EP12 - Ricardo Liborio - Community, Mentorship & the Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

In this powerful episode of the Ross Cameron Podcast, we sit down with one of the true pioneers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA—Master Ricardo Liborio, co-founder of American Top Team. Liborio opens up about his decades-long journey through martial arts, the cultural evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the deeper meaning of training, community, and mentorship.

Together with Ross Cameron, they explore what it really takes to build champions—not just on the mats, but in life. From the emotional challenges of competition to the science of modern training, this conversation is packed with life lessons, coaching insights, and real talk about how martial arts can shape the next generation.

💬 Topics Covered:

• The cultural shift in martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Mentorship and youth development through martial arts
• Emotional support for competitors
• Old-school vs. new-school training philosophies
• The importance of fundamentals and discipline
• Teaching kids and the joy of watching them grow
• Life after fighting and giving back to the community
• Martial arts as a business and a calling

✅ Whether you're a coach, athlete, parent, or lifelong martial artist, this episode is a must-watch.

🔗 Subscribe for more interviews with the world’s top martial artists and coaches.

📌 CHAPTERS:
00:00 The Journey of Martial Arts
03:36 Cultural Evolution in Martial Arts
06:17 The Role of Community in Martial Arts
09:16 Adapting to Age in Martial Arts
12:13 Training Philosophy: Old School vs. New School
15:03 The Science of Training
17:57 The Importance of Fundamentals
20:53 Emotional Preparation in Competition
23:35 Lessons from Losses
26:22 The Privilege of Teaching Martial Arts
32:30 Ownership Mindset in Business
35:25 The Importance of Community
38:30 Learning Through Experience
41:47 Youth in Combat Sports
44:41 Life After Fighting
47:38 The Role of Education
50:25 Impact of Teaching Kids
53:54 The Value of Relationships
57:21 Reflections on Life and Success

🎯 Hashtags & Keywords:
#RicardoLiborio #BrazilianJiuJitsu #MartialArtsPodcast #RossCameron #AmericanTopTeam #BJJCommunity #Mentorship #LifeLessons #YouthDevelopment #MartialArtsLife #EmotionalSupport #Discipline #CoachingPhilosophy #BJJTraining #MartialArtsBusiness

Transcript

Ricardo Liborio (00:01.505)
Ha ha.

Ross Cameron (00:01.606)
All right, welcome back to the podcast. Today we have a true pioneer of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts, Master Ricardo Liborio He's the co-founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu top team, and American top team. And he's been around the game for a long, long time and done so many things for so many people. So happy to have you on Ricardo. Thanks for coming on.

Ricardo Liborio (00:10.774)
Hey

Ricardo Liborio (00:26.766)
Oh, Ross, thank you. Thank you, man. I was just thinking about this, man. You was talking about the timing that we've been doing this, you know. You say that you're in a game for 50 years, you know, of doing this around this. Holy moly, man. I've been doing this for at least right now. Let's start with 15, you know, just turning 59. It's, you know, it's almost 60 years old. Man, it's...

Ross Cameron (00:35.631)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (00:56.334)
45 years of your, your recounting that you're really actually, you know, been doing something. But this is so at the same time, so easy. Ross, we have so much, we've been talking before this thing is started right now. So we have, we have so much conversation about this. You say something that was so, I think I lived through so many phases of the sport, not just, not just phases itself, but

Ross Cameron (01:10.502)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (01:22.221)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (01:25.495)
There's so many roles in the sport and the industry that you can take it if you really like it. Like roles that is not just about competition, it's not just about coaching competitors or competing yourself or, or instructing regular recreational people. I've been just thinking about that. I had so many roles into this. You said about your podcast and we're talking about, you don't really want to just do

hear about the last UFC fight or the last results in competition is what this brings to you.

Ross Cameron (02:07.118)
Yeah. Yeah. And it is. And it's to me is what martial arts is about. It's about the relationship that I have with my friends, you know, the relationship I have with the community that I deal with. The support I give my fighters, the support I got from my coaches when I was fighting and I still have relationships with those guys. My first coach is a guy called Ivan Willis. He's a judo coach from New Zealand.

Ricardo Liborio (02:26.93)
Yep, yep.

Ross Cameron (02:37.986)
Now Ivan is 84, 85. And we still ring each other. I'm the same age as you, I'm 59. And I started on the mats at four as a rug rat, who I'm obviously, I was too young to grade and didn't learn a lot of technique, I was just running around. But it's something that clicked and I stuck with it.

Ricardo Liborio (02:41.511)
wow.

Ricardo Liborio (02:45.61)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (02:54.496)
Yep, yep, yep, yep.

Ricardo Liborio (03:04.524)
Ross started with four years old in Judo, but in Jiu-Jitsu, I started around 15 years old. And the thing about the Jiu-Jitsu is that I never stopped anymore. From Judo, I went to Taekwondo, and I did boxing even before I did Jiu-Jitsu. And when I was 15 and when I started doing Jiu-Jitsu, Jiu-Jitsu wasn't popular like this in Brazil. But I was just in the right place at the right time.

Ross Cameron (03:17.232)
No.

Ricardo Liborio (03:34.72)
You know, very few people were doing it. It's not a lot of guys. But I was really part of that little that was that was a part of the South's own a Rio that the graces were there and we're leaving that culture. You get you go to the beach and you see the guys and you grow up seeing this. Now you see those little heroes of yours as a teenager and all your friends are doing and you started doing it. You know, it's something it's something amazing with how.

Ross Cameron (03:57.061)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (04:03.519)
This is turning to it nowadays, man, you know?

Ross Cameron (04:06.389)
yeah, to see the growth and you and I would have seen it, you know, in the 70s, it was Kung Fu. In the 80s, it was sort of Taekwondo. In the 90s, was sort of karate and K-1. And, and, and now UFC and BJJ have sort of like exploded. Yeah. and you, yeah. Yeah. And you can see it.

Ricardo Liborio (04:10.58)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (04:17.483)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (04:23.23)
Yep. Yep. And it's gonna, Ross is gonna grow more. This is gonna get bigger, You know?

Ross Cameron (04:34.105)
Like when I started teaching MMA here in Brisbane, there was like three clubs. All right. Now there's a BJJ club on every corner. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (04:44.559)
Every corner, every corner. And it has a lot to do with the culture too though. The culture, people talk a lot about distinctions of the culture of judo. Well BJJ came from judo. Ross, it did. It did came from judo, but it's definitely developing a different culture because it's not the same. When I say it's not the same, culturally, the culture of the sport inside of the match is not the same.

Ross Cameron (05:00.227)
Yep. Yep.

Ross Cameron (05:07.844)
No.

Ricardo Liborio (05:14.856)
You know, way great people receive people, the way the techniques are presented, the way people train is not the same thing. It's different and makes difference too.

Ross Cameron (05:23.141)
Yeah, Robert Drysdale talks about it as like, you know, the Brazilian culture comes out with, you know, we're late for the mats, who cares? We're here to train. We just train when we train, you know? He goes, that's very Brazilian. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.

