From the emerging jiujitsu hotbed of Guayaquil, Ecuador, Johnny Tama has become one of the brightest young competitive black belts in jiujitsu.
“I started training Jiu-Jitsu when I was 17,” says Johnny. He got into jiujitsu after he was involved in a street altercation with an end that didn’t go his way.
“What led me to Jiu Jitsu was the need to learn how to defend myself against others. I’ve been training for 9 years now. I think it’s a very healthy environment (to be in jiujitsu). It helps you in so many areas of your life.”
After winning impressively in competitions at the lower belt level under the tutelage of Juan Miguel Iturralde at Alliance, Johnny decided to make his move to the United States.
“As a black belt with 24 years old, I decided to move out to San Diego to teach and compete as much as possible. It’s been a great experience. Everybody is eager to learn and wanting to improve. My students drive and push me to improve every day.”
With both teaching and competition as a focus, Johnny has amassed some prestigious wins under his belt (Pans, Pans No Gi) and has also developed his own footlock variation, dubbed ‘the tama lock.’
And while he’s done well so far, he mainly wants to look ahead.
“Whatever I accomplished in the past is just there, in the past. I’m proud that I developed my own foot lock version. Now I just want to keep getting better and improving in my jiujitsu. The feeling of giving up presents itself in some many different ways throughout your journey in BJJ. I like the challenge of overcoming those hurdles so I can only move forward and get better.”
Johnny Tama will be taking on Piter Frank at Fight 2 Win 95. He’ll be the latest challenge ahead of the Ecuadorian, and this time it’s for the enjoyment of the fans. If his past matches are of any indication, it should be exciting to watch.
“Sometimes I can very very explosive and seeking for subs like crazy or sometimes I can be very calm and in control of the situation. For this I expect nothing but porrada, Piter is a seasoned fighter and I know, we both are gonna do our best, it’s gonna be a fun show to watch.”
“Nothing has changed in my preparation. It’s the same but always improving the little details on my technique, lots of 7 mins rounds and drilling. No predictions but I’m gonna try to submit my opponent all of the time and very aggressive bjj I’m gonna be displaying. Come support the show it’s gonna be fun!”
