My Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey began in 2003, training under Milton Regis at Kioto BJJ. After consistently training and competing in local tournaments, I earned my blue belt from both Milton Regis and Grandmaster Francisco Mansor.
When Milton Regis moved away, I continued my training with Kevin Wind. Unfortunately, a knee injury forced me to take time off. During my recovery, I began to incorporate kickboxing and Muay Thai into my routine.
In 2009, I resumed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training with Braulio Cuevas, a brown belt under the Soca / Rodrigo Gracie lineage. After a few years, Carmine Czocchi—a 3-stripe BJJ black belt and professional MMA fighter—took over the gym. At that time, the gym focused heavily on MMA and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu.
Carmine, a black belt under Marcelo Melo, eventually awarded me my purple belt. Later on, Mark Stan joined the gym as the Judo and BJJ professor. I was fortunate to learn from him and progressed further, eventually receiving my brown belt, once again under the Kioto lineage.
Although the gym eventually closed, my training never stopped. I competed in multiple IBJJF and NAGA tournaments, including the IBJJF World Championships in Las Vegas. After more than four years of teaching and training as a brown belt, I returned to my original professor, Milton Regis, to sharpen my skills.
In May 2019, I was honored to receive my black belt from Milton Regis. Throughout my journey, I’ve trained with many practitioners from different lineages, but Kioto BJJ will always be my home and my lineage.
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