GQ: What do you take pleasure in about jiu-jitsu?
Vijay Hanumantha Raju: It’s clearly exercise. Aside from that, you meet individuals from totally different walks of life. Within the fitness center it does not matter who you’re or the place you got here from—form of like what occurred on the event.
For me there was a private facet to it as nicely: I’ve discovered the BJJ group within the fitness center to be superb and made fairly just a few nice associates—which was particularly vital to me since I used to be going via a breakup, from essentially the most superb particular person on this planet who actually modified my life. Going from being the happiest ever to the opposite finish of the spectrum was powerful, and simply being round my BJJ coaching companions was useful. I do know lots of males do not speak in regards to the emotional or psychological aspects of their lives however I do know for a incontrovertible fact that BJJ and all my coaching companions positively helped me with all that stuff. It simply form of takes you away from every part else that is taking place round you and for a few hours
So was this your first event?
It was my first event. And I used to be truly skeptical about competing. We had been speaking about it for fairly just a few months on the fitness center, and considered one of my coaching companions—she mentioned she would compete, after which just a few weeks later a bunch of different individuals signed up, so finally I used to be like, okay, certain. I’m glad I did.
So the match with Zuckerberg was your first match ever? At what level within the day did you understand it was going to be him?
After I was wanting on the listing of opponents earlier than the precise event, I attempted to determine it out just a few days earlier than and I could not provide you with something. He had used his center identify—he was below “Mark Elliot.”
It was actually about two, three minutes earlier than the precise match that I spotted.
So he wasn’t there warming up? Did he have a particular entrance or one thing?
He was not within the frequent warmup space, for certain—I am assuming that he was extra in his personal secluded part the place he was warming up.
Was there an enormous crowd for it? Did individuals know when it was happening that it was happening?
I suppose, yeah, there was—however clearly throughout my match I do not assume I used to be in a position to determine what was taking place. However there have been positively lots of people.
Did he have coaches there that had been shouting recommendation at him?
Oh yeah, he had fairly just a few individuals, and I spotted later they’re top-tier individuals. I believe considered one of them was Dave Camarillo. Clearly, they had been shouting directions throughout all of the matches.
Do you assume that helped? Did you hear them yell something that you can inform you was making an attempt to do?
Yeah, a few issues. I used to be going for lots of takedowns, single legs and double legs. And that is one thing that they needed him to do as nicely. So the primary spherical he did not do it and the second they saved saying, “Okay, pretend the take-down!” However I used to be like, okay, I can hear that.