SLC MMAExploring MMA and Jujitsu in Salt Lake City Utah

Interview with Eddie Edmunds of Team Fusion AcademyFiled Under: Instruction, Interviews, Local

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I had the chance to catch up with my Jiu Jitsu instructor, Eddie Edmunds of Team Fusion Academy.  For those who don’t know him, Professor Edmunds is a very technical black belt under Professor Pedro Sauer and a superb teacher. In fact, Eddie began studying under Professor Sauer in 1992, longer than any other affiliate instructor.

We shot about 30 minutes of video to accompany this interview and I have put some clips throughout this post. (I also released some of the footage in my post about z guard.)   If you want to see the whole thing, you have two options.  You can download it in high quality (614 meg) by right-clicking “save as” with this link: Bart and Eddie.wmv . Or you can view it in pieces on my youtube channel here.

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Bart: Thanks Eddie for talking with me. I know you’ve been around martial arts for a long time – tell me a little bit about your background in martial arts.

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Eddie: Thanks for the opportunity to speak with you Bart. Although I studied Karate and Kung Fu, the first martial art that I truly loved and enjoyed was Jeet Kune Do, Kali and western boxing under a master named Dan Berry. Dan Berry learned JKD and Kali under Michael Moore who was a direct student of Dan Inosanto. He was and still remains the most combatively oriented martial artist i have ever known. Only someone who trained under Dan can tell you what I mean. His capability with the stick and empty hand was second to none. Dan was not only a master, but an innovative genius.

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Dan Berry was an assistant instructor at the Hawkeyes wrestling club under Dan Gable – so he already had some pretty decent grappling experience. Well, there was a seminar in Utah with Rickson Gracie and Pedro Sauer. Dan Berry went down there and came back blown away.

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He got tapped by Rickson over and over. It was shocking to him as Dan had good grappling skills. However, there were no strikes involved in this match. If there were, I believe the outcome would have been different.

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So Dan comes back and tells all of us that we will need to get a blue belt under the Gracies in order to get a black belt under him. He was that converted. It was Dan Berry who introduced us all to Pedro Sauer, and that was my induction into the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

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Bart: Every time you talk about your Jiu Jitsu lineage, I can feel the admiration and respect you have for Pedro Sauer. For those who don’t know him personally, can you explain to us why you call him “Professor” and why having a black belt under him is special?

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Eddie: Over the years, chess masters have been studied because of their encyclopedic knowledge of looking at a chess board and need to make the right moves to win the game. Pedro Sauer definitely has an encyclopedic memory of chess moves. The quality that distinguishes him from a chess master is that he is actually doing something against a physically resistant opponent – while the chess master performs in the cerebral domain and can just move a chess piece without concern for the opponent resisting. Jiu Jitsu is much different. The Jiu jitsu expert performs in the cerebral and the physical domain, and this is a huge difference between chess and jiu jitsu.

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Pedro also comes to the mat with personal instruction from Helio Gracie, the father and founder of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. He received his black belt under Helio but he also earned a black belt from the Jiu Jitsu god himself: Rickson Gracie. Pedro’s technical knowledge is second to none. He has details about details.

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In addition, Pedro has the gift to take apart and put back together a move inside his head, so that he can watch someone do something and know immediately whether it is effective or not. Pedro is that rare breed of instructor who has trained with the best instructors in the world and has the specific capacity to analyze Jiu Jitsu like a scientist would to make it better and more efficient.

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Bart: To return a bit to your experience in martial arts, after training so long, how has studying Jiu Jitsu influenced your personal life and character?

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Eddie: Out of all the lessons i have learned from Jiu Jitsu, the primary ones are first humility. There is always someone better and you will be tapping till the end of your life. The second is the work ethic. Jiu Jitsu taught me to really take the time and start to study, train and learn the art and not to skip steps. There are not shortcuts with Jiu Jitsu. You either put in the mat time or you don’t get to a high level; it doesn’t happen any other way. I would say those two things have influenced me the most. Third would be encouraging my team members. I like to see them improve and I really believe Jiu Jitsu can help people gain a measure of happiness and confidence as their skill grows. Team Fusion is made of of some of the best people I know and it is exciting to see it grow.

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Bart: What kinds of things have you incorporated into the training focus and philosophy at Team Fusion Academy?

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Eddie: One facet of the academy that I really try to promote is a team environment. My initial training with Pedro was like the wild west. I can’t tell you how many guys came into our academy Pedro would say something like “Eddie Edmunds my friend, I want you to go with this guy and go easy on him.”

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That meant to tap the guy fast … as he wasn’t going to be nice to me.

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Our training was technical but we had to prove Jiu Jitsu each week as people really doubted its effectiveness. Today, we still have guys come in to try and disprove Jiu Jitsu, but we try and be a little more gentle than the old days. I have gi and no gi classes and we teach takedowns in addition to the ground game. I believe this type of cross-training is very comprehensive for everyone.

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Bart: You’ve trained with a lot of great guys and seen a lot of students progress through the ranks. In terms of Jiu Jitsu, what can you tell me about guys who become legitimately good vs the guys who just hover around the mediocre level? Off the top of your head, what are two or three things that separate the casual from the skilled?

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Eddie: The guys who become very good – or even great – are individuals who learn from the best and consistenly train. Meet the best guys and learn from them. People like Saulo Ribeiro, Pedro Sauer, Cobrinha and Rickson Gracie all have different approaches to Jiu Jitsu – and it helps to learn from a variety of people. However, I’ll be truthful, the ideal way to learn is to roll with the best and have them coach you.

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That is how Pedro Sauer got so good. He told me that he took privates from Rickson and they would roll and Rickson would correct him. In my opinion there is no better way to accelerate your game than to have that kind of coaching..

Outside of that, every person should have the five tools of Jiu Jitsu: a notebook, video camera, qualified instructor, cross training and thought. I say thought because you don’t’ become great unless you sit down and really think about Jiu Jitsu. Study and analyze your game. Analyze a match and try to discern how individuals are finding leverage. Rickson asked many, many questions in his quest for becoming better at the gentle art and I never forgot that.

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Bart: As a black belt, how does the jujitsu game change vs your approach as a white or blue belt?.

Eddie: My approach to Jiu Jitsu as a black belt versus a white belt is radically different. For some guys they may say it isn’t, but I learned Jiu Jitsu much differently because I was a product of the times. Pedro was right out of Brazil and the Gracies wanted to prove the effectiveness of Jiu Jitsu. We were always training hard and going for the kill. At least I was.

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Bart: Thanks so much Eddie, I’ve enjoyed chatting with you. Before we close, how can people get contact and train with you? Also, who else do you have teaching down at Fusion?

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Eddie: Our website is www.FusionBJJ.com . We are located at 650 East, Wilmington Avenue (2180 south) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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We have three black belts teaching at our school: Gustavo Rodrigues (Carlson Gracie), Mike Colby (Walt Bayless) and Eddie Edmunds (Pedro Sauer). We also have great assistant instructors Tony Ventrano and Noah Jenkins as well.

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Bart, thank you for the opportunity for this interview. I appreciate you being one of the members of Team Fusion and you are one of the students who works hard and is constantly learning and trying to improve. I appreciate you taking the time to do this.

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Bart: Thank you.

Other posts you may enjoy:

• Brabo Choke From Mount
• Upcoming Saulo Ribeiro Seminar
• Gi and No-Gi Tournament: Champion Submission Challenge XIII

Tags: Eddie Edmunds, FusionBJJ, gyms, instructors, jujitsu, places to train