your average gym. The warm, spiritual environment is a special place to train and Nilton’s students are loyal to a point. “All my students understand the true reasons why we train Jiu-Jitsu,” he says. “They know to always be calm and respectful, even to your opponents. You try your best, on and off the mat, and that’s all you can do.”

This is the very same philosophy that Fight for Peace, the NGO that LUTA supports through a 50% profit share, tries to instil into its members. In turn, Fight for Peace creates life champions as well as boxing champions.

How do you prepare for a major fight?
To find out, the LUTA team spoke to Steve “The Spartan” O’Keeffe during a training session four days before his appearance at Cage Warriors 45.

Regardless of whether he has a fight coming up or not, Steve goes to the gym at least five days a week to train in MMA, BJJ, boxing, and wrestling, as well as strength and conditioning. But with a bout looming, his routine changes.  “I’ll usually up my strength and conditioning work. Probably about 12-14 weeks before my fight, I’ll be working predominantly on strength, both functional strength, such as dead lifts and squats, as well as explosive strength.” As the day gets closer, the focus shifts to conditioning with high intensity exercises to get his heart rate up, and keep it there for longer periods. “As a round is five minutes long, I need to be able to keep my heart rate at that intensity for at least five minutes. And so that’s what I focus on nearer the day,” he explains.

Steve also has to factor in making weight for the fight. He competes at 66kg, ten less than his usual 76kg so nutrition also plays an essential part in his preparation. To ensure he loses weight but not muscle mass, he follows a healthy, sensible and balanced diet. A typical day includes porridge and scrambled eggs – with extra egg white to increase the protein intake but not the fat – for breakfast, and fruit as a mid-morning snack. Lunch is usually 250g of brown rice or sweet potato with grilled chicken breast, followed by an afternoon snack of wholemeal bagel with peanut butter. For dinner, grilled fish with steamed vegetables. “As part of my nutrition, supplements are also massively important for me. I’ve got a degree in Sports Science, so I’ve been working with nutrition and training for a long time,” says Steve. “In order to get the most out of each session, I take two different shakes. I drink pre and a post workout shakes and I also take 100% whey protein shake throughout the day to maintain my protein intake.”

After all the hard work that’s gone into preparation, Steve is looking forward to his fight on Saturday. “There’s a lot of pressure on this one, because of all the media around it, but I feel confident. I can see me winning the fight in the first round, taking the guy down by submission. I’ve studied my opponent (Conor Mcgregor) and I know what to do. I’ve also learned a lot from my last fight, where the fighter had a similar style as Conor. I definitely won’t be making the same mistakes as I did last time,” he confides.

Steve trains in the MMA fight shorts and LUTA rash guard.

Cage Warriors 45 will be held in London on Saturday, 18th of February. The tournament will be broadcast online exclusively by MMAJunkie.com and on television via Sky Sports (UK), Fight Now TV (USA) and The Fight Network (Canada), among others.

Former undisputed world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis was the latest legendary boxer to visit Fight for Peace’s London Academy. Lewis was in town following the Laureus World Sports Awards held on Monday 6th January and came down on Wednesday to North Woolwich where Fight for Peace is based in London. Lewis follows Wladimir Klitschko, Barry Mcguigan, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Frank Bruno and Tim Witherspoon as boxers who have visited or shown their support to Fight for Peace.

During his meeting with the Youth Council, Lewis exhorted the values of boxing for helping young people develop and grow: ""Boxing taught me tolerance, built my self-esteem at a time when I didn't believe in myself." The boxer's visit was also documented by the Evening Standard and you can read the article on their website.



Lennox Lewis posing in his LUTA and Fight for Peace branded hoody



LUTA Ambassador and Muay Thai coach at the London Academy, Daniel Sam, and Lennox play around for the cameras

Lennox Lewis with members of Fight for Peace

The ex-boxer took to the pads during the evening boxing training session

Fight for Peace's boxers were all eager to receive advice from the legendary former champion

The London Academy was full for the visit of the former Heavyweight Champion

Photos: Bruce Basudde Mutebi (www.mutebi.co.uk)

In a new series of blogs on luta.co.uk, we will be telling the stories of several young people whose lives have benefitted from being part of Fight for Peace (FFP). As you know, LUTA is a social enterprise that has a 50% profit share scheme with Fight for Peace. That means that by buying LUTA, you are supporting thousands of young people who go through our academies in Rio and in London every year. First up on 'Real Strength Stories' is Michael Appiah, 20, one of the original members of the London Academy who is currently a university student working towards his goal of becoming a lawyer.

