meeting the champ

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of meeting Xande Ribeiro, the reigning Open-Weight champ from the last BJJ world championships.

My BJJ coach, Megaton, was having a surprise birthday party for his daughter Mackenzie, and Xande and his older brother Saulo came over from San Diego (Saulo and Megaton being great friends for a long time) to participate.

Now, BJJ is not the big money sport of football or basketball, nor is it popular on the level of movies or TV. But, Xande is still the world champ of a world wide sport and martial art. He is a celebrity of sorts. It would be not surprising if he were a little stand-offish. But that could not be farther from the truth. Xande is one of the nicest, most down to earth people you will ever meet. Not only is he approachable, he goes out of his way to introduce himself to strangers. I had the chance to have a nice long conversation with him. He is a great guy.

I bring this up because I am constantly reminded how nice most well known BJJ practitioners are. It is a welcome change from athletes who refuse to sign autographs or celebrities who won't interact with fans. It is just another reason I am proud to be involved with BJJ.