Welcome to Bloody Elbow Presents Debut Episode of ‘The Open GuardCast Jiu-Jitsu Podcast’, which is a project dedicated to promoting jiu-jitsu professionals.
Welcome to the debut episode of ‘The Open GuardCast Jiu-Jitsu Podcast’, which is a project dedicated to promoting jiu-jitsu professionals. Tune in each week, usually Wednesday’s at 2pm CST, on our ‘Bloody Elbow Presents Podcast Network’, for interviews, current events, and analysis of everything going on in the world of jiu-jitsu and submission grappling!
Your host is Danny O’Donnell. In addition to hosting this podcast, he is an MMA journalist contributing here at Bloody Elbow, as well as at Black Belt Mag. O’Donnell himself is a BJJ black belt who trains at Marcio Andre Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Phoenix, AZ. Recent industry accolades include being invited to join ‘Caltabiano’s Corner’ to recap the first UFC of 2022, Calvin Kattar vs. Giga Chikadze, as well as previewing UFC 270’s main card, headlined by Heavyweight Champion, Francis N’Gannou vs. then Interim Champ, Ciryl Gane.
We are debuting the show at ‘Episode 121’, since we are picking up the pod which has already been running awhile now under its own steam. Over time, we will have all previous 120 episodes uploaded into our Bloody Elbow Presents Playlist for the show, for your listening pleasure. O’Donnell’s goal is to turn this podcast into the biggest Jiu-Jitsu Podcast out there and we intend to help him get as far as he can, so be sure to join us and check it out!
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June M. Williams
This week, Danny’s guest is Professional Jiu-Jitsu Athlete, Rene Lopez, who competes in the Light Featherweight Division, and recently placed third at the Worlds 2021. He has also just opened his own jiu-jitsu academy called ‘Jiu-Jitsu Methods’ in the Las Vegas area.
Enjoy the interview…
At 0:58 — Q1: Can you talk about your preparation for the Worlds and just how your matches went?
At 2:22 — Q2: I know you compete at a really light weight, you’re at light featherweight which is the second lightest division for males. How heavy did you get (prior to your latest training camp — during quarantine), am I allowed to ask that?
At 3:37 — Q3: I wanted to get into some of your matches too, cause you had some really, really exciting matches, we talked a little bit before recording about your match with Malachi (Edmond); maybe you could talk about that one and some of the other matches that were memorable for you from Worlds this year?
At 7:16 — Q4: So I know you actually compete at the Masters Divisions too, so can you talk about that, what that’s like? Preparing, training and competing in these tournaments against all these really young guys… like you’re not old by any means, I’m in my thirties too, but you’re not 21 anymore; is it any different preparing for those tournaments having all those miles on your body?
At 9:40 — Q5: I know there are a lot of people who say if you don’t start jiu-jitsu as a kid it’s kind of hard to reach the podium at the worlds, or to have the kind of results that you’ve had (starting at 23). What advice would you give to someone who maybe starts at their mid-twenties, but they still want to be an elite competitor?
At 11:08 — Q6: Did you want to talk about what it was like when you first started jiu-jitsu? So I know you said you started when you were 23. Obviously the scene was probably very different when you started (2007) versus how it is now. Can you talk about how you first got interested in the sport, and what it was like when you started?
At 12:51 — Q7: It’s really cool you got to train with the Mendes brothers so early in your career. Do you remember who else some of the big influences on you were, when you were like white through purple belt?
At 15:05 — Q8: Who else were the competitors that you liked to watch, outside those guys (you just mentioned)? Was there anyone who really inspired you? Maybe like in the next generation after Cobrinha?
At 16:11 — Q9: Obviously when you started training I am sure you were really getting obsessed with jiu-jitsu. You talked about going to see Worlds as a white belt. A lot of times people reach this point where they can either treat jiu-jitsu as a hobby or start to do it on a more professional level. Do you remember ever thinking like at a certain point in time, “I want to take this seriously, I want to be a professional and I want to compete as much as I can”?
At 18:38 — Q10: What were some of the challenges after you decided to compete and do the sport more professionally, like financially, was it difficult for you to find a way to live your life and pay your bills while you’re doing this niche sport where there’s not too much money in it?
At 20:36 — Q11: I think one thing competitors struggle with a lot is finding the right training environment for them. Cause I know there’s a lot of different jiu-jitsu gyms, but a lot of them are for people who don’t have huge goals like you do, they’re just more for people who train for a hobby. What advice would you give for someone who is trying to find the right training environment for them, one that they can train at long term and really grow into their abilities?
At 22:28 — Q12: I know you are opening your own gym shortly, by the time this episode comes out it will probably be open already. Do you want to talk about some of your goals for your gym? What kind of environment do you want to create for your students? What are some of your long term goals with your Academy?
At 26:15 — Q13: One thing that changed a lot since the pandemic was obviously a lot of the tournaments got cancelled. It was mostly like super fight events, and there were a lot more No-Gi tournaments. What was your opinion on how the jiu-jitsu scene shifted after the pandemic to a more super fight approach and less tournaments?
At 27:37 — Q14: What are some of the things you like about the IBJJF Rule Set and is there anything that you would change if you had the ability to do that?
At 29:40 — Q15: Do you see yourself ever doing an ADCC Style tournament or any No-Gi Who’s Number One (WNO) style tournaments? Is that one of your goals?
You can follow Danny on his brand new twitter — @DannyOD_BJJ, or he can be found on instagram — @dannyod_bjj. The show’s instagram is @openguardcast, it can also be found on Facebook here. You can check in on this week’s guest, Rene Lopez, on his Instagram — @rlo702jj, or Facebook, or check out his new gym — @jiujitsumethods on insta and Facebook, as well. Be sure to tune in for next week’s show and learn more about the world of jiu-jitsu, on Wednesday, February 2nd, at 2:00pm CST, when Danny’s next guest will be, Varun Mehrotra, the Australian world champion!
Check out the show on our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube Channel right here, complete with custom graphics to overlay the interview:
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