Luiz Carlos Manimal is one of the earliest adopters and pioneers of BJJ, and he’s just been promoted to coral belt in the sport. It’s a momentous achievement that comes when a black belt is awarded their 7th degree and it signifies decades of time spent training on the mats. For Manimal specifically, he began his Jiu-Jitsu journey all the way back in 1982 when he started training under the legendary Carlson Gracie Jr. He stayed with him for a while in the beginning and received his blue belt from him, before eventually learning from Carlson Gracie himself and continuing his rise through the ranks with him.
Manimal was a fierce competitor in his time and was known for succeeding in the absolute divisions despite generally being a lightweight. He continued competing at the masters level and also transitioned into life as a successful coach as well. He’s one of the few from that generation of BJJ competitors who managed to make that transition and remain active in the sport, which is why there are so few coral belts around. Even today, Manimal continues to train and teach in his own academy along with conducting seminars around the world as well.
Luiz Carlos Manimal announced the news that he had been promoted to coral belt in BJJ in a recent post to his official Instagram account and he shared the following statement (translated from the original Portuguese):
“Finally, Jiu-Jitsu coral belt by FJJ Rio, the world’s first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation! I was never told it would be easy. Climbing is hard, especially if you are: student, athlete, competitor, teacher, and coach, and I have over 40 years (on the) tatame! Many will criticize you for the way you are in each of those qualifications. Advice? Be yourself, have a foot of good friendships, focus on the top of the mountain in terms of knowledge of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, have discipline and train until the lessons are exhausted, learn from every mistake and defeat, don‘t settle for victories, and have respect for your master, training partners, and opponents! Gentlemen, the vision and feeling from above is amazing and they were designed by God! Maximum respect to all the grand masters of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu who came before me when there was only jungle here!”