Ricardo Liborio (05:35.263)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (05:41.087)
Yeah, well, there's a lot of transformation in that. But at the same time, it's very Brazilian to things when Ross is very Brazilian to welcome people. Hey, whoa, thing is very common. You go in during the weekends. This is from Rio. I'm from Rio. So Rio, something very democratic about Rio is the beach. Ross, the beach. Nobody owns the beach in Brazil. Right there. It's at least

Ross Cameron (05:51.268)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (06:10.674)
in the South zone area and you know the beach is there, nobody owns. So everybody comes from everywhere, all the places, all different types of people, all different races, religions, sexual orientation, social economics, everything is different. But everybody goes to the beach and after the beach you find out a way to go somewhere, but everybody

welcome everybody everybody treats everybody it's very democratic it's very it's very there's a matter who you are really you know

Ross Cameron (06:41.711)
Yep.

Yeah, it's, well, I'm a Kiwi. I know you've just been to New Zealand and seen Steve Oliver and all the rest of it. And it's the it's the same sort of culture. Like the New Zealand culture is very welcoming, very everybody eats together. Everybody. Yeah, same culture. And it comes through big time.

Ricardo Liborio (06:50.142)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (07:02.805)
my God, Ross big time. I think this is something so, look the other side of the world, you you, you go to New Zealand or even in Australia, man, you see this connection with people, the community. said that community in the end is the most important people. It's the most important thing on the sport itself.

The tradition turns into an excuse, know, not just the martial arts or that the place turns into an excuse to just go there to hang out with your friends and the people that you love it. You know, it really is an excuse. This is why. If you do have to evaluate, goes back to what I was trying to tell you, Ross, I have seen so many rows. Into this industry and I keep thinking, man,

Ross Cameron (07:41.54)
Uh-huh.

Ricardo Liborio (08:00.074)
You have someone that is never going to be a champion, never going to train, it was never going to train hard. How can you bring people in, in a social set that they can benefit itself with a martial arts, even if they would never be a high level, a high performer, or just to be part of something which is the community oriented, you know? That's a question.

Ross Cameron (08:27.715)
Yep. Yeah. And I, and I get it because like, and I both fought over the years. And like, when I was young, I was a fighter. Then I became a coach. Then I, and I think my role has even changed now. I'm doing less and less coaching as such and more and more educating. So I'm doing, I'm doing seminars for other people and other styles and I'm, and I'm talking about philosophy. And so my, my role has changed every step of the way.

Ricardo Liborio (08:37.447)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (08:56.739)
Maybe it's to do with the gray here, but.

Ricardo Liborio (08:56.958)
Correct. But correct. And one point is like you respect a lot of guy who is a high performer and what he is able to do inside the match. But when you get older and older, there was no thing about winning anymore. You can't go to the mass just to win. I mean, you can't have the whole mentality of being competitive and wanted to win, but you can't expect to win when age comes in.

Ross Cameron (09:12.652)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (09:24.899)
Yeah, I've, I've got a friend of mine. He's a, he's a, he's a third down in Brazil, you get to in a pretty good karate black belt. Now, Clay's Clay's a bit older than me. He's 60 and he, he struggles with the fact that he can't keep up with the young guys. And I gave up that a long time ago. went, mate, I don't roll with the young guys very often. And I don't roll with the young guys. Not because, not because I can't, because I can't afford the injury. So, so I

Ricardo Liborio (09:52.669)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (09:53.572)
I play the game better. I coach and I spend time and I'll drill a technique with them and all this. But when it comes to being in a competitive role, no, no, no, I'll leave that to the young guys.

Ricardo Liborio (10:04.457)
Ross, this is an even good point, How can even the young guys be more educated about even the older guys? How can you train with the older guy knowing that even if the older guy is a little bit, you know, there's older, there is personalities flourish a lot inside of that. But you're a younger guy, you train even with the older guy, the older guy can afford an injury. You can't afford an injury.

Because you don't have the same, you know, renovation. You don't get healed too fast. And that push it aside somebody that could be on the match even to help or to inspire or to help the younger guys. Like you say, to educate people or kids. That's something that people still have to think about it because you go to the competition set. If you go to a competition in school, get ready for it because

knowing there is a competition in school, even if you have, even if you're in age, but you have this competition mentality, you better be ready to go harder. And that's, and that risk injuries a lot, like for 60 years old, man, I can't, and I have so many old injuries. I can't, I can't afford injuries anymore. You know?

Ross Cameron (11:14.852)
Yeah.

Yep.

Ross Cameron (11:22.917)
Yeah, yeah, you and me, you and me both Ricardo, I get up in the morning and I take three steps to get vertical.

Ricardo Liborio (11:28.744)
Holy moly, man. That's the same thing. I have the same thing right now, man. It's just my back, it hurt my neck. I have so many injuries, Ross. I can't even tell you, Just so many crazy things that I have done it wrong that I would do it differently, you know?

Ross Cameron (11:32.909)
Okay. Yep.

Ross Cameron (11:46.638)
Yeah. And I remember, I remember I was a living student of a master for like five years. And over that time, we trained not smart. We trained very old school, very, very, very, Spartan. Let's just go hard every day, every day, every day. There was no thing as a rest period. There was no thing as good nutrition. It was just like, whatever you can get in your gob, get it in and train hard every day. Did it make me a good martial artist? hell yes. Did it make me mentally tough? hell yes.

Ricardo Liborio (11:59.974)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (12:04.712)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (12:13.905)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ross Cameron (12:16.547)
Was it good for my body? hell no.

Ricardo Liborio (12:20.025)
Ross, man, I remember at the Carlson, the Carlson Greece team. so he's a group of guys, right? Tough guys, all the tough guys over there at the time. So I compare I personally compare this is like you put that, you know, you open your hand, you put a lot of beans on it and you shake it up, you know, and the ones that stays are the champion. The training used to be like this, Ross used to be something crazy, man.

You know, the guy was it was like we call poor hard to poor hard that every day it was it was so many things. One of the things that I would do a different rush that this is came late at my age, the time they were training, we didn't have two things that I think make the whole difference in the world. One, it would be conditioning, conditioning, because in a moment that you already have the technique, the condition you make.

all the difference in the world, Ross. Not just to prevent injuries, but you get faster, stronger, whatever is this. We did not have this idea, that conditioning was so amazing, so important for the body. Number two, it was drilling. Man, we did not have the perception of drilling like the new guys have it today, that it's input.

Ross Cameron (13:20.84)
yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (13:47.416)
in the training. Any world champion nowadays, anyone, Ross, is doing conditioning and he's doing at least one hour of drilling a day. Everyone. Man.

Ross Cameron (13:57.89)
yeah. Well, I think back to think back to our time and and the science was there, but it wasn't there to the extent that it is now. And now we've got guys like Dean Amersinger, who's running the UFCP in Shanghai, and he's sharing information and knowledge and all the rest of it. And that's fantastic, because the information is filtering down, the coaches are getting better and smarter, and the athletes are performing at a higher level.

Ricardo Liborio (14:26.512)
Yeah?

