Brown Belt American Prospect Thomas Keenan: Making Dreams Reality
Brown Belt American Prospect Thomas Keenan: Making Dreams Reality
There was only one American brown belt who won a gold medal at the 2017 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship. His name is Thomas Keenan and he's been working for this achievement for a long time.
There was only one American brown belt who won a gold medal at the 2017 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship last month. His name is Thomas Keenan, and he's been working for this achievement for a long time.
His recent submission victories at Fight to Win and Five Super League put him on our radar, and he confirmed his place as one of the best brown belts to watch when he topped the podium in Abu Dhabi on April 22 after four tough matches.
Related: It's Time To Start Paying Attention To Brown Belt Prospect Thomas Keenan
A longtime student under BJJ Mental Coach and black belt Gustavo Dantas in Phoenix, Keenan was able to grind through all of his matches, which were determined by points. In the final against Claudio Calasans' student Yusef Kaddur of Spain, a last-minute takedown secured the win. And it was the support from the crowd that gave Keenan the push to achieve it. Among those voices was one of his coaches Rodrigo Feijao yelling to Keenan in Portuguese, and two other voices came from Gracie Barra's Gabriel Arges and Edwin Najmi.
They screamed, "Thomas, if you want to win, you'll take him down. Let's go!" And as the match was reset to the center with 45 seconds left on the clock, Keenan blasted a low single.
"I'll never forget the feeling of securing the takedown and knowing that my dreams were seconds within reach," he said.
Watch: Yousef Kaddur vs Thomas Keenan 2017 World Pro, Brown Belt Final
The dream was initially just to go to Abu Dhabi by winning a trial -- a feat Keenan almost accomplished but was outwrestled in the final. So he paid his own way to the UAE by teaching two seminars to help offset the investment. And his white belt dreams were surpassed when he won the gold during his first trip there.
At the age of 28, Keenan said his goals aren't just to become a world champion. He believes he's currently in his "golden years," even if there is a hint of sarcasm in the phrase. What inspires him are the athletes such as Wellington Megaton Dias; his professor, Dantas; and Carlos Faria, who have all competed in the adult divisions while in their 40s.
That belief, mindset, and vision are all personal development lessons that he's learned from Dantas. Their relationship is that of a father and son, as Dantas has instilled confidence and belief into Keenan. He helped him realize that all high-performance athletes need to work on their mental strength and struggle with their own mental barriers.
"Gustavo has helped my belief in myself help translate to higher self-worth and confidence in my abilities in jiu-jitsu and what it means to be successful and happy," Keenan said. "Which I believe I am both."
At the Gustavo Dantas Jiu-Jitsu Academy, Keenan trains alongside a roster of top athletes. Marcio Andre, a phenom black belt on the rise to his first world title at black belt, recently relocated from Abu Dhabi to train in Arizona.
"Marcio has truly elevated my game in a short amount of time, giving me new perspective and fresh approaches to how to become a complete grappler," Keenan said. "His raw talent and fighting spirit inspires me to get better each day."
Thomas (right) trains with Horlando Monteiro in Arizona. Photo: Vitor Freitas
And then there's new black belt and top competitor Horlando Monteiro, who spends considerable amounts of time at the academy when he's not in Brazil. Monteiro and Keenan built a bond when they trained together for the Pans as blue belts and have since elevated each other through wars on the mats.
"He is my good friend off the mat, but during practice we are rivals," Keenan said. "We go to war and nearly never have light or easy rolls with one another because we're both very competitive."
Viking brown belt Espen Mathiesen is a "mad scientist" and whenever Thomas can fend off his "labyrinth of berimbolo game" it's a win. Fellow Norwegian brown belt Tommy Langaker will also be arriving shortly for Worlds camp, and there are plans to take the middleweight division by storm at Worlds this year.
We can expect some savage leg locks from Keenan at the end of this month at the pyramid, given that his Estima locks and straight ankle locks have taken home a few feet.
He said, "I'm proud of this accomplishment, and it's great how far the game has come and to be a part of the rapid growth and rise of talent each year all throughout the world."
His recent submission victories at Fight to Win and Five Super League put him on our radar, and he confirmed his place as one of the best brown belts to watch when he topped the podium in Abu Dhabi on April 22 after four tough matches.
