Coffee & Chokes with 3x World Champion Claudia do Val

A world traveler and animal lover as well as three-time World champion, Claudia do Val opens up on what it feels like to win a gold medal at the world championships, and how bullying in earlier life affected her self-esteem and influenced how she promotes herself as an internationally-recognized athlete.

Hywel Teague:       This is just going to be a conversation, okay?

Claudia do Val:     Okay.

Hywel Teague:       Really simple.

Claudia do Val:     I'm really nervous.

Hywel Teague:       You shouldn't be. You've done so many of these.

Hywel Teague:       But speaking of nerves, you've talked a lot about how you do get nervous before competitions. But one thing I want to know is the feeling of winning, okay? So the first world championship black belt title, the second world championship black belt title, the third world championship black belt title. Did they feel different from each other?

Claudia do Val:     So, because that's a title that every athlete wants, every jiu-jitsu athlete wants, winning the world something. And actually after you win, after the fight, it's a big relief, but it's not as big a celebration as I thought. Because it takes a while until you understand what just happened.

Hywel Teague:       Kind of like it takes a while to sink in?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, because I thought that after winning my first world, I would be super happy, yelling, and screaming! And then, I won and I was like, "Yeah, I won." And it kind of takes a while until ... Because I remember I sat on the sand and after maybe 30 minutes, and then I started crying because I realized that just had happened. In 2017 ... I've always gotten nervous. So that year, I had an experiment. I tried actually taking calming pills before competing so I-

Hywel Teague:       That doesn't sound like a great idea.

Claudia do Val:     But it's not like the prescription. The one that you can just go to the drug store and buy.

Hywel Teague:       Yeah. So you're not just taking Xanax or something.

Claudia do Val:     No, no, no, not like that. Stuff like you go to the store. I want something that should call my nerves. They all hear ... That you don't use. I remember I first did that in Portugal with the Europeans. I don't think it worked very well, but I remember I was doing it, so I got one of those. Also, supposed to calm you down. And I remember I took it before world. Because you fight on Saturday and Sunday. So, by Friday I was taking it already, and then I took it a little bit on Sunday, and then on Saturday, and on Sunday, again, before my match. But it didn't work. So I was still ... My heart was racing. I felt like my heart was trying to leave through my throat. So, I was really, really nervous. But then, after the fight was over, maybe half an hour later I was, "Nmm."

Hywel Teague:       Really? That's when it started working?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, because the adrenaline was so much that I don't think it was letting it work, and then I remember right after I started like crumbling down. I was like, "Nmm."

Hywel Teague:       And that's the time that you should be partying and celebrating the gold medal, right?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah. So that was ... Because I remember I took ... I thought it would calm me down, but it didn't work at all, because the adrenaline wouldn't let me be calm, so I gave up after that. But it takes a little bit of understanding to absorb the information. That was a title I really wanted. My first world title ... That was something I knew I could do, but I knew it was going to be a super tough fight. It was a super tough fight. I won by one or two advantages. But that's something, I know that's something that can be done. It's not like I'll go fight Buchecha. I know it can't be done. But I know I could do. I was nervous, also confident, so it was a little bit of ... After I won I thought it would be so much happen- ... But I was like, "Oh, that was it. Huh." I was super relieved that the fight was over, because I got so nervous. When it was over, I was like, "Oh, thank God."

Hywel Teague:       So what about the second gold medal? What about the third gold medal? Because you'd already been there before. Did it feel different? I'm not talking about before the fight. Because I know you really get nervous about every match, right? But then, after you won and that whole ... The moment they raise your hands, they take you to the podium, they put the medal around your neck. Did it feel different that time?

Claudia do Val:     So, the second time, I knew it was going to be a super tough fight. I had fought my opponent the year before at Pan-Ams. I had lost.

Hywel Teague:       That right. She beat you. Monique Elias. She beat you in the final of Pans, right?

Claudia do Val:     It was two points I lost by. So it was not something huge or something like, "Oh, I can work on maybe try it better this time."

