Today we’d like to introduce you to Fabio Gurgel and Rodrigo Antunes.
Fabio and Rodrigo, please share your story with us.
Fabio:
I was born in 1970 in Rio de Janeiro and started his career in Jiu Jitsu at 13 years old. At 16, after winning a few titles as a blue belt and purple belt I became an instructor in the academy Jacare Jiu Jitsu. At 19 I was promoted to black belt, is the first black belt from Master Romero Jacare. In 1993, I was one of the founders of the Alliance team along with Alexandre Paiva and Master Romero Jacare. Each year the Alliance team grew stronger and soon became one of the most important Jiu Jitsu schools in Brazil. In 1997, Alliance began its expansion overseas with the inauguration of its first international affiliate in Finland followed closely by an affiliate in New York in 1998. Today, the Alliance team has approximately 200 affiliates throughout the world and is 10 x world champion, which proves our strength, dedication and what unites this team.
Rodrigo:
My first contact with martial arts was at a Judo school at the age of 4 years old. On the mats, I learned my first body movements and notions of balances and agility. Growing up in Rio de Janeiro in the 80’s, it was natural to be exposed to Jiu Jitsu, due to my family relationship to the Gracie family. When I turned 8 years old, I had my first Jiu Jitsu class and after 14 years of training, learning from some of the legends of the sport, I was promoted to black belt at the age of 23 years old and opened my first school at 25 and now, at the amazing age of 42, I still train and teach on a daily basis.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Fabio Gurgel – I don’t believe in success stories only. Besides seems a little unreal – success only – they show very little on what we are capable to do. I did have a lot of losses in my journey as a fighter and as a businessman, but I truly believe we need to find something we are passionate about and educate ourselves every single day regardless the result. If I failed, I would come on the next day to do better and if I win, I would do the same way the very next day. This is a formula I found to overcome my losses and never let the victory or an achievement be more important than it should be.
Rodrigo Antunes – Challenges are part of our lives. They way Jiu Jitsu was taught back in the day was way more painful, brutal and most of my friends quit after a few months. I decide to stick with that and kept training. It has been a very rewarding journey. I didn’t have much support from my family to pursue my Jiu-Jitsu career, as my parents preferred I would do tennis and golf, but I love my sport and kept doing even during the job, thru internships and even when I had a corporate job and the school at the same time. When my family and I decided to move abroad and live full time through martial arts, we had a cultural shock but again, it made us strong. In life, nothing comes easier. We have to work hard and be surrounded by positive people who encourage us to believe in our dreams and be able to empower our community.
Tell us about your business/company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
The word Jiu Jitsu means “gentle art” due to its principle of giving in to win, using the weight and strength of your opponent against himself and also to create for each technique, a leverage that allows you to move an opponent much stronger and heavier. This guiding principle is to make the most efficient use of mental and physical energies.
Alliance Jiu Jitsu is considered by our community as the best jiu jitsu school in the world. It is not based only on the results in competition. We structured our programs, schools and its methodology to make sure values and commitment to the art are being passed from one generation to another with integrity.
It’s our commitment to empower our Miami community and offer a wonderful place to learn this amazing martial art in a fun and healthy environment.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I believe success is a collaborative work. First, it is related to your personal achievements based on the challenges you decided to accept. Then, its relation on what type of example you are giving to the community. I try to accomplish and celebrate every step and look for new challenges to keep move on. This is how I keep going, succeeding and having some failures thru my journey.
Contact Info:
- Address: 660 Crandon Blv, Suite # 210
Key Biscayne, FL, 33149 - Website: www.alliancekb.com
- Phone: (786) 538-7445
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @alliancemiami
- Facebook: facebook.com/alliancemiami
- Twitter: alliance_miami
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/alliance-jiu-jitsu-key-biscayne-2
Image Credit:
Alliance Jiu Jitsu
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