Professor Mauricio Villardo- Head Instructor:

Mauricio Villardo received his black belt in 1997 from Royler Gracie ,one of the most skillful and adept members of the Gracie clan and one of the most sought after instructors in the martial arts world.

Mauricio began training in Rio de Janeiro at the age of fifteen and before long the pattern of the Gracie style of fighting was imprinted: take the fight quickly to the ground, gain control, and finish the opponent. The ease with which Mauricio incorporates this strategy against opponents of all sizes, weights and styles, won him the  World Championship in 1996.

As part of the famous Gracie Competition Team, he also won two state championships, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship and took second place in the Pan American .

In 1996, Mauricio began his teaching career as an assistant to Royler Gracie and Rolker Gracie at the Gracie Humaita Academy in Rio de Janeiro. He was responsible for helping Royler to conduct classes for children and teenagers. Over the next three years he continued to assist his master at the Humaita Academy and also began teaching classes on his own in two other locations. These classes were the beginning of his own teaching career.

In 1999,due to the overwhelming number of academies in Rio, Mauricio decided to move to the Southern Brazil ,looking for a better quality of life and a wider range of opportunities for teaching Jiu-Jitsu. He started teaching at Gracie Florianopolis in a partnership with Rilion Gracie  and helped to develop and improve the current Jiu-Jitsu techniques . He remained there as full time instructor until 2001 at which time an opportunity arose for him to come to the United States.

Having arrived in the United States ,Mauricio started teaching in two major areas in South Florida. , West Palm Beach and Boca Raton. In these two locations Mauricio teaches the techniques on which he has been improving for the past thirteen years on a daily basis.

Mauricio teaches and trains on a daily basis and is recognized by his students as the technician par excellence. He teaches students to be precise, technical, relaxed--always looking to employ superior technique and strategy against size and strength.

Fabio Faerman - Assistant Instructor:

Fabio Faerman is a World Class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who began training with Professor Villardo in 2001, and earned his brown belt in 2007. Mr. Faerman was born in Sao Paulo and moved to Boca Raton, Florida in 1998 to attend Florida Atlantic University. He graduated from FAU in 2002 with a degree in engineering.

Fabio is looking forward to receiving his Black Belt and continuing to participate in world wide Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. Fabio has archived medals from many tournaments including 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Florida State Championship, 2002 and 2007 Pan American tournament and many others.

Fabio is a naturally gifted athlete and an amazing instructor. His talents will ensure that he will always be known as one of the best students and most sought after assistant Instructors in the Academy.

Adam Brofsky - Assistant Instructor:

Adam Brofsky is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  He has been training since 2002 under World Champion Mauricio Villardo.  Adam (a 2-time NAGA champion) has competed as a featherweight in various BJJ and grappling tournaments, finishing in the top 3 seven times.  

Adam enjoys sharing the techniques Mauricio has helped him fine-tune with his fellow students. Adam currently trains at Mauricio’s Boca Raton academy and runs the Monday night class as an assistant instructor.   During his class, Adam helps beginner students learn the fundamental positions of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and runs situational sparring drills for more advanced students. 

Adam is always striving to perfect his own technique and improve his skills as an assistant instructor.