Emmanuela Oliveira 
Tyrone Gonsalves stood out at the IBJJF Brazilian Nationals Bo Gi, which took place last month in Rio de Janeiro. The black-belt from Six Blades, who teaches classes in French Guiana, took first place in his weight division. In the open class, he won the third-place medal.
After almost a year of training focused on No Gi, Tyrone is feeling the results of his improvement, fighting comfortably with his own strategy and posing danger to his opponents.
“I had three fights in the weight division, becoming champion without even conceding a point or advantage. After two fights in the open class, I ended up with the bronze medal. I had five fights in total.”.
Tyrone reinforced his preparation for the BR No Gi with Melqui and Mica Galvão
Before BR No Gi, Tyrone Gonsalves spent precious time at Melqui Galvão’s BJJ College in Jundiaí, São Paulo. According to him, “getting beaten every day by the phenomenon Mica Galvão”, the intensive camp in Brazil, alongside references, made all the difference in the recent positive result.
Living abroad, Tyrone confirmed to VF Comunica that Jiu-Jitsu and grappling competitions in Brazil are wilder, with much more passionate fans. A factor that can negatively affect the psychological aspect.
“Here in Brazil, the energy during championships is much hotter, especially from the fans. If you don’t know how to deal with that, you won’t do well.”.
In the rivalry between ADCC and CJI, the black-belt stays with ADCC due to tradition
Aurelie Le Vern, Tyrone’s wife and training partner, is qualified for the ADCC main event and has been doing well in Jiu-Jitsu in general. This year, with the Gi, she won the IBJJF Euros in Paris. Her goal now is to win the ADCC world title to further consolidate her grappling career. When talking about the ADCC, Tyrone gave his opinion on the rivalry between the event and the CJI, the Craig Jones tournament.
“I am in favor of both events, but the athlete has to know where he or she stands in order to make the right choice. We (Tyrone and Aurelie) chose the ADCC. For those who don’t know, this month we completed a month of full dedication to No Gi. So, we want to build a history in the No Gi scene. The ADCC is definitely the best stage for that.”.
In a previous interview with VF Comunica, Tyrone had mentioned Adam Wardzinski, now the IBJJF world champion, as an opponent he would really like to face. However, after winning the BR No Gi, the Six Blades black belt’s target changed. “I’m very focused on grappling. I want to reinforce my request to fight Patrick Gaudio. Let’s see who really is the king of the jungle!”, Gonsalves challenged. Patrick Gaudio is the current IBJJF Brazilian Nationals Gi and No Gi champion. In the grappling tournament, he took double gold, placing first in the weight division and in the open class.
