The Stand-Up Game with Professor Alexandre "Café" Dantas

Professor Alexandre "Café" Dantas of GB Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, is the first of the 2022 CompNet Global League Champions to share his competition techniques with the GB Online members.

Jiu-Jitsu origins

Professor Café grew up in the Copacabana neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He started training in martial arts at the young age of four years old. His father enrolled him in judo, and he later, inspired by the movies, switched to training in Karate.

In 1993, when Professor Café was 13 years old, he and his friends watched a "vale tudo" fighting (translated as “anything goes”) event on television - the first Ultimate Fighting Championships - the event that revolutionalized the martial arts world.

"It was the first UFC in history. And I saw Royce Gracie beating all of the muscle guys. Royce was a skinny guy," remembers Professor Café, "And I told myself, 'man, this is the real stuff! That is the real martial arts. So the next day, I signed up at a Jiu-Jitsu academy. And I never stopped."

Professor Dantas explains how he got his nickname "Café"

"When I started Jiu-Jitsu, I was the worst fighter in the academy," he says, "So he calls by a nickname 'Café com Leite (translated as milk coffee). So everybody, when we warm up, (the instructor says) 'Oh go with him, he is a milk coffee'. Because I was very easy to beat."

As Professor Café improved his Jiu-Jitsu and graduated to blue belt, the name was abbreviated to simply "Café," the name that his friends and students affectionately call him today.

Professor Café began his training with Gracie Barra 23 years ago with Gracie Barra Ipanema - one of the earliest GB schools in Brazil.

Before immigrating to Florida to teach Jiu-Jitsu, Professor Café was a lawyer, a Jiu-Jitsu Professor, and a university teacher in the faculty of Law in Brazil. He earned a Master's degree in Law and a Ph.D. in Political Science. Professor Café is also an author with three books published on the subject of Law.

A friend invited Professor Café to relocate to the USA to open a Jiu-Jitsu school. He was approved for a person of extraordinary abilities visa to enter and stay in the United States. Today he serves as the head instructor at GB Ft. Lauderdale.

Competitive experience

Professor Café won the World Championships as a brown belt and, soon after, moved his training to train under Master Carlos Gracie Jr at the GB Headquarters in Barra da Tijuca.

Professor Café also listed professional MMA fighter on his competitive resume and fought in the early days of the UFC. Professor Café considers his experience competing in MMA invaluable in his life and Jiu-Jitsu career.

"In Brazil, people say that to live your life. You must write a book, have a son, and plant a tree. I have already done all of these things," he smiles, "But I think fighting MMA is something remarkable. You can not forget the experience. It's amazing!"

GB CompNet competition success

Professor Café started competing in Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 13 and continues to test himself to this present day. He competes in the Masters 3 Black belt Super Heavyweight (under 222 lbs.) category.

In 2017, Professor Café competed in his first CompNet and has fond memories of the experience.

"It was a huge CompNet in Brazil. Master Carlos Gracie Jr was there, Flavio Almeida was there, and everybody was there. It was amazing. I did four fights to become the winner of my division. I finished all of my opponents," says Professor Café, "I'm never going to forget this; after I finished my last fight, Master Carlos came to congratulate me. He gave me a hug and told me, 'Fat cats don't catch the mouse! Keep up the good work!'

2022 GB CompNet

In 2022 Professor Café competed in the local, regional, and national level CompNet events, winning every CompNet tournament he entered, including the Open division.

Professor Café says, "I love to fight in the CompNet more than the other organizations. Because it's the tournament that gets everybody together. The environment of CompNet is awesome. You get a good vibration."

"We do compete hard. But at the same time, the (sense of) fair play is everywhere," says Professor Café, "You don't have enemies; you have competitors."

Professor Café encourages all his students to participate even if they don't want to compete.

"I tell them: go there to support your team. Go there to learn. Go there to feel the experience. And they love it. Everybody goes to CompNet. It's a big day for everybody."

CompNet Global League 2022 Champion

Professor Café accumulated the most points in his category over the year's events to be the CompNet Global League Champion in the Master Male Black Belt Division.

The highlight of his 2022 CompNet season was a 20 seconds submission victory via flying triangle choke that occurred in the Canadian Nationals.

"I did a flying triangle. I jumped on the guy and caught him in the triangle in mid-air. So when he hit the floor, he was already tapping," Professor Café smiles, "That was the first time in my career that I managed to do a flying triangle in a fight. For me, it was a big achievement. Because imagine, I have been competing since I was thirteen years old. Only when I was 43 that I managed to do a flying triangle in a competition."

It's extremely rare to see a flying triangle in the Super Heavyweight category. Why did Professor Café choose to employ such an unusual and potentially risky strategy in a high-level competition match?

"After you accomplish so many different competitions as I did, I have four IBJJF World titles; I have five Pan American titles; I have four Brazilian; I have six Rio de Janeiro State Championships. So I'm a well-rounded competitor," says Professor Café, "So when I go to compete now, I don't want to just win by the rules. I want to do something nice. Something that I'm going to be proud of. I have to be bold and try new stuff."

As part of his CompNet Black Belt Championship package, Professor Café will be featured in a video series on GB Online.

The Four Aspects Of The Stand-Up Game

Professor Café wants to share his techniques and concepts in the stand-up portion of the Jiu-Jitsu game. Many GB students will admit they must work more on their takedown game. This is especially true of new competitors who often feel uncomfortable grappling in the standing-up position. But Professor Café sees the stand-up game as being more than just drilling your takedowns.

"It's not all about the takedown. I will focus on the four main aspects of the stand-up game."

Professor Café elaborates on his way of breaking down the stand-up phase of a match.

"When the fight starts, you are going to have basically four options:

1. The first of the options is to do the takedown.

2. The second option is to pull guard.

3. The third option is the counter. So whatever the guy does - he pulls guard or does a takedown - you counter him, and you get the points.

4. And the last option is the standup submissions. Like the flying triangle, chokes, Guillotines, wrist locks, and all kinds of variations."

When asked how he developed such a strong stand-up game, Professor Café explains his philosophy that a Jiu-Jitsu Professor must be versatile in how they look at Jiu-Jitsu.

The Complete Jiu-Jitsu fighter

Professor Café credits his early training with Master Carlos Gracie Jr as the biggest influence on developing his stand-up Jiu-Jitsu game.

"You have to open your mind. In different situations. For different kinds of games," he explains, "Because if you have just one really strong option, and the person that you are fighting can block that strong option of yours, eventually you are going to lose your fight."

"But, if you have several ways to start the fight, you can confuse your opponent. You can make him make mistakes while you get the advantage. And you get ahead scoring points, or, as I said, you can finish the fight in the very beginning."

The Jiu-Jitsu Professor should be knowledgeable in all of the options in order to be best able to help their students.

"Being able to have several options makes you a complete fighter. And also makes you more helpful to your students. As a professor, you have different styles of students. Some of your students like to pull guard. Some of your students like to do takedowns. Some of them prefer to counter. Some of them are more aggressive and like to go for the finish."

Professor Café believes, "If you know all these variations, you will be a better Professor, not only a better competitor."

Be sure to check out Professor Café’s stand-up game video series coming available now on GB Online.

Blog Written by Mark Mullen, Gracie Barra Black Belt based in Rio de Janeiro