This year Favela Jiu-Jitsu will be sponsoring these three ladies for all of their IBJJF competitions, starting with Brazilian Nationals that will take place next month in Sao Paulo.

Meet our first three sponsored athletes!

Rico Stanton climbed his way to a dominant position in the purple belt ranks while balancing the normal high school struggle of getting good grades, buying the nicest shoes, finding the cutest girlfriend, and deciding what major to study in college. The 18-year-old purple belt enrolled in a local…

OK, the best is definitely arguable because everyone loves to argue about their favorite spot but these are my top three. In no particular order but each one for a different reason. Kiosk De Tica R. Alm. Gonçalves, 50 Copacabana Tica’s is a hidden spot not frequented by most tourists…

It was in those days plagued by scarce resources that I would show up to training alongside 3-4 foreigners to find locked doors or no lights. Being the only foreigner that spoke Portuguese, I would explain why the lights weren’t working, why the kids didn’t come because there were no snacks, why we were having open mats because the teacher didn’t show up, why they had to flush toilets with buckets because there hadn’t been water in two weeks.

So You Need Money to Compete? The key to getting sponsorship is making sure that you approach people the right way. It’s never good to go around asking for money out of nowhere. Make an effort to identify people that may be able to help you with your goals…

Ipanema and Leblon are popular tourist destinations, filled with restaurants, bars, hostels, and of course, some of the best jiu-jitsu gyms out there. In Ipanema, you will find Fernando Terere academy owned and operated by 5x World Champion Fernando Terere and also home to Terere Kids Project. Ipanema is…

Checkmat Fight Zone Address: R. Francisco Sá, 36 – Copacabana Instagram Checkmat is located right where Copacabana meets Ipanema in what is called FIGHTZONE. It’s easy to miss if you don’t know where you’re going and they most definitely don’t have a website and the Checkmat website doesn’t even list…

DJ Jackson is a black belt under Team Lloyd Irvin who became the first African American to win a Nogi World title and the first American to win Copa Podio in Brazil. Click here to check out a day in the life of DJ.

Natan Chueng, a 24-year-old native of the Cantagalo Favela, has worked his way through the ranks to earn his black belt from Cicero Costha. Like most students from low-income areas, the high cost of jiu-jitsu caused Chueng to take a hiatus in his training, but at 16 he was able…

As jiu-jitsu continues to grow on the East Coast, many big names are starting to make their way over to the area. Recently I interviewed Max Gimenis from GFTeam who has relocated from Ohio to take a coaching position at an academy in Maryland.