BEST BJJ TEAMS

By Benjamin Strusnik, September 22, 2022

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a systematic, and dynamic form of Martial Art, that incorporates a highly prolific series of transitional components, positional controls, and submission maneuvers. From the beginning of Brazil's creation of BJJ there was only one formidable team that dominated the landscape. The Gracie family are synonymous with developing jiu jitsu legends like Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie, and Royce Gracie. Throughout the evolution of BJJ, the art has seen a multitude of innovations from different practitioners worldwide. The culmination of high calibre Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academies has risen exponentially, with many new branches of lineages that have been created.

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THE BENEFITS OF FINDING A GOOD BJJ TEAM

Training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be an extremely difficult process, unless the practitioner can find a good academy to train at. When a student finds the right fit for them, they will be able to freely develop their Jiu Jitsu style. A good Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team is usually easy to find, as most of them are highly functioning, and known for their humility, integrity, and understanding. Building good habits in BJJ comes from a student surrounding themself with the right people, that can guide them, and help them to succeed. A good BJJ academy will help students understand the right approach to navigating their way through the bjj comp system. Jiu Jitsu can be an extremely grueling sport, and students will need to have a lot of help along the way. A good BJJ team has an exemplary atmosphere, as all of their team members are encouraging, inspiring, and pivotal in the development of their academy members.

Learn the defensive game plan of one of the most dominant forces in grappling history, Gordon Ryan!

Finding a good academy is crucial when it comes to kids training in the art. Most BJJ schools have a highly professional team of leaders that can guide children through the complex process of BJJ. Kids need understanding, encouragement, guidance, nurture, and discipline, and finding a good BJJ team will offer this to all young members. Teaching kids BJJ can be one of the hardest skills to learn, as they will often become distracted and uninterested in learning techniques. Kids have a short attention span, so when a student finds a good team, they will flourish in the atmosphere. Good BJJ teams know how to make learning Jiu-Jitsu fun, and this is ultimately why finding the right academy is vital to the growth and development of a child, particularly in shaping their understanding of rankings and enhancing their skills through sparring.

TEAMS THAT HAVE PAVED THE WAY IN BJJ

The biggest innovators of BJJ in the history of the sport have been the Gracie family. Helio Gracie would develop the BJJ system with the help, and knowledge of his brother Carlos Gracie. The grappling art had a direct link to Kano Jigoro's Japanese Jiu Jitsu, which was taught to Carlos by one of his famous students, Mitsuyo Maeda. As the Gracie family developed the combat system, the nation of Brazil became notorious for its standing in the Martial Arts world. Even though BJJ was designed as a self defensive system, the art soon became famous for its competitive nature. The Gracie family had an open challenge to all competitors, as the formidable Gracie clan decimated all challengers. There were many rivals throughout BJJ's rise to the top, as the heated feud between Euclydes Hatem's Luta Livre, and Gracie Jiu Jitsu, raged on throughout the twentieth century. The Gracie clan were responsible for the rise of Mixed Martial Arts, as Royce Gracie dominated the early UFC. The results of this innovation led to an influx of students joining the ranks of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As the art evolved even further, organisations like the ADCC, and the IBJJF were formed, making way for tournaments like the World Championships, the European Championships, the Brazilian Nationals Championships, and the pan am brazilian jiu jitsu championships.

Another iconic group of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners were the Machado brothers, who were cousins to the Gracie family. The brothers have been extremely successful with their competition, and coaching careers. The oldest brother Carlos Machado is an 8th degree red and white belt, Roger Machado is the second oldest brother, and a 7th degree red and black belt, he also is considered as the zen master, due to his love of yoga. Rigan Machado is an 8th degree red and white belt, and is third in line in terms of age. From the young age of 14 through to Rigan was 21, he won the Brazilian National Championships every year, and in every belt division, making him one of the most successful Machado's of the lot. Jean Jacques Machado is a 7th Degree red and black belt, and is the second youngest of the brothers. Jean was another extremely successful competitor, winning multiple Rio de Janeiro Jiu Jitsu State Championships, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu National Championships, as well as holding the Cruiserweight Championship for ten consecutive years from 1982 till 1992, and is also a multiple time ADCC Champion. John Machado is a 7th degree red and black belt, and is the youngest of the five Machado brothers, and he was a dual Pan American Games Sambo champion.

