When we talk about submission grappling most of us here in Borneo or Malaysia will be more familiar with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. But there’s a another martial arts style that focus on grappling called Brazilian Luta Livre. It means wrestling in Portugal. That said, the term Luta translates to ‘fight’ and Livre translates to ‘free’. Therefore, loosely the term means ‘free fighting’. It is a complete Brazilian martial art, which is primarily a mixture of Catch wrestling and Judo.
The biggest distinction to a layman is that BJJ practitioner wears a Gi and BLL exponents don’t. But when it comes to style, both arts share many similar moves, but adapting it differently due to the fact that BLL does not practice with Gi at all.
You can learn more about Luta Livre here, click on the link below
http://martialarts.about.com/od/styles/a/lutalivre.htm
http://thepoc.net/index.php/afonso-cego-brings-brazilian-luta-livre-to-the-philippines/
Last night at Keningau MMA (KMMA), a Brazilian Luta Livre seminar was conducted by Antonio Battistessa of Sabah Top Team and head instructor of BLL Malaysia and Afonso Cego , head instructor of BLL Asia Pacific Union (APU )
| Bakri (right) testing out some of the techniques being taught |
| Deadpool and Iron Man spotted in Keningau practicing Luta Livre |
The head instructor of APU, Afonso Celso “Cego” dos Santos Silva Jr. is a 36-year-old mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete and grappler from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who came to Manila to introduce BLL. Afonso, who represents Academia Budokan – RJ , received his Luta Livre black belt from Joao Ricardo, is, a legendary figure of the sport in Brazil.
| Afonso Cego |
Antonio himself is a BLL brown belt. He is BLL head instructor for Malaysia. Antonio runs his own gym in Kota Kinabalu – Sabah Top Team (STT). He is a well known figure in the local martial arts scene. You can see him conducting muaythai demo in MIMMA and also regularly officiating fights as referee or judge.
