August will be a special month at Roney Edler’s academy in Kansas. Committed to providing the best Jiu-Jitsu experience at his gym, the black-belt has scheduled seminars with two highly relevant athletes in the sport, both from Ceará. Bebeto Oliveira, current IBJJF roosterweight world champion, has a seminar scheduled at Sertão BJJ for August 10, and Tayane Porfírio, two-time world champion with a double gold, will be performing next, from the 19th to the 22nd of the same month.
In an interview with VF Comunica, Roney said that he chose the two athletes by considering their obvious technical ability, but also because they had known each other for a long time. The fact that they are Brazilians who share the same northeastern origins also influenced his choice, since Roney is in the United States driven by the mission of valuing the talents of this part of his native country.
“Our team comes from the northeast of Brazil, where most world champions have come from. The current world champion Bebeto (Oliveira) lives just a few hours from my academy and we had already spoken. We are always in touch, working and refereeing together. Tayane (Porfírio) is another long-time friend. She is from Sobral, a city of Ceará, and whenever he goes to Brazil to visit his family she goes to the Sertão academy in the city, where I have a student who is responsible for running it.”.
Roney’s team prepares for IBJJF World Master; he will also compete
The IBJJF World Master, also scheduled to take place in August, in Vegas, is one of the competitions set as a goal at Sertão BJJ. Roney Edler himself will compete and, according to him, the exchange of knowledge with two such important figures in Jiu-Jitsu will be of great value in the last days before the tournament.
“These are friendships that Jiu-Jitsu has given me, friendships that we cherish and strengthen to this day. Bebeto will come to show a little of what he does to win so many titles and Tayane will be here for a week, giving private lessons, leading a seminar and adding to my training, making adjustments to our games for the Master World Championship in Vegas.”.
When planning a seminar, Roney doesn’t worry about conflicts between teams. After all, it’s the exchange of knowledge that matters most. For him, welcoming athletes from different backgrounds is one of the best ways to improve Jiu-Jitsu.
“I have always enjoyed seminars, because regardless of the flag, everything adds up to each person’s Jiu-Jitsu. We can even come into contact with a technique that we already know, but there is always something extra that another black-belt can teach. This way, I offer my students not only my teaching, but I also provide a broader experience with other black-belts on my mat.”.
This is not the first time that Roney has organized large-scale seminars. Last year, he invited Gabriel Sousa, a prominent name especially in grappling, and the students were very receptive, a behavior that promises to be repeated now with Tayane Porfírio and Bebeto Oliveira.
“This is not the first seminar I have held. I brought Gabriel Sousa to a seminar last year. He is also from my country and was very well received by my students. Brazilian black-belts are highly valued here. I always open the seminar to other teams, but I make it clear that there are a limited number of spots. My students immediately fill all of them.”.