The Machado brothers spent a significant amount of time training under Carlos Sr, Carlos Jr, Rolls, Rickson, and Renzo Gracie. The Machado brothers were brought to the United States of America by the famous film star, and avid Martial Artist, Chuck Norris. After spending time with the Machado brothers, Chuck would fund a BJJ school, and give creative control to the legendary brothers. The Machado brothers became well known for creating their own system called RCJ Machado Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Between all of the brothers they have opened BJJ schools in Mexico, England, France, Australia, and the United States of America. The brothers famously worked in showbiz, as they choreographed fight scenes in multiple films, including starring in the Brazilian Brawl In 2003. The Machado brothers have also trained famous stars like Ashton Kutcher, and Keanu Reeves in his role as John Wick.

One of the most influential BJJ teams of all time was Alliance. The academy was founded by Romero Cavalcanti, and his students Fabio Gurgel, Alexandre Paiva, and Fernando Gurgel. The headquarters is in Atlanta in the United States of America, where Romero Cavalcanti is the head instructor. Fabio Gurgel runs the Sao Paulo branch of Alliance, while the third main academy in Rio de Janeiro is headed by Alexandre Paiva. Alliance has produced an incredible amount of title wins including 13 World Championship titles, and multiple European Championships, National Brazilian Championships, and Rio Pro Open tournaments. Alliance have become one of the most prolific BJJ teams of all time, as they have produced world class black belts like Marcelo Garcia, Fernando Augusto, Rubens Charles, Felipe Neto, Lucas Lepri, Michael Langhi, Mario Reis, Bruno Malfacine, Demian Maia, Bernardo Faria, Leo Nogueira, Nicholas Meregali, Dimitrious Souza, Vincente Cavalcanti, and some of the best female bjj fighters like Gabrielle Garcia, Tayane Porfirio, Monique Elias, Dominyka Obelenyte, and Polyana Barbosa. In 2010, the Alliance team won all major competitions, the European Championship, the Pan American Championship, and the World Championship, as this is an achievement that no other team in BJJ has accomplished.

Gracie Barra has proven to be one of the most successful BJJ teams of all time. The historic academy was technically founded by Rolls Gracie who was the son of Carlos Gracie Sr. In 1982 Rolls tragically passed away in a hang gliding accident, as his brother Carlos Gracie Jr was asked to spearhead his brothers academy. Carlos Jr developed his BJJ school into one of the most iconic academies in the world today. Gracie Barra became an extremely successful competition academy, as his school would win multiple tournaments including adult world titles, and many youth jiu jitsu tournaments. Carlos Jr worked extensively on creating a positive vibe within his academy, and as he became successful so did his brand. Nowadays Gracie Barra boats over 800 BJJ schools on 6 different continents worldwide. The Gracie Barra franchise has promoted over 500 athletes to the prestigious rank of black belt. In 2010 the organisation created the instructors certification program, where instructors are put through a series of learning processes aimed specifically for different aspects within the organisation. These modules are all designed to embody the traditional methods of Carlos Gracie Jr.

Another formidable BJJ team is Brazilian Top Team, which was founded by Murilo Bustamante, Mario Sperry, and Ricardo Liborio. The former Carlson Gracie students decided to form their own academy, as they branched off towards more of an aggressive style of grappling suited to Mixed Martial Arts. Their academy was one of the first to ever create a specialized MMA program, and this was due to many of their students fighting in MMA. As they began to specialize in BJJ for MMA, they were fierce rivals with Chute Boxe, which was a descendant of Muay Thai Kickboxing. Many Brazilian Top Team fighters squared off against Chute Boxe fighters like Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, and Mauricio Shogun Rua. The innovation of BTT became synonymous with grappling and Mixed Martial Arts, as they developed well-known Martial Artists like Vitor Belfort, Antonio Nogueira, Paulo Filho, Patrick Cote, Rousimar Palharas, Antonio Silva, Ricardo Arona, and Marcello Salazar. The excellence and dedication of these fighters further solidified Brazilian Top Team's reputation in the world of martial arts.

