Here's a short interview with Rafael Lovato Jr., courtesy of OntheMat. Lovato Jr. is widely believed to be the top American competitor in jiu jitsu (i.e., gi). There are a couple of interesting things that he has to say about his stellar performance in 2007, but perhaps the one comment that really caught me was this:
Gumby: Rafael Lovato Jr. World Champion Black Belt. Has it sunk in yet?I remember reading somewhere that another top black belt, Felipe Costa, never won big at a tournament until he was a black belt. It is something to think about the next time I get the willies about competing (or, rather, anxiety about not winning all the time).
Rafael: Not really. I dreamed about winning the Mundials for so long. I never won it at any of the lower belts, in fact the only title I had was a Pan-Am gold as a blue belt. After that the best I did at the other belts was third place, so it is still very hard for me to believe. I still feel like I can be so much better and I look forward to continually improving and hopefully winning the Mundials again.
