Meet Cristiano Dantas of Gracie Barra Hallandale Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristiano Dantas.

Cristiano, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a Head Instructor and Program Director at Gracie Barra Hallandale Beach in Florida. I’m originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I have been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for 20 years. I am a Black Belt and have been for 10 years. I love my training and it is a very big part of my life, something I will never give up and will continue to learn more and grow stronger as the years go on.

In 2008 when I moved to Sydney – Australia, I realized what I love to do in life, teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for 4 years, at Gracie Barra Sydney, where I had an opportunity to teach this amazing gentle art and the most important, to be working with kids and helping them developing a character for life.

During my journey in Australia, I worked with fighters who train Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) that participate in competitions such as DREAM Fighting Championship, as well as other high level Australian competitions being CFC and XMMA. Mark Hunt is one the elite fighters that I worked with to help improve his Jiu Jitsu and ground game in his MMA fights that he has had in DREAM FC. I also worked with the Manly Sea Eagles rugby team to teach a variety of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques to help bring their A-game to the field. Teaching them some specific Jiu Jitsu and grappling techniques has helped them considerably on the field with tackling, defending tackles as well as helping them resist opponents from holding them on the ground so they can get up to their feet quicker and keep the ball in motion at a faster pace.

This training saw the Sea Eagles win the Premiership in 2008 over Melbourne.

My vision is to change people’s life but it goes beyond from whatever concept you might have about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. My conception about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the life style it will give you. My focus is to give people a chance to become a better person in life, a better husband, a better wife, a better friend, to respect and to learn to be respected therefore by training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you may not see it but one day you will look back and realize how much Brazilian Jiu Jitsu changed your life not just about learning self-defense techniques but about understanding what is behind everyday training.

In my 20 years of dedication to training I have won many titles in Jiu Jitsu competitions.

Please tell us about Gracie Barra Hallandale Beach.
The GRACIE BARRA HALLANDALE BEACH was founded in 2015. Our school is the result of the efforts of Prof. Cristiano Dantas (3rd Degree Black Belt) and his student Prof. Paulo Roberto “Beto” (Black Belt).

We offer world-class level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction for individuals, families, and is a reference for fitness, character development, self-defense, martial art, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training for the communities of the area.

The GRACIE BARRA HALLANDALE BEACH classes are aligned with the GRACIE BARRA Program Structure developed by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. to meet specific learning needs from people with different ages, gender and levels.

Our clean, friendly, and progress oriented environment allows the students to have a challenging, inspirational, and warm learning and training experience that always make them feel like coming back.

GRACIE BARRA is for anyone who values discipline, wellness, martial art, respect, and is looking for a well-balanced life-style.

It doesn’t matter if you are a person with no training background that wants to lose weight or learn self-defense, a busy business man looking for a stress relieving activity, a parent searching for something to complement the education of your kids, or an experienced martial artist aiming for the further development of your fighting skills, come to the school. We are sure you will find at our school an exciting and challenging place that will allow you to achieve your goals.

When asked, “What does Gracie Barra Mean to you?” All of our students would have the same answer: A family. That is nor fortuity. It is rather the result of life works of extraordinary individuals like count Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie Sr., Rolls Gracie, Carlos Gracie Jr., and people like me who are dedicating their lives to the realization of their dreams and to the continuity of their legacies.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I trained Jiu Jitsu for the 1st time.

Contact Info:

• Address: 648 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd.,
  Hallandale, Beach, FL
• Website: www.gbhallandale.com
• Phone: (954) 589-2263
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: gbhallandale
• Facebook: Gracie Barra Hallandale Beach

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