An interview by Andrew 'Moz' Morris and translated by Nico Ball
The evening of Monday the 27th of July
and there were forty people squeezed onto the mats of the FT Academy. A special feeling was in the air as Mestre Terere began his
pre-training 'formation' with the class. He began to
talk about the dedication and hard-work of a student who had given
everything not just to Jiu-Jitsu but to the social project that serves the children and teens of the community here. Then he called
up an unsuspecting Fabricio da Silva to the front of the class.
'Birrinho' as he is affectionately known to the community, is a
cousin of Terere as well as being the professor of the social
project. He stood proudly before the class, to have his brown belt
stripped from his waist and have it replaced with black belt before
being given a (friendly) Uchi-Mata by his longtime mentor. Fabricio who is never
usually lost for words was understandably overcome with emotion but managed to deliver a
heartfelt speech thanking everyone and explaining what this moment
meant to him.
We were able to catch up with him a
few days after the fact and discover out what this special night meant to
him
What age did you start training Jiu-Jitsu?
15 years old.
Have you always train with Terere?
We rarely trained with him
but it was his social project. The professor was Leandro Martins.
What was it to grow up with Terere?
It was gratifying. It was
gratifying to always have him by your side; Supporting you at
competitions and at the project. He was always here, he was always
smiling. Always making people happy.
Did you feel pressure to succeed
seeing that you were associated with Terere?
I’ve always felt the
pressure. Two kinds actually. One for being his student and another
because I’m his cousin. So it was two kinds in one.
How was it growing up in Cantagalo
in the 80s and 90s?
It was really cool. It was
always good living here.
There weren’t a lot of problems
with violence?
There was but we didn’t
focus on that, we always focused on Jiu Jitsu. It was a place where
we could come and stay. We trained and had fun thanks to Terere.
Did you see a lot of your friends
go into trafficking. Was it hard to stay away from that life?
No it was very hard. I lost a
lot of friends to the life. Some of them died, some of them are in
jail. It was always difficult, you had to deal with a lot of
pressure. For me, I never wanted to get into that life. I always had
a lot of examples that didn’t force me to enter into it. I always
distanced myself from that life through Jiu-Jitsu. So it was never a
worry that I had.
After 'pacification' in the favela
did things change a lot?
In a way it changed a lot.
In a good way?
It’s a little better, but
at the same time they don’t let us do anything here. They don’t
let us have any fun. They try to stop all of the parties. None of
that life.
Do you have any stories or
anecdotes about friends that left Jiu-Jitsu and took the wrong path?
Yeah I had one friend who
always trained with me. His name was Alexandre, he always trained
with me.
Was that Buda? I hear a lot about
him from different people can you tell me a little about him?
He trained here with us. He
was very good. He fought with Leandro Lo. And he always trained here. It was gratifying seeing his Jiu-Jitsu. He was always really good, one of the best guys at the
academy.
He trained with Michael Langhi too?
He did. When Fernando came
from Sao Paulo to the project he came with Langhi and Lucas Lepri.
Everyone came, Cobrinha, everyone came here. It used to be TT here.
Everyone came here. We trained and Buda always stood out from
everyone else. He was really good. It was so hard to pass his guard.
Now he isn’t here with us anymore, he’s in jail, and that kind of
dampened our spirits. He was always so dedicated and said he wouldn’t
get into crime. It was something that was so…. So… so unexpected.
A lot of people still talk about
him. Will he be in jail for the rest of his life?
No, no. soon he will be back
with us, but I’m not sure if he’ll want to get back into Jiu-Jitsu.
How long has he been in Jail now?
3 years.
When Terere stopped training due to
is personal issues you also stopped right?
I kind of stopped but not
completely. I trained with Leandro Martins, he would take me to his
academy in Sao Paulo and there I would stay 3 months and then come
back. I would go to Checkmat here in the favela. I never stopped
completely. Not ever for more than a year.
What would you say that Terere
means for the community of Cantagalo?
He is a example to everyone
from my time and now for the next generation as well. He’s a symbol
for the community. A symbol of respect, dedication, of overcoming
the odds for all of us.
Do you think its hard to earn a
living to support yourself and your family through Jiu-Jitsu?
A little. If your don’t
have determination and focus for what you want you won’t be able to
get it.
Can you describe how it felt to
receive you black belt?
Man, it was was surprise that
I wasn’t expecting. I thought maybe at the end of the year. But it
was very gratifying receiving my black belt from Mestre Terere. I
was very happy and gratified. I was shaking and my hands were sweaty.
It was a very gratifying surprise.
Now that you have your black belt,
how do you think this will change your Jiu-Jitsu?
I think it will be harder
now. It will be a new stage. I’ll be there with guys that have more
experience. But I plan on winning.
So you spoke about the new stage in
respects of competition but what about as an instructor. What are
your plans as a professor?
To make champions like
Fernando did. To be a champion in life. I already am. And always show
dedication and merit.
As a teacher to the kids of
Cantagalo what lessons and advice do you try to pass to your
students?
I try to teach them what
Terere and Leo always taught me. To stay away from drugs and other
bad things. To study, to work, have a family. Be a champion and to
focus everything on Jiu-Jitsu.
How important is it to the kids of
Cantagalo to have this project?
It's important because
instead of them playing as drug dealers and traffickers in the favela
they come here and play and train Jiu-Jitsu. They learn to respect
their parents and that’s why it's good to have Jiu-Jitsu here in
the community.
Any final words?
My name is Fabricio Tavares da Silva da
Conceicao, I’m 30 years old and I have an important role here. I
teach the morning classes and the kids class. I teach at night
alongside Mestre Terere and I’m an example for a lot of kids here. Oss