Hywel Teague:       But you knew that she was going to be tough?

Claudia do Val:     For sure, for sure. We knew it was going to be a super tough fight. And I stated by losing. She almost took my back, so she got an advantage for the guard pass. She was really close to passing my guard. I was really holding it out there, and then I finally managed to close the triangle. I was like, "Okay, I have to hold this outlet." Her head was slipping through my triangle, so I was kind of freaking out a bit, and then I got the tap. I was trying the arm bar. I was trying everything. Wasn't working. So I went for the wrist lock. I was really putting everything I had into it.

Hywel Teague:       And that's the last thing, right? Because triangle first, doesn't work. You try the arm bar.

Claudia do Val:     The arm bar.

Hywel Teague:       The arm bar doesn't work. You have to go down the list of submission.

Claudia do Val:     I was super surprised that I got the tap, because I thought, "Okay, that's something that can be done. I lost in the past, but maybe if I play better this time." So, I thought, "Okay, it can be done. Let's try and do this." But I was super surprised that I actually got a tap. I won one time. So people can say, "Ah, it was an accident." You always have the shit talkers, the haters. But when you win the second time, it's like okay, now people have to recognize me. I might be good.

Hywel Teague:       And what about the third time? There's no argument then, right?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah. So when you get your third world title, there's little that people can say. They're always going to say something, but there is something like, "Okay, I can actually say that I'm decent at the sport that I do."

Hywel Teague:       Seems like you actually kind of have a doubt about that, though. It's almost like you keep winning those world championship gold medals, but you still feel like ... I don't know. I get this sensation that you still have a little bit of doubt, that you're not quite there?

Claudia do Val:     No, its something about me. I don't like putting myself out there like, "Oh, I'm so great. I'm so amazing." That's about every aspect of my life. When I was younger, when I was going to school and high school, I used to be kind of bullied. Not like you see in the movies where people push my books down. Not that. But people would ... Everybody would say that I was ugly. I wouldn't have any friends. So I have that thing about me. I wouldn't think I was such an awful person. I'm cool, I'm funny. But I have the idea that people would not like me.

Hywel Teague:       Right.

Claudia do Val:     So if I met somebody, they're going to think I'm ugly. They're going to think ... I didn't have that idea about myself, but I had the idea that people would think like that about me. So always when I talk about myself, I can't bring myself to ... "Oh, yeah, I'm good."

Hywel Teague:       So, when you were a kid, you had this idea that people would think you were ugly, that people would think that you weren't very nice, that they wouldn't want to be your friend?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah.

Hywel Teague:       And now you're an adult, even though you've overcome a lot of that, you still have that feeling of, "Oh, they won't like my jiu-jitsu. They won't think that I'm good. They won't think that I deserve to be a champion."

Claudia do Val:     Yeah. I try to be extra humble because I don't know ... I know that I have this in the back of my head. I don't want to talk too much about me and then something not happen. Whenever somebody is like, "Hey, I'm going to watch your fight." I'm like, "Please don't." I kind of freak out. Like, "You watch later if I do well." I don't know why. I have this thing about me. When I say, "Hey, guys. I'm going to fight at this tournament." I'm always careful. I would never say something like, "Oh, yeah, I'm going to win this fight." Because if I don't, I would feel very bad about it. So I always leave things in the maybe it is, maybe it's not.

Hywel Teague:       That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Claudia do Val:     Not necessarily a bad thing.

Hywel Teague:       In jiu-jitsu, they always say that you should be humble, and they say that jiu-jitsu is good for keeping the ego in check.

Claudia do Val:     Some people say ... Because I heard some people saying otherwise. You shouldn't be humble.

Hywel Teague:       You shouldn't be humble?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah. I heard that-

Hywel Teague:       Because if you want to be a champion, than you need to have that self-confidence.

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, the self-confidence. But I heard a few people talking, saying about that.

