Teachers at Brazil 021, a GMA academy, André “Negão” Terêncio and Hannette Staack put together a mini documentary on the team’s endeavors to help needy neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro. “We present our schools in two communities in the Tijuca part of Rio. It’s a project we’re doing with the help of some unofficial partners and students who pay a symbolic fee, just to cover the cost of the teacher and the facility’s upkeep,” recounts André, who dreams of the project reaching new heights.

FREE JIU-JITSU

“I want everyone to soon be able to train for free. That’s right, for free; but working in conjunction with a school,” he remarked. Initially, the official Brazil 021 campaign is meant to provide the basics for students to take their first steps in the gentle art.

“We still have a large chunk of the Brazilian population that can hardly get enough to eat, much less pay for a Jiu-Jitsu academy. Our objective is to acquire gis of all kinds, sizes, new and old. With a gi, young people can start practicing Jiu-Jitsu, and that will surely keep them away from a lot of issues and help them become upstanding citizens,” he said in conclusion.

Anyone who can help Brazil 021 can make contact via email: – andre.terencio@brazil021.com or andre@andrenegaobjjclub.com.

To become better acquainted with the project, drop by www.brazil021.com.

Check out a video of the Brazil 021 Project:

Kyra Gracie in absolute final against Lana Stefanac at 2009 Worlds / Photo: Alicia Anthony/GRACIEMAG archives

Kyra Gracie, 26, took up another mission as a Jiu-Jitsu black belt. To repay Jiu-Jitsu for all it has done for her, the Gracie wants to be a role model for children living in regions with a dearth of nearly everything. “Being here and feeling the children’s energy, seeing them become better people—that is worth more than all my medals combined,” reflects Kyra in the following video.

JIU-JITSU AS A LEVER FOR SOCIAL GOOD

The clip is a trailer for a new movie directed by Stuart Cooper, “The Main Tournament of my Life”. Watch it to find out a bit more about the affection Kyra has for her Instituto Kapacidade outreach project and how Jiu-Jitsu serves as a powerful tool of social benefit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llMmVM2Xts4

But how about we do something to make sure hundreds of them don’t go presentless – and get to brush up on their Jiu-Jitsu with Professor Marcio Feitosa, to boot?

Well then, this Saturday, December 17, Márcio will be at Gracie Barra Irvine for a seminar, the price of entrance for which is a play thing for the Toys for Tots program.

But there’s more:

There’ll be a pre-seminar parents and kids class.
Food and drinks will be served.
Plus there’ll be a GB Wear blowout sale, with 30% of the proceeds going to the program as well.

All GB members are invited, as are the instructors and staff from the different schools in the region.

The holiday season is just around the corner, so how about we make some children happy?

Look how every now and again Jiu-Jitsu scores a big goal for the community.

Gracie Barra’s brand of uniforms GB Wear ordered 2,000 Lycra rash guards and 1,200 pairs of shorts from US company Grounded Athletics, but the pieces all came with a tiny defect.

Rather than get all ruffled up about it, the folks at the school founded by Carlos Gracie Jr. decided to donate the garments to youths in need.

“First we and Grounded Athletics decided to donate the clothes to some outreach program dealing with sports, martial arts or aquatics, to make the most of them being made out of Lycra,” recounted Marco “Piu-Piu” Joca.

“Things got even better, though, and we ended up striking up a partnership with a Guatemalan project working with kids living in shacks near landfills. The project’s aim is to raise funds to build houses for these children and their families, as well as to provide clothes and sanitation material. The outreach project works alongside a number of other efforts to provide food, schooling, medical attention and whatever else the children need,” said Piu-Piu.

The outcome was that the brand new clothes reached the children, who were overjoyed and made good use of the GB Wear/Grounded Athletics shorts and shirts. It all fit into Jiu-Jitsu and Gracie Barra philosophy nicely.

“GB Wear through Jiu-Jitsu is seeks out from five to ten projects in Brazil and the rest of the world per year. The philosophy of Grandmaster Carlos Gracie and our master Carlos Gracie Jr. – and now the Gracie Barra family – is to use Jiu-Jitsu to contribute to humanity, improving it every day. GB Wear, being a GB’s uniform and clothing division, follows the same line of thought,” said Marco in closing, reinforcing the team’s new motto, “Jiu-Jitsu for everyone.”