Léon Larman: Portrait of a French Competitor

Fluid berimbolo, back transitions, modern guard game: Léon Larman has built a jiu-jitsu that works. At 27, this Montpellier native competes regularly on the IBJJF and AJP circuits, represents Focus Jiu-jitsu, and ranks among the most active French competitors of his generation on the international scene.

Black belt since 2018, currently a member of the French CFJJB team, Léon embodies a generation of grapplers trained young, who chose to expose themselves early to world competition, and whose style reflects the technical evolution of contemporary sport jiu-jitsu.

From his first steps on the mats in southern France to his training periods in California with Caio Terra, his journey illustrates the trajectories taken by European competitors seeking to durably confront the world elite.

The Beginning: From Brissac to the First International Podiums

Léon Larman was born on April 18, 1997, in Montpellier and grew up in Brissac, in southern France. His entry into Brazilian jiu-jitsu wasn’t the result of intensive sports research, but a family discovery: at 9 years old, he accompanied his father, a passionate amateur practitioner, to training. The connection was immediate.

Unlike team sports or disciplines favoring explosive power, jiu-jitsu offers a terrain where strategy, technical repetition, and real-time problem-solving take precedence. For young Léon, this framework quickly became a natural space for expression.

David Touzet, his first coach, played a foundational role in these formative years. He detected Léon’s competitive potential and oriented him early toward competition circuits. The progression was rapid, nourished by a significant training volume and a methodical approach.

In 2013, at 16 years old, Léon won the silver medal at the IBJJF European Championships in the junior category. This result confirmed his integration into the European competitive landscape and validated the tactical choices made during his training years.

The following years saw him climb through the belts regularly: blue belt, purple, brown. Each stage consolidated his technical fundamentals and refined his understanding of ground combat. In 2018, at 21 years old, he received his black belt from the hands of Julien Gaillard, his professor at Earth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

For Léon, this promotion marked less an achievement than a starting point: that of an adult career confronted with the demands of the highest level.

Training and Mentors: Between France and California

While Julien Gaillard remains the instructor who awarded him his black belt, Léon’s journey is marked by several complementary figures who contributed to shaping his jiu-jitsu.

David Touzet laid the foundations during the junior years, instilling rigor and competitive orientation. Julien Gaillard then developed his guard game and tactical understanding of combat. But it was after obtaining his black belt that Léon made a structural decision: to dedicate a significant part of his time to training abroad.

From the mid-2010s, he regularly trained within the Caio Terra Association in California. This immersion in an ultra-competitive environment played a central role in the evolution of his style. Caio Terra, multiple-time IBJJF world champion and major figure of modern jiu-jitsu, is recognized for his methodical approach focused on technical precision.

In this setting, Léon refined his guard game, developed his understanding of transitions, and reinforced his effectiveness in key phases of combat. He also rubbed shoulders with the world elite, including Mikey Musumeci, and absorbed a training philosophy oriented toward international performance.

This period contributed to structuring a strategic vision of jiu-jitsu: how to score points, control the rhythm, secure an advantage without unnecessary exposure. An approach particularly adapted to IBJJF formats, where managing advantages and penalties plays a determining role.

Beyond his direct instructors, Léon cites two Norwegian competitors as major influences: Tommy Langaker and Espen Mathiesen. These champions, recognized for their modern guard game and fluid transitions, inspired his technical approach. Studying their fights, breaking down their movements, appropriating what works: a progression method that became an integral part of his improvement process.

Game Style: Berimbolo, Back, and Modern Jiu-Jitsu

Technically, Léon Larman is regularly associated with the berimbolo, this sequence from inverted guards aimed at unbalancing the opponent to access back control. Popularized in the 2010s by the Mendes brothers, this approach progressively established itself as an effective response to IBJJF rules that strongly value back control (4 points) and penalize passivity.