Hywel Teague:       Well, they say a little bit of ego is good, right?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, a little bit.

Hywel Teague:       A little bit of ego helps.

Claudia do Val:     You have to believe in yourself. I believe that I can do stuff. So all the fights that I went to, I know I can do this. It's just something like, it could go the other way, also.

Hywel Teague:       Because too much of something also is a bad thing, right? And we say that jiu-jitsu is good for keeping the ego in check, but actually we see that some people in jiu-jitsu have really big egos, right?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah.

Hywel Teague:       You seem to be the complete opposite of that. People are posting how many titles they've won. They're posting all this stuff about, "I just beat this guy. I beat that guy. I could beat this guy." You don't really post anything like that.

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, no. Because I see a lot of people, when they win in tournaments, sometimes they tag their opponent. Like, "I was able to beat this guy. I was able to do this with this guy. I won this fight by doing this." I usually don't do that. I might have done it. I'm not going to say I've never done it, because I might have in the past, but I don't usually like to talk like, "Yeah, I was able to beat this person. I was able to win my fights doing this."

Hywel Teague:       Why? Do you think it's disrespectful?

Claudia do Val:     Not necessarily disrespectful, but ... I don't know. I don't like leading like ... I had something happen with ... People fought me and like, "Oh, I could have won that fight." Or "Next time it's going to be- ..." Like sometimes people post stuff like this. Well, I don't like it. I don't think it's necessarily disrespectful, but that's not something I do. Like, "Oh, next time it's going to be different." Usually, when I talk about fighting, I never talk about who I'm fighting. I talk about what I want to do for myself. How much I want to give of myself to the fight. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't like talking about-

Hywel Teague:       You are a very successful competitive. It's very hard to say anything against that. The results, they speak for themselves.

Claudia do Val:     Yeah.

Hywel Teague:       Three time world champion. Pan champion. Brazilian National Champion. European Champion. Number one ranked IBJJF gi and no-gi. Masters World Champion, and a lot else. The idea that I get talking to you is that even though you are very successful as a competitor, you don't seem like a natural competitor.

Claudia do Val:     No.

Hywel Teague:       It doesn't seem like you really have that internal drive that you want to go and test yourself. You want to seek out the toughest competition. You're very happy to go there and to win, but it's almost like it's not really that ... Not what drives you.

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, I'm not really a competitive person. So there's people at the gym, training, like it's always a competition. But I don't know what is it about me that I'm not that kind of ... Because sometimes people point out people they want to fight. Like, "I want to fight that person." Yeah, I'm not like that. Obviously, I love winning. I love winning.

Hywel Teague:       Who doesn't?

Claudia do Val:     But I'm not much the competition person because you can see the second I get to the tournament, I get really nervous. I don't want to do that anymore. Some people, I see how they post about it, and they talk about it. I'm really excited to go for this tournament. I'm really excited to compete. I don't know if they're just saying that or if they really are. That's something I wish I had. I wish ... Like, World's is coming up. I'm super excited for that. I'm just nervous. I realize that, "Oh my god, it's coming up." I wish I had this drive. Like, "Yeah! I want to put myself out there." I love training, though. I love training. If my body is in good shape, I'll train the whole day with everybody. But competition, it's something else in your mind. Your emotions.

Hywel Teague:       A world championship gold medal isn't always a guarantee that somebody can make it as a professional athlete.

Claudia do Val:     That's very true.

Hywel Teague:       We talked about it a lot, about how some people they get there, they win the biggest titles in jiu-jitsu, but they're unable to convert that into a successful career. That's something that you have managed to do. You're very active. You travel all the time. You teach. Building a brand around yourself. I'm interested to know about the traveling that you do, because you've been, wow, all over the world. What's the most interesting place that you've been so far?

Claudia do Val:     Interesting ... This is hard to say because every country has something to offer. But I guess I would say a very interesting place I've been is Thailand. Because they have this tiger kingdom. You get to go in the cage with the tigers.