Ross Cameron (14:27.353)
Yeah. They forget that science has come along. don't, we don't, people don't train the same way for the a hundred meter sprint final at the Olympics. This is this Olympiad is they did the last Olympiad. Why? Because science has improved. Yeah. And I get guys go. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (14:31.076)
Yeah. Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (14:44.101)
Science, Ross, science, that's science. The science of even the shared knowledge that it has today, even in techniques and nowadays, Ross, it's all free and open.

Ross Cameron (15:00.105)
well, I get guys come in from the gym and go, Hey, look, I learned this on YouTube. Does it work? And I'll say, yes, but don't use that because you're putting yourself in a dangerous position. Do this. Or yeah, that's great. Try it from everywhere. You know, but it's so information is just there. my word. Wouldn't it be great to be young again?

Ricardo Liborio (15:20.922)
Yeah, if information is there. Yeah, I don't. I don't. I don't condemn that I I I actually like the information is there. I think people have to understand. I'm thinking now we as a coaches we have to make we have to inspire people to understand that they have to understand concepts of the basic to apply the high level technique later. But you can't do a high level technique.

Ross Cameron (15:48.866)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (15:50.82)
without understanding, okay, grips. All right, just think of the grip rush. And you're doing a grip wrong because you just automatically seeing something and just, and you don't have the concept of grips or distance or levels or things that is basic that you have to know so you can start reading people better. Now, nothing to do with the technique. Man, I kind of like it. I like the new.

Ross Cameron (15:56.965)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (16:15.674)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (16:19.493)
Yeah, we'll let...

Ricardo Liborio (16:20.311)
I like the new, I watched the new, I studied the new, I think this is evolution. You can't stop. You can't think that all the old days, no, you can't stop, you got to go. But you have to make sure that men, whatever you do it, at least have this solid foundation. Because the white belt wants to skip.

Ross Cameron (16:28.301)
No, you can't stop.

Ross Cameron (16:39.629)
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. They all want to do the fancy technique that they saw someone do it in the ADCC. Yeah. And I'm a big believer because my judo background and Japanese jiu jitsu background that that, you know, teaching them about kuzushi and, and taste of Baki and all these things make such a big difference if they understand the concepts that we were doing sweeps last night and we were just talking about

Ricardo Liborio (16:47.087)
Correct.

Ricardo Liborio (16:57.677)
Yeah. Yep.

Ross Cameron (17:06.915)
taking their hips outside their knees so that now it makes it easier. And I'm not looking to stop, to remove their post, I'm trying to stop them from posting. There's a difference. It sounds as if, I'll just remove the post. No, no, no, no. I don't want to remove the post because if it's weight bearing, it's hard for me to remove it. But if I just put my C grip in the right place and I feed their elbow in, they're gonna fall.

Ricardo Liborio (17:28.569)
Ross technique, technique, technology, whatever you call it is the technique that when you start, when you're tired, you see the difference. When you're tired, when you cannot use your athletic ability anymore, then you have to say, man, my hands have to be here, my hip has to be there. I have to be in the right position. So you is a minimal effort that will make the whole total difference on a guy, you know, but it's, it's okay. You're just.

Ross Cameron (17:29.987)
Yeah. Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (17:58.275)
You just educate. Like we have seen everything, Ross, with the age. We have seen everything, everything, man, you know.

Ross Cameron (18:00.079)
Yeah.

Yeah, there is nothing new in the sport. There's different twists on things, but there's nothing new in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's that's what makes me laugh is I already know this is new. no, it's not. I can tell you the Japanese name for that. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (18:09.22)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, it's true.

Ricardo Liborio (18:19.127)
Yeah, yeah, it is true. This is true. This is true. That comes you go back down to the to the origins of everything some people already thought about this. Somebody did it anyway, regardless, somebody had the inspiration somewhere from the from the past. So at the same time that we have to understand that they have to go back to the past to see the roots of what it is. We older guys have to understand that the new.

is good, it's natural, it's healthy. If it's growing it's because it's healthy, man, you know, in a certain way.

Ross Cameron (18:52.259)
Yeah. and, the, you say, like these young guys, they're faster, they're more efficient, they, they, want to know more. And they're, they're in a, in a time where information is free and accessible. So they, so they are in that, in that growth mindset where they're absorbing as much information as they possibly can, which I think is amazing. You know, you know, to, to, and I know you're big in educating people as well. And I think that's a, that's a, to me, that's where it's at.

Ricardo Liborio (19:16.706)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ross Cameron (19:24.951)
And maybe it's an age thing, but the education is such a key, I think, in the growth.

Ricardo Liborio (19:31.62)
Ross, it wasn't until I started reading actually teaching the kids, I always had this my way of being doing things to high performers because I always, grew up with high performers around me. And since, you know, in high performance, since I was 15 years old, I've been seeing.

Ross Cameron (19:48.079)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (19:55.192)
You know, all top of this, I've been a corner of a lot of guys. I'd be coaching. I'd be training a lot. I'd be training with a lot of high performers. I'd be competing myself. Now, there is one thing. In one point there,

It's not about just the technique. You know this, you coach a lot of people, right? You coach a lot of people. When you go in a fight, you're so sensitive. There is so much of the sensitive. Of course, you need, you see this, you need a good corner, but the good corner is not gonna 100 % win the fight if the preparation wasn't right. But when you are going to the

Ross Cameron (20:19.258)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (20:38.927)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (20:42.467)
I have seen this a lot, During the week of the fight where the guy has to cut down weight, anxiety is at the peak, the highest peak. You are in the food deprivation and water deprivation. You have to do everything besides sleep. You are so

Needy, let's put it this way, especially if an MMA, even MMA is easier to make comments like this because you don't have a risk to get hurt. MMA, you have a real risk to get hurt. The platform is bigger, and also the exposure is bigger, but you really have chance to broke your jaw, man. It's a big thing. The chances are that you're going to get hit, but much like chances that you're going to get hit or you're going to hurt something.

Ross Cameron (21:14.021)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (21:25.324)
Absolutely.

Ricardo Liborio (21:40.801)
you're going to have a period of recovery. So their anxiety is higher. So the coach that really actually appealing emotionally to you is more important than sometimes it just a technical coach. If this guy doesn't give it that one week of a solid energy in education, man, you act like a

Ross Cameron (21:55.78)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (22:02.277)
Yeah. And that, and that, and that stable relationship that can keep the guy calm or lift them when he needs to be lifted or cool them down when he's getting hot headed. All those things make such a huge difference in the actually in the end of the fight. Yeah. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (22:14.658)
Correct, We're in the middle. We're in the middle. Sometimes you're so, you guys so hyped up or he's overthinking. He's overthinking, you know, he just have doubts and you bring them down or you look, man, you lost two rounds. You got to win the third one. You got to give it every day. You know, it's spiked up. Oh, this makes difference with a corner. I'm not saying there's not, but during the week, Ross, know how it is.

You get somebody who makes weight, the weight is such a pain. The weight, if you have somebody who really have to drop a lot of weight, it's not just the diet, you have dehydrate the guy, you have to deal with the guy can't sleep. It's a lot, man.

Ross Cameron (22:44.407)
yeah.

Ross Cameron (22:55.268)
Yep.

Yep. Yeah, all the the all the negatives come up, you know, and it's the it's it's right in the wave, you know, and you've got to be able to keep that wave within the sort of parameter so that they're not going either direction.

