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Tuesday, November 18th 2008
In today’s world, development of
new technologies and methods are commonplace. Not only have gadgets and gizmos
evolved, but so have the capabilities of man himself. People today are becoming
more familiar with Martial Arts following the emergence of the UFC and other
combat sport venues that may be seen on television or pay-per-view.
Not only has the science of
fighting evolved in sport, but within the United States Military ranks as well.
During my time in the Marine Corps, we were trained in many forms of “line-training”,
including boxing and kickboxing with some take-downs and joint manipulations. Today
our military forces have incorporated much more advanced striking and Jiu-Jitsu ground fighting techniques to their
regimen.
Police officers today encounter people
with various degrees of fighting and martial arts abilities, and in order to
keep themselves and their contacts safe, they must maintain relevant levels and
training and practice. Captain Alvarez has no problems identifying necessary
types of martial arts training, he himself has been training in martial arts
for 30 years in various disciplines. Raymond holds dual black belts in Kung-Fu and San Shou, and has competed at “Born To Fight”(San-Shou) and the
“San Francisco Open (Kung-Fu) competitions.
As Captain of the Department of
Veteran Affairs-San Francisco Field Office (DVA-SF), Raymond Alvarez has faced
many situations during his career as a police officer, and is currently facing a
new challenge. At the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Raymond’s officers come
in contact with some of the ground-fighting trained soldiers that I mentioned
earlier, which presented greater challenges than normal when taking someone
into custody.
“Some people have become more violent, and we have to meet whatever
challenges face us in an ever-changing world.”
“Many of our officers come from a military background, and we want to
provide a safe and secure environment for our veterans and veterans’ families.”-Chief
Baczek
“We don’t currently have a program in place at our national level for
ground-fighting, so me and Chief Baczek have taken it upon ourselves to
implement training for our officers to put them on a level playing field with
the people they may come into contact with. It also brings a strong camaraderie
to my team.”
“Jiu-Jitsu offers the least amount of damage or force to the person
being taken into custody, and that keeps everyone safe.” -Captain Ray Alvarez
With support from his Chief and
peers, Captain Alvarez assists in bringing his officers the most premier
training available. He has enlisted the help of Carlos “Sapao” Ban, a
black-belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a pillar member of the “Barra Brothers” family.
Carlos began training Jiu-Jitsu
at the age of 6 with the support of his mother, and by age 10 had the
realization that he could make a living from fighting and traveling abroad in
the process. Carlos, a national title holder at the age 11, is also a former
Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu champion who won his matches in an adult division at the
age of 16.
“After I won the championship, it gave me confirmation that I was on
the right track. I was being recognized by people for the things I had done in Brazil.”-Carlos “Sapao” Ban
Carlos trained under the acclaimed
Leao “Ze Beleza” Texeira, a world leader in the instruction of Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu for children. He plans on sharing his lifelong love of Jiu-Jitsu and
technical knowledge with officers from the DVA-SF and hopes to develop more
than their Jiu-Jitsu skills. Carlos is certain that his participation is
Jiu-Jitsu has changed his life for the better.
“Leao Texeira is responsible for many generations of Gracie Barra
students. He is a man I will never forget for my whole life.” –Carlos “Sapao” Ban
Carlos intends on making an
impact on the lives of the people he trains, and is happy this training is
related to one of his childhood dreams. “I always loved secret-service type jobs, and am very glad to be able
to have something to provide for law enforcement.”
“this training is not temporary, this is for the rest of their lives
and I want to make the training as good as I can.”-Carlos "Sapao" Ban Carlos knows the importance of
perception and is happy with the growth of Jiu-Jitsu around the world, yet he
also knows the pitfalls of mistakes and misrepresentations that people may
make.
“we finally got our sport into the main-stream industry, these days
people are proud to say they are a BJJ practitioner and live the sport”
“It’s easy to generalize us, when someone does a bad thing, we all pay
for it.” -Carlos “Sapao” Ban
Assisting Carlos was Leonardo
Seixas, a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu under the Gracie family banner, a soft-spoken
yet powerful individual. Leonardo, a former member of the International Jiu-Jitsu
Federation, is knowledgeable in the technical aspects of Jiu-Jitsu as a sport,
and as an organizer. A former competitor, Leonardo understands that the subtle
differences in application can result in success or failure when it comes to
Jiu-Jitsu.
Leonardo assisted Carlos by
practical demonstrations and individual instruction with students during
practice. I can affirm his proficiency in the sport, his demonstration of the “Mata
Leon-Lion Killer in Portuguese” or
rear-naked-choke effected me almost instantly. As I had documented before,
Leonardo’s focus is on the intricate details that make this sport so effective.
With the instruction of these two
men and the tenacity of Captain Alvarez, this program is certain to succeed. The
ultimate goal is safety of all the parties involved in Police work. Developing
and implementing programs with the intention of improving the health and safety
of Police Officer’s and citizens alike is commendable.
The Deparment of Veterans affairs
is not only leading the way in programs for its Police Officers, it is
maintaining a solid effort to mirror community policing practices in order to
maintain the highest levels of integrity and professionalism.
I would like to thank Chief Baczek,
Captain Ray Alvarez, Carlos “Sapao” Ban, and Leonardo Seixas for the
hospitality and training I received on that day.
JC
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Sapao's techniques and teaching abilities are first class, I was his student at his old gym and there is no better teacher. Plus I like the fact that he always taught practical, not flashy, stuff, and showed me how a smaller person can survive, and even prevail against, a larger person.
The article was spot-on in acknowledging that LEO's need to be "up to speed" on stuff the veterans are learning in the miltary.
Keep up the good work!
That is a great compliment to all of us involved! Thank you Mr. Webber
JC
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Mestre Sapao has Jiu Jitsu Style Beyond Compare...
I have Devoted my life to Sapao's Teaching and Advice, He has helped me develop the skill and brought out the inner talent..I cant thank him enough in this lifetime and the next.
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