Being the proud instigator of a crazy brand such as Honey Badger Fightwear means I get to connect with all sorts of awesome people. One chap, Bret Perchaluk reached out to me and asked if I could give his team and himself a little mention on the blog. As a hardened honey badger fightwear devotee, how could I refuse!
Q: Yo Bret, welcome to Honey Badger Fightwear fight team! How does it feel to be a bona fide honey badger gi wearing badass?
A: Thanks for the awesome welcome! And as to wearing the honey badger gi, you know I don't give a...nah, just kidding, its AWESOME!! I love the gi, it fits great, the weave is awesome, and of course the graphics are sick!
Q: Give me your fight record to scare everyone else with?
A: I'm not sure what my BJJ record is to be honest, but I have had tons of matches. I started jits when I was 17 in 2002. So while wrestling is High School in New Jersey and in College I would still go to BJJ practice and compete every chance I could. I placed at my first BJJ tournament which was the NAGA North American Championship (2nd), and after that I would compete at any tournament I could, placing at most of them. Most Recently I took 3rd in the purple belt division at the W.K.A. North American Championships, which was a huge tournament here in the states, qualifying me for the Team Worlds down in Orlando, Florida. I've also been a state place winner in Judo here as well. So competing is something I've always done on a regular basis...so it's hard to keep track of the record, especially since I'm terrible at math lol.
Q: apart from eating cobras, what else do you do in addition to BJJ?
A: Well, I work a lot, and without sayin for who and exactly what, I do some cool stuff for my government, and I'm very proud of that. I teach wrestling and Judo at my gym and do seminars when I can. I train hard all the time, obviously in BJJ, but also MMA and Judo, which I just got my black belt this January from Rodrigo Artilheiro who is a coach on TUF Brazil, and Judo/MMA coach at Xtreme Cotoure out in Las Vegas, and I also got my belt issued by USA Judo as well which was thanks to Olympic Legend and Coach of the 2012 Olympic Team, Jimmy Pedro, who will be out in your neck of the woods soon for the games!
Q: What is your biggest BJJ achievement?
A: I'm not exactly sure what my biggest BJJ accomplishment is. But I can tell you a couple that mean a ton to me. First, I think the very first time I was able to tap my original BJJ coach was really memorable, because it took years before it happened and he was really proud of me when it did. Second, would have to be getting my purple belt from legend Roberto Traven when I trained at his school in Atlanta, GA. Training under him was amazing, it stepped my game up right away since I was a blue belt in a room full of Black Belts. And lastly going to Mundials this year for the first time, I'm sure that will be an amazing and meaningful stop on my jits journey.
Q: Tell me about your coach and academy, why do they ROCK!
A: Currently I'm back at a Traven gym, Combat Sports Center, training under his 3 stripe Black Belt and Brazilian National champ Carlos David Oliviera. 'David' is awesome. Hes around my weight so he rolls with me a lot. He's really knowledgable and has trained with some of the best around the world. When I first met him at Traven's in Atlanta years ago everyone was calling him David Gracie...so I figured he was pretty good lol. I have some good guys to roll with at the gym, all the belts from white up are tough. Im the highest ranked student (even though I keep my stripes on my key chain so I can sandbag lol) and a coach there, so I have a big target on my back when rolling and for sure can't slack for a minute or these guys will take advantage no doubt. I also lived in Vegas for a year and got to train at some awesome places like Drysdales and Throwdown so I really owe a lot to those guys too for letting me train at such a high level with them.
Q: What are you BJJ plans right now? You mention Mundials, is the World ready for your skillz bro?
A: Yea, Mundys is my main focus right now, as well as coming back from the tournament to a Brown Belt!! But my main BJJ goal is to have my own gym and help kids get into BJJ and away from negative influences, like the way it helped me. And as for the World being ready for my skillz...I hope not, cause then it looks like I'll walk away with some gold and a dry Gi lol. But I know Worlds will be hella tough and I'm down for that. Win or Lose its a huge learning experience for me to be at that high a level of competition. I'm just looking to go to battle and have fun. I hope to see some BJJ friends out there like Gabriel Kitober, and Braulio and Victor Estima who have all said they'll see me there. Plus my friends from Vegas too.
Q: Anyone else you would like to thank?
A: I thank god for making me athletic, or I don't know what I'd be doing with all my free time...maybe knitting?! I don't know. I'd also have to thank my mom for agreeing to pay for BJJ/MMA lessons when I was younger in exchange for not giving me an allowance. I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me and never left. Thanks goes out to my coaches all the way back from Matt Thorton, Paul Myatovich, Rob Guarino, Adam and Rory Singer, Roberto Traven and David Oliviera, Jimmy Pedro and Rodrigo Artileiro, Ric and Phil Migliarese, and Dustin Denes, and my college wrestling coaches John Hangey, Gary Taylor, and Adam Derengowski. I'd also like to thank the companies who help me and other guys like me in this sport, so a huge thank you to Tatami Fightwear for signing me as a sponsored athlete, Datsusara MMA, On The Mat, Versa Climber, BJJ Life. And last but not least I would like to thank Professor Renato Laranja for introducing me to fruits and vegetables to make better fighter for me, and make so strong my jiu jitsu that now I can think with my Gi! Oh wait, and Steven Segal...For sure Steven Segal too! Whew, almost forgot him.
Q: Osss!
A: Thanks so much for taking an interest in me and welcoming me to the Team bro! Osss! (bowing very politely, right now)
Oh and also everyone please check out 31Fifty, those guys are making dope jits lifestyle clothing and really spreading the art of what we all have dedicated so much time to!
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