OnTheMat.com

I think Matt Serra should be included on the list of American pioneers of Jiu Jitsu. He is Renzo Gracie's FIRST American Black belt and although he sport BJJ / Sub Grappling career was short, he trained in the era there wasn't as fine of a line between sport and fight.

But aside from being among the first, how good was Matt Serra actually? Some thoughts on him, as well as some great highlight footage of Matt you probably haven't seen.

Portions of this clip were from OTM's original VHS release American Pe*******on. I've wanted to share this clip for a long time, but due to us knowing nothing about Copyright for a long time (think Napster era) YouTube always flagged this every time I published this. Not that anyone needs a reminder on how good Matt was, but I wanted to show his roots in Jiu Jitsu.

A lot of you may know that of a certain era i probably have the largest original content library around. Aside from simply uploading and sharing I really want to be able to highlight the careers of certain fighters and competitors that I think paved the way for all of us and make sure they aren't forgotten. I have a number of big projects in the works, so please check out this video and subscribe to my channel so I can bring more content like this!

Matt Serra Grappling Highlights Matt Serra is a former UFC Welterweight Title Holder and Renzo Gracie's first American Black Belt. How good was he actually, and what was he known for? Gum...

Dave Camarillo is an American Pioneer of Jiu Jitsu, and was really the first American to come into Jiu Jitsu with a very high level of competitive judo as well. Aside from being a Hero to a lot of us of the early era of Jiu Jitsu in America, you can say he contributed and effected Jiu Jitsu, Judo and later on Mixed Martial Arts. Dave in a lot of ways was one of the primary faces of Americans in Jiu Jitsu, and he was the very sharp tip of the spear in what a lot of people would argue was one of the toughest teams in the world at the time, the Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu squad.

This is one is quite personal to me as Dave was my teammate and instructor for a long time and I learned a ton from him. I always tell this joke that I’ve known Dave Camarillo for 25 years now, and I’ve liked him for 24 of those years. When I first met Dave the best way I could describe him is intense. I never had a bloody nose in my life until I started training Jiu Jitsu, and Dave gave me at least a dozen of them. I’ve since learned that he’s among the most passionate people I’ve ever met in my life, and he’s always demanded (most of all from himself) excellence and integrity. Honestly I love the guy to death.

I’m taking the footage out of the OTM collection and putting together more of these career retrospectives. Although I was definitely motivated to highlight some Americans that I felt needed recognition, the next retrospective I am putting together involves a Brazilian. Check out, subscribe, let me know what you think!

Dave Camarillo Highlights Dave Camarillo was among the first Americans to compete in a high level of both Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and was one of the first faces of Jiu Jitsu in A...

Rockson Gracie was the oldest child of Rickson Gracie. I think few people I have known have had so bright a spotlight on themselves at such a young age, but I think it can also be said that Rockson Gracie radiated that energy right back.
Unfortunately the fire that burns twice as hot often lasts half as long, and Rockson unfortunately passed away at the tender age of 19. In over 20 years since then we can say that Rockson’s life did have an impact and he is remembered now.

Recently we unearthed a whole tape full of Rockson Gracie matches, so we’re eager to share some footage so you can learn a little more about him.

Rockson Gracie Tribute Rockson was the oldest child of Rickson Gracie. Few people I have known have had so bright a spotlight on themselves at such a young age, but I think it can...

Long time friend Eliot Marshall was featured on a TED talk. Big congrats buddy!

Finding Your Power in the Arena of Adversity | Eliot Marshall | TEDxPaloAltoCollege Former UFC fighter, Eliot Marshall, shares the idea that our hardships and difficulties in life serve as an arena where we must battle to find power to be su...

Terere at the Golden Cup Fernando "Terere" Augusto at the CBJJO Golden Cup 2004 Want more content like this? We know have a Patreon Page! with extra perks for supporters! https://www...

More to the YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/HeroesMASJ Please subscribe, it helps us put out more great content like this!

(Old School Footage) Garth Taylor vs Ricardo Pires This video is about Garth Taylor, one of the OG"s of the American Jiu Jitsu Scene. A little history lesson plus footage of Garth Taylor vs Ricardo Pires. Gar...