Ricardo Liborio (23:03.774)
All the negatives.

Ricardo Liborio (23:13.954)
100%, man. We both have seen it a lot, right? At the same time, the competition gives you so much preparation for life, right, Rod? It does, you know?

Ross Cameron (23:19.514)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (23:28.217)
Yep. Yeah. Well, the saying that competition quickens the spirit, I think is so true. I don't think I would be the person I am today without having the competition and the fights that I did. having, having taken the losses, having taken the wins, you know, it's that you think you're doing good. And suddenly you take a loss and you go, well, let's go back to the drawing board. Why did I do that? How did I do that? And I call them, I call them fight me as

Ricardo Liborio (23:53.429)
Yeah. Yeah.

Ross Cameron (23:57.498)
And you wake up and you think, I was just in that fight. I just done? I would have won that, but I didn't. my God, how easy should it have been? And they still, come back.

Ricardo Liborio (24:08.096)
Yeah, no, it is true. is. And. And this go with the technology to Ross, even if there's things that you're in a certain period of life, you say you started studies in all if I knew that if I knew this 10 years ago, you know, if I knew that in that match, holy moly, I could have won that, you know, have done this and that this is so realistic, you know, but the losses, the losses may be the most important thing, right?

Ross Cameron (24:34.617)
Yeah, yeah, yep.

Ross Cameron (24:38.625)
absolutely, absolutely.

Ricardo Liborio (24:38.687)
The losses, just understanding you can keep going, understanding that you can lose and you can keep going.

Ross Cameron (24:46.287)
Well, yeah, the biggest thing I think about about martial arts is one of the only places now that people can get build that resilience through understanding that losing is okay. Yeah, and it's how you learn you, you sit an exam and you and you and you fail. Well, you're going to do it again and you learn from failing.

Ricardo Liborio (25:09.857)
Losing without quitting is that losing without quitting is adapting. That's it. Period. Is dealing with losses? I always say that. There's two things that I take it, Ross, from my experience in martial arts. Not just being competitors, as a competitor, but discipline. It's like, wake up and do what you must do, you know?

Ross Cameron (25:12.079)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (25:38.42)
Doesn't matter how you feel. Doesn't matter how you feel. Don't want to go? Go.

Ross Cameron (25:38.799)
Yeah. Discipline gets you through it even when you don't want to do it.

Ricardo Liborio (25:47.743)
And that's the whole makes the whole difference in the discipline makes things happen. That's what it is. And is a medicine for your moves. It's a medicine. It doesn't matter how you feel. You go, you do it. Boom. You have discipline, you have control. You have medicine for a lot of your stress, your anxiety, your depression or whatever. This is discipline is medicine. And the other thing is dealing with failure.

It's like teaching my kids all the time about the rush, dealing with failure and discipline is the two most important component. You can take it from us or arts that you can bet. You can really hold a successful life from anything, business, relationships, anything, anything.

Ross Cameron (26:31.162)
huh. Yep, absolutely.

Yeah, I'm an engineer by trade and I break it down to everything's a process. All if something doesn't work, right, that's a roadblock. right. Now the goal was that so just change the process to get around it. How do we do that? We do this. How do you do that? Do this. So even when I was teaching my kids how to drive, they'd stall the car and I'd go, right, stop, relax, breathe. Okay, so now.

Ricardo Liborio (26:54.112)
this year.

Ross Cameron (27:01.517)
Run the process, what's the process? All right, check the mirrors, put it in neutral, start the car again. Easy, no stress, don't worry about it. It was just something that happened and it's a process to get back to where you wanted to go. that's a great analogy for kids.

Ricardo Liborio (27:08.212)
Yeah. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (27:16.863)
And how much more you really actually drilled on it and have discipline on it, better you're going to get it. This is, love men. COVID was a time that I think everybody had the little golden ticket to do what they wanted to do if it's something different than what we were doing. For me, was such a big impact because I have a couple of business even.

Ross Cameron (27:22.319)
teaching. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (27:46.109)
Well, I have schools in Saudi Arabia, they shut down. I was working for the university, Ross. I was working for UCF, the university here. They shut down for one year and a half. And when they shut down, I was receiving through classes that you'll be teaching. They resumed the classes to one class online, as Zoom. Man.

Ross Cameron (28:13.018)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (28:13.887)
Everything, everything was shutting down point by point. And I was, man, if I had this golden ticket to get out of any business without feeling so heavy on the loss that because you didn't exceed or succeed, it was the COVID time. For me, it was a time to say, okay, yeah, I want to continue working with martial arts.

So I'm one of those guys that a minute, I love what I do. It's not just, I don't have a just focus on it, man. I love what I do and I really like it. I really enjoy it. Let's put it this way. There's a lot of BS behind it. You know, you have to deal with the business and other people, but in general, going there and teaching the classes and being around my people, the community, man, it's awesome for me.

Ross Cameron (28:56.619)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (29:12.207)
Yeah, I tell people that I'm lucky because I don't work, I don't work. I get up every day and I go and do Ross stuff. That's it. I go and teach martial arts, I go and take a seminar somewhere. I don't work. People don't get that analogy, but I don't go to a job. I go and do what I want to do, which is teach people. And that's such a privilege. People don't, yeah, and people don't understand it. People do not understand it.

Ricardo Liborio (29:20.18)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (29:26.163)
Ha ha ha.

Ricardo Liborio (29:34.078)
Yeah.

It is a privilege,

Ross Cameron (29:42.237)
They all tell me, you've got a great job, You're here teaching classes and you're able to sit at the gym. And I go, yeah, but okay, I'm here at six o'clock in the morning and I leave the gym at nine o'clock at night. But I'm doing what I love. So it's not a job for me. It's just what I'm going to do anyhow.

Ricardo Liborio (29:54.11)
Yeah. you can. I have I have a story, a little bit of a story about this. Do you remember when a Robbie Lawler won the belt? This was a big thing for American top team at the time because it was the first guy to really train him with us. Really from us, you know, and and won the title, the UFC belt and.

Ross Cameron (30:06.073)
Yep. Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (30:23.367)
And I was there with him. I trained him for that fight. Everything was was was amazing. It was, you know, it was it was a very special moment. It was the first time beautiful moment for interviews to the recollection that that was amazing. This was in a Saturday. So Sunday, I got back home and I have my. My cleaning crew there was a company that was hired there.

They quit.

I had to go five o'clock in the morning on a Monday, five o'clock in the morning before to open up a seven and clean up all the toilets, everything inside the gym. know, everything people don't see it. Saturday was the, you know, the opposite of the coach as a coach, the world champion of the UFC belt, blah, blah, blah.

Ross Cameron (31:18.724)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (31:22.84)
magazines and interviews and the next day you're literally cleaning toilets and that's being a champion or man that's being an owner that's what it is

Ross Cameron (31:30.97)
Yeah. Yep. And yeah, and people don't understand that, that, you know, I still clean mats, I still clean toilets, I still vacuum the floors. You have, you have to that's, that's, and my, my old master used to say to me, you know, you sweat on the match, you clean the mats. So, so, you know, it's, it's part of the sport part of the industry, you're showing your respect to the place you're doing all those things. It still comes out.