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THE MOST SUCCESSFUL TEAMS IN MODERN BJJ

Atos BJJ has become the most dominant force in the world of BJJ today. The formidable grappling academy has produced some of the world's best grapplers of the modern era. Athletes like Rafael Mendes, Guilherme Mendes, Keenan Cornelius, Bruno Frazatto, Guto Campos, Claudio Calasans, Gilbert Burns, Rodrigo Caporal, Ary Frias, Davi Ramos, and some of the best no gi jiu jitsu fighters like Tye Ruotulo, JT Torres, Michael Liera, and Kade Ruotulo. Atos BJJ was formed after the famous Brasa academy had a mass exodus of high level athletes. Ramon Lemos and Andre Galvao co-founded Atos after coming to an arrangement together, as both talented athletes shared a similar philosophy of BJJ, and the same strong religious beliefs. Atos BJJ would head straight to the upper echelon of the Jiu Jitsu world, claiming 5 black belt competitors on the world scene of BJJ. Guilherme Mendes became the first Atos black belt World Champion, as his team began enjoying successes on a regular basis. The Atos camp became synonymous with the 50/50 guard, which became extremely popular for securing leg lock positions. Nowadays their BJJ curriculum encompasses many different leg entanglement positions, including securing back takes, using the berimbolo attack formation.

Renzo Gracie runs his academy in New York, and has become one of the premier Jiu Jitsu clubs worldwide. Renzo has many notable students including the founder of the Danaher Death Squad, John Danaher, and other formidable black belts like Matt Serra, Ricardo Almeida, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Georges St-Pierre, Chris Weidman, Kyra Gracie, Frankie Edgar, Roy Nelson, Neiman Gracie, Gunnar Nelson, Ralph Gracie, Nick Rodriguez, Gary Tonon, Gordon Ryan and Ryan Gracie. Renzo established his academy in 1996, and quickly became one of the best academies worldwide. Renzo Gracie Combat team is an academy full of grapplers, and Mixed Martial Artists. Between all of his students he has achieved an incredible amount of World Championship wins, and MMA title gold, as Renzo Gracie's legacy is one of the most revered of all time.

Another exceptional BJJ team is 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, which was founded by Eddie Bravo. In 2003, Eddie earnt his black belt under Jean Jacques Machado, and shortly after, opened his first 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu academy in Los Angeles, California. Eddie's system of BJJ was developed for students to excel in submission grappling, as he focused heavily on the non-traditional style of No Gi Jiu Jitsu. Eddie was a bold innovator of BJJ, as his stylings came under intense criticism, but Eddie stuck to his vision and created his own system of techniques that could be used in Mixed Martial Arts. Eddie's famous Rubber Guard system has become extremely popular with many modern day grapplers. The 10th Planet organisation had built a formidable culture of grappling, as it boasts over 100 schools worldwide. Some of Eddie's most notable students are Tony Ferguson, Kelvin Gastelum, Joe Rogan, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Vinny Magalhaes, Shinya Aoki, Marlon Vera, Alan Jouban, Ben Saunders, George Sotiropoulos, Geo Martinez, and Richie Martinez.

The Checkmat academy is another outstanding BJJ team, as the founders Leo, Leonardo, and Ricardo Vieira are famous figures in the BJJ community. After leaving the Brasa organisation, the brothers founded their great club in 2008, where they are achieving a monumental amount of success. The Checkmat Academy has BJJ schools in over 30 countries around the world making them one of the most highly sought after facilities to train at. The checkmat BJJ team has become a formidable group of world champion athletes, and boasts a list of notable fighters that include Leka Vieira, Marcus Almeida, Joao Assis, Lucas Leite, Marcel Louzado, Marcelo Mafra, Michelle Nicolini, Claudio Silva, and Jackson Sousa. Checkmat has achieved a multitude of team success, as they have placed in the top three at most major events for the last decade. They have also accomplished many individual World Championship titles through many of their competitors like Marcus Almeida, Lucas Leite, and Michelle Nicolini.

Learn the defensive game plan of one of the most dominant forces in grappling history, Gordon Ryan!

Marcelo Garcia is one of the most iconic BJJ athletes of all time, he became a multiple world champion, and an ADCC hall of fame legend fighting under Fabio Gurgel, and the Alliance banner. In 2009 he opened his own academy in Manhattan, New York City, where many high level athletes have been known to visit the smiling assassin. Marcelo's team has become one of the most famous in the world, as his coaching abilities have made him one of the premier destinations for students across the globe. Marcelo has many notable students like Fabio Lima, Gianni Grippo, Dillon Danis, Marcos Tinocco, Mathues Diniz, Jonathon Satava, Scott Kaplan, Philippe Balmant, and Mansher Khera. The success of Marcelo's team is widely recognised amongst the BJJ community, as many of his students have accomplished worldwide notoriety. Marcelo is an inspiring innovator of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, with his submission prowess, and highly prolific Jiu Jitsu game style, he has firmly built a formidable legacy.

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