Diego SaraivaÂ
Diego Saraiva is a UFC Veteran, a 5th degree IBJJF certified jiu-jitsu blackbelt, IBJJF referee, and owner of Nova Uniao Atlanta along with his wonderful wife Fernanda (also a jiu-jitsu black belt).
I always believed that cross-training at various schools was valuable for competitors. Early in my journey, I noticed that we were all practicing jiu-jitsu, but jiu-jitsu has many different styles, which are accentuated at other schools. The school owner or lead instructor often heavily influences the styles.Â
If the school's owner is a competitor, then the school tends to lean heavier on the competition side of jiu-jitsu. If the owner is a closed-guard player, then most of the students there will become proficient in closed guard and, if nothing else, be quite proficient at dealing with opponents who play closed guard.
But not all schools are welcoming to visiting students. Some fear that outside students may make their own students look bad, say if two blue belts of equal size square off or two similar purple belts roll around. Other times, the instructors themselves feel they have to protect their own home turf and show the superiority of their jiu-jitsu to any visiting student in front of their own students.
Thus, dropping into academies can invite a number of responses, some friendly, and others not so pleasant. Sometimes, everyone ignores you. They don’t know you, don’t trust you, and don’t want to risk getting injured or losing to a stranger. Other times, they feel the roll is more likely to end up in an uncontrolled scrap and don’t want that kind of effort or output.
My problem then was finding schools that wouldn’t kill me when I showed up and teach me things about jiu-jitsu that you wouldn’t get otherwise because they are unique to the person teaching the class or running the training room.
Suppose you are fortunate enough to get around to different schools. In that case, you quickly learn that all the schools have different types of vibes, cultures, teaching methodologies, class structures, habits, rituals, personality types, and jiu-jitsu styles when you visit other schools. Yes, it’s all jiu-jitsu. But it’s also different at each school. That’s the beauty of cross-training.
I enjoy and am a fan of photography. That’s not to be confused with being a good photographer. My eyes are of two different prescriptions. I’m legally colorblind. I don’t have natural artistic instincts. But I still am a fan of photography and enjoy playing around with cameras and taking pictures. I love photos and get great joy out of looking back over my life from time to time and recalling fond memories of things I did with people in my life at that time. So I would often lug around an extra bag with some camera equipment and rather than sitting around all day bored waiting for my matches at a competition, I would walk around, take photos, and entertain myself.
Diego Saraiva was a prolific competitor in IBJJF. He was a prolific competitor in Mixed Martial Arts and often fought when he was younger. He was a good fighter, making it to the UFC. He also was not a very large person. In competitive shape, he’s at most 155 pounds and usually lighter for big events.
Diego was born in Brazil and got into jiu-jitsu when he left his mother's womb. By 18 years old, he was already a black belt in jiu-jitsu. He made his way to the United States, began fighting professionally, and made ends meet by teaching jiu-jitsu at schools in Atlanta, Georgia. Back then, you didn’t make much money fighting. It wasn’t a way to consistently pay your bills. It was more like something you would do anyway, and you happen to get paid for from time to time with some nominal amounts to cover the costs of travel and food on the road.
Diego was also a referee for the IBJJF, which is a very difficult job. Few people realize how hard it is to referee jiu-jitsu matches and make the call on an advantage, penalty, or whether points were established when the match is happening in real-time at competition speed.
But it was on the road that I started to see Diego repeatedly. I would take photos of him, and if I got any good ones, I would pass them on to him. At most of the IBJJF events, professional photographers are in attendance, taking photos of their clients. Photographers are required to apply for and obtain a press pass before being allowed on the competition floor to work for hire.
I was eventually contacted by someone in the jiu-jitsu marketing sector of the industry who was looking for pictures of Diego. Diego was finally in a position to open up his school. They were building a website for him and searching for photos. I have taken several pictures over the years and shared them with them.
Later, as a token of appreciation, Diego told me, “If you ever want a place to come by and train, you will always be welcome at my place.” Well, that was music to my ears. That sequence of events led to a number of valuable relationships that I made with the Nova Uniao schools in the greater Atlanta area.
Diego and his wife Fernanda (also a jiu-jitsu black belt) always showed me a level of kindness that I didn’t get at many other places. They have an authentic love of jiu-jitsu that you can tell they just love spreading to the community and to their students. The class atmosphere is casual and fun, with a lot of joking around between everyone.Â
For a smaller practitioner, Diego demonstrates the effectiveness of jiu-jitsu. I’ve seen him roll with many bigger people and make them look like a total rookie. When I roll with Diego, I never fear that he will hurt me. All of his movements are very controlled and precise. He rolls playfully. Yet, at the same time, he has an uncanny ability to feel as though he weighs 100 kilos when he is on top of you. Breathing when on the bottom of Diego is usually compromised and difficult. Sometimes you want to tap just because he’s on top of you and you can’t get out from under him.
When I think about my training mandates, Diego consistently meets all three. We train safely and technically, and we have a lot of fun with smiles and laughs.
Over time, three things emerged out of that relationship with Diego. First, I enjoyed training with Diego so much at his Friday lunch class that I just made it a part of my regular schedule. Second, I would be introduced to DJ Wegesin, one of the lead instructors at Nova Uniao, who trains with me every Wednesday in The Jiu-Jitsu Bunker. DJ and I would later become good friends and training partners (albeit he’s more like a jiu-jitsu mentor to me). DJ was already a 2nd-degree blackbelt when I began training with him as a purple belt. He’s now a 3rd degree blackbelt, quickly approaching his 4th degree.
Finally, I would meet Brian Brown, another 2nd-degree blackbelt who runs his own academy (Alpharetta Martial Arts) but trains at Diego’s Friday lunch class as well. I don’t know for sure, but I always had this feeling that Diego gave me the holy blessing to his entire crew, and once he did, I was welcomed with open arms to train with them as if I were one of them. And for that, I’m extremely grateful.
Diego is now a 5th-degree IBJJF certified black belt, a rank that very few in the world hold and a testament to how long he has been an active jiu-jitsu practitioner. He’s long since retired as a professional MMA fighter and UFC veteran. He is still an active IBJJF competitor and consistently makes the podium at the events that he enters, including the majors, having won European Championships. With a wall full of medals at his academy, there isn’t much that he hasn’t accomplished in the jiu-jitsu world.
I’m extremely grateful that I crossed paths with Diego and his schools, and he’s made my jiu-jitsu journey much more productive and pleasant.
