Hailing from Cleveland, Tennessee, Breck Still is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt who got into the art after years of training Karate. As he puts it, “After achieving a gold medal at the Pan American and World Cup Championships in Shotokan Karate, I wanted to learn to defend myself on the ground as well. I started wrestling my sophomore year of high school because there was no BJJ in my town at the time. I went on to place 3rd in state my junior year and 2nd my senior. At the age of 26 I was finally able to start training BJJ.” Breck achieved his black belt at age 33 back in 2017 under his professor, Samuel Braga. These days, you can find Breck running his own BJJ gym, Leviathan Academy where he is also the head instructor.
We asked Breck a few questions about his BJJ style and general game when rolling, he said “My favorite guard is the collar sleeve and closed guard. From there, my preferred sweeps are the flower/pendulum and lasso sweep from collar sleeve.” When passing, he prefers using the toreando pass and the similar X pass using grips on the opponent’s legs. In terms of submissions, he usually opts for a combination of the Kimura and the assassin choke, using the gi. According to Breck, Roger Gracie is his biggest influence on his style.
With years of martial arts under his belt, it’s fair to say that Breck has done his fair share of competitions. He usually weighs around 215-220lbs when competing and says “Winning the silver medal in Ultra Heavyweight at the 2020 IBJJF NoGi Pans was my biggest achievement, only losing in the
finals by one advantage to Guybson Sá.” He also lists Abraao Amorim Magalhaes as his hardest opponent. Like many competitors, Breck has encountered injuries in his time and details his worst, saying “My worst was a torn ACL (I stepped into a section of mat that had separated at a tournament and hyperextended it during a takedown).”
Q&A
You have a black belt in shotokan karate. Do you think the background in karate helped with your BJJ, as in conditioning but also for kata/drilling?
“My past training in Shotokan Karate has benefited me in BJJ by having a competition and self defense mindset. Also having experienced how repetition and focus on technique is essential from day one.”
As you’re also competent in wrestling, what are your thoughts on serial guard pullers, or do you think this is fine for competition BJJ?
“Coming from a wrestling background, I love utilizing wrestling and Judo takedowns in BJJ.
While at the same time using guard pulls quite often. I like to keep my opponents guessing.”
You’ve got a big presence on Youtube. When you were coming up I assume videos weren’t as easy to access, do you think this free information massively benefits guys learning these days?
“YouTube and online information has been huge for BJJ. The wide spread information helps
everyone excel which in turn makes BJJ evolve and grow drastically.”
Could you say more about the BJJ/grappling scene in Tennessee? It seems to have a few known guys and quite a big scene down there.
“The grappling scene in Tennessee has grown pretty rapidly. We have quite a few well known grapplers in our state. The biggest name and most accredited being my Instructor Samuel Braga at Gracie Barra Knoxville. Multiple time World Champion, pioneer of the Berimbolo, and has coached many other Tennessean’s to World Titles themselves.”
What is your biggest joy – competing and winning medals or teaching and coaching?
“I have always enjoyed testing my skills in competition and winning medals. I most likely always will but it’s a great feeling as a coach to see your students excel in the gym and in competition.”
Do you have any plans or goals for the future?
“I want to win the Pans or Master Worlds in the Gi. (I can’t have my greatest accomplishment being in NoGi) and to coach my students to being champions of their own, on and off the mat.”
For more info on Breck, feel free to check out his Youtube channel Still Rolling which is a goldmine for technique videos. Alternatively, you can find more on his Leviathan Academy here.
