Affiliation
We are affiliated with Pedro Sauer. Professor Sauer is a 6th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the legendary Rickson Gracie.
As one of the top BJJ practitioners in the world, Professor Sauer has been voted "Best of the Best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor" in a world wide poll.
Our BJJ curriculum is approved by Professor Sauer. Professor Sauer visits our Academy and teaches seminars, and our instructors have traveled to Utah to train with Professor Sauer at his Academy there.
Personal History
Professor Pedro Sauer was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where from an early age, he began training in the martial arts. At age five, he began boxing and later took up judo and taekwondo. At age fifteen, however, his friend, Rickson Gracie, invited him to train jiu-jitsu with his younger brother, Royler, who at the time was only nine years old. The outcome of this experience convinced him that jiu-jitsu was the most effective of all the martial arts, and he began training the very next day.
Pedro worked towards a double major (Economics and Business Administration) in college, and took post graduation course at Fundacao Getulio Vargas. He worked in Brazil as a stockbroker for eleven years before deciding to move to the United States and pursue a career teaching jiu-jitsu. In 1990, he moved to California with the original wave of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors. He lived in California with Rickson Gracie and trained daily with the Gracie brothers (Rickson, Rorion, and Royce), their father, Helio Gracie, their cousin, Renzo Gracie, and the Machado Brothers, as well as many others. In December of that same year, he moved to Utah where he has lived for the past eight years, pioneering brazilian jiu-jitsu in the American southwest.
Certifications
1985 - Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Helio and Rickson Gracie
1986 - Tecnico de Jiu-Jitsu. This is a special certificate given in recognition of superior technical mastery of the art of jiu-jitsu, given to only a handful of students by Helio Gracie.
1990 - Certified Black Belt Instructor by Robson Gracie and the Federacao de Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Judo
1993 - 3rd Degree Black Belt from Rorion Gracie
1996 - Level 6 Instructor Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy (Rorion and Royce Gracie)
2000 - 5th Degree Black Belt under the Federacao de Jiu-Jitsu
2003 - 6th Degree Black Belt
Teaching Experience
Pedro Earned his Black Belt from Helio and Rickson in 1985. Long recognized for the superior technical efficiency of his jiu-jitsu, he then began his career as an instructor in 1986 when asked to teach with an organization known in Brazil as Corpo/Quatro (Body of Four) where he taught and continued his training under renowned jiu-jitsu instructors Alvaro Barreto (who is a red belt master under Helio Gracie).
After moving to Utah in December of 1990, he taught as one of only two non-Gracie black belts under the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy (run by Rorion and Royce Gracie). In October of 1996, he became an official representative Black Belt Instructor under the Rickson Gracie American Jiu-Jitsu Association.
Pedro ran his main jiu-jitsu academy in Salt Lake City for many years. He also has several affiliated schools across the country, and he visits them on a regular basis to give intensive instruction to the students and instructors. He is one of the most highly sought after instructors in the U.S. (of any martial discipline) and has presented hundreds of public seminars around the nation in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. (In Virginia alone, Pedro has done over 25 seminars.)
Pedro recently relocated to Virginia where he will be involved training US Military and Special Forces, as well as teaching at several BJJ academies in the area.
check out Pedro's website: PedroSauer.com
Monday, December 17, 2007, bob