Professor:

Black Belt Rodrigo Carvalho

Address: 2440 Main St, Vancouver BC V5T 3E2

Phone: 1 604 761 1749

Website: www.gbvan.ca

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GracieBarraVancouver

About:

Our family-oriented environment is a perfect place to teach your children to feel safe everyday not only when they are at school or outside playing, but also in developing their self-confidence and self discipline.

The Gracie Barra Vancouver classes are aligned with the Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Program Structure developed by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. to meet specific learning needs from people with different ages, gender and levels. Our clean, friendly and progress oriented environment allows the students to have a challenging, inspirational and warm learning and training experience that always make them feel like coming back.

Gracie Barra Vancouver is for anyone who values discipline, wellness, martial art, and respect. We are sure you will find an exciting and challenging place that will allow you to achieve your goals. If you are interested in learning more about the great benefits that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can bring to your life, call today to schedule your free trial class!

Video:

GMA member school Gracie Barra Vancouver was the big winner of the Britsh Columbia Open Championship.

The event took place in South Surrey, BC, Canada.

With 180 points, Tim Shears’ team ended the tournament with a 95 points advantage over the second place team.

Congrats to Shears, head instructor Rodrigo Carvalho and their team.

For more info, go to GracieBarra.ca

GMA member Tim Shears is to host a world class seminar soon.

His Gracie Barra Vancouver school will be welcoming world champion Romulo Barral on November 26th.

The three hours class is scheduled to kick off at noon and the investment is only $ 75.

For more info, go to Graciebarra.ca

Toronto BJJ / Photo: publicity

One of the teams closest to Rogers Centre, the venue for the UFC in Toronto, even offers a free month for you to become acquainted with Jiu-Jitsu. At Jorge Britto’s Toronto BJJ they’ll even loan you a gi so you can begin. Check out the list of the Jiu-Jitsu academies under the GMA umbrella in GSP’s homeland, and join up.

GMAs in Canada:

Toronto BJJ
813 Bloor St W
Toronto, ON M6G IL8
# 1 416 744 6868
www.torontobjj.com

Alliance Arctic Jiu-Jitsu
Yellowknife, NT
arcticjiujitsu@gmail.com

Arashi Do Martial Arts
12730 St. Albert Trail
Edmonton, Alberta, T5L 5B9
# 1 780 453 2695
www.arashido.com

Fight Planet
730 Upper James Unit 3
Hamilton, Ontario L9C
# 1 905 385 7111
www.fightplanet.ca

Fight Planet London
1794 Dundas St
(Inside the Adrenaline Training Centre)
London, Ontario
# 1 905 385 7111
www.fightplanet.ca

Gracie Barra Calgary
1830 52 St SE Suite #234
Calgary, AB
# 1 403 899 2880
www.graciebarracalgary.com

Gracie Barra Kelowna
#109, 140 Commercial Drive
Kelowna, BC V1X
# 1 250 826 4251

Gracie Barra Montreal
180 Peel St. suite 110
Montreal, QC H3C2G7
# 1 514 932 5777
www.graciebarramontreal.ca

Gracie Barra Shuswap
#36 Halksworth Rd
Grindrod, BC V0E 1Y0
# 1 250 804 9262

Gracie Barra Vancouver
2440 Main St
Vancouver BC V5T 3E2
# 1 604 916 9441
www.GracieBarra.ca

Premier Martial Arts
Team Megaton
#120 11300 No 5 RD
Richmond, BC V7A 5J9
# 1 604 278 6663
www.premierwestmma.com

Pura BJJ
1632 Upper James St.
Hamilton, ON, Canada
# 1 905 383 4BJJ (4255)
www.purabjj.com

Relentless BJJ/ Megaton
5948 Tyson Road
Chilliwack, BC V2R 3N9
# 1 778 808 6426

Renzo Gracie Ottawa
1673 Carling ave suite 215
Ottawa Ontario K2A 1C4
# 1 613 728 0880
www.oama.ca

Sudbury Brazilian Jiu JItsu

790 Lasalle Blvd

Sudbury, Ontario P3A 4B4

# 1 705 222 7655

www.sudburybjj.com

Tim, Rodrigo and purple belt Andy Noaki. Photos: publicity

Growing up, Rodrigo was a very tall and skinny kid. He played a variety of sports like basketball, swimming, and soccer, but jokes that he was never very good at any of them. In 1994, when Rodrigo was 14, his sister’s boyfriend, who was from Manaus, came to live in his city, and invited him to train Jiu-Jitsu. At that time, Jiu-Jitsu was a martial art he had not heard of, but one he was curious to explore.

In his first class he found that he was able to use his long arms and legs effectively and seemed to have a knack for the sport. He began training with professor Pascoal Duarte, who was the Gracie Barra representative in Roraima.  “He gave me my first stripe on my white belt and through the years, as I moved up through the ranks, I also received my black belt from him in 2007,” Rodrigo says.

