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 Jiu-Jitsu class at professor Alexandre Bosco’s school. Maguinho’s decision as to which school to choose was simple because Bosco was his father’s friend. On that first day of training, he had invited three of his friends with whom he played indoor soccer (George Bomba, Flávio Xingu and Fábio) to join him. That day, Maguinho was the only one that brought a gi since he already knew that he wanted to train. The other three simply went to watch and get a feel for the place.
Upon arriving at the school, a stranger approached George and asked, “Are you George Bomba?”. Not long before, there had had a commotion during the science fair at Colégio das Neves and a guy had punched George in the eye. The guys were immediately alarmed, thinking that this man who asked for George’s name looked like the same one who had punched him earlier. His name was Adailton. They later found out that he was indeed the same guy who had punched George and who would later become Fábio’s student for many years after. He frightened the guys and then became a student. Life really does turn on a dime.
However, thanks to Adailton, neither of the three had the courage to register at the school. Moreover, Fábio didn’t want to stay because he was still very young. He was 14 years old and didn’t want to have to take two buses to get to the school in Candelária, and another two to return to Morro Branco after training. At the end of 1993, brothers Rodrigo and Cristiano Couceiro (also Bosco’s students) along with Gustavo Maguinho, left Bosco’s school and founded Combate Real. At the beginning of 1994, Gustavo Maguinho finally convinced Fábio to start training with them. The school was located in Nova Dimensão which was close to home and very close to his Grandmother Vanda’s house.
On the first day at the school, Guilherme Vanim, another one of Fábio’s friends from Colégio das Neves was there. Both he and Gustavo Maguinho were already blue belts. Before the start of the class, Guilherme calls Fábio and puts him in a triangle. With the triangle on tight around Fábio, Guilherme started laughing. Fábio kept asking why he was laughing and started throwing fists at him thinking that he was getting the better of the situation. That’s when he fell asleep between his friend’s legs.
When he woke up, everyone was laughing and Fábio’s reaction was the complete opposite of what you would expect. Instead of being startled or intimidated and quitting, he was amazed by the efficiency of the technique and jumped into Jiu-Jitsu with both feet, in love with the sport that would become his life and earn him a living.
In the picture above are some of the pioneers of Combate Real. Standing, from left to right: the fat Anderson, Rodrigo Couceiro, Fred Simões, Cristiano Couceiro, Eduardo Flor and Ronaldo Furacão. Kneeling, from left to right: Fábio and Vital Nóbrega.