For Léon, the berimbolo is not an end in itself, but a tool integrated into a larger system. It fits into a guard game structured around De La Riva, single leg X, and hybrid variations allowing him to chain sweeps, transitions, and back attacks. This technical continuity is characteristic of modern jiu-jitsu: fewer isolated movements, more fluid sequences adapted to opponent reactions.

What defines his approach is the ability to maintain constant technical pressure until obtaining a dominant position. No gratuitous spectacle, no unnecessary risks: a point management logic consistent with current competitive formats.

Léon Larman, a Complete and Intelligent Game

His favorite guard, De La Riva, offers precise control of the opponent’s distance and balance. From this position, Léon can initiate his favorite attacks: sweeps (notably from single leg X with underhook), berimbolos, and back takes. The objective remains constant: accessing back control.

Once back control is achieved, Léon favors strangulations, whether classic (rear naked choke, bow and arrow) or adapted to opponent defenses.

His style fits into a broader evolution of sport jiu-jitsu: tactical adaptation to point systems, primacy given to control over strength, and integration of concepts from great Brazilian and American champions. In this, Léon represents a generation of European competitors who no longer merely imitate, but develop their own reading of the modern game.

In competition, he evolves in the lightweight category (under 76kg), one of the most competitive on the international circuit, concentrating some of the best technicians in the world. His game allows him to hold his own against opponents from Brazil, the United States, or Asia.

This versatility testifies to a complete mastery of the fundamentals of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, including in more classic registers like closed guard, which he masters perfectly, with his lapel control work.

Competition Record: A Regular Presence on the International Circuit

Léon Larman’s competitive journey is characterized by regular exposure to major international circuits, primarily IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) and AJP (Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro).

The AJP circuit, based in the United Arab Emirates and known for its attractive prize money, constitutes the other pillar of his competitive career. Léon has participated regularly since his accession to black belt, accumulating experience against grapplers from around the world.

In 2024, Léon also participated in ADXC (Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship), an original format where fights take place in a cage with a modified point system. On May 18, 2024, he faced Norwegian Espen Mathiesen in Paris, in a headline fight of the evening. Beyond the result, this participation testifies to his recognition on the international circuit and his willingness to test different competitive formats.

What stands out from this record is not so much an accumulation of major titles as a regularity: year after year, Léon shows up on international mats, faces high-level opponents, and maintains a constant presence in the final phases. In a sport where injuries (he himself having suffered several injuries and surgical interventions) and burnout lurk, this consistency is notable.

French Team 2025-2026: Institutional Framework and Representation

In July 2025, CFJJB (French Confederation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) unveiled the composition of the French team for the 2025-2026 season. Léon Larman appears in this selection, alongside 17 other men and 3 women.

This selection, based on sporting results and competitive regularity, aims to structure French representation at major international competitions (IBJJF European Championships, Abu Dhabi World Pro, AJP Grand Slams). For Léon, it constitutes recognition of his journey.

Within this team, he figures among the most experienced competitors of the male delegation, alongside names like Youness Bennouali, Nicolas Schwinninger (The Coaching Lab, 2025 European champion in purple belt), Henrique Soares, or the Regnier brothers Ibrahim and Mohamed.

It should be noted that the concept of a national team in Brazilian jiu-jitsu remains relatively recent in France. Unlike Olympic sports, jiu-jitsu historically functions on a decentralized model, with academy affiliations rather than federal structures. CFJJB is attempting to build national coherence, but collective results remain to be built.

The selection also reveals a marked gender imbalance: 3 women for 18 men. CFJJB is actively working on developing female practice, but France still lags significantly in building a female competitive base comparable to leading nations.

Representing the French team involves commitments: collective preparation camps, respect for a code of conduct, availability for major events. For Léon, who splits his time between France and Portugal, this requires rigorous organization of his schedule.

Teaching and Transmission: Sharing the Modern Approach

Beyond competition, Léon develops a transmission activity through camps, seminars, and educational content. His instructional “Attack Le Back” proposes a conceptual approach to back taking: rather than an accumulation of isolated techniques, he explains the principles of creating opportunities, timing, and finishing.

