Lucas Pinheiro completed the much-desired Grand Slam of the gentle art – Brazilian, European, Pan American, and World No Gi Champion – by winning on December 13 the only title that was missing in his career. With a perfect performance, the Atos Jiu-Jitsu black belt beat all his opponents at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship.

Below is just some friendly advice. Each suggestion varies from case to case, but if you speak to a great number of people in jiu-jitsu, they will tell you that their injuries occurred because of these reasons. If you avoid certain situations in jiu-jitsu because you don’t want to get injured, it doesn’t make you a ‘chicken’ or a coward....

The biggest question associated with tournaments is how often one should compete. Thought processes range from one extreme to the other, such as “it is not necessary to ever compete in your life” or “perhaps once is good, just to know what it feels like,” to “if you don’t compete you’ll never get your next belt.” So, what is the...

On one hand, we have practitioners who argue that competitions are necessary for improvement and awarding your next belt, whatever belt that may be. On the other side, you have people who argue that although competitions can help your game, they are not essential to your jiu-jitsu journey. So what is the truth?