Rodrigo took to Jiu-Jitsu so fast, he began training and competing regularly. “I would often compete in Manaus since it’s close to my city,” Rodrigo says, “I grew up fighting and watching great fighters like Bibiano Fernandes, Xande Ribeiro and Saulo Ribeiro.” As a blue belt he had the difficult task of having to fight Ronaldo Jacaré and Leopoldo Montenegro. “I didn’t have an easy time fighting at the beginning of my career, but then again, neither did they!” Rodrigo laughs.

Rodrigo winning in the Worlds in 2007

Rodrigo believes that “guys from the north” of Brazil have good, strong Jiu-Jitsu; better than most. It may have something to do with the severe weather conditions there. “It’s so hot and humid because of the rainforest,” Rodrigo says, “When you train at noon, it’s like 42 degrees Celsius (about 107 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s brutal. When the guys from the north compete in other areas, they don’t get tired because they’ve trained in such extreme conditions.”

The weather must have done something right for Rodrigo because from 1998 to 2002, which he calls “the height of my career,” he only lost one match in his state in five years, and that was to Jacaré.  “It was a great, great fight,” Rodrigo recalls, “It was May 14, 1998, and I was in the open division final with him. He won, but it was a great fight for both of us.”

In 2001, Rodrigo won the Worlds as a blue belt in the heavyweight division. His state had never had a world champion in any sport before. “I fought five fights and only had two points scored on me the whole time,” Rodrigo says, “I got the first gold medal for my state and was so proud to be the first person to bring it home.”

In 2002, Rodrigo moved to Brasilia, which is the capital of Brazil, to begin a Physiotherapy degree. “I met and started training with a lot of great people, all of whom were purple belts at the time,” Rodrigo says, “Alexandre “Dande”, Roberto “Tussa”, Rafael “Barata” and all the guys from GB Brasilia.”

Rodrigo and the kids from his social project

In 2004 Rodrigo and Dande started a social project in Favela, the poorest town in Brasilia.  “We started a program allowing everyone in Favela, including children 5 years old and up, free Jiu-Jitsu lessons. In the beginning, Dande and I thought we were crazy because we had no money to run the program. I didn’t have a vehicle, so I had to take the bus there and he only had an old motorcycle that he would end up pushing because he would always run out of gas!” Rodrigo laughs.

However, they loved Jiu-Jitsu and believed so thoroughly it would help keep the people in Favela from a life of crime, gangs, and drugs; they were determined to see it through. “In one year we got 200 students. We showed our project to the owner of our UniCEUB University,” Rodrigo says, “He was so amazed and proud of our work he gave us both school scholarships. Dande and I were able to save money after that. I bought myself a motorcycle, so I wouldn’t have to take the bus anymore and Dande could afford gas!”

The owner of the university was so pleased with the project; he also bought gi’s, and paid for their travel expenses and entry to competitions for all the kids in the program. “We made a lot of kids champions,” Rodrigo says, “Including one student who won the Worlds in LA in 2007. She had never flown anywhere in her life. Then she goes to LA and wins the Worlds!” Rodrigo says the project is still going on today and he is still in contact with everyone involved in it.

In November 2005, Rodrigo was a brown belt when the South Brazil Nationals took place in Florianopolis.  Dande and Tussa invited him to fight, but he had no money or time to train, so he initially refused the offer. Dande told him he didn’t need to train because there wouldn’t be many people in his division, so he’d only have a couple of matches. He also assured him that he would help with money, so Rodrigo happily accepted the offer, not knowing that Dande had no money either!

On the day they left for the tournament, Rodrigo discovered that Dande had $150 for both of them to eat, drink, and buy gas for three days. Dande, Tussa, two other friends, and Rodrigo crammed into a small car and drove non-stop for 15 hours to the tournament, as they had no money for a hotel. “We ate a lot of chips, gum, chocolate, and convenience store food since that’s all we could afford,” Rodrigo recalls smiling.

Rodrigo says Tussa was not the greatest driver and decided to pass a car in a prohibited area right in front of a highway patrolman. “We got pulled over and had to give half our trip money to the police officer to let us off the hook,” he says, “But in spite of the fact we had no money or food left, we all competed in the tournament and proudly came home with medals around our necks.”

In 2006 Dande and Tussa asked Rodrigo to go to LA with them to compete in the Pan, and move there with them to teach Jiu-Jitsu. “I declined their invitation because I hadn’t completed my schooling yet,” Rodrigo says, “One year later I went back to LA with a student of mine to compete and again Dande asked me to stay. At the time I only had four months of university left, so again, I refused the offer and returned to Brazil, completing my education in 2007.”

After graduation, Rodrigo returned to his hometown of Boa Vista and began working 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week. “This was necessary to make a decent living and to be comfortable,” Rodrigo says, “I had no time to train or teach Jiu-Jitsu and I became sad because I missed and loved it so much. In 2008 a friend of mine was in a car crash and died right in front of me. I became very depressed and started to think about what I wanted for my life, and what would make me happy. I picked up the phone, called Dande and said, ‘I’m going to LA.’”

Rodrigo sold everything he owned, quit his two jobs, and booked a plane ticket. He came to LA in June 2009 and moved in with Dande. “He taught me all about the GB systems and programs,” Rodrigo says, “I was surprised at how big the Jiu-Jitsu organizations were in America.”

