Weekend at American Top Team

[SenseiScott2]

So this weekend I took the Texas Top Team coaches down to Coconut Creek Florida to get some instruction from the MMA gods there at our parent school, American Top Team. I just wanted to share this experience with everyone. First of all. They are the nicest and most professional group of guys in the MMA business. Every time we train with them we are treated as family. Second...my god they are good. I rolled with Ricardo Liborio (owner and head instructor of ATT). He is impossible to beat...lol. That guy can almost tap you with side control pressure and weight. haha...He's a bear...a bear with flawless technique. I could talk forever about all the guys we trained with and what went on but my fingers would fall off before I finished typing it all. If anyone is ever in south florida, please go train with them its an opportunity of a lifetime. From Master Liborio to Marcelo Garcia, to jonatas "tagarela" gurgel to juliana borges. more world champs in that gym than i got hairs on my head!...

[Matt "Vicious"]

My school is watched under Renato who just won at the panams for ATT! wouldn't have it any other way.

[younwha]

Have you ever had any experience with the ATT here in Missouri? Their BJJ instructor is freaking awesome but the guy who teaches their MMA class... man he's so closed minded it's ridiculous. You have to jab his way, kick his way, everything cross the T's dot the I's just like him or else it's wrong. I have a feeling the other ATT gyms are much different.

[Matt "Vicious"]

All I know is mma trainers hate TKD with passion.

[younwha]

All I know is mma trainers hate TKD with passion.

lol what does that have to do with anything? I did kickboxing for two years at the Miletich gym in Iowa, and from time to time got an invite to the MMA class. What you think I went to the ATT gym and started doing tornado kicks?

[RitsuRei]

I have nothing against other styles, I practice a Mixed style myself, but nothing upsets me more then when im teaching some 15 year old kid (which i teach about 300 kids every year) and he tells me hes a black belt in TKD and it seems like he cant do anything. I mean some of these TKD schools hand out belts like its Christmas so I can understand why people don't like TKD. I actually met a 12 year old kid who told me he was a BB in TKD im pretty sure he was lying but his parents swore up and down it was true and gave me his instructors name and number, i never called, i didnt have the time then, but i still laugh about that one.

[younwha]

I have nothing against other styles, I practice a Mixed style myself, but nothing upsets me more then when im teaching some 15 year old kid (which i teach about 300 kids every year) and he tells me hes a black belt in TKD and it seems like he cant do anything. I mean some of these TKD schools hand out belts like its Christmas so I can understand why people don't like TKD. I actually met a 12 year old kid who told me he was a BB in TKD im pretty sure he was lying but his parents swore up and down it was true and gave me his instructors name and number, i never called, i didnt have the time then, but i still laugh about that one.

Funny story : Our school went to an open tournament one year and signed up one of our green belt 12 year olds as a black belt... he won lol

[SenseiScott2]

Lets stay on topic. we're talking about TKD now. how did that happen? can we talk about ATT instead of how TDK schools are black belt factories...lol. anyways. about that MMA instructor guy. He might not be closed minded, he might just want you guys to do it the way they showed him at ATT. if you go to ATT in coconut creek, I promise they are the opposite of closed minded. I am an instructor and have been for years. I know I hate it when I am showing something and some kid say's "well this is how its really done" and steps on my toes. You are there to learn, so you should listen and be open minded yourself. He's the teacher, your the student. You are in his class, so if he says throw a jab a certain way, you do it, and don't question it...that's just basic martial arts etiquette...

If you want to do your own thing, you might find a better value in buying a mat or 2 and teaching yourself in your garage...which I don't recommend...

[younwha]

Lets stay on topic. we're talking about TKD now. how did that happen? can we talk about ATT instead of how TDK schools are black belt factories...lol. anyways. about that MMA instructor guy. He might not be closed minded, he might just want you guys to do it the way they showed him at ATT. if you go to ATT in coconut creek, I promise they are the opposite of closed minded. I am an instructor and have been for years. I know I hate it when I am showing something and some kid say's "well this is how its really done" and steps on my toes. You are there to learn, so you should listen and be open minded yourself. He's the teacher, your the student. You are in his class, so if he says throw a jab a certain way, you do it, and don't question it...that's just basic martial arts etiquette...

If you want to do your own thing, you might find a better value in buying a mat or 2 and teaching yourself in your garage...which I don't recommend...

