FT Team Takes on Another Tournament

Terere Voltou (Terere is Back!)               
Although it's only a couple weeks into the month of June a lot of exciting things have been happening at the academy. Major competitions are coming up this summer and the kids from the FT team are not letting the World Cup cut into their time on the mats. 


Fernando Terere returned to Rio from his trip to Sao Paulo just in time to see the FT team go out to Tijuca to compete in FJJD Rio's 4th ranking competition. Although the FJJD Rio competitions are small compared to tournaments run by international federations like IBJJF, the federation plays an important roll in introducing young kids from the community to the competition world. This past weekend, 14 kids from the FT team participated in the tournament, 5 of whom received sponsorship to cover the costs. 

All of their hard work and time on the mats paid off. The kids won 4 Gold medals, 3 Silver, and 2 bronze medals. In addition to the those won by the adults, the FT team was proud to bring home a total of 12 medals.

Athletes under 9 years of age participated in a kids festival where they warmed up on the mats together before taking part in had 3-4 short rolls, at the end of which, everyone was presented with a medal. 



At age 9 The kids start participating in a traditional 4 minute long BJJ match with a referee to determine points. Sponsored athlete, Daniele Da Silva, went out on the mats and represented for the females of the FT team, winning a gold medal after beating a tough opponent on points. 

Daniele Da Silva in blue 

Good friends and sponsored athletes, Gabriel Bacelar and Jhonathan Marqueshad to face each other in the same category. After two matches they were each able to secure a medal for themselves, Jhonathan taking home gold and Gabriel with the bronze. 


Jhonathan and Gabriel with Professor Nogueira

Competitor Pablo Dos Santos, brought home his second medal in two weeks. This saturday at the ranking competition he won a silver medal. However, the weekend before, he fought his way to the the top of the podium at the FJJ Estadual Competition held on the Ilha da Governador. In addition to competing, Pablo has been organizing his BJJ curriculum and sending it out to potential sponors to help finance competitions and provide training gear. 




A Special Thanks
Over the past two years Academia Fernando Terere has been growing and establishing its presence in the competition scene here in Brasil, but we wouldn't be able to do it without the help and support of the community. We would like to give a special thanks to two of our friends from England that have reached out to us recently. 



 First, we would like to thank I Ain't No Saint Tattoo Studio, in Hertfordshire, England for donating funds to pay for competition fees. Since coming to train with Terere last year, Iain, the owner of I Ain't No Saint Studios, has contributed to the social project by donating kimonos and sending money to help pay for competition fees. 

If your ever looking to get a tattoo in Enland area contact I Ain't No Saint!

Contact: 
Phone: 44 1923 262130
Facebook








Got Tatame?

We would also like to say thank you to Scott Purnell, a good friend of Terere's, who also helps to contribute to the social project on his trips to Brazil. Instead of filling his suitcase with shorts, t-shirts, and sandals like the typical tourist, Scott packed kimonos and rashguard to donate to the kids. The majority of the student who competete from the FT team rely on used kimonos belts to train and compete in. 




Contribute
If your interesting in contributing to Academia Fernando Terere please contact Sue Fuentes or Nico Ball or click on the link below.



Competition Season

Competition Training: Carioca BJJ


Carioca BJJ, which is located Itaguai, was started by Mauro Tani after receiving his black belt in 2000. Despite being located so far away the gym has made its presence known at FT Jiu Jitsu through, Fernando Silva, who often comes by the academy to train with Terere. Silva is a native of Minas Gerais who came to Rio in search of work as a 19 year old. He was introduced to Jiu Jitsu here in Rio by Mestre Mauro Tani who took him under his wing. Silva almost abandoned Jiu Jistu as a white belt because he thought he wasn’t talented enough, but Tani’s words of encouragement inspired him to persevere in the sport. Silva began competing once he received his blue belt and continues to remain active in the competitions here in Brazil. His hard work has paid off, with only 6 months as a brown belt has already brought home 15 medals.




Silva has known Terere since 2012 when they met in Copa America, a local Jiu Jitsu tournament. Mestre Mauro and Silva invited Terere to give a seminar at Carioca BJJ and they have remained friends ever since. They began to train together on daily basis and now Silva represents both Carioca BJJ and FT Jiu Jitsu in competitions.



On Saturday 5 students from Academia made a trip to Itaguai with professor Noguera to prepare for the tournament that is coming up on June 14th.  After a couple hours of intense rolling they ended the day with a Churrasco, or Brazilian style BBQ. Although Itaguai is about 2 hours from Ipanema it was definitely worth the trip to get in a few extra hours on the mat and spend a Saturday night with teammates. 




Competition Season

The FT team is currently looking for sponsors to pay for competition fees for upcoming tournaments. Unfortunately, kids under 16 years of age will not be able to participate in IBJJF Rio Open, which was a big letdown for many of our students. However, there are still many smaller competitions in June and July that the FT team will participate in. 

Upcoming Tournaments
Event
Date
Cost
June 7th
N/A
June 14th
R70
July 5th-6th
R120
IBJJF- Rio Open
July 31st
R120

Contact us if you're interested in sponsoring one of the athletes 
listed on the right. 