“I was hanging around the local park with some friends one day back in 2007 when a couple of community outreach workers from Fight for Peace came over and started telling us about their project. They told us it was just starting up here although was originally from Brazil and that they taught boxing and martial arts. I thought it sounded cool so went over and checked it out the next day,” Michael told LUTA.

Almost five years later and Michael is still at Fight for Peace, still attending boxing training sessions and still an active member of the Youth Council (a group of young people who represent all of FFP’s members in many aspects of the organisation’s decision-making). “It was all so welcoming and open that I threw myself into the activities and well, I kind of never left!”

“Being in the Youth Council at Fight for Peace has given me so many opportunities to meet new people but I’ve also really come to appreciate the hard graft that goes in to the running of the Academy here so we can participate in and enjoy all the activities on offer.”

A natural leader, Michael is an aspiring lawyer who currently studies at Northampton University. Fight for Peace’s wide network of contacts and partners were important to help him on his chosen path. “I’ve done internships at law firms in central London and receive ongoing advice from a barrister who also gives me law books to study. These opportunities came about through Fight for Peace,” he says.

“I’m really driven to succeed as a lawyer and Fight for Peace has helped me believe I can achieve these goals. It makes me happy to see them growing as an organisation and hopefully their relationship with LUTA will allow them to help even more young people in the local community.”

Fight for Peace and LUTA founder Luke Dowdney had this to say: “Michael has always demonstrated what is possible when you dedicate yourself to achieving a goal. When I first met him at the Academy he told me he was going to be a barrister. Given where we were, and his age, many people would have found that hard to believe. Four years later, following two internships at major law firms, Michael is studying law. It’s this kind of perseverance and never-quit spirit which makes a true champion.”

LUTA’s Ambassadors have had an excellent start to 2012 with several medals won at international competitions. Jiu-Jitsu competitor Lucio ‘Lagarto’ Rodrigues won silver and bronze medals at the IBJJF European Open 2012. The prestigious tournament saw fighters from all over the world travelling to compete in Lisbon, Portugal and Lagarto won silver in the Black Belt Super-Heavyweight Divison, having defeated the powerful Leo Nogueira in the semi final. He was defeated in the final by Bernardo Faria, who also went on to take gold in the Black Belt Absolute Division, in which Lagarto won bronze.

MMA fighter and BJJ Blue Belt Stephen O´Keeffe also competed at the Euros but an unlucky draw saw him competing against last year’s silver medalist in the first round. Stephen didn’t let the defeat get him down and is currently preparing for the MMA event Cage Warriors 45 at the HMV Forum in London on 18 February. It was also announced this week that UFC fighter and LUTA Ambassador John Hathaway will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon in May at UFC on Fox 3 after an extended period out injured.

In Judo, Fergus Dullaghan won two silver medals at the 2012 Commonwealth Judo Championships at the end of January. Having taken silver in the Masters competition, Fergus went on to face the world no. 31, New Zealander Jason Koster in the final of the Seniors competition. Fergus told LUTA he was delighted to prove that “a part-time athlete with serious dedication and an intelligent approach can indeed accomplish what he sets out to achieve”. An impressive accomplishment indeed!

LUTA congratulates its ambassadors for their great results and wishes those who are currently training for future fights the best of luck. We will keep you posted!

Metro, a UK-based free newspaper that distributes 1.3 million copies each day in print format, has interviewed Fight for Peace & LUTA boxer Roberto Custódio. Roberto is the protagonist of LUTA's Real Strength film (see below) and currently boxes in the Brazilian Olympic Squad having first learnt to box at the Fight for Peace Academy in Rio de Janeiro. The interview is accompanied by a photo of Roberto wearing the LUTA Performance Training Hoodie and you can read the full version on the Metro website here.