Personal archive photo
In late November, the Gracie Barra teacher in Birmingham, England, was paid tribute, and, amid masters and veterans, he became one of the youngest artists ever inducted into the country’s Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
“I was awarded a plaque for my service to mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom and the world as a whole. I’m the youngest person to receive the award – there were even relatives of Bruce Lee getting on stage (laughs),” said our GMA in amusement.
He received the award with pride and honor. “Being in the Hall of Fame here means a lot to me, as I’ve been doing my all to help in Jiu-Jitsu’s expansion around the world. Hence, I believe I’m doing my part in our march to making the world a better place, with Jiu-Jitsu for everyone,” Bráulio told GRACIEMAG.com.
And thus Estima wraps up the year in grand style. Besides getting to see his younger brother Victor win the No-Gi Worlds, Carcarazinho’s biggest title so far, Bráulio had an emotion-filled 2011.
“It was no walk in the park. I lost my friend Steve Fan and won the medium heavyweight division at the 2011 European Championship as a tribute to him, with an exciting final against Sérgio Moraes. I had surgery on my spine two days after the Euro, recovered, promoted the BJJ British Open – with more than 900 competitors, a record in the country –, competed at the ADCC, and put together the No-Gi British Open, where 450 competitors showed up. All that and we still made GB the biggest Jiu-Jitsu team in the United Kingdom!” said the jubilant Brazilian.
Bráulio is now looking at offers in MMA but may still defend his title as a Hall of Famer by taking to the mats at the 2012 European Open, in Lisbon, Portugal, of which he is the current absolute champion. Don’t miss it.
