June 15, 2023

Among the many athletes that climbed the ADGS Rio mats last weekend, Javier Barter was definitely a surprise. A black belt from Panama, a country that's seldom associated with Jiu-Jitsu, Javier was the dark horse that galloped through the Professional 94kg bracket and landed himself in third place on the podium. But even more surprising than the feat itself is how he got to that spot: by employing a unique and unorthodox counter-attack style that resulted in most of his opponents getting submitted.

To understand this new contender to the ADGS throne, we need to go back to his roots. And while he may have a strange fighting style, the beginning of his tale with Jiu-Jitsu is a normal one, although there's a twist further down the line.

"My first contact with Jiu-Jitsu was while I was still in school", Javier tells AJP. "I was a second year at the time and there were a couple of sixth years that used to train. I was pretty big at the time, so they would invite me to join their training sessions. That was about six years ago, and I haven't stopped training since."

That's right, Javier Barter earned his black belt after training for around six years. Under the supervision of Fernando Moya, a professor from the Renzo Gracie lineage, Javier quickly grew as a competitor and went on to teach his own classes back in Panama. With his master living in Costa Rica, joint training sessions nowadays are few and far between.

"I only go to Costa Rica when I'm going to fight a big tournament or when I feel that I really need my master's help during training. Other times, I just keep teaching classes and training with a couple of friends. This last part is also challenging because most of the black belts in Panama are Masters, I'm one of the few Adult athletes back there."

But even with all the hurdles, Javier managed to make a good campaign at the ADGS Rio. After landing a rear naked choke on Patrick Gaudio and losing to Vinicius Liberati by 3-1, Javier didn't slow down and went for the repechage determined to reach the podium. Later, with four submissions left in his wake and the bronze medal comfortably resting on his shoulders, Javier explained how his risky Jiu-Jitsu style came about.

"Even though there is an influence from my professor, this fighting style is mostly my own. The main thing is that I didn't have much basic training so, as a guard player, I'm at a disadvantage on a technical level. If I fight an opponent who specializes in passing guard, for instance, I know that they'll be able to pass. And this is the solution I came up with, I plan for what I'll do after my opponent has advanced. But I'm still evolving, I spent the last two years training my defense. There's room for improvement, but I'm constantly trying to get better."