On The Pier With Leo Vieira: Why Jiu-Jitsu And Trash Talk Don't Mix

Perhaps one of the foremost authorities on ADCC competition 2x champion Leo Vieira has been competing at ADCC since 2000 and knows all there is to know about the tournament. So after CheckMat's last team practice before ADCC 2019 Leo and I took a trip down to the Seal Beach pier to reminisce about the good old days and look forward to the competition just days away.

The conversation naturally takes us through some memorable moments of Leo's past ADCC experiences but quickly veered towards more topical issues within the jiu-jitsu community. In particular we talked about the media's role within the jiu-jitsu community and how we've arrived at a culture that often times embraces trash talk and rivalries, in Leo's opinion, too much.

It was an honest conversation about much of the hot button topics in our sport and Leo's brutal honesty made it a conversation worth having. I'll hope you'll dive into the important interview and share some of your own thoughts on the subject. Enjoy.

Interview Notes:

1:00 - Introduction to  Dojo

3:00 - When Leo first moved to California

4:30 - When Leo was banned from the United States

7:00 - Missing out on competitions with the team

9:00 - On team loyalty

10:00 - Reflecting on ADCC 2000, 19 year old Leo does first ADCC

14:00 - Brining Brazil together after Mark Kerr match

16:30 - Twenty years later ADCC 2019

18:00 - When coaching became more fun than competing

20:00 - Leo's advice on how to win ADCC

22:00 - Dealing with pressure on fight day

24:00 - How to ask yourself the right questions

25:00 - What Leo learned from fighting Rafa Mendes

27:00 - Experience is most valuable

30:00 - On Matheus Gabriel

33:00 - Promoting trash talk in jiu-jitsu

36:00 - Who do we want representing our sport? Gordon Ryan or Buchecha?

39:00 - On media's influence over the community

44:00 - Leo on the FloGrappling ranking system

50:00 - CheckMat at ADCC