Paul Barros: Here from the Start

Paulie featured with his kids, Kiki and Mauvi.

January 2025, Paul Barros was promoted to purple belt. While he’s not the highest ranking grappler in the gym, he is the highest rank our grappling coach, Ryan, has promoted someone. To up the sentiment a bit, before Ryan bought the gym with Coach Steve, he was a student at ATT as a white belt. Guess who was there with him? Paul Barros. The two trained together under Buch and were ideal partners, matching skill with skill. Like many, Paul had a busy life with a career and kids -still does- and he took some time off for a bit.

Nevertheless, our Paulie has been around the block and we wanted to ask him about what it was like when he was in most of our shoes and just starting to compete.

• How long had you been practicing MMA when you had your first tournament? Where was it?

  I think I had been practicing for a year whe I first competed. It was a Naga in Columbia, SC. 

• Who coached you?

  Ole Buch Marks coached me. I think. He may have been at one of the kid's matches, actually, and was yelling at me from across the mats before sitting in the coaches corner. 

• How did you do?

  I beleive I placed in both gi and nogi. I remember having a fairly decent Uchi Mata throw. Another time I skinned my knee shooting a single leg on a wrestler and ended up with a win on points. 

• What was the experience like and what did you learn from it?

  I get nervous before matches. My feet go numb (literally), my hands shake, and my heart pounds in my head. I asked my coach at what point does the nervousness go away and he said something like "they never go away, and if they do there is something wrong with you". This wasn't exactly comforting, but I recognized it as a real response and an invitation to try and harness my attention to stay calm and focused . And that's what I learned really: life doesn't get easier, you just get better at being calm about it. 

• How do you feel about the experience now?

  I know now that I barely understood the rules back then. Overall, it was a great experience and something I think everyone should try once. 

  It was one of many peak experiences that got me hooked on a sport that has helped me learn and grow far more than I thought possible from a single discipline, both on and off the mats. 

• Do you still compete regularly?

  I don't currently compete regularly, but I plan on it. Who's coming with me?!!

• How do you prep?

  I prep by drilling most of all. Practicing that muscle memory and recalling concepts and moves are really important routines for me in maintaining a confident mindset and a practical skillset. If I have to think about a move, I probably don't know it enough to have it commited to muscle memory.

  Drill, drill, drill!!

• What advice would you give to those about to have their first tournament, or who are still a little new?

  1) Know when you;re caught and tap

  2) Mike Tyson would wet his pants before boxing matches. Nervousness is not an indicator of whether you can or cannot do something. It's just an indicator that you are doing something of value . 

  3) Dont hesitate, make the first move. 

• How do you feel about competing?

  Competing is a safe place to test yourself and how you handle stress, challenges, and potential loss. 

• Anything you'd like to add?

  Competing is your opportunity to see where the holes in your game are, not only from a perspective of technique, but also the mental state you carry onto the mats.

  Were you impatient and sacrificed control to jump on a submission?

  Were you too scared to lose control and forfeited several opportunities to win by submission, or advance? 

  To me these are the important lessons that competing in BJJ or MMA affords you. Taking that self knowledge into life and doing better everyday is the secret lesson of competing in martial arts.