Two weeks ago, Total-MMA had the pleasure of visiting two of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s legends at a seminar at Marcelo Alonso’s Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Seattle. We enjoyed the wisdom of Carlson Gracie Jr. in part one. Today we turn the focus to Ricardo “Rey” Diogo.

You might not expect it from a man who goes by the Portugese word for “King,” but asked about his recent victory at the 2009 BJJ Pan American Championships, Ricardo “Rey” Diogo sounds more humble than boastful. To hear him describe it, the victory sounds like just another day at the office, not unlike appearing at a seminar:

“I felt very good,” he begins in his strong Brazilian accent. “But mentally I prepare myself for all events I go through.. Proper training, proper rest, proper conditioning. You have to do all these things right. It’s what I try to do when I compete, have total confidence in myself. I have a few movements in my game that I have total confidence in, and that’s what I want to show in my seminars.”

Diogo’s lessons on having a complete jiu-jitsu game have become a staple of the jiu-jitsu seminar circuit. Besides his flagship school in Los Angeles and his membership in the Carlson Gracie Federation, Diogo boasts satellite schools of his own in the US and Europe.

“I travel to Europe once a year and have seminars in one trip,” he says. “I have one association in Sweden, one in Aberdeen, Scotland, one in Shannon, Ireland, one in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is new. Sweden I’ve had in my association for almost six years, Aberdeen four years, Shannon three. Actually Shannon is not my association but another Carlson gym association… but I always get invited when the guy knows I’m in town.

“In the UK, jiu jitsu has gotten very popular,” he continues. “There’s so many good guys there. So, seminars are sometimes hard to do because there’s so many good black belts around. People spend money every month to their academy, sometimes they don’t want to spend $100 extra. I say if you have some extra money it’s always good because you know you always see different things. Now there’s so many good choices.”

Diogo displays a methodical style and respectful, mellow personality that seems a great match with Carlson Gracie Jr. Their long history began when he began training under Carlson Sr in 1981. “I’ve been part of Carlson Gracie Team forever. That’s where I belong in jiu-jitsu. He’s my mentor, my master. I have a few other instructors inside Carlson Gracie Academy, like Carlson Gracie Jr, Marcelo Alonso, but I’ll always be loyal to him. I’ll always be Carlson Gracie Team forever. It doesn’t matter what happens. Everything I feel about life I feel because I had him behind me. It is a privilege, an honor, to be Carlson Gracie Team.”

Asked what set Carlson Sr. apart in his success, Diogo doesn’t mince words.

“Carlson was never scared to open his skills to his students. It doesn’t make sense to have students and keep secrets for myself. A lot of people from Gracie family, they’re open to their students, but a lot of things they keep closed in the Gracie family, they don’t want to open to their students. Carlson always used simple things but very effective. These tournaments you see now, you don’t see the students with the old jiu-jitsu base, because people don’t teach this. Always think of the submissions, and tight positions. Tight positions doesn’t mean you won’t see jiu-jitsu skills.”

Diogo is frustrated by current high level jiu-jitsu competitiors who may have the tight positions, but not the submissions… and vice versa. They’re missing the opportunities to complete their game.

“Especially at high level belts,” he says. “They start putting the “advantage” (a rule where a lesser point is scored for nearly securing a technique) in tournaments. I actually think this helped the stalling fighters. Most of the fights, especially heavyweights, you see boring fights because they don’t want to risk it. They want to be very safe sometimes, and when they have a chance to score one advantage, then they stall and keep that (position) until the end of the fight. I think first of all it’s a mistake for the referee to let a fight stall that long, and I think people need to fight in tournaments with more intensity…. some self confidence, prepare yourself well, to keep from stalling fights.”

“So many high level fights (are) so boring because they don’t want to risk getting a sweep or submitted,” he continues, echoing the sentiments of Royler Gracie in our June interview. “I do not agree with it. It goes against the idea of jiu-jitsu. If you stall nothing’s going to be open to you to go for submissions. I think the principle of jiu-jitsu is to go for the submission, and if you can’t, then win by points. Score your points, but you have to have confidence in submissions, 100%, go for it. If you can’t do it, win by points; make sure all positions score points.”

Pictured: Diogo (left) with the instructor at his academy in Sweden, Emir Burazerovic

Busy as a competitor and also in demand as an instructor, Diogo is sustained by his religious faith, which is celebrated in several of the tattoos that adorn his skin.

“I have 19 tattoos and stories about all of them,” he smiles when asked about the murals of angels and saints on his leg and torso. “In Brazil when you’re born you have you have two protectors: one male, one female. My male protector is St. George, the female is St. Barbara.”

“I’m Catholic. But I respect all religions; all religions in the end go to God.”

Like all roads lead to Rome, every step Diogo has taken has led to success. Here’s to more.

Thanks again to Marcelo Alonso for helping arrange this two-part interview. Please visit MABJJ.com for information about his academies in the Seattle area. Also, if you missed it, please also enjoy Part One, as Carlson Gracie Jr talks about his life in jiu-jitsu, his thoughts on his most famous black belt Miguel Angel Torres, and how a guy from Rio finds himself in Chicago anyway…