This last few weeks has been a BJJ overload... not that I'm complaining!

It started with the competition in Melbourne, then the next day I had a seminar in Richmond that Rigan ran. The tuesday after I drove six hours with Nathan and Dayne to Geelong, where Rigan was taking a class at John Will's gym.

Five days later, last Saturday, I had a seminar in Perth at my club with Rigan. Kenson doesn't know how to use a camera so the photos of Rigan and me were never taken :( He did sign my copy of his book though which was great.

That night I went to dinner in Mt. Lawley with Rigan and some other rollers from my club. We got to hear first-hand stories about some new movie deals Rigan's involved with, as well as lots of historical stories about how Gracie Barra was started, what happened when we left for the States and where the rivalry between Machado and Gracie comes from. I learnt a lot about Rigan and was most surprised by his intelligence and morality.

I have complete respect for him as a BJJ master, but honestly expected that he'd be a bit of a muscle-head. The opposite is in fact true. John Will is always praising Rigan for his humanity and compassion, and I really got a feel for that side of Rigan over dinner. He was switched on, and hadn't let his fame go to his head.

He didn't drink which makes sense. Elite atheletes often don't. He has been involved in some low budget movies, but he doesn't have delusions of grandeour. He knows they're B-grade at best, but was saying how he didn't want to have nudity just to sell copies.

I likened it to having dinner with the Muhammad Ali of BJJ, which I don't think is an overstatement. This guy embodies all that I love about BJJ as a sport and as an art.