Ricardo Liborio (31:35.976)
No.

Ricardo Liborio (31:39.442)
Yeah. Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (31:57.893)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (32:00.368)
Just because whatever level you get to doesn't make any difference. You still got to do the basics. Clean the mats, clean the toilets.

Ricardo Liborio (32:05.117)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have a class six o'clock in the morning that I teach and I'm there. I'm there five. I have to be there five thirty. Thirty minutes before I got to put the 30 minutes before I got to go to the I got to go to the bathrooms. I got to make sure that destroy the paper. I got to make sure it is all clean up. I got to make sure that the match are clean.

Ross Cameron (32:17.06)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (32:28.637)
I got to make sure I have a railing over there. I got to clean up everything. There's 30, you know, at least 20 minutes that I have to do my my own checkup to see everything. But I have a cleaning crew that goes the day before. I just want to make sure that everything is clean. Done.

Ross Cameron (32:38.328)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (32:43.641)
Done, yeah, yeah. And maybe it's old school martial artists, but I'm there and I'm like, my pads have to be in the right place. My focus must be in the right place. My tie pads have to be hung up correctly. Everything needs to be back where it should be. All right, so my dojo looks right. Okay, it's clean, tidy and away. Okay, now I'm ready.

Ricardo Liborio (33:02.896)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's smelling good. That's it. That's it. Yeah. I'm just saying, right. Maybe it's the old guys. is maybe this is what it is. But man, it's part of being trippin or two is part of it is part of ownership. I talked to I have some some guys, I have a protege. This kid is going to be a stud. He's one of the best instructors that I've ever seen it that I ever formed.

Ross Cameron (33:06.359)
Yeah, yeah,

Ross Cameron (33:12.335)
Ha

Ross Cameron (33:17.379)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (33:32.14)
Duncan. So Duncan has a different mindset because Duncan is my technical director of the school and this guy, owns, he don't think as an employee, This kid thinks as an owner. So what he does, and we have a lot of conversations, guys who understand, he likes to be mentored, but also he takes ownership of things. So

That's the guy who's going to be an owner. That's period. He doesn't think like an employee. I'm just going to do my two cents over here. I see you later. Go back there. He doesn't see the whole. If you cannot see the whole, then you're going for a big lesson. Big lesson. You open a gym, you're thinking that open a gym is just teaching the classes. You're wrong.

Ross Cameron (34:12.228)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (34:16.932)
yeah.

Ross Cameron (34:24.377)
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Everyone forgets about the marketing, about the chasing the missed fees, about the emails you got to do, the organizing of a seminar or organizing of a grading or organizing of just having people turning up for the right time. Yeah. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (34:31.226)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (34:38.991)
Yeah, it's a lot, man. There's so much more into this. that's for us. This is part of being a student, too. You know, you can't open a gym nowadays. You don't have ideas about marketing or sales or a really class structure or even thinking about who is going to be the next generation of instructors. You've got to have a structure developed, you know, SOP, you know this. And you have to retain the people that you have in it.

Ross Cameron (35:03.973)
All right. Yep. Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (35:09.241)
You can't you cannot have 10 people enrolling and you have 11 leaving. You got to have a retention. So this is something that it's in. This is you can learn. You can study and you can learn. You can develop the skill. You know, that's a good thing.

Ross Cameron (35:25.519)
Yep. And I'm a, I'm a, and I'm a big believer again, it goes back to community that if you have the right community, not only, not only, not only like your members, but also your staff, your instructors, if you've got good instructors and good, good staff members and good, good members, then it starts to grow. You're always going to have people that, that leave, you know, that's, that's, it took me a while to get used to that idea that

Ricardo Liborio (35:47.088)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (35:54.606)
And I've got a great analogy. Now I'm at the point where I'm the bus driver. I'm just, this is the journey guys. I'm driving from here to there. And you want to get on and get off. That's no problem. I'm just going to keep driving them. So those people that, that, that stay a stain because they're involved in your community and they, and they have that relationship with you and your staff and everybody else. So one is an owner. got to look after your staff too. You got to look after your community and all the bits, all the bits.

Ricardo Liborio (36:04.591)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (36:23.907)
come together, you you have to have a good program, you have to have good skills, you have to have good coaches, you have to have good membership plans, you got to have good community involvement. Yeah, it's huge.

Ricardo Liborio (36:34.139)
Yeah, this is all about the Ross. This is all about community. In the end, it's all about people. Of course, place has to be need to say that you have to have a place that people wants to be around, you know, as clean as it is. Well, in my opinion, it's clean as it is appealing for the eye, comfortable, all this smelling good. All this is important. But the people is people. Ross's people is you feeling

You're feeling legitimately part of something. That's what it makes a difference.

Ross Cameron (37:07.321)
Yep. Yeah. yeah. And if you're not, if you're not there for your people, then they won't be there for you. Yeah. I I have a, I have a thing that I, if I haven't seen one of my, one of my members for a little while, I'll send them a message. Are you alive? Yes.

Ricardo Liborio (37:15.052)
It's true. It's so true. It is so true. You know.

Ricardo Liborio (37:26.362)
But they respond, yes. I have one thing that I always do, Ross. I always do this. I have my core people that I always, every time that I'm thinking about someone, I send them a little message. Hey, I'm just checking on you. I just want to know how you're doing. Period. This is something that keeps me so much in connection. It's incredible, Ross.

Ross Cameron (37:54.703)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (37:56.036)
So I think about today, I thought about my black belt. He is a doctor. He moved to New York and I have seen him at least one month or something like this and I, doc, you're good. How are you doing? And makes the difference. People really knows that you're interested in just because you just like them. You just thought about them. You like them. It's not just because you need something, you know?

Ross Cameron (38:16.345)
Yeah.

No, yeah, you're in contact with them because you're in contact with them. You're in that relationship. It's that, I'm just checking on you, making sure you're good. And that's, to me, that's part of being a good coach is that all my people, feel, I've got to support them somehow. If it's emotionally or, you know, whatever, I'm there for them. If they've got a problem, I'm there to talk to them. If they've got a problem, I'm there for them. You know, you just have to be.

Ricardo Liborio (38:47.981)
Now, I'm the same. I think we live so much through the industry that we were in it. We have so many roles in it. And we live so many different experiences. Even the much of experiences to understand that the new guys are coming with the blur of thinking that they know a lot. And they may know a lot from the section of life.

or what did they know in terms of the technology and evolution and everything. And evolution, the regular things that is for us, a little bit harder. Let's say, for example, what is the new technology of a man? I may not know that, but I know one thing. You have to go through a couple of things in life so you can have a real life experience too, just sometimes even back off a little bit and to see things with different perspectives.

perspective, see a problem from perspective. It is not easy. It's not easy for

Ross Cameron (39:50.886)
No, that's a learned skill. And I say it, the young boys learn by cause and effect. So, oh, there's an electric fence. Oh no, that is an electric fence. Where the girls you say, had some electric fence, go, oh, okay, I'm not gonna touch that. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (40:04.826)
Yeah, yeah, this is the wise the wise things this way But sometimes they have to touch the electric fan so they can feel it and it's okay, too. It's okay It's okay to let it touch it. Yeah, it's okay for the let him touch that thing. Hey, don't don't touch that you may have it you You take his me on and you're gonna get electrocuted. So and you said it and you said it

Ross Cameron (40:17.54)
Yep.

