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The conflicts between the schools began by coincidence in Vila Folia. I’m saying “by coincidence” as a way of speaking, but in reality the conflicts would have begun one way or another. Fábio was at a party on the south coast with Maguinho, Nandola and the same teacher from the other school who had had … Read more

The year 1996 brought with it a crushing loss for the Combate Real Academy. This was the passing away of Diogo, who was known by everyone as Diogo “Big Ears”. Diogo was a yellow belt at the school, who really enjoyed competing and who was always travelling with the team. He was loved by all. … Read more

At the start of 1996 was the first ever World Championships. Fábio, who was still a blue belt at the time, participated in the competition which took place at Tijuca Tennis Club in Rio de Janeiro. Fábio and Gustavo Maguinho both really enjoyed competing, so they decided to go to the tournament where they stayed … Read more

Later in 1995, there was another in-house tournament at Combate Real. This time, Fábio was a blue belt and had more experience competing. Once again, Fábio and Ronaldo Furacão reached the finals just like they had in the State and North-Northeastern Championships. The difference this time is that since it was an in-house tournament, they … Read more

The Xiola group was initially composed of nine members, of which were inseparable. They were always together during parties, birthdays, Christmas, and almost every other day; one way or another, they lived together. The Xiola started at Colegio Nossa Senhora das Neves, in which all members ―with no exceptions― were in school. Everyone was older … Read more

In 1995, Combate Real relocated to Avenida Prudente de Morais, near the intersection with Alexandrino de Alencar. At this new location, the school grew, became a lot stronger and participated in many competitions that year. The first one was the North-Northeastern Championship, which took place in Natal at the ETFRN. Many athletes from other states … Read more

Fábio received his blue belt just as his classes were starting again. Since Fábio had left Colégio das Neves, he was no longer allowed to play indoor soccer there. So, he had to choose another sport to practice at ETFRN, his new school. It was then that judo became a part of his life. The … Read more

Fábio earned his blue belt after just five months of training. And no, it wasn’t because he was given it too early and neither was it because of his friendship with the instructor, which happens in other schools. He achieved it through hard work and coincidence. Hard work because of the amount of training he … Read more

Two weeks after Fábio started training jiu-jitsu, there was an in-house tournament at Combate Real. An in-house tournament means that only athletes registered at the school are allowed to compete. Due to the small number of athletes at that time, Fábio signed up to fight in the adult division at just 15 years old. It … Read more

In this blog we will be telling the story of professor Fábio Holanda’s journey in Jiu-Jitsu. It is only fair to begin this blog with Fábio’s introduction to the gentle art. At the start of 1993, Gustavo Maguinho, a friend who played indoor soccer with Fábio at Colégio das Neves was going to his first … Read more