Elite

In political and sociological theory, an elite is a small group of powerful people, such as an oligarchy, that controls a disproportionate amount of wealth or political power in society. This group holds a superior position among the ordinary people and exercises greater privilege than the rest of the population.

Identity and social structure

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (/dʒuːˈdʒɪtsuː/; Portuguese: [ˈʒiw ˈʒitsu], [ˈʒu ˈʒitsu], [dʒiˈu dʒiˈtsu]) (BJJ; Portuguese: jiu-jitsu brasileiro) is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was formed from Kodokan Judo ground fighting (newaza) fundamentals that were taught by a number of individuals including Takeo Yano, Mitsuyo Maeda and Soshihiro Satake. Brazilian jiu-jitsu eventually came to be its own art through the experiments, practices, and adaptation of judo through Carlos and Hélio Gracie (who passed their knowledge on to their extended family) as well as other instructors who were students of Maeda, such as Luiz Franca.

BJJ promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using proper technique, leverage, and most notably, taking the fight to the ground, and then applying joint-locks and chokeholds to defeat the opponent. BJJ training can be used for sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition or self-defense.Sparring (commonly referred to as "rolling") and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition, in relation to progress and ascension through its ranking system.

Jake Matthews

Jacob "Jake" Matthews (born February 11, 1992) is an American football offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Falcons sixth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas A&M.

High school career

Matthews attended Elkins High School in Missouri City, where he was a standout offensive lineman for the Elkins Knights high school football team. He was teammates with D. J. Hayden. In his senior season, Matthews was a first-team all-district and all-greater Houston honoree as his team finished the season with a 9–3 record, after being eliminated from the UIL Class 5A Division II playoffs by Clear Springs. Matthews was invited to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and also earned 2009 High School All-American honors by USA Today, Parade, and SuperPrep.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the No. 7 offensive tackle prospect in the class of 2010. He chose Texas A&M over offers from Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon, Texas, Texas Tech, Southern California, and Stanford.

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria (abbreviated as Vic) is a state in the south-east of Australia. Victoria is Australia's most densely populated state and its second-most populous state overall. Most of its population is concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Melbourne, which is Australia's second-largest city. Geographically the smallest state on the Australian mainland, Victoria is bordered by Bass Strait and Tasmania to the south,New South Wales to the north, the Tasman Sea to the east, and South Australia to the west.

Prior to European settlement, the area now constituting Victoria was inhabited by a large number of Aboriginal peoples, collectively known as the Koori. With Great Britain having claimed the entire Australian continent east of the 135th meridian east in 1788, Victoria was included in the wider colony of New South Wales. The first settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay, and much of what is now Victoria was included in the Port Phillip District in 1836, an administrative division of New South Wales. Victoria was officially created a separate colony in 1851, and achieved self-government in 1855. The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased both the population and wealth of the colony, and by the Federation of Australia in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city and leading financial centre in Australasia. Melbourne also served as capital of Australia until the construction of Canberra in 1927, with the Federal Parliament meeting in Melbourne's Parliament House and all principal offices of the federal government being based in Melbourne.

Nick Diaz

Nickolas Robert "Nick" Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A two-time world champion, Diaz has been a professional competitor since 2001. In addition to the UFC, he has competed for PRIDE, Strikeforce, EliteXC, the WEC, DREAM, and Shooto. He is a former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and a former WEC Welterweight Champion.

Background

Diaz was born and raised in Stockton, California, and is of Mexican-American heritage. He is the older brother of UFC fighter Nate Diaz, and attended Tokay High School in Lodi, California, for a year before dropping out. While a freshman, he was a member of the swim team. Diaz began training in karate and aikido from a young age and also participated in wrestling tournaments during his teenage years. He started training in Sambo at the age of 16 under Bulgarian National Sambo Champion Valeri Ignatov and still trains with Ignatov. He was promoted to black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by Cesar Gracie on May 8, 2007. Diaz currently teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu at his and brother Nathan's school in Lodi, California, and trains with Nico Lipari.