Fabrico 5^th Degree Black belt under Osvaldo Alves, a former 6 time Brazilian National Champion who has also been a coach and mentor to many elite BJJ athletes, head Instructor and Coach to Stephen Kamphuis of Kamphuis-Fabricio Academy Philippines when in Brazil for the past four years.

It is our great pleasure and my privilege to interview Fabricio Martins Costa, a 5^th degree BJJ Black Belt and Head Instructor of Equipe Fabricio at Copa Cabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We have few questions that we would like the visitors of bjjphilippines.com  to know about you.

What age did you start BJJ and who was your teacher?

 I first started learning BJJ with Osvaldo Alves at the age of 8.

Osvaldo is a 10^th degree Black Belt and the Official Technical Director of the CBJJ. He is recognized as one of the earliest pioneers of the sport and trained directly under Helio Gracie.

 What is your current grade and can you explain the grading system for Black belts?

I am a 5^th degree Black Belt. The CBJJ system requires that the 1^st degree takes 3 from the time you have received your black Belt and then 3 years for each degree up to the 3^rd degree. The 4^th, 5^th and 6^th degree are 5 year each and then I think it is 7 years each from the 6^th up to 10^th degree with certain conditions applied.

 How long have you had your academy and how long have you been teaching:

 I started teaching at the age of 20 as a Black Belt. I have been teaching for 20 years and have run my academy for the past 14 years at Copacabana in Rio.

 How many students have you promoted to Black belt?

 I have promoted between 35 – 40 students (Brazilians and non-Brazilians) to Black belts from approximately 1000 students that I have been teaching.

 This was a fantastic year for your team in competition, can you tell us about some of the highlights of 2006 for you?

Daniel Otero winning the (Galo) Rooster Division in Black belt at the Mundials is a wonderful achievement for Daniel and our team.

 Other highlights have been:

Teimoc Johnson winning at the 2006 International Masters & Seniors Black Belt Absolute and Super Pesado Division. In the past he has also won the Absolute and Weight Division in Blue (2003)/Purple (2004)/Brown (2005) and now Black which is a unique and rare achievement.

Sami taking 3^rd place in the 2006 International Masters & Seniors Black Belt Division

Ronaldo Barcelos taking 2^nd in the World Cup (Copa Do Mundo) master Black Belt Championship and winning the Masters at the Brasileiro (Brazilian National Championship)

Jack taking 1^st place in the Blue Belt Senior Division at the Brasilero

Splenildo taking 1st^d place in the Brasileiro Roxa masters division

Bernard who is just 17 years old, taking 2nd place in the Blue Belt Division at the Brasileiro

And of course my student from the Philippines, Stephen Kamphuis winning the Black belt Absolute and Weight Division at the 2006 International Masters & Seniors Championship.

These are just some of my students that have won medals in the major competitions in Brazil this year.

Daniel Otero winning the 2006 World Mundial Black Belt Championship is an awesome achievement. When did he start training w/ you? And how many more tournaments has he won?

He started training with me at age 13 and has won over 100 titles including having 7 MMA fights with 7 wins. From memory, he took 2^nd Place as a Brown Belt and has also taken 2^nd and 3^rd in the Mundials as a Black Belt. He is also 8 x Brazilian Champion. So it was a dream come true for Daniel who has tried so hard to win in the Mundials.

Could you give us some information about your future?

I am very happy with my team. They are like a family to me and I wish to see my students do well in every competition. I also would like to see my students teach on behalf of my school Equipe Fabricio.

What are your thoughts on training students to become champions?

It takes a lot of training, good techniques and physical preparation.  A good understanding of standup and ground work is also important as well as dedication to the sport and strong will power to win.

You have granted your student Stephen Kamphuis the opportunity to represent your school Equipe Fabrico in the Philippines which will carry the name Kamphuis – Fabricio. What can you say about this?

I am very proud that my student Stephen Kamphuis will represent my school in the Philippines. We are like brothers. Just like my other student in Argentina, Claudio who is the 2005 Masters Senior Champion and my student Tanque in Brasileiro who has had a school for nearly 10 years.

Stephen is an all round fighter with experience in Judo, BJJ and Boxing and will offer good representation. I believe he will produce good fighters in the future.

Can you tell us about your grading system?

Most of the belts come from time and dedication on the mats. Some of my students have been Blue belts for 10 years because they don’t train consistently. I have few students that I have given belts for outstanding success in Competition.

I have many outstanding students. There are some who compete and there are some who do not.

Can you tell us about your competition profile?

I competed for over 15 years. I was a Brazilian Champion from Blue to Black at a time when there where no World Championships yet. I was as a yellow belt in my first competition at the age of 11.

I have been chosen by Helio Gracie twice to receive the most technical fighter award  at a time when the other competitors were Bustamante, De La Riva, Royler Gracie & Paulo Caruso. This is how I was granted my Black belt. My last comp was as a Black belt in the Masters division at the Brazilian Championship where I gained my second most technical fighter award and won my division.

I stopped to compete as I gave more classes and concentrated to take care of my students.

I would like to fight for my son one more time possibly at the International Masters Seniors Championship.

It is very much an honour for our Team in the Philippines to carry your name and we thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you and your team our best wishes for the future and look forward to your visit to the Philippines.