#10: Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro – The Iron Mind of a Champion

The Black Belt Podcast

“Champions have a very strong spiritual understanding of when is the right moment to throw a perfect technique, using time and timing to understand the right moment. It’s impossible to put into the an equation how it feels, because if you stop to think, you are late, flow is not a motion, flow is a state, it’s a congruence, it’s a rhythm that you acquire and then control, and this allows you to conquer technique.” – Xande Ribeiro

My guest this episode is the legendary Xande Ribeiro, who is a 7-time IBJJF and 2 time ADCC world champion. He is the founder of the 6 Blades Jiu-Jitsu Association and is the head instructor at 6 Blades Jiu-Jitsu Austin. Sense Xande mission is to use his over 30 years of experience to empower his students and disseminate jiu-jitsu as both a life philosophy and powerful tool to develop great spiritual, mental, and physical fitness. He is committed to sharing his knowledge and developing the next generation of champion athletes and martial arts leaders.

This is episode is all about greatness and how to develop the power of the mind, body and spirit through competition. My key takeaway is that a champion’s mind begins and ends with emotional stability and their ability to handle pressure. You must discover who you really are under pressure, and learn to disassociate yourself from winning and losing, so that you can become one with your opponent, then their moves become your moves. By getting little victories, you can incrementally train your mind to deal with challenges and build a great sense of accomplishment through confidence. We also dive deep into developing intelligent strength and movement patterns that directly transfer and relate to jiu-jitsu. Tune in to an amazing episode with a true legend of the game.