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Calgary Alberta, Canada is home to the infamous Andre Galvao's first Canadian affiliate academy, whose owner is also Galvao's first Canadian black belt, Tim Blanchard. Tim's story began by the inevitable curiosity towards Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu caused by watching fights in the MMA. Sadly, there were no BJJ academies where he grew up (Sudbury Ontario); so, when he moved to Calgary in 2005, he immediately looked for a gym. After his first class, he was hooked! He was always an admirer of …

We're completely aware that all of our athletes are talented in areas beyond Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And some of them are lucky enough to share these passions with another, like Jeff and Veronica Messina. In 1997, Jeff began doing BJJ, Muay Thai, and boxing, but gravitated more towards BJJ. Now he's a second-degree black belt under Rodrigo Medeiros. He began his first gym in 2005 with Yves Edwards and Tim Creduer. Jeff has since opened his location in Katy and moved the original locat …

It's pretty impressive finding out what young, talented kids can juggle in their lives these days. We know some argue otherwise, but trust us when we say that there are young people today who are the furthest away from being lazy. Bradley Chirino is definitely one of those kids, to say the least. He's currently a 15-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu green belt of the elite team AOJ academy, under the Mendes brothers (Rafael and Gui). He began training martial arts at the age of 5, fro …

It's never too late to shoot for a new dream and go all-in for it. In fact, as humans, we are built to discover and reach out for more. Saeed-Magomed Dunkaev is currently a 28-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt who spent most of his life in Moscow, Russia. His dreams of living here in the United States triggered him to make the big leap in 2010, all by himself. Saeed told us that where he comes from, kids like martial arts. He said, "If you're a man, you have to know how to f …

The IBJJF Pan Americans No Gi Championship took place at the Nat Holman Gym in New York City this past September , 2016. The tournament had plenty of great matches with enormous talent circulating the Jiu-Jitsu community, including our very own black belt Ian Sanders, brown belt Rehan Muttalib, and blue belt Lukas Matheus. This was the very first tournament Ian Sanders did as a black belt. He trains at the Rodrigo Freitas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy 2 times a day, …

Military men and women sacrifice a lot to fulfill their duties for this country. It's no secret that they dedicate a lot of their time, their bodies, and their entire being into their services, big or small. Our very own black belt, Sergio Machado, was one of these honorable beings who served in the Army. He unfortunately developed a back injury while serving, causing surgery in 2006 prior to his 3rd tour in Iraq. He was at the top 5% of all recovering back surgery patients, which ga …

They say certain talents and skills run in the family. The Cisneros family is a clear representation of that. Josh (16-year-old blue belt) and Jacob (14-year-old orange belt) Cisneros are both aspiring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes who train at the Eliteteam in Visalia, California, under Professor Tom Knox. They're an affiliate under Cleber Luciano. Their parents introduced them to the beautiful sport and have been training now for 3 years. These boys train 4-5 times a week, along w …

The family who trains together, succeeds together. The Oranday family is a huge testament to that! Bambi, her 2 sons and daughter all manage their own academy together (Oranday Bros Jiu-Jitsu), train together, and most importantly, support each other. Bambi's children began training on September 21, 2009 when they Damion was just 11, Austin was just 10, and Camryn was 4. After training for 7 years, Damion is now a purple belt, Austin is blue, and Camryn is an orange/black belt. Al …

Believe in your work and others will believe in you too. That's exactly what Raul Jimenez did when he decided to run his own gym in 2009. It's called Jiu-Jitsu Studio 76 Team Gacho and it's located in Spring, Texas. They offer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes, Muay Thai, and wrestling. Years before this happened, back in 2001, his best friend, black belt Cristian Ledwon, introduced him to BJJ. Raul used to teach at Gracie Barra the Woodlands when he was a purple belt back in 2008, but felt like he di …

The IBJJF Masters Worlds happened not too long ago on August 25-27 in Las Vegas. It was a jammed-packed tournament that had some of the biggest names in the game including our very own black belt, Rodrigo Medeiros. He had 3 fights in the middle weight division, where he won the silver medal. He also did the Pan Americans this past March in the Master 4 Lightweight division, where he won the gold. What people might not know are the obstacles he had to face after Pan Ams, before heading for the Ma …