Rockson Gracie was the oldest son of the legendary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter and MMA pioneer Rickson Gracie, who was considered by many, to be one of the greatest prospects in BJJ during the 1990’s decade. Rockson Gracie would also become one of the sports saddest losses when he passed away on December of 2000 in New York.
John Lewis is former MMA fighter and a martial artist who holds black belts in a variety of fighting styles, including a black belt in judo awarded by the legendary Gene LeBell and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Master André Pederneiras, having been mentioned by many as one of the first true mixed martial artists, considering he mastered many different styles in a time when only style specialists were fighting MMA.
Another quick interview made by our Portuguese correspondent Hugo Miranda, during the European open. This time, with the established Jiu Jitsu black belt, Mr Alan ‘Finfou’ do Nascimento. Alan has been living in Sweden for a number of years, raising some of the hottest prospects in the country. Hugo had a quick chat with the black belt at Casal Vistoso in Lisbon.
Another quick interview by our Portuguese correspondent Hugo Miranda, during the European open. This time, with the rising star Jackson Sousa, newly crowned European heavyweight Jiu Jitsu champion, a man who has trained his fare share in London, England
The European Championship is over, but our correspondent in Portugal, Mr Hugo “Sabugo” Miranda got to spend time with a number of fighters and coaches, hearing what they have to say about some issues such as the state of BJJ in Europe and how the basis of the gentle art has evolved.
Rodrigo Conceição, more commonly known as Rodrigo “Aquiles” (also spelled Akillis or Achilles), is one of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts in the lightweight division who competes for the Alliance Academy, Rodrigo Aquiles is also part of an incredible tradition of BJJ competitors from the Cantagalo slums in Rio de Janeiro, an area of the city that has produced several big names of the sport.
Jackson Sousa is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Rico Vieira, competitor off of the Fightzone academy in Rio de Janeiro – Checkmat Academy headquarters, and who is another child of Vieira’s social project at the Cantagalo’s slums.
Check here the results of the BJJ European Open of 2014. The black belt tournament happened on the 25th and 26th of January in Lisbon, Portugal and it put together some of the top competitors in the grappling world, opening this way the BJJ calender of 2014.
Shanti Abelha is a Brazilian born, black belt competiror in Jiu Jitsu, who fights for the Checkmat team in Denmark (Arte Suave). Shanti is one of the top female athletes in the world, having medalled in many of the top tournaments on the BJJ roster.
Crézio Chavez is an important figure of Jiu Jitsu having attained the 9th degree (red belt) in the gentle art. Crézio Chavez competed several times for the Gracie Academy in the 1950s decade in Vale Tudo fights ending his career undefeated. Chavez was also a great ambassador of BJJ in Petropolis, Brazil, where he opened the first academy of the region
It is finally here! After much thought and months of real world testing the BJJ Heroes x Ezekiel Kimonos collaboration Jiu Jitsu gi is finally here. The BJJ Heroes Gi is a lightweight kimono, fit for BJJ competition with BJJ Heroes embroyded logos at the front (chest), side (right arm) and back (top) as well as Ezekiel logo on the pants/trousers and arm (left). It is fully IBJJF legal, and in fact has already been tested at an IBJJF competition. For more details, check this post.
Helio Vigio is a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and an important figure in this martial art’s history. A former instructor of the Gracie Academy in the 1950’s, alongside Carlson Gracie, Robson Gracie and Joao Alberto Barreto, Helio Vigio defended the Gracie Jiu Jitsu name in several “Vale Tudo” (No Holds Barred) fights later becoming one of the best BJJ/NHB/MMA referees in the world
Luiz Panza is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Marco Barbosa who is one of the top heavyweight competitors of his generation. A former professional model, Luiz Panza traded the catwalk for Jiu Jitsu, turning professional in 2013. On his first year as a black belt competitor, Luiz immediately made a name for himself piling up medals at the highest level of BJJ.
Bruno Mendes, more commonly known in the Brazillian Jiu Jitsu world by his nickname “Tank”, is one of the leaders and founding members of the BJJ team: Soul Fighters. A black belt under Alvaro Mansor, Tank spent several years working behind the scenes of IBJJF competitions before fouding his own team with his brother, the world champion Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes, Leandro Escobar and Rafael Barbosa.
One of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors of an exciting new generation of featherweight fighters to have appeared in BJJ post 2010, Victor Genovesi is also the son of marathon runner Dani Figueiredo and one of the top BJJ coaches in the world, Alexandre Paiva with whom Victor has trained since his teenage years.
Marcio Corleta is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Mauricio and Sylvio Behring, who was considered one of the top ultra heavyweights of his generation in the sport. Through his excellent sporting career, Corleta brought awareness to the quality of Jiu Jitsu practiced in the south of Brazil
Marcio Stambowsky, also known as Macarrão, is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coral belt, who is one of the 10 men to have been graded as a black belt by the legendary Rolls Gracie, often mentioned as the “Famous Five”. Stambowsky, who was one of the top grappling competitors in the 1980s.
Abraham Marte is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Abraham Tabar from team Basico BJJ of the Dominican Republic. Marte was the first high end competitor to come out of the Dominic Republic and the first to medal at the World Championships in a black belt division.
Soul Fighters is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team founded by former members of the Kioto BJJ Academy and the Brazilian Top Team. The team was founded in 2008 and quickly elbowed its way in to the top spots of BJJ.
The debate generated over this past week regarding female competitor Gabrielle Garcia who was asked to compete against men at the last ADCC led us to ask the question to a few of our Jiu Jitsu friends, professionals of the sport, men and women that regularly compete at the highest level in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Do You think Men and Women Should Compete Against Each Other in Jiu Jitsu?
