Jiu-jitsu John rolling for Ireland

An Ennis martial artist has been called up to fight on the Irish team at the European Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) Championships in Lisbon this weekend.
John Eustace received the news just days after winning the middleweight purple belt bracket at the Northern Ireland BJJ Championships two weeks ago.
Delighted to be called up to fight for his country, it means more than just winning the honour of representing Ireland on the international stage – it means more fights at the competition.
“I was very happy and it’s also good because I get to have extra fights over there,” he explained. “It means I’ll be fighting in the individual competition on the Friday evening and then the international one on Saturday and Sunday.”
In terms of international Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the Europeans are a significant platform for the Ennis man to be performing on. “As far as I know, they’re regarded as the third-biggest championship in the world,” he said. The competition brings together over 1,000 male and female fighters across 10 weight classes and a number of age brackets.
While he’s confident of his chances in the masters’ middleweight category, Eustace is also practical about what he stands to gain from competing at this level.
“Well, I think I’m going to win it. I believe that I’m good enough to do it but whether I win or not I will definitely learn a lot – that’s one of the main reasons I compete. There are 20 guys in my division, half of whom will lose their first fights so to focus too much on winning would be a mistake. My focus for these fights, and all my fights, is on preparation. In the fight I focus on performing my techniques. I can’t control whether I win or lose, only how I perform and if I perform at my best then winning or losing doesn’t really matter. Every time I compete, I learn and this will improve me as a fighter and a teacher.”
As D-day approaches, John’s training has begun to ramp up in intensity. Already maintaining a hectic schedule of teaching Bjj and kettlebells in his school in Ennis as well as giving jiu-jitsu and self-defence classes in schools around the county, Eustace is travelling regularly to train in the Combat Sports Centre in Limerick with experienced brown belt Fergal Quinlan, as well as taking trips further afield such as a recent hike to Sligo for a three-hour session – when the opportunity to train with a black belt presents itself.
He described one of his gruelling recent sessions in Limerick. “ We did 10 or 11 five-minute rounds first, then for the last hour the three of us doing the Europeans – me Chris Bowe and Richard Gorey – were on our backs and then there was eight or nine guys coming in fresh and either taking the mount of side control. If you escaped you got a new guy and if you got submitted you got a new guy. It was shocking,” he laughs.
The rest of his routine is no less demanding.
“I’ve been doing a lot of drills lately. I drill for maybe an hour and a half every morning. For the last few weeks I’ve been training with Fergal, trying to train every second day doing hard training sessions of sparring for and hour or an hour and a half.”
Before Christmas, Eustace also spent two weeks in Miami studying at the Fightsports HQ – home of one of the world’s most successful grappling gyms.
“I’ve been getting some good training in for the last few months – I’ve improved a lot,” he said.
Still in its infancy as a sport in Ireland, Bjj breeds a sociable, nomadic spirit in its more serious practitioners.  Because of the dearth of black belts in the grappling art in the country – partly due to its newness here and partly to how long and hard the road to the coveted belt is – seminars by visiting experts regularly attract fighters from far and wide looking to pick up a trick or two and ‘roll’ (the preferred term for sparring) with new people. For anyone even halfway interested in the art, the chance to train with a higher grade is an opportunity not to be missed as it presents the opportunity to learn where your strengths and weaknesses truly lie. 
As John explains, the best way to advance in Bjj, or anything else, is to have someone above you, someone below you and someone the same level as you.
“The person above you is going to kick your ass and show you where you need to get better, the person on your level is who you can compete with and the one below you is who you teach stuff to and practice moves on you’re not sure will work.”