Emmanuela Oliveira 
Bruno Bastos is one of the professors and team leaders who put the gi on to participate in the IBJJF World Master, a competition that took place in parallel with Jiu-Jitsu Con at the end of last month in Las Vegas. These were days of celebration of the sport, with a full capacity and confirmation that Gi Jiu-Jitsu is going through an excellent phase for all ages.
“I believe we are living a sensational moment in the Masters division. We have real athletes in this age group. This is reflected in sponsorships, seminars, courses, private lessons and superfights,” Bruno Bastos said, suggesting that the professionalism of athletes over 30 and adult competitors is no longer separated by a huge gap.
In the commercial sphere, Gi Jiu-Jitsu is more dominant according to Bruno Bastos
Guilherme and Rafael Mendes, who gave a seminar at Jiu-Jitsu Con, spoke about the importance of Jiu-Jitsu with a gi when evaluating the event on social media. Bruno Bastos, who runs LEAD BJJ, agrees with the Mendes brothers and states that grappling is still in the shadow of the sport practiced with a gi, even considering that No Gi is more relevant in terms of entertainment.
“When it comes to business, Gi Jiu-Jitsu is still much bigger than grappling. Grappling is more about entertainment, at professional events. At LEAD BJJ, we see this in schools around the world, we have a much greater engagement of gi with the commercial public. Obviously, you will see the commercial public interacting with competitors and taking No Gi classes together.”.
Jiu-Jitsu is a sport that allows interaction between idols and regular practitioners
When mentioning the interaction between athletes and practitioners, Bruno Bastos highlighted the inclusive aspect of Jiu-Jitsu, a sport that includes people of different levels, providing direct interaction between idols and their admirers.
“We have commercial classes and competition training. Competitors do both. I believe it is important to have an environment where “regular people” can interact and do some rounds with people who inspire them. Jiu-Jitsu provides that. Commercial students only take commercial classes and everything is divided by level: basics, intermediate, advanced and competition training.”.
Today, Bruno Bastos has an athlete who is on the rise under his supervision in Gi Jiu-Jitsu. Cássia Moura, who made a successful grappling debut at Who’s Number One, made her black-belt debut at Jiu-Jitsu Con and became champion. Having placed first in the IBJJF Worlds in the colored belts, Cassia, born in Rio de Janeiro, deserved her quick arrival at black-belt. Now, she proves that she is in the right place.
“Cassia has been dealing with all of this very well. Despite being very young, she has undergone a huge transformation in these 18 months here, training with me and living with my family. She is doing a very professional job and is prepared to deal with all of this. I believe she will fight for the featherweight crown.”.
