World Famous Andre Monteiro Holds Jiu Jitsu Seminar in Eagle Pass, Texas

Highly respected Jiu Jitsu instructor, Andre Monteiro, held a martial arts seminar in Eagle Pass, Texas on Sunday March 9, 2013 at the Martinez MMA Academy located on Eidson Road. Monteiro’s visit is due in part to the Jiu Jitsu School that he has opened up in Eagle Pass alongside Raul Martinez at the Martinez MMA facilities.

Andre Monteiro was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He started practicing Jiu Jitsu when he was 10 years old because one of his friends Michel “Buiu” Porfirio had started grappling (Buiu also became a black belt in BJJ).Monteiro’s first coaches were none other than Rodrigo Medeiros and Francisco “Toco” Albuquerque. The pair graduated Andre with his yellow and orange belts, but as Medeiros left to the United States, Master Toco continued coaching  Monteiro on his own. It was Albuquerque who awarded Andre Monteiro his black belt on March of 2003.

In 2008, Andre Monteiro traveled to the United States to study English. He was supposed to stay in the U.S. for 3 months in a high intensity training course, but after the course was finished he was invited by a friend, who was involved in the fight game, to stay in the country as a BJJ instructor. Monteiro accepted and started coaching in San Antonio, Texas, later moving to a gym of his own. Monteiro is highly regarded in the Martial Arts community. Some of his greatest achievements include becoming the Pan American Nogi Champion (2011), Brazilian National Champion (1994 & 1996), Pan American Silver Medalist (2011 master), and Pan American Bronze Medalist (2005).

This past Sunday March 10, 2013, Monteiro made his way to Eagle Pass to train with students at the Martinez MMA Academy.  Monteiro and Kajukembo instructor Martinez have dedicated time to the teachings of Jiu jitsu and are conducting classes here in Eagle Pass.

“I started learning the art of Jiu Jitsu at the age of 10 years old in Brazil. The sport can bring you discipline, confidence and athletic ability and health. It has helped me so much to grow as a human being and I try to instill that to my students. I moved to the U. S five years ago and I am blessed to have my own gymnasiums where the sport of Jiu Jitsu lives on through my students. My team is spread throughout the world. The sport has been growing so much and I believe it will grow much more. Mix Martial Arts is all over the world and Jiu Jitsu is one of the basics of the Mix Martial Art styles,” Monteiro said.

“I come from a great lineage from Carlson Gracie under Francisco Toco Albuquerque. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to learn from them and many others throughout my career and it is now my time to pass that knowledge and discipline to others. I invite the community who would like to learn and study the Art of Jiu Jitsu to visit us at the Martinez MMA Academy Facility,” Monteiro said.

“I feel proud and happy that my professor from Brazil is here with us today. The 3 hour seminar with him today was an experience for us all and we look forward for his next visit. I would like to extend an invitation to the public to join us in living through the Sport of MMA, Jiu Jitsu, and  Kajukembo. It is a way of building discipline, confidence, and an all- around workout for the health of not only your body but your mind as well,” Raul Martinez, owner of Martinez MMA Academy said.

Martinez MMA is highly involved in the Sport of MMA cage fighting as three of Martinez’s students will be competing on March 29, 2013 in an MMA competition in Galveston, Texas.

The competitors are Pol Acoser , Justin Salinas,  and Erick Martinez . The dedication and discipline required to compete at the fighting level was evident as these three students were still training at the facility hours after everyone else had left for the day. Martinez MMA students will also be competing in Austin, Texas in April in a Jiu Jitsu Tournament with the guidance of Monteiro and Martinez.

For more information about the Martinez MMA Academy, please call them at (830) 968-7813.