Every jiujitsu practitioner wants to train BJJ in Brazil. And if you’re visiting Brazil’s most populous city, you’ll want to feel confident that you’re getting the best slice of BJJ in São Paulo.
São Paulo is the bustling business capital of Brazil, and as a result, it’s a center of action for Brazilian jiujitsu. There are several top-tier gyms scattered throughout the city, each one suited to a different kind of student.
I’d wanted to train BJJ in Brazil ever since I was a high schooler taking classes in Dallas. So while working remotely in São Paulo, I made sure to explore the local scene, and it did not disappoint — I was impressed by the high-level training, the concentration of black belts, and the positive martial arts spirit present here.
I’ve compiled this list to help you train BJJ in Brazil, as you follow your own Brazilian jiujitsu journey. Here are my top three best gyms for jiujitsu in São Paulo:
1. Barbosa B9 Jiujitsu
Barbosa B9 Jiujitsu was the first gym I visited in São Paulo. My skills were a bit rusty, but the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming.
Besides that, there was a double digit number of black belts on the mat.
We worked some interesting combos with a lot of detail. Another instructor was teaching the class, as Barbosa was out of town for a tournament.
After class, I listened as the guys told me all about Barbosa. I chalk a lot of the gym’s vibe up to his traditional martial arts background.
“He wasn’t always a Brazilian jiujitsu guy,” one student Rafael Abreu told me. “He trained judo first for a long time. He spent five years studying at Jigoro Kano’s gym in Japan.”
This gym was born from a traditional martial arts mentality. No fights, no politics. It wasn’t until later that Barbosa got involved in Brazilian jiujitsu, becoming an influential master in the scene and opening up his own gym. His approach was one of humility and respect, in a community that sometimes falls victim to pride and macho attitudes.
As a result, Rafael told me, nobody has a grudge against Barbosa.
Speaking more technically, Barbosa was one of the greatest innovators in passing guards, specifically pressure passing (he’s the author of The Pressure Passing Manual, after all). Just check out the above clip from a competition in 1999, where Royler Gracie — one of the all-time greats and nearly unbeatable in this era — gets completely neutralized on bottom by Barbosa’s intense pressure.
Like most jiujitsu gyms in this country, they specialize in gi here (I could tell that, by coming in as a gi-less visitor in shorts and a rash guard, I was throwing some folks off their game). Classes are a steal at 205 BRL / month, and Barbosa himself speaks some English, in addition to Japanese.
It’s a great gym, and while the warm attitude is indeed welcoming, as Rafael put it, “there aren’t many white belts.”
But are you really in Brazil to train with white belts?
Cost of Training: 205 BRL per month (about $40 USD)
Class Style: Barbosa likes to work combinations with similar “themes” for a few months at a time, before switching in a new curriculum of moves. As a result, students tend to share a common understanding that allows them to further one another’s skills. The rolling at the end of the class can be intense, but is safe and free from ego.
Best For: Any determined student of the art. You can’t go wrong with this serious-but-good-natured gym.
2. Alliance BJJ
If you do jiujitsu, you know about Alliance. This is the big, bad boy in São Paulo.
Alliance is a team that’s been through it all, earning eight consecutive world championship titles from 2008 – 2015, falling from grace due to internal disputes, and then making a comeback to once again become one of the world’ most successful and influential jiujitsu teams.
The story behind the team’s name is that, when founder Romero Cavalcanti realized he was competing with gyms led by his former-students, everyone felt that the whole thing was silly, and decided to form an “alliance” instead.
The level is high, and the gym is geared towards serious jiujitsu-heads.
I joined for the Monday no-gi class, and was pleased to find that folks there were warm and welcoming (not always the case in fighter-oriented gyms I’ve been to in the states). However, there is a bit of gatekeeping going on — I almost wasn’t allowed to join class without the official and expensive “Alliance” rashguard. Luckily a kind passing black belt lent me his own personal rashguard and shorts, but it was definitely a bit of red tape to jump through.
The class was solid, with the instructor teaching some chain wrestling combos before we went straight into rolling. I was pleased to see that my high school wrestling background could still shine through in this environment, and I had a lot more luck here than in some other gi-oriented jiujitsu classes.
However, at the end, I got a bit overconfident and tried a flying triangle that ended with me receiving a light concussion. It’s not the place to screw around.
Cost of Training: Expensive. A month of unlimited classes will cost you 821 BRL ($163 USD), while a single class runs 89 BRL plus a 30 BRL gi rental ($24 USD). For no-gi, anticipate some dogmatic mentality around the branded rash guard and shorts.
Class Style: Straightforward training from top champions. Class starts with a new progressive combination and partner drilling that keeps a quick pace, before going into some more intense, round-robin style rolling.
Best For: Experienced BJJ heads who want to train on the cutting edge of the modern sport.
3. Rocian Gracie Jr.
Here, you can learn straight from the family that created the whole martial art.
Rocian Gracie Jr. operates his own gym in São Paulo with the characteristically Gracie aim to teach jiujitsu as a “martial art, sport, and way of life.” Gracie jiujitsu is traditionally geared towards self-defense, eschewing the competition grind of a gym like Alliance.
I found the attitude here to be one of “anyone can do jiujitsu” — there were several white belts when I stopped by and a range of ages were represented. This was also the only gym I trained at in São Paulo with a woman in class.
It was a family vibe, and we all took a group picture together after class. Rocian even had a loaner gi for me to borrow, which resulted in me getting absolutely destroyed. These guys know what they’re doing, and my fellow no-gi grapplers out there may find themselves getting wrecked.
If you’re newer to BJJ, or if you simply want to take a more down-to-earth approach, this gym is a great option.
Class Style: Group warmups and calisthenics, followed by some classic Gracie jiujitsu. Rolling at the end of class is friendly and free of ego.
Best For: Relative newbies, non-competition types, and people who simply want a taste of authentic Gracie jiujitsu.
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When you’re looking to go straight to the source and train BJJ in Brazil, each gym offers something a little different.
More than anything, ask yourself what you’re looking to get from the experience. High-level theory? Competition tricks? A first-time introduction to BJJ?
Each gym has its own flavor, but in the end I loved all of them. Take your pick from any of these three and enjoy, because São Paulo is one city where you really can’t go wrong.
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