About BJJEngineer

Welcome to BJJEngineer – a Blog that helps Jiu-Jitsu people improve their game and win.

My name is Roberto Torralbas and I’m a full time BJJ practitioner/competitor, school owner (Team Third Law Martial Arts Academy in Naples, FL), and instructor/head coach. I have been improving my Jiu-Jitsu through an intensive and disciplined set of systems, research, drilling, online collaboration with my coaches, and a million other innovative ways. I will share with you my previous discoveries and future ones as they come. You too can make great progress in your game regardless of the circumstances.

From Hobby to Profession

Back in 2003 I stumbled upon ‘Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’. Having done some Judo as a kid, for some reason I started to yearn the mat action as an adult. My first encounter with this martial art was in the Judo Club where I belonged; some BJJ guys used to train in a small corner of the room. The best Judo Black Belt, who outweighed me by probably 60 pounds and used to arm-bar me at will told me that the BJJ guys would kick my butt in newaza. So I went, and that was exactly what happened; I didn’t know it at the time but that moment changed my life. I know that statements like that belong on cheesy TV commercials (don’t worry I’m not selling anything) but it is actually true.

After that first encounter, I started hours of reading and watching anything that had to do with Jiu-Jitsu. I began to train as much as possible. When I didn’t have anyone to train with I grabbed a down jacket and ski pants, stuffed them up with pillows and towels, and made a terrible dummy. I was obsessed with BJJ and not too long after I got promoted to blue belt (7 months) I won the Pan-American Championships!

As my Jiu-Jitsu grew, what started as a hobby (some would say an obsession) became a career. I graduated from Cornell University with an Electrical and Computer Engineering degree, but did not go on to follow a career in that field.

I moved back down to sunny Naples, Florida and opened a Jiu-Jitsu school. The school that started with 3 classes a week and pure beginners, is now open every day of the week multiple times a day. I’ve always thought of my school as a Laboratory: in order for me to keep up to date I do tons of research, and experiment with different and innovative techniques.

The Third Law BJJ Academy/ Laboratory

In March 2007, I embarked on opening a quality Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school. Starting a new enterprise is never easy; in my case I faced the stiff competition of the other martial arts schools around the area. I needed to set my self apart from these schools, I knew I could offer my students a much better chance at becoming world class athletes since I had already accomplished that myself. I had realized that to compete at the international level it would take more than 6-10 hours of hard intensive training a week. With that in mind I set out to establish a high caliber Brazilian Jiu-Jistu program in Naples, Florida, USA.

I think of my school as a Laboratory: I do tons of research, and experiment with different and innovative techniques to keep up to date. I also communicate constantly with my coaches Julius Park from 88 BJJ and Lloyd Irvin from LIMMA (Lloyd Irvin Mixed Martial Arts). I am constantly trying to polish the techniques and concepts that will help give my students an edge in competition and improve their games.

Why BJJEngineer?

This site is dedicated to helping other Jiu-Jitsu practitioners learn new skills and share their own experiences. I started it in June 2008 mainly because I wanted to keep a record of what I was learning and researching.

Accomplishments in BJJ

Here are some of my accomplishments as a competitor:

Titles Conquered

Brown Belt

• 2011  IBJJF Chicago Winter International Championship  Middle Heavy Champion
• 2011  IBJJF Chicago Winter International Championship Absolute Champion
• 2011 IBJJF Houston International Open Middle Heavy Champion
• 2011 ADCC Pro Gi Trials Heavy Weight Bronze Medalist
  
• 2011 IBJJF European Championships Middle Heavy Weight bronze medalist

Purple Belt

Blue Belt

• 2006 Pan American Champion (blue belt)
• 2005 Grapplers Quest North American Championships Champion (advanced)
• 2005 NAGA Battle at the Beach VI Champion (blue belt)
• 2005-NAGA Battle at the Beach VI Champion (intermediate)

White Belt

• 2004-North East Grappling Challenge III Champion (intermediate)

Videos from Championships

Photos from Championships

Us Nationals 2010

Las Vegas Open 2010

Florida BJJ Classic

Houston International Open 20010

Us Nationals 2009

Us Nationals 2008

Panams 2006

BJJEngineer Competing and Training In Rio De Janeiro Brazil