Yeah, it's just a learning experience.

Ricardo Liborio (40:34.137)
man, I thinking about this, I actually have this experience even at home. I tell my daughters, say, just try to not go that way. But in the end, the always end, it's their choice. They are going to do a lot of stuff. You just got to educate them. You got to guide them and educate them. And if it wasn't going to plan the way you plan it for them, you got to accept that.

Ross Cameron (40:51.193)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (41:03.407)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (41:03.467)
Ross, that's it. That's the same thing for students. if they want to pursue something else. All right. You know.

Ross Cameron (41:10.745)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's exactly the way I think of things. I think of things that they are on their own journey. I'm not in control of their journey. I'm here to guide them the best I can, but I'm not in control of their journey. I'm just here to say, hey, look, I don't think you should do that. But if you want to do it, all right, let's go and see. I had a young boy who's 13 asked me about having a kickboxing fight last night. And I said to him,

Ricardo Liborio (41:28.333)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Ross Cameron (41:40.55)
that I don't I don't let you fight kickboxing until you're at least 16. I said because one I'm really concerned about CTE. Yeah. So I said to him, when you're 16, your brain's a bit more developed, you've got those things you had a bit of hardening up all those things are then positive towards you not taking too much damage. Okay, so what happens if I what happens if I weight cut? Well, if you weight cut

Ricardo Liborio (41:48.961)
I am.

Ross Cameron (42:09.059)
You can you you're more inclined to have some CTE issues because as a a 13 year old, your brain's not as developed. You have not carried as much muscle mass to lose some water from all those things. And I said, Yeah, I'm okay with you. You like doing jujitsu comps doing submission grappling comps, doing pad work sparring in a controlled situation where I can I can watch what's going on. I can tell the guys to back off. You know, I'm happy with that.

Ricardo Liborio (42:16.993)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (42:27.468)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (42:37.369)
to go and jump into an actual fight. I think 13 is too young. think 16 is where it is. And that's the experience in me coming out going, mate, hey, hey, hey, just chill out, wait a little bit longer, take your time.

Ricardo Liborio (42:43.009)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (42:48.215)
Yeah.

Yeah, and I actually agree with you. Sometimes I see it. I'm a big fan of Muay Thai. I'm a I watch Muay Thai. I follow the big events, Muay Thai kickboxing. And I see sometimes little kids.

for

Ross Cameron (43:13.583)
Yeah, you dropped out there, Ricardo.

Ricardo Liborio (43:15.723)
Yeah, you too. I can see you. You froze.

Ross Cameron (43:19.705)
Yeah, you've just... Hang on.

Ross Cameron (43:29.711)
Yep, now you're back. Yep, yep, can you see me? No, I think it just might have been just the internet.

Ricardo Liborio (43:30.167)
You there? Okay. What did I do any day? Oh, I didn't touch any day.

Ricardo Liborio (43:37.975)
Okay. so what I was going to say is I see some little kids fighting and not just kickboxing, but MMA too. You know, I'm, I'm, don't think this is right. I don't think any of it. I don't, I'm not men. I don't, I don't think the skin, I think it's just too much damage. If they go full blown, it's too much damage from, from young age. I don't think it's right.

Ross Cameron (44:05.741)
Yeah, I totally agree. Like I was trying to explain to this young guy, said in Muay Thai and Thailand, the young kids fighting, one, it's part of the culture, but it was also part of the, part of the, the, look, you, you're, you're 10 or 11 now, you got to go earn a living and help the family. So that, that still happens. So the, that's Thailand. It's not here. They don't really have much of a choice.

Ricardo Liborio (44:25.783)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (44:35.747)
So if you have the choice, I would rather you take the time to get better. And I always say to the young guys, what are you gonna do after fighting?

Ricardo Liborio (44:35.895)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (44:46.157)
You and I both know fighters that'll have CTE. And I said, and what are you going to do after fighting? What's your plan? Do you have a degree? Do you want to go and do this? Do you want to go and do that? You want to be in business? What's your plan? Because that's going to affect how you approach fighting. Chris Haseman, Chris Haseman is the classic, right? So very intelligent guy, has multiple degrees.

Ricardo Liborio (44:47.873)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (44:54.167)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (45:03.105)
That's true.

Ross Cameron (45:15.749)
and had a very successful registered training organisation as a business. Recently just sold it and he's retired. Extremely smart, intelligent guy. Fought some of the best in the world, but his fighting wasn't to make him money. His fighting was to do what he wanted to do, which was challenge himself. He made some money out of it, sure. But also he had a path afterwards, you know? And I'm an engineer. I've studied engineering and I've got

Ricardo Liborio (45:40.928)
Yeah, that's true.

Ross Cameron (45:45.6)
that path after fighting. Did I pursue that after fighting? Well, I did because I've got a few engineering companies, but I also focused on my martial arts as a career. And I've gone and studied and I've got more qualifications than most people have.

Ricardo Liborio (45:52.854)
you

Ricardo Liborio (46:06.614)
Yeah, that's true.

Ross Cameron (46:08.399)
But you've got to look at it that way. If you're a young guy and you just want to fight because you're thinking that's going to be it, that's going to, I'm going to be the fighter career. And Dana White says it, you know, don't look at fighting in the UFC as a job. Think of it as an opportunity. And it is, it's that opportunity to be noticed and seen and then do what you're going to do. I like Keith Jardine. Keith Jardine's gone off and he's opened up his own coffee brewing company and he's done all these things. And I think that's smart, you know, very clever.

Ricardo Liborio (46:34.218)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ross Cameron (46:38.479)
But if you're just gonna try and make money out of fighting, I think.

Ricardo Liborio (46:40.603)
my God, don't, Keith was in the movies for a while, right? And I did not know what he had a company, a coffee company. I did not know that. It's doing well.

Ross Cameron (46:44.365)
Yeah, yeah.

Ross Cameron (46:49.091)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I he started to... I think so, think so. Yeah, the last time I saw Keith, he was here walking around one of the shopping centers after he'd fought here in Brisbane with two big panda eyes.

Ricardo Liborio (46:55.753)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (47:02.869)
Man, I'll tell you something, but whatever it is, we're feeling blessed. You know who it is. We're blessed to be doing what we really like to do. And it's not for everybody. It's not also full of great and absolutely happiness. there's so much. One of things per se is like we're not to be the richest guy in the world.

We're not going to get the yachts or whatever things that you actually, if it just is your idea of success, for a lot of people, the idea of success is money. But man, you can't replace this, this fulfillment, this fulfillment to helping young people and people that are broken to try to bring them back to something well connected. This is amazing. I really

Ross Cameron (47:31.449)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (47:47.171)
Yeah, and-

Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (48:00.853)
I'm reading drawings as a log,

Ross Cameron (48:02.713)
Yeah, and that's the, to me, that's the real gold in martial arts. The real gold is the fact that I'm able to help other people, whether it's build confidence, self-esteem, know, their physical ability, whatever it is, I'm able to help them in so many different ways. Even down to that talk I had with a young guy about getting it going off and getting an education, think after fighting that, to me, that's, that's steering him in the right direction. If he takes it up, great. If he doesn't, okay.

