As a professor, he created his own team of Jiu-Jitsu in Sao Paulo, Team Ryan Gracie.

To remember the Gracie, GRACIEMAG searched a video with his best moves. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcL4Oc9IDu8

Rafael Lovato Jr. pays tribute to his father who competed at the 2013 Masters and Seniors Worlds. Photo: Instagram @Lovatojrbjj

This past weekend on Oct. 5 and 6 at the 2013 IBJJF Masters and Seniors World Championship, the father of Rafael Lovato Jr., was present. He competed in the black belt senior 4 category and took home the bronze at his first black belt competition. As Lovato Jr. explains on his instagram, the American black belt world champion pays tribute to the man who helped him become who he is today. Even though the roles were reversed as he took on the role of leading his father’s training for the tournament, he still looks up to him as a role model.

He says:

“In April 2009, my family & I, & all the @lovatobjjmma students were hit with a huge shock when my father suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital where his heart actually stopped and he was revived. My father stayed strong, recovered, and came back a new man. He got himself back into great shape and set out to accomplish two missions. The first was to walk the Camino de Santiago across Spain. This is a 6wk journey that you do with nothing but a backpack and he accomplished this goal last year. The picture on top is from the day he left.

The 2nd mission was to finally compete as a Black Belt and he was able to achieve that goal today! He trained for over 6 weeks to get ready for the competition and I had the pleasure to help him get ready and be the trainer for my father, when it was the other way around for most of my life. He hadn’t competed since he was a purple belt, over 13 years ago. Despite that and having to go down an age category, he still fought great and only lost by a takedown, giving his all the whole time. If you want to know where my heart, dedication, work ethic, and passion come from, it his from him.”

Congrats to Rafael Lovato Sr. and Jr. for their continuous inspiration in the community.

Valente brothers bring together 300 people at their tribute to 100 years of Helio Gracie. Photo: Valente brothers

On Tuesday, Oct. 1 the Valente brothers brought together over 300 people to remember Helio Gracie on his hundredth anniversary. The GMA Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Miami professors Pedro, Gui and Joaquim hosted an event at the Newport Beachside Hotel in Sunny Isle Beach, FL north of Miami.

All dressed in white kimonos, the night ensued with speeches, demonstrations and an overall showing of respect for the Grand Master.

In response to the event, the three brothers say:

“We are extremely grateful to each and every one of you who attended tonight’s tribute to the 100 years of Helio Gracie. This was the least we could do for the man who made Jiu-Jitsu possible for all of us. We are also thankful for all the nice messages we received during the course of the day. These demonstrations of respect and honor mean more than any choke, armlock, throw, or any physical technique performed on the mat.”

For more information about the Valente brothers in Florida, to go http://www.graciemiami.com/

Solimões River, in the Amazon River Bason / Publicity photo

What have you done to help save the Amazon Rainforest and its ecosystem? If all you’ve done is applaud the Jiu-Jitsu aces fighting at Jungle Fight, you haven’t done much.

Wednesday was official Amazon Day in Brazil, and the NGO Greenpeace mobilized netizens in an online movement calling for zero deforestation, #DesmatamentoZero. The movement continues, and you can help out on Twitter, Facebook, Google + and other social networking websites.

For the project to make it to the country’s congress, the petition needs 1.4 million signatures. To participate, click here.

For you who likes forests and seeing trees standing in their place, take a look back at the fight between Lyoto Machida and Stephan Bonnar at the first ever Jungle Fight, in 2003, smack dab in the middle of the jungle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdLj52AqBnU

Athletes at Iron Man Brasil, held in Florianópolis: around 4km swimming, 180km biking and 42km running, in the name of friendship. Photo: Personal archive/GRACIEMAG

There are three ever-present words at Jiu-Jitsu championships: overcoming, friendship and tribute. They also fit the bill for the story we’re about to tell.

A competitive triathlete, Fabio Samuel “Lixo” Ávila was training hard to enter his first Iron Man competition – the World Cup of the sport – until he had a high-speed run-in with fate. Last July, Fabio suffered a car accident in São Paulo and is in a coma to this day.

Because of the accident, Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Ricardo “Foquinha” Landim of Ryan Gracie academy and friend Caco Fiqueiredo decided to pay their unfortunate chum quite a tribute: they decided to enter the Iron Man Brazil competition in the city of Florianópolis in their partner’s place.

They transformed eight months of training, battling and suffering into an homage, dedication and hope. At the end of May, when the race took place, over 20 friends traveled to Florianópolis to cheer for them, all wearing T-shirts with Fabio’s name and the phrase “Together we’re strong” emblazoned on them.

Foquinha took the opportunity to remember the late master Ryan Gracie, whose face also featured on the competition T-shirt, right on the breast.

“Several times during the race Foca ran alongside his brother Foquinha, egging him on so he would finish,” recounted another friend of theirs, Leandro. “Meanwhile, Lixo was still in the hospital in São Paulo, but also wearing the team uniform, in some way cheering for them. After plenty of emotion, pain and fatigue, both completed the race.”

Ricardo Foquinha (clocked time: 12 hours and 44 minutes) and Caco (14 hours and 58 minutes) finished the race and knew just what to do. “Now enough of running and pedaling, back to just Jiu-Jitsu,” shouted Foquinha as he crossed the finishing line.

“Foquinha and I had the biggest and toughest personal experience of our lives, which was to complete Iron Man Brazil 2012. The body reaches its limit, and only the support of special people can get you to forge ahead. We love you, Fabio,” said Caco, the latest white belt on team Ryan Gracie, also one of the team’s biggest warriors.

Anderson Silva, the middleweight champion of the UFC, was one of those honored, and was awarded the trophy for Brazilian of the Year, with four others personalities – politicians Dilma Roussef, Gilberto Kassab and José Mariano Beltrame and professor Antonio Candido.

The “Spider” shared the stage with TV stars such as Cauã Reymond (also a Jiu-Jitsu black belt), Lilia Cabral, Fábio Assunção, Deborah Secco (GRACIEMAG cover girl in 2002) and the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, who was herself a combatant, during the years of the Brazilian dictatorship. What responsibility, champ!

Anderson among actors and President Dilma / Photos: Roberto Stuckert Filho.