The seminars he leads in France meet growing interest, particularly among practitioners seeking to understand advanced mechanics of guard play and back control.

His affiliation with Focus Jiu Jitsu HQ and his partnership with Kingz Kimonos also contribute to his visibility in the French and international community. (For those wishing to organize a seminar, Léon can be contacted directly via his professional email: leonlarmanjjb@gmail.com.)

On social media, his Instagram presence (@leonlarmanbjj) allows him to share his daily training, his fights, and his reflections on jiu-jitsu, thus contributing to popularizing the sport in France among an audience of practitioners and enthusiasts.

Conclusion: A Trajectory Representative of Contemporary French BJJ

At 27 years old, Léon Larman’s journey illustrates the evolution of French jiu-jitsu over the past fifteen years. Trained young, exposed early to international competition, having made the choice of prolonged immersion in environments of excellence abroad, he represents a generation for which jiu-jitsu is no longer only a local practice, but a field of global experimentation.

His influence is measured not only in major titles, but in the coherence of his game, his understanding of modern rules, and his ability to transmit a tactical vision as well as the way to approach training. Through his fights, his teaching, and his regular presence on international circuits, Léon contributes to inscribing French jiu-jitsu in a global dynamic.

The coming years will tell if this constant exposure to the highest level will translate into reaching the top of the world podium.

For French practitioners, following Léon Larman’s journey means observing an athlete who chose not to settle for the national circuit, but to directly confront international standards. It’s also discovering a competitor who, through his technical style and professionalism, contributes to raising the general level of French BJJ!

Léon Larman Technical Profile

Full name: Léon Larman
Date of birth: April 18, 1997
Place of birth: Montpellier, France
Rank: Black belt (since 2018)
Main professor: Julien Gaillard (Earth Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)
Affiliation: Focus Jiu Jitsu HQ
Weight class: Lightweight (-76kg)
Specialties: Berimbolo, back taking, strangulations
Favorite guard: De la Riva
Sponsor: Kingz Kimonos
Instagram: @leonlarmanbjj
Seminar contact: leonlarmanjjb@gmail.com

Notable achievements 2025:

• Member and captain of the French team 2025-2026
• 🥇 French Champion lightweight CFJJB
• 🥇 Paris Open IBJJF Champion 2025
• 🥇 Geneva Open IBJJF Champion 2025
• 🥇 “Nacional” Open Portugal Champion 2025
• 🥇 Turin Open IBJJF Champion 2025

Did You Know?

A structural choice: After obtaining his black belt in 2018, Léon chose to dedicate a large part of his time to training abroad, notably in California with Caio Terra. This decision to invest in international training is characteristic of a generation of European competitors seeking to bridge the exposure gap with Brazilians and Americans.

Nordic influence: Léon cites Tommy Langaker and Espen Mathiesen as major influences on his style. Ironically, fate led him to face Espen during a headline fight at ADXC 4 in Paris in 2024, transforming admiration into direct sporting confrontation.

Family transmission: It was his father, an amateur practitioner, who introduced Léon to jiu-jitsu at 9 years old. This intergenerational transmission is frequent in jiu-jitsu, a sport where the family and community aspect often plays a determining role in discovering the discipline.

Berimbolo and IBJJF rules: The popularization of the berimbolo in the 2010s is directly linked to the evolution of IBJJF rules, which strongly value back taking (4 points) and penalize passivity. Léon integrated this technique into his game at a time when it was becoming an essential tactical tool for guard players.

International journey: Evolving regularly between France, the United States, Portugal, and various world competitions (Europe, Middle East, America), Léon embodies modern jiu-jitsu: without geographical borders, enriched by multicultural influences, and structured around an international community of practitioners and competitors.

International rivals: Léon Larman, throughout his competitions, has offered memorable fights against internationally renowned opponents… To name just a few: Murasaki, Agazarm, Henrique, or even a certain Galvao, no less!