Related: It's Time To Start Paying Attention To Brown Belt Prospect Thomas Keenan
A longtime student under BJJ Mental Coach and black belt Gustavo Dantas in Phoenix, Keenan was able to grind through all of his matches, which were determined by points. In the final against Claudio Calasans' student Yusef Kaddur of Spain, a last-minute takedown secured the win. And it was the support from the crowd that gave Keenan the push to achieve it. Among those voices was one of his coaches Rodrigo Feijao yelling to Keenan in Portuguese, and two other voices came from Gracie Barra's Gabriel Arges and Edwin Najmi.
They screamed, "Thomas, if you want to win, you'll take him down. Let's go!" And as the match was reset to the center with 45 seconds left on the clock, Keenan blasted a low single.
"I'll never forget the feeling of securing the takedown and knowing that my dreams were seconds within reach," he said.
Watch: Yousef Kaddur vs Thomas Keenan 2017 World Pro, Brown Belt Final
The dream was initially just to go to Abu Dhabi by winning a trial -- a feat Keenan almost accomplished but was outwrestled in the final. So he paid his own way to the UAE by teaching two seminars to help offset the investment. And his white belt dreams were surpassed when he won the gold during his first trip there.
At the age of 28, Keenan said his goals aren't just to become a world champion. He believes he's currently in his "golden years," even if there is a hint of sarcasm in the phrase. What inspires him are the athletes such as Wellington Megaton Dias; his professor, Dantas; and Carlos Faria, who have all competed in the adult divisions while in their 40s.
Inner Belief and the Love of Jiu-Jitsu
Keenan has long-term goals in the BJJ community. Competition is a priority, but the main focus is "to become a high-performance coach and help people fall in love with jiu-jitsu and have it mold them into the person they want to become and unlock their inner belief in themselves and their abilities as it's done for me."That belief, mindset, and vision are all personal development lessons that he's learned from Dantas. Their relationship is that of a father and son, as Dantas has instilled confidence and belief into Keenan. He helped him realize that all high-performance athletes need to work on their mental strength and struggle with their own mental barriers.
"Gustavo has helped my belief in myself help translate to higher self-worth and confidence in my abilities in jiu-jitsu and what it means to be successful and happy," Keenan said. "Which I believe I am both."
At the Gustavo Dantas Jiu-Jitsu Academy, Keenan trains alongside a roster of top athletes. Marcio Andre, a phenom black belt on the rise to his first world title at black belt, recently relocated from Abu Dhabi to train in Arizona.
"Marcio has truly elevated my game in a short amount of time, giving me new perspective and fresh approaches to how to become a complete grappler," Keenan said. "His raw talent and fighting spirit inspires me to get better each day."
Thomas (right) trains with Horlando Monteiro in Arizona. Photo: Vitor Freitas
And then there's new black belt and top competitor Horlando Monteiro, who spends considerable amounts of time at the academy when he's not in Brazil. Monteiro and Keenan built a bond when they trained together for the Pans as blue belts and have since elevated each other through wars on the mats.
"He is my good friend off the mat, but during practice we are rivals," Keenan said. "We go to war and nearly never have light or easy rolls with one another because we're both very competitive."
Viking brown belt Espen Mathiesen is a "mad scientist" and whenever Thomas can fend off his "labyrinth of berimbolo game" it's a win. Fellow Norwegian brown belt Tommy Langaker will also be arriving shortly for Worlds camp, and there are plans to take the middleweight division by storm at Worlds this year.
We can expect some savage leg locks from Keenan at the end of this month at the pyramid, given that his Estima locks and straight ankle locks have taken home a few feet.
Truth be told, I have somewhat of a foot fetish! The nicknames such as foot devil, ankle collector have gravitated towards me because there's a thin margin between tap and the point of no return on foot locks. I don't aim to hurt or intentionally injure anyone, but the Estima lock is particularly dangerous because of how fast and unsuspecting to opponents it can be.As an American, Keenan has joined a rank of up-and-coming stars looking to make their mark.
He said, "I'm proud of this accomplishment, and it's great how far the game has come and to be a part of the rapid growth and rise of talent each year all throughout the world."