But I've tried to steer him to say, right, if you get to here, you've got an opportunity to go whatever you like, wherever you like. You can set your life up in any way you like if you're smart.

Ricardo Liborio (48:41.168)
And it's Yeah. Or the same time that you have to at least if you should acquire some of those skills that we're talking about, you put your mind into to do anything. If you have a pathway and you have discipline and you know how to deal with all the problems without breaking it, you know, without breaking it or you're losing it without really actually quitting, man, you're going somewhere.

Because you acquire skills, you know, you don't need to be intelligent or what it is. You don't know exactly what it, you know, the idea of intelligence is. But in a moment that you really actually find a pathway, like you said, you find a pathway and you you learn skills, you try to learn skills in any form. You know, it can be online nowadays. People really learn anything online every day. It's so.

Ross Cameron (49:35.649)
yeah, you and I would have remembered the days when you were trying to learn something, you had to go and find a book. You know?

Ricardo Liborio (49:42.084)
yep. You got to find a book. You got to find an institution to go to it. There's so much nowadays is free online. You can you can learn from Harvard for free sometimes.

Ross Cameron (49:50.788)
Yeah.

Yeah, there's free courses from Harvard and Oxford and you name them, Cambridge, all the universities have free courses. And like you said, during COVID, if you didn't improve, find your side hustle, do something you hadn't wanted to do forever and never been able to do, if you didn't do that through COVID, you didn't really want to do it.

Ricardo Liborio (50:01.448)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (50:15.188)
Yeah. Yeah. So many people may change this also in COVID. So many people, man. So many people left the states. Here in the United States, a lot of people left their states to move to a different state because they were not happy or paying too much there, were not happy with the politics or whatever. They decide. Like a lot of people abandoned California.

Ross Cameron (50:24.067)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (50:45.31)
to go live in Texas for so many reasons, know, for taxes purpose, money, or they don't like the politics that we're running over there, but a lot of people make radical changes in their life, you know? Yep. That's true.

Ross Cameron (50:47.14)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (50:59.683)
Yeah, because they had the opportunity to and it was, that the world made you question your core values. And you and I both did the same. We went there and we went, okay, we like what we do, let's keep doing it. We might have like, we're doing this now and I've done this because of COVID. But the opportunities are to still do what I do.

Ricardo Liborio (51:16.478)
Yeah. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (51:22.14)
Yeah.

Ross Cameron (51:28.719)
just in a slightly different way and all that sort of stuff. So I've had to move with the times, but man, it made you question what you were doing and whether or not you still wanted to do it. And I think that it's such a, like a once in a lifetime opportunity really. So yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (51:39.527)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (51:47.219)
That's for me, I'll say this, Ross, I started working with kids because before, look, I was working teaching pro fighters and the pro fighting has one thing. Well, so we follow the UFC crew circus. So you got there Wednesday. Now, Wednesday we leave and we got there Thursday.

And you help this guy to cut weight to Thursday to weigh in on Friday. Friday you weigh in, Saturday you fight. Sunday you come back home and you have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday you leave again. And I had so many fighters. I was coaching so many fighters. I was going in the corner. It was so many fighters everywhere, which is pretty cool in a certain way because I get to know the world. I travel so much.

But it wasn't that good for family, number one. Number two is I could never teach kids because with the kids program, they have to be there every day. The coach has to be there and you have to have a structure that I was leaving every Wednesday. So just gave me Tuesday and Monday and Tuesday to teach. would never be successful. So I had the first time this chance to teach kids. Man, was so Ross, it was so amazing to me, man.

how much impact that you do it, how much transformation you do in their lives. It's amazing.

Ross Cameron (53:16.483)
Uh-huh.

I've got Erica, I've got, and I'm gonna say young guys, they're not young anymore, like they're 30 odd. So I taught these kids since they were seven. And now they're 30 year olds and they have been with me for that length of time. And they're just amazing people. And you can see that these kids have gone from being kids to being teenagers, to being young adults, to now having families.

and their families are in martial arts and you just see the growth and they're all high achievers, right? So because of martial arts, they've all gone on, studied, they've, yeah, and you just sit there and go, isn't that a wonderful thing to be part of that journey and part of that support to see these kids become directors of companies and hotel owners and in charge of Mercedes Benz and all those.

You just sit there and go, okay, so I've had a part of a part of a support for that person's journey in there, then now contributing to the world in so many different ways. It's just unbelievable.

Ricardo Liborio (54:30.82)
For me right now, I have seen so many kids. Again, I had no contact. I had programs in all the places that I had. I had programs for kids. But this, direct connection with the kids, teaching the kids every day, it's something that for me, man, it was such an open-hearted experience.

Ross Cameron (54:48.399)
Kids?

Ricardo Liborio (54:57.467)
said so much to contribute, so much to fulfill, so much to help. was amazing.

Ross Cameron (55:02.501)
And the minute that kid walks up and gives you a hug, you just go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I just graded a young boy to gray belt and he came up and he gave me such a big hug and I'm just, there you go. That's what it's worth.

Ricardo Liborio (55:07.218)
the best. The best thing in the world, Best thing in the world. Yeah.

Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (55:24.529)
This is is this is all this is what about I may have so many things of that but yesterday was I was taking a picture that she's a little kid just came over. You see that Ross imagined it. I have. I have train it and I have. Coaches so many high performers is so many things something like this. It fills my heart so much man. You know what I'm saying? It's just it's almost like a.

Ross Cameron (55:34.917)
Yes.

Ross Cameron (55:50.873)
Yep. yeah, absolutely.

Ricardo Liborio (55:55.153)
a world championship sometimes.

Ross Cameron (55:57.85)
Yep, yep, and they're the most loyal, rewarding, giving students. It's just unbelievable.

Ricardo Liborio (56:04.729)
kids are so much love, man. There's so much love. It's just so it's just so amazing. You know, amazing how somebody don't like kids. The number one number two is how amazing is that someone would do bad to kids, you know, hurt kids. This is for me, Ross. I'm not a very radical person in any shape or form. I'm not.

Ross Cameron (56:09.977)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (56:24.574)
yeah. Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (56:33.393)
I always try to balance things, try to have some empathy to try to understand other sides and things. But you do something really bad to a kid, You know what saying? You don't deserve it. You don't deserve this life, man. You don't deserve this life. You really don't. It touches my heart.

Ross Cameron (56:45.935)
Yep.

Yep. Nah, there's, there's a there's a case, there's a case. Yeah, there's a case here in Australia at the moment where there was a early child, child educator has tampered with like quite a few kids at a centre and you just go, Whoa, you're a you're a bad person. You don't deserve to be here. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (57:10.256)
Yeah, yeah, that's true. There's so much. I don't even want to go there. But for me, I really have a special place in my heart for kids, you know, and I don't think kids should never be hurt in that matter. You know, it's just it's just absurdly. You should not deserve to suffer like that.

