Jiu-Jitsu black belt, the Brazilian fighter Samy Al Jamal, living for three years at Jordan, told  TATAME in an exclusive interview about the experience of teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Medium East and the results with his first year at teacher. Check below the complete interview with Samy Al Jamal.

How long have you lived in Jordan?

I have been living in Jordan for three years, but I have been only teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for about one year.

Who gave you the Black Belt?

My master Fabrício Martins gave me the black belt and all three Dans.

Did you train other martial arts?

I trained Luta-Livre for many years with Professor Roberto Leitão, trained Judo with George Medhi until I got my black belt, trained Boxing with Brazilian Champion Rubens Dias, I also trained Wing Chung Kung Fu with Jason Lau and Shotokan Karate with Fernando Athayde.

Why did you go to Jordan?

I went to at first to help my father set up a carpet factory. After the Factory was settled, I decided to pursue a career in what I liked. At that moment I decided to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. I want to share with people the great Philosophy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the benefits involved in it.

How did you start?

At first I did not focus on the money issue. I selected Students to give private Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes. As time passed I created a conditioning class based on moves and work outs used by top MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes exclusively for women. The class is a hit and it has a long waiting list. After that American Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and Professional Kick Boxer Tarek Kalimat and I opened the First MMA class in the Middle East for kids and now we also have a MMA class for adults. All Classes are full.

How many students you have?

If we count the children and women we have approximately an average of 150 people signed up every month and 80 people in the waiting list.

How is your life there?

It is very similar to a life of a European town. It has everything that a big metropolis has and also a lot of money. I got married this year with a Jordanian-Palestinian lady in a typical Arabic wedding with all the Arab touches. We had a Belly Dancer and we cut the cake of the wedding with a Bedouin Sword. The funny thing is that the wedding made headlines in the Brazilian newspapers. They interviewed Mauricio Nobrega, who is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and a good friend of mine. He attended the wedding and when he got back his adventure to the Middle East made headlines in .

How is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu doing in the Middle East ?

It is growing in a very fast pace just like everywhere in the world. The area is following the footsteps of the solid work Carlão Santos is doing in The Emirates. Currently the Emirates army and Jordanian Army train Jiu-Jitsu. has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu federation and we also have Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in , , , , and . I also saw a very strong program of MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in . I was in to train Muay Thai and ended up giving a seminar of Submission Grappling. I gave the seminar at Tiger Muay Thai camp which, by the way, is one of the most complete centers of MMA that I have seen. I also think we need to use of their philosophy in our training.

What is the philosophy of the Thai?

First the athlete has the choice of staying 24 hours in the camp. Secondly there is an average of one instructor for each two students and lastly the training is done in the ring. The improvement from this type of training is immense in a short period of time from the point of view of the student. This way they can attract “tourist fighters” and at the same time train top MMA fighters. In the MMA submission Classes they have a fighter named Ray Elbe, Juliano Prado‘s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu student, who is doing some great work with the fighters and bringing great results.

How is Fabrício Martins Team?

It is stronger than ever. This year he gave many black belts and also black belt degrees. I got my third degree. Our master has a lot of good young fighters and many teachers giving classes in and abroad. Daniel Otero World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion is also collecting many wins in MMA and Shooto. Rodrigo Uzeda last year’s Naga champion is currently the official Submission instructor of Pat Miletich’s MMA team. There is Professor Maneu who just came back from . Professor Alemão is in and . There is Steve in the also me and Jordan and many others.

Are you part of a big team?

No. We are on a growing process. The team has only 14 years and it is still a teenager. Nevertheless it has reached great results. Our tendency is to grow because the work mentality our master uses is based on the soul of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu philosophy. In my view we presently have two kinds of Jiu-Jitsu being taught. The first focused only For MMA. The second is what I call the rot Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the real Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu based on the ways of the samurai and the directory implemented and developed by the Gracie family. If any team works based on this philosophy it will inevitably grow.

Can you give us an example of this philosophy?

For instance a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team has to work more like a family than a team. The spirit of a family creates strength, solidarity and above all loyalty. Our master prizes these qualities more than anything. The Gracie family has been working in these parameters for many years and the results speak for themselves.