Hywel Teague:       Some people would call that interesting. Some people would call it terrifying.

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, so I always joke. I say, "If I die getting eaten by a tiger, it's fine. It's okay." Because I love all kinds of cats. So it's worth my dying.

Hywel Teague:       It's like the ultimate death for a cat lover.

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, I wouldn't go swimming with sharks, because that's stupid. If a shark eats me, that's a stupid death. I don't want that. I wouldn't go bungee jumping either. But if it's a tiger eating me, I get to pet him while he's eating me-

Hywel Teague:       You're a big animal lover, right?

Claudia do Val:     Yeah. Big animal lover.

Hywel Teague:       I see you chasing the dogs around the office.

Claudia do Val:     Yes, but they're running away from me now. I'm aggressive.

Hywel Teague:       The crazy lady is coming!

Claudia do Val:     Really aggressive, cuddly.

Hywel Teague:       What about the traveling that you've done? What have you learned during that time? Because you've been traveling extensively for probably a good three, nearly four years. In that time, have you learned much about yourself? You've probably learned a lot about jiu-jitsu and business.

Claudia do Val:     I learned that I hate flying so much.

Hywel Teague:       It doesn't get easier.

Claudia do Val:     Not flying. The whole process of checking your bag, and then at the airport they're like, "Your bag is two pounds overweight." But you learn a lot about the business, because I want to have my gym at some point. So I always ask people. What do you look for in the area? So, I always ask, how is this city? How is this state? How does the taxes work here? I always ask a lot, so I learned quite a few tips about business, like what do you do to get more students? The area that you choose? Everything around it. I have been asking a lot. But I still don't know even half of what I need to know, because we talk about it on the podcast. Being a competitor translates nothing into owning a business. So there's so much that I still need to learn even about teaching. Because I teach seminars, but it's not the same thing as teaching a whole program. How do you start? What do you teach? Do you start with the guard? And how do you progress? How many techniques should I teach a day?

Hywel Teague:       Something, as a competitor, you would never, ever think about.

Claudia do Val:     Yeah, so that's a whole thing that I still have to learn. Because visiting gyms, I visit a lot of gyms, and I get to watch the training there. So I watch what's happening. The ideas of how they develop their whole program. So, I've been learning a little bit, but there's still so much that I need to learn, still.

Hywel Teague:       So, you mentioned, of course, that in your future, you would love to open a gym. As yet, undecided where that would be. But what else? What other goals, or what other things do you have in life that you would like to achieve from now, to five years, 10 years?

Claudia do Val:     So, on the competition scene, I know every time I do World's, I'm like, "This is the last time." But I would like to win World's more times. Because it never gets old. You can win as many as you want, it never gets old. It's always like a really good thing happening, and I would love to be able to win, Absolute- ... But that's a whole different kind of dedication. I would need to probably stop traveling, maybe just once a month. And I don't know if that's something I want to do. Because I would really have to focus on that. I would have to be a full time athlete. But I would like to, at some point.

Claudia do Val:     Let's say if I make that my priority, because for now it's not, but maybe one day I could do that. My priority. And actually try to make that happen. But that's something ... There's no big of thing than winning Absolute at World's, I think. So that's something that I would love to achieve. But I don't know if I want to make that my priority. Because even if you do make that your priority, it might not happen. We all know. Because everybody trains to be the champion, but not everybody gets to be the champion.

Hywel Teague:       Everybody has the same goal, right? Nobody goes there for silver.

Claudia do Val:     Nobody goes there for silver. So that's something that I will have to choose very carefully if I want to make that my priority. And it's something that I've accepted might not happen, so that's a whole thing that I have to figure out. But for now, my gym, for sure. That's something I want to make happen. I will be really happy having my own team, having my own students. Get somebody that looks up to you. I would have to be a better person, who people can look up to me and call me 'Coach'.

Hywel Teague:       Coach Claudia. That's got a nice ring to it, yeah?

Claudia do Val:     That's nice.