Ross Cameron (57:32.325)
So what's next for you, mate? What's the next thing on your plate?

Ricardo Liborio (57:36.694)
Man, I am doing so well with my school. know, after COVID, I have to open a school. I was teaching at university. from the university, you know, I thought of COVID, it was like, wait a minute. Let me go back to things that I know how to do it well, because this is in my control. The university that was in my control. And I love working over there. the university has one thing.

You created such a bond with the kids there. Man, I made so many great friends at the university. But four years later, they're leaving. You know, they're leaving. It breaks their heart because I have so many high, amazing people dear in my heart, they have to leave. have to get find opportunity someplace else. And I mean, of course, you know, you're happy for them, but you are like, man.

Ross Cameron (58:15.267)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (58:30.181)
Yeah, it was.

Ricardo Liborio (58:32.855)
I love this kid.

Ross Cameron (58:34.585)
Yeah, and it's how Judo populated the world, right? Every university sort of had a Judo club, and then those guys then went and opened up and then spread. So you can see it, it's a great positive thing, but you've only got them for the length of their studies, and that's it.

Ricardo Liborio (58:41.848)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (58:46.211)
Yeah, yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (58:51.951)
Yeah, and that's it. And there's something that I'm so happy to make certain, you know, a little bit of impact in those guys' lives, but they make a big deal from each other. It's a big impact for me. My university kids, man, I have such a dear, you know, friendships over there. It was amazing. And I know that successful Jim went with my partners and everything is going so well, man.

Ross Cameron (59:11.727)
Yep. Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (59:20.323)
can't complain. I'm so blessed with that. I think in one point, one point I'm going to do more exclusively traveling also, because right now with the gym, I can't travel anymore like I used to do it again. But right now, man, I have all my girls out of the house. So all my girls are going to college, all my girls went to college and now in college, I'm going to be a grandfather. You know, that's for me.

Ross Cameron (59:37.667)
Yep.

Ross Cameron (59:47.938)
Yeah, I'm in the same boat like all my kids, all my kids are at university or out of university now. So like, I'm like, okay, so now I've done my job, you're now you're now all good. And they're all high achieving adults. I'm like, okay, you go do your thing. I'm here if you need me. And I still get the old phone call, hey, dad, I need a new car or hey, dad, I need this or, you know, but

Ricardo Liborio (59:49.141)
It's like the transformation.

Ricardo Liborio (59:58.893)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (01:00:09.421)
Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (01:00:12.729)
Yeah. Yeah.

Ross Cameron (01:00:14.873)
They've become good human beings and that's what I'm after. So life gets to that point. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (01:00:17.517)
Yeah, I'm proud of this is Ross. I got all my girls. All my girls are all my girls are doing fine. I'm a blessed man, man. You know, I'm a blessed man. There are so many great things about my life that I'm really, you know, very thankful. I'm very blessed and very, you know, even with the bad things that happen. It just helped me a lot to overcome a lot of the things that overcome it. Just to understanding that

It's part of the game. It's part of the game. You're not a loser if you're still playing a game. You just don't quit man. You know, it's it's part of the game shit happens. It is what it is.

Ross Cameron (01:00:51.481)
Yeah, it's...

Ross Cameron (01:00:55.311)
Yeah, it's.

Yeah, it's exactly like fighting, you know? You're not gonna get it through without taking a hat. You're gonna take a hit, or it's how you take the hit, and then what you do after the hit that makes such a big difference. Yeah.

Ricardo Liborio (01:01:02.274)
Yep.

Yep.

Yep. Afterwards, yeah. And the people that you're around there too. Ross, that makes the whole difference. It's like if you do something for fans, it's one thing. You know, if you're still competing just to get more fans and more likes, man, it's one thing. One other thing is if you surround yourself with the right people, they don't really care much if you lose. If you lose, you steal their guy, you steal their member. You know, that's...

Ross Cameron (01:01:15.436)
huge.

Ross Cameron (01:01:35.268)
Yep.

Ricardo Liborio (01:01:37.324)
The beauty of it. It is surrounded with self. That's what people always say. Look around, not when you win, but look around who is in your corner in the backstage after a loss. Because then you're going to find out the real people. Yeah.

Ross Cameron (01:01:53.228)
Exactly. Those are those are there to lift you up and support you on the stool. Those are the ones that will be there for you for the rest of your life. Big time.

Ricardo Liborio (01:01:57.678)
Yeah.

Yeah. Hey, I'm in Orlando, man. I'm Orlando. Anytime, Ross, you coming over to visit here in US, come see us here, man. It's going to be a pleasure to have you, you know.

Ross Cameron (01:02:11.393)
Yeah, I'm planning to come over. Well, I was hoping to come over next month, but I'm not getting there. I've got to go to the Solomon Islands to do some training in the Solomon Islands for some guys over there. So I'm heading the wrong direction. But my plan is to get to the States and I'll come see you. I've got to see Robert as well. And I've got to see a couple of other guys that I know.

Ricardo Liborio (01:02:17.665)
Hahaha

Ricardo Liborio (01:02:22.7)
Hahaha!

Ricardo Liborio (01:02:31.694)
Oh man, kill me. I'm gonna see Robert at the Worlds in August, the end of August. I'm gonna be there. So I'm gonna see Robert too, you know?

Ross Cameron (01:02:36.717)
Yeah. That's what I was planning to be there for the world. So that was that was my plan. So I was so I'm just what I'm hoping to I'm still juggling things, but I'm hoping to be there for the world. And, and, and mate, if you ever if you ever come back to New Zealand at any time to see Steve, let me know because like, I'll get you over here. It's only a jump over the ditch.

Ricardo Liborio (01:02:46.914)
Are you going?

Ricardo Liborio (01:02:51.918)
I'm gonna be there,

Ricardo Liborio (01:03:02.446)
100%, 100 % Ross

Ross Cameron (01:03:05.973)
Hang on, mate, I just gotta change the battery.

Ricardo Liborio (01:03:08.152)
Okay.

Ha

Ricardo Liborio (01:03:25.197)
Ross, listen, I gotta, I have to go. have to, I have, I have to meet, I mean, have to, I have to take my daughter to dinner right now with everybody. Right now just looking at me, just looking into it right now. Ross, man, anytime, anytime that you coming over and every time that I do it, I mean, we make it do, I'll go see you a hundred percent.

Ross Cameron (01:03:26.639)
Yep.

Yep. All good, mate.

Ross Cameron (01:03:50.019)
Yep, love it. Mate, what I'll do is I'll stop this recording and later on if you just needed to connect up again and it'll just download the same thing for me. So.

Ricardo Liborio (01:04:01.037)
Hold on. Now, brother, Ross, let me tell you this, man. I appreciate it so much. I'm being joined. It was a pleasure. It's an honor. Anytime. I'll be back. Anytime. Let's talk more about it. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Bye. Take care, Ross.

Ross Cameron (01:04:03.333)
Alright mate.

Ross Cameron (01:04:16.429)
Yeah, love it. Thanks. Thanks, Ricardo. Have a good, have a good dinner. Thank you. Bye.

You too,