Big Night for FT in England:
Phoenix Fight Night

Phoenix MMA is the first BJJ club in Europe to be affiliated with the legand Fernando Terere. The owner of the gym, Jimmy Johnstone,  is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and currently fights MMA at a professional level.

After spending 3 weeks in Phoenix MMA Jimmy Johnston went home to host a very successful event in South Hampton, England. The event had over 20 fights and included boxing, K1, and MMA styles. Overall, the night was a huge success and they will be happy to host another similar event June 7th with match matching and other arrangements already underway.





Good Food, Gold Medals, and Gringos





The FT team is gearing up and getting ready to compete in the 2nd Arnold Classic tournament on the 26th of April. The Arnold Classic multisport show features all sorts of competitions including bodybuilding, capoeira, and even arm wrestling. For the past two years they have hosted a Jiu Jitsu tournament inside of th Rio Convention Center which attracts athletes from all over the state of Rio de Janeiro. This year the FT team is proud to represent with over twelve athletes, both children and adults that will be participating in the event.


Visit from the UK
Visitors from Phoenix MMA in Bournemouth England 

Over the past week we have also had the pleasure to host athletes from Phoenix MMA, our England associate run by brown belt and outstanding athlete Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy arrived with 8 athletes that came to enjoy the Jiu Jitsu lifestyle here in Rio de Janeiro. During their stay they plan taking advantage of their time in Brazil by visiting several BJJ gyms and scheduling several private lessons with top black and brown belts here in Rio.

In between training sessions they also visited the normal tourist attractions likes Pão de Açúcar (sugarloaf mountain) and Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). On Saturday, they even had the pleasure of attending a churrasco (BBQ) in the Cantagalo community where Terere grew up. After the BBQ they visited Terere's house and received a warm welcome from the parents of the 6X World Champion.



Copa Helio Gracie



Over the weekend of April 5-6th, four athletes from the FT team made their way to the Governor's Island in Rio de Janeiro to take part in Copa Helio Gracie. The long bus ride to reach the island was well worth the results.

Diego Fuentes, the only juvenile representing the FT team, had one fight as an orange belt. He was able to secure an armbar just as the time ran out leaving him with a victory via points.


Two purple belts from the team also went to compete on Saturday, one bringing home the gold in the Masters division after two fights. The second, Renan Gabriel bought home silver in his first competition after receiving his purple last month.



The last competitor from the FT team, Nico Ball, competed on Sunday. She had three fights, winning all of them by submission in order to bring home another gold medal. After only 8 months training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (7 months here in Brazil) she is now the proud owner of 6 gold medals and 2 silver medals.





Upcoming Events
In the upcoming months the FT team will be sending 2 athletes to Sao Paulo to compete in IBJJF Brazilian Nationals that will take place May 1-4. We wish them the best of luck as they compete against the top athletes here in Brazil.

The next IBJJF tournament will be July 31st through August 4th. We are currently compiling a team of both adult and youth competitors to enter into the tournament. Many of the kids are excited about the opportunity to compete in an IBJJF for the first time and are starting to fundraise in order to cover the costs of the tournament. Those interested in sponsoring an athlete can contact our secretary Sue via email.

Rio Circuit 2nd Ranking Tournament

\
Moicano, Molezza, Navega, Gabriel, and Coach Nogueira


This past weekend students from Academia FernandoTerere competed in FDJJ Rio tournament in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. The Rio Circuit, also known as Minherinho, is one of the primary tournaments for the competitors from the Cantogalo community. The tournament consists of 5 different events, throughout which  points will be given to to the winners. In September, the federation will award trophies and other prizes for the athletes with the highest rankings.

This week, 11 students competed in the tournament, 3 of which recieved sponsorship in order to cover the fees of the competition. The hard work that the team put in paid off well. They brought home 3 gold medals and 3 silver medals. We are proud of everyone who competed regardless of the results. We would also like to thank everyone that came out to support the team!

Jhonathan, aka Moicano, won his only fight on points 2-0 bringing home his 4th gold medal.


Caue, one of the youngest athletes on the team, fought the hardest winning all three of his fights on points bringing home another gold medal to the Cantagalo community. 

Nico Ball, our resident American, won her only fight via choke in the first minute bringing home her 4th gold medal here in Brazil. 



Pablo, aka Navega, won his first fight on advantages and lost his second fight leaving him in second place. 


Gabriel, aka Moleza, won his first fight on points (9-0), but lost his second fight in the semi-finals on points. 


Gabriel won his first fight on points (6-0) and lost his second fight in the last minute to a well timed crucifix.
"Existem derrotas, mas não existe o sofrimento. Um verdadeiro guerreiro sabe que ao perder uma batalha está melhorando sua arte de manejar a espada. Saberá lutar com mais habilidade no próximo combate"

There are defeats, but there is no suffering. A real warrior knows that when a battle is lost that that they are improving on the art of the sword. They will know how to fight with more skill in the next fight"
-Pulled from Gabriel's facebook


Congratulations to Daniele Pereira who was promoted to yellow belt by Master Terere upon his return from competing in the 2014 IBJJF Europeans.