The first ever 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu academy in Brazil has just opened up in Sao Paulo, under the guidance of head coach Gabriel Santos. Not only is Santos a third degree BJJ black belt under Eddie Bravo and Jean-Jacques Machado, but he’s also a veteran competitor in Brazil. It might seem surprising to hear that there aren’t any 10th Planet locations anywhere else in Brazil seeing as the affiliation has spread out all across the world, but Brazil has always been a country that has focused more on gi competition than no gi.
Because 10th Planet academies focus exclusively on no gi, it makes sense that grapplers in Brazil might not be too keen on the idea. Aside from that, the affiliation also started with Bravo in the United States and has mostly spread out across North America and into European countries from there. Without many Brazilian grapplers flocking to existing 10th Planet instructors, there hasn’t been many available to help bring the affiliation back to their home country.
Gabriel Santos is one exception to that, as he’s been training with Eddie Bravo and Jean-Jacques Machado since all the way back in 1996. Not only does that mean that he has an incredibly amount of experience on the mats but it also means that he’s spent a lot of time training under ADCC veterans. If someone is looking to travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil to train or happens to live nearby, there isn’t really a better place to get some high-level no gi grappling training in than under someone like Santos. It’ll be interesting to see if he manages to produce any elite competitors in the coming years, or if this is the start of a bigger expansion into Brazil by the affiliation.
Head coach Gabriel Santos announced the news that he had just opened up the first 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu academy in Sao Paulo, Brazil in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
