Emmanuela Oliveira 
Led by Ulpiano Malachias, Gracie Barra Westchase, in Texas, has been forming champions with the necessary requirements to shine in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, especially in grappling. Matheus Aguiar, the “Mascote”, is one of the representatives of the house who has demonstrated good performance over the last few seasons.
Newly black-belt, Matheus began training Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 12 and, until he reached maturity as an athlete, he faced difficult periods of transition and adaptation.
“I’m always inspired when I remember everything I’ve been through, each difficulty just made me thicker and made me learn more and more. I started training at the age of 12 and went through several complicated phases in each belt, I vividly remember the moment I made the change from children’s classes to training sessions with adults. It was certainly a difficult period of adaptation, but each belt comes with difficulties and with difficulties comes new learning.”, he reflects.
“Mascote” talks about adapting to another country
Now living in Texas due to his life as an athlete, the newest Gracie Barra black-belt had another experience of transition and subsequent adaptation when moving abroad. In Brazil, his wife and family remained and, according to him, this is the hardest part. “It can’t be anything different! There are countless problems and difficulties that come with change, but without a doubt the most difficult is homesickness. But it is inevitable when you pursue a dream abroad, there is no glory without sacrifice.”, he states, aware of the price to be paid.
In an interview with VF Comunica, the “Mascote” said that, in his experience with the Americans, he noticed their clear preference for grappling, for Jiu-Jitsu practiced without the gi. Throughout 2023, with training in USA, Matheus focused on developing his techniques without gi and the approach paid off. At the IBJJF PanAms and Worlds, in the No Gi, Matheus took third place. The gold came in an Open held in the city of Waco, also IBJJF, in the absolute division. “I haven’t reached my goals yet and I’ll never consider myself satisfied, but I’m happy with how much my grappling has evolved this year.”, he reveals with the ambition of obtaining better positions.
When thinking about evolution, the first step is consistency and training planning. The Gracie Barra fighter trains with competitive intensity every day, at least once. At night, it’s time to take it easy and make some adjustments. “I always separate my training sessions between Gi and No Gi, but I end up focusing a little more on a specific one based on which season we are in. I like to maintain consistency in both styles to always seek to evolve in both.”, he reveals.
Athlete comments on Nicholas Meregali’s behavior in the grappling scene
Every athlete who aims to advance in grappling must, between training sessions, reflect on the current situation of the sport, with regard to opportunities and the behavior of idols. Nicholas Meregali, always in the spotlight, is a topic that always ends in good reflections. “He has many differences in his Jiu-Jitsu technically and, certainly, he is at the highest level that an athlete can reach in terms of performance. But, for me, what sets him apart is his mentality, always exuding confidence and getting on the mat to make it clear that he is better than his opponent.” For Matheus, this type of posture is important as the technical ability to leverage the icon status.