For the record I didn't bring the TKD thing up lol

Anyway - idk when the guy threw the jab he taught it to have basically no power behind it at all, and whenever I see the fighters coming out of ATT Florida their stand up is significantly different than the fighters up here. I haven't met someone that has been to the Florida gym to actually ask if that's how they do it down there as well. He basically stated that the jab is 99 percent used as a fake and has little power behind it ... which makes no sense to me??? Especially after watching the guys from Florida have pretty good hands in most cases (ie Luigi Fioravanti).

[Matt "Vicious"]

Ok, Yeah, everyone look at me for the tkd thing...lol.
No, but on topic. I was just trying to make the point that most mma trainers i know come from a boxing/kickboxing backround. They don't like "traditional" strikes. I disagree that the jab should be unpowerful. Should it have as much power as the cross or hook? No...but a good jab to the face sets these things up, and keeps him busy. Regardless, the best option is just to listen and maybe after class respectfullly discuss your different ideas and how to adjust.


My trainers train with Renato, and as long as i'm throwing in the right body motions they're satisfied.

[SenseiScott2]

Straight from Roger Krahl's mouth..."every strike in mma is thrown with bad intentions" your jab should have the purpose of doing damage. period. There may be many correct ways of doing it, but they should all have power.
Anyways. so, lets talk jits. They have a 19 year old kid there at ATT named Jonatas "Tagarela" Gurgel. You guys keep your eyes open for him in the future. This kid is amazing. Again, straight from Ricardo Liborio's mouth... "this kid is Marcelo good." I rolled with him and I couldn't handle his butterfly guard at all..and he is 2 weight classes below me.. Kid swept me like I weighted 5 pounds...seriously. Then, later on I hear from other ATT guys that he supposedly has the best butterfly guard in the world...hmmph, no wonder! He pulls butterlfy guard immediately and then landed this butterfly sweep into a side-control farside armbar that I instantly had defended, so he slid directly into a mounted gogo...all of this in one buttery smooth move. I have never grappled anyone near that good. Goodness Gracious!

[PacificFlows]

in regards to close-minded instructors, i have prepared a haiku.

"I established twister side control

and was told never to do so

I left and did not return."

okay so i'm sorry for the failed haiku. but yeah, if an instructor is all about "it's my way or the highway." i don't spend very much time learning from them.

you meet any "big names" at the florida gym?

[PacificFlows]

Straight from Roger Krahl's mouth..."every strike in mma is thrown with bad intentions" your jab should have the purpose of doing damage. period. There may be many correct ways of doing it, but they should all have power.
Anyways. so, lets talk jits. They have a 19 year old kid there at ATT named Jonatas "Tagarela" Gurgel. You guys keep your eyes open for him in the future. This kid is amazing. Again, straight from Ricardo Liborio's mouth... "this kid is Marcelo good." I rolled with him and I couldn't handle his butterfly guard at all..and he is 2 weight classes below me.. Kid swept me like I weighted 5 pounds...seriously. Then, later on I hear from other ATT guys that he supposedly has the best butterfly guard in the world...hmmph, no wonder! He pulls butterly guard immediatly and then landed this butterfly sweep into a side-control farside armbar that I instantly had defended, so he slid directly into a mounted gogo...all of this in one buttery smooth move. I have never grappled anyone near that good. Goodness Gracious!

I just pictured that going down in a frame-by-frame comic book style.

Sick.

[SenseiScott2]

I met some big names, yeah. Thiago Alves, Mike Brown, JZ Cavalcante, Marcus Aurelio, Gleison "Tibau" Alves, Cole Miller, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, just a couple we hung out with last week... Most of these guys I have met before, We go and train with them fairly often, and alot of guys weren't there. Marcelo was at his gym this time, but i have met and trained with him before... Ricardo Liborio is the main man over there and a celeb himself.

[PacificFlows]

holy CRAP man! having someone who trains with such high level competitors on the board is seriously cool shit.

[SenseiScott2]

Ya that kid Tagarela is a black belt and world champ. He has been at ATT for a while and hasnt been tapped at that gym in 6 months... and thats rolling with many many other blackbelts and heavyweight world champs, and he is probably 145lbs or so...ATT is densly populated with the best grapplers in the world...man, this kid is flawless, seriosuly.

[PacificFlows]

any possibility of catching any footage of this kid on the internet?

[SenseiScott2]

I think there is only a couple vids of him early in his career on youtube. Nothing that does him justice. seriously you would have to watch him in person just stealing people's lunch money with ease...lol