“The Palmeiras Fighting Club”. This is how the Brazilian press has baptized the Jackson’s Gymnasium of Padua (São Paulo, June 14, 1977). Jaco, as he is known in the world, is a famous Brazilian wrestler who managed to make his way to the elite of his sport. fight in MMA is not a trivial task and Jacó achieved four victories between 2011 and 2016. Meanwhile, his work as a coach grew, incorporating footballers into his clientele who also sought to reach the top in his trade. Now, several are the players of the Verdao They boost their abilities through fighting. One of the last to join the club has been Endrick (16 years old)who has decided to put himself in the hands of Jaco to prepare his landing at Real Madrid in 2024. No one better to explain the benefits that wrestling and boxing can bring to the young talent than himself Jacothat attends AS in the middle of your busy day to day.
MMA fighter, trainer of elite soccer players. How it all started?
My brother introduced me to wrestling when I decided not to continue with soccer (he played in the lower categories of several clubs). The fight gave me back the desire to compete and to overcome on a daily basis. Since then I have dedicated myself to my career as an athlete and ended up being a teacher at the academy where I trained. I have been fighting for about 20 years and training for 12. MMA is not easy to get to, but that was precisely what trained me in various modalities and opened up the range of options for my clients.
And he decides to apply it to football.
He trained the wives of some athletes and then they tested them and saw the results. I think we are the pioneers in applying the fight in the world of football.
many will have passed cracks for his gym…
The truth yes. ‘Goose’ (ex Sevilla), Alexandre Pato (Villarreal, Milan), Paulinho (ex Barça), Bruno Alves (Gremio), Gabriel Menino (Palmeiras), Roger Guedes (Corinthians), Thiago Volpe (Toluca), Alan Kardec (Atlético Mineiro), Hudson (ex São Paulo), Lucas Perri (Botafogo), Matheus Vital (Cruzeiro), Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras), Luan (Corinthians), Gustavo Gomes (Palmeiras), Mayke (Palmeiras) and Rafael Navarro (Palmeiras) ). And this year, Piquerez (Palmeiras), Murilo (Gil Vicente), Zé Rafael (Palmeiras) and Endrick.
A lot of Palmeiras players. Do you have any kind of agreement with the club?
No, but they are aware. Seeing the results, moreover, Palmeiras himself frees them to sign up to box.
You also train Douglas Ramos, Endrick’s father, right? Who moves better?
Yes, they train together! Both are doing well, each one has its objectives and qualities.
And how does the first contact with Endrick take place?
He came to me after seeing the performance improvement of his club mates.
Everyone highlights his physique.
Yes. His physique is impressive for his age.
“Endrick came to me after seeing the improvement in the performance of his club mates”
Is there anything that has surprised you?
His strength, skill and great capacity for learning.
Do they see each other very often?
We don’t have fixed days, but we try to train at least once a week.
Do you notice if the media pressure affects you or overcomes it?
The truth is that during training we avoid talking about football, we focus on the technical and playful part of the fight, to let off steam and disconnect a bit from work.
Benefits
What benefits does boxing have for an elite footballer like Endrick?
Many. Fighting improves strength, physical resistance, agility and motor coordination, balance, flexibility, concentration, control of emotions, self-esteem…
How?
For example, resistance is essential to arrive fresh at the end of the games. The fast and precise movements of the fight improve the ability to dribble opponents and pass the ball. Flexibility and balance are key to avoiding injury. Boosting emotional control and concentration helps keep calm in times of extreme pressure, when important decisions have to be made in a second.
How interesting…
And not only that. There are studies that show that boxing applied to football improves other more specific aspects such as the jumping power of the players or the reaction speed… Of course, it cannot be boxing for the sake of boxing, it must always be training supervised by a professional . If not, there may be a risk of injury…
And can’t it be detrimental in younger footballers, as is the case with Endrick?
It has to be controlled by a professional, as I said, but I would say the opposite. In fact, the effect of boxing on youth soccer players has also been investigated, as is the case with Endrick, and the results have been very positive: muscular power, cardiovascular resistance and also more technical skills are improved.
I see that nothing is left to chance… Does your method hide any secrets?
No no. There is no magic recipe or any secret. I organize the training sessions and set the requirements according to the evolution and response of each student.
Do you think it will be difficult for a club like Madrid to make the physical leap at the age of 18?
No, Endrick is getting the right advice to be able to reach the highest level.