Eric Schafer and Tim Westlake Awarded Black Belts in BJJ by Pedro Sauer

After over ten years of dedication to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Professor Pedro Sauer and Henry Matamoros awarded black belts to Milwaukee area grapplers Eric Schafer and Dr. Tim Westlake of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu. The testing occurred at the Pedro Sauer seminar hosted by Jeff Curran of Curran Martial Arts in Crystal Lake, Illinois on Saturday, April 12th.

Tim Westlake, commonly referred to as Dr. Tim, began Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1996 under Frank Cucci of the Linxx Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia before relocating to Wisconsin in the late nineties when he began to train under Henry Matamoros. He is also the person responsible for introducing Henry Matamoros to Pedro Sauer. Dr. Westlake is an emergency room doctor and practices medicine in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

Eric Schafer began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in January of 1997 under Ben Salas, who instructed under Pedro Carvalho. Ben Salas ran dojos in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac before moving to California. Schafer’s teammates at the time included Henry Matamoros, Slade Martin, and Jason Kazmierczak. At the time, the team trained Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Stick Fighting. A cancelled Stick Fighting tournament in February of 1997 led the group to attend a MMA tournament instead and the rest is history. Schafer is currently instructing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes at Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu as well as the Duke Roufus Gym.

Eric Schafer and Tim Westlake join Henry Matamoros and Jon Friedland as the only black belts who reside in Wisconsin. All four live in Milwaukee.

Professor Pedro Sauer is one of the world’s most respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and instructors. He received his black belt in Brazil under Helio and Rickson Gracie over twenty years ago. Last November, Sauer was awarded his red and black belt from Relson Gracie, which is the equivalent to a seventh degree black belt.

Pedro Sauer will be hosting a charity seminar for Fighters Against Violence in Milwaukee next Saturday, April 19th, along with fourth degree black belt in Judo Josh Resnick. The seminar will be at Bayview High School and starts at 11am sharp.