{"id":850,"date":"2016-05-13T19:11:42","date_gmt":"2016-05-13T18:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/?p=850"},"modified":"2018-04-04T20:29:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T19:29:26","slug":"behring-jiu-jitsu-alsace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/behring-jiu-jitsu-alsace\/","title":{"rendered":"Behring Jiu-jitsu Alsace"},"content":{"rendered":"

For this new article about local globetrotting, I am pleased to introduce to you Behring Jiu-jitsu Alsace<\/strong><\/a>, a BJJ academy located in Wintzenheim<\/strong> in the East of France.\u00a0I take you to the heart of the region Alsace to meet Yves Mathalin and Alex Thomann<\/strong>, two proud representatives of the Flavio Behring academy.<\/p>\n

Behring Jiu-jitsu Alsace<\/h2>\n

Wintzenheim<\/strong> and the region around Colmar (one hour south from Strasbourg) are well known for their wine road, their charming villages and fortified castles. It\u2019s here, at the foot of the Vosges Mountains and in the middle of vineyards that Yves Mathalin created the academy Behring Jiu-jitsu Alsace<\/strong>, a year only after he discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu<\/strong> during the first seminar Rickson Gracie gave in France.<\/p>\n

The third dan judo black belt always practised judo with a traditional jiu-jitsu orientation. That\u2019s why he naturally wanted to develop BJJ in his judo club. \u201cI offered to open a BJJ class in the judo association of Wintzenheim but it has been refused\u2026 However it’s not in my nature to give up so I shared my idea with the head of the karate association I’m also part of and he agreed. I thank him !<\/p>\n

In 1996 BJJ finally appeared in Wintzenheim.<\/strong> However Yves had to avoid to speak about it many times. \u201cMaybe I wouldn\u2019t have got my state-registered diploma to teach judo if the federal organization had known that I practise BJJ. After that people put so many obstacles into my way that I wondered if I wasn’t going crazy\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

This situation shows the complicated relationship between judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu in France which is considered to be a competitor at the national and local level. Despite of that both BJJ black belts under Flavio Behring have developped an academy based on the mestre\u2019s values. Today it counts about sixty students.<\/p>\n

Flavio Behring jiu-jitsu : posture, precision, pressure<\/h2>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Those who train with us know what these words mean!\u201d. Yves explains that\u00a0teaching at\u00a0the Behring academy \u00a0is based on BJJ basics<\/strong>. He defines them as \u201ctechniques which respect the physical integrity of the body and what you can do if you are small, tall, big, weak, flexible<\/strong>\u2026 Advanced techniques are adapted to the athlete\u2019s morphology.<\/strong> For example Marcelo Garcia has enormous thighs so he developed X and butterfly guards. The Myao brothers are very flexible which is practical for berimbolos. Once you master your orthography and grammar, you can write and understand most of the BJJ language complexities\u00a0\u00bb.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A knowledge that Flavio Behring himself teaches in his club twice a year.<\/strong> He is close to his students and \u201cmakes no difference between people. He’s very open minded and his word is gold\u201d underlines Yves.<\/p>\n

\"Behring<\/p>\n

I had the chance to see these qualities\u00a0twice, the true and respectful relationship between the master and his students during seminars the academy organizes. While some well-known figures of BJJ behave like divas, Flavio Behring shows a modesty that is equal to his experience. He adjusts his class to the students and answers all questions without balking, and all this in a nearly perfect French.<\/p>\n

Personnal and technical development<\/h2>\n

La transmission d\u2019un jiu-jitsu au plus proche de celui de la famille Gracie est une chose importante pour Yves.<\/p>\n

A really important thing for Yves is the transmission of a jiu-jitsu that’s the closest to the one of the Gracie family. After having been a Rickson Gracie affiliate, he wished \u201ca continuity and the same original approach. Flavio Behring was Helio Gracie\u2019s student. I couldn\u2019t have found better. I find in him the origin and the founding principles of jiu-jitsu. He also has an unlimited technical knowledge\u2026 I nickname him the\u00a0bible\u201d.<\/p>\n

Beyond techniques Flavio Behring is an inspiration for Alex :\u00a0\u201cone day the Master told me \u201cif you want to roll, find a partner. If you want to train, find a coach. If you want to learn, find a professor. If you want to understand, find a major Master<\/strong>\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It took some time to measure this sentence maybe because of a lack of maturity.\u00a0However I often think about it when I see him explaining something.<\/p>\n

His teaching also helps personnal development : the jiu-jitsu he teaches can be used for any situation and at anytime of your life.\u201d Alex adds \u201cwe have an incredible chance to have a mestre as a learning source. However it needs a long-term undertaking with many investment to keep his legacy alive\u201d. Nowadays I have also the chance to be a professor in a Behring academy in Denmark and maybe in the near futur in Germany. It wouldn\u2019t be possible without Flavio\u2019s trust\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Flavio<\/a><\/p>\n

I can see this vision and approach of jiu-jitsu each time I visit this academy and I like to confront them. Each fighter has for first aim the submission and doesn\u2019t restrict his game to the technics IBJJF approved. A return to BJJ roots and its self-defense aspect which oblige me to review my game and to get out of my comfort zone. Moreover I appreciate the time the members of the academy take to explain and speak about technics and the fact that they are very kind and welcoming . So I have one word to finish : thanks!<\/p>\n

Technique of the day<\/h2>\n

Alex shows an open guard pass with a footlock in noi-gi:<\/p>\n