Last graduation at Gracie Barra Vancouver

In 2009 Rodrigo went to visit a friend in Canada. He went to GB Vancouver and started training there. “I met Tim Shears, owner of GB Vancouver and many other wonderful people of whom are now close friends of mine,” Rodrigo says, “Tim invited me to stay in Vancouver to train and help out with his team. I thought the city was beautiful and the people were nice. I knew the winters were cold, but didn’t mind because I became addicted to snow boarding. I could see myself living there.”

Last summer Rodrigo applied for his work visa and stayed in Vancouver while the process took place. In May 2010, he got a letter from immigration stating his work visa was accepted. “I’m so excited!” Rodrigo says, “My plan is to help Tim open more GB gyms in Vancouver, to make it one of the biggest Jiu-Jitsu cities in Canada. I also want to return to physiotherapy and work in intensive care with premature babies; a job that I love.”

Rodrigo says he wants to spend the rest of his life in Vancouver. “I have a great quality of life here and find pleasure in each day again,” he says, “I know I will find happiness in Canada.”

Rodrigo is grateful to many people for their support along the way: his parents and family, his professor, Pascoal Duarte, and his “brother” Dande for always making him laugh. “I’m thankful that Master Carlos put Jiu-Jitsu on the map and provided opportunities for coaches to travel to America to teach it and have their lives change for the better,” Rodrigo says, “And I’m thankful to Tim Shears for giving me the opportunity to expand GB Jiu-Jitsu in Canada.”

Our GMA member Tim Shears is proud of his kids.

And not necessarily his own kids.

The young ones of his Gracie Barra Vancouver school did great last weekend, at the 2010 Tiger Balm International.

The event is one the most important in the Vancouver area.

On Facebook, Shears expressed his happiness with his pupils:

“GBV Junior Champions stepping up and taking home the hardware at the TigerBalms. All your dedicated training has paid off!”, he wrote.

For more info, go to GracieBarra.ca.

Tim Shears GBV will host a Inhouse BJJ Tournament this Saturday at 12 noon. Its a minimum $10 entry fee. All $ raised will be donated to the Haiti Disaster Relief. If you like to donate more, please do.

RenzoGracieBJJ By the way this is Renzo here, Jay is teaching me how to operate this thing. All the best guys, and don’t forget to kick some BUTT !!!

marcelogarciajj made a few improvements on mginaction.com like being able to watch in slow motion, zoom in, check it out and let me know if you like it!

RollesGracie RT @RenzoGracieBJJ: Braulio, Renzo, & Rolles training at the NYC Academy today http://twitpic.com/yosih

CobrinhaCharles Here is some pictures of camp in Canada. Cobrinha. http://bit.ly/4njsPV

TeamPopovitch There are millions of people without food, water and medical care. it’s time to help the people in Haiti who just lost everything. Text YELE to 501501.

Allianceofclt Muay Thai workshop set for Jan 20th… All levels welcomed. http://moby.to/uhjmsq

GDJIUJITSU Red Cross sends aid to Earthquake Victims in Haiti – http://tinyurl.com/yct6q5v

budovideos Please check out the viva jiu jitsu review of the new shoyoroll gis http://vivajiujitsu.com/2010/01/shoyoroll-superlight-ripstock-batch-6/

Hermes Franca Next Hermes Franca Seminar @ mma4fighter.com Jan 30th,1600 Kentucky Street Bellingham, WA 98229 (360) 734-5118

bestwaybjj The Pit and Best Way BJJ are family! – http://shar.es/aBjAU

In 1997, Shears opened up his first JKD/BJJ school, “I was a Purple Belt in BJJ at the time, but after a couple of years, politics got in the way and I decided to leave the Megaton Team. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” After two weeks of having no professor at his school, a Brown Belt from GB came to Canada to learn English. He and Shears trained together every day for two months, until he went back to Rio.

Shortly after that, Shears met Marcio Feitosa and Marco Joca and the rest, as they say, is history. Shears became an associate of GB. Two years later, Shears got his Brown Belt. He’s now been with GB since 2002 and received his Black Belt in 2006 from Master Carlos Gracie Jr. “Over the years I have learned so much from GB that it has truly changed my life,” Shears says, “I started putting 100% effort into my BJJ development.”

GBV has close to 300 students now and he just promoted two more brown belts to black, which gives my school a total of nine black belts. Shears just opened up a new GBV school location and Professor Marcio Feitosa was there to “bless it.” The school is 6000 sq ft with two large matted areas and a big Strength and Conditioning area for people to work out, plus full shower/change rooms. Shears says, “I’m blessed to have so many great students and Professors on my mats everyday. The level is always growing. GBV has a good Competition Team that does very well in local and International Tournaments.”

However, Shears says his focus isn’t on competitions because only 10% of his students compete, “My school really caters to the everyday ‘Joe and Jane.’  They like to come into a safe environment to learn, sweat, and smile as they go through their paces.” Shears says watching his students train is his true reward, especially when he sees them perform moves they just learned in a training session.

He also loves how cohesive his school has become, “I see my students becoming such a close family. They seem to be going out together, making business contacts, and making it much more than just a gym to go train in.  It’s an amazing feeling!”