Rodrigo Minotauro, special guest at WPJJ tryouts in Gramado / Publicity photo
Besides funding an outreach project for needy kids in Rio de Janeiro with his own money, Jiu-Jitsu and MMA star Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira is now using his image to draw society’s attention to young people in other places, as GRACIEMAG.com found out.
Ever since he first started appearing in the media, the onetime interim champion of the UFC heavyweight division has gone out of his way to share his life experience with kids needing inspiration. At 11 years of age, as is now common knowledge, Rodrigo suffered a serious accident in which he was run over by a truck, and martial arts was the path he sought to making a full recovery.
RODRIGO MINOTAURO’S 40
At the invitation of the Jiu-Jitsu federation of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, Minotauro is set to take part in a workshop for kids during the March 3 and 4 Gramado leg of the South American tryouts for the WPJJ. The federation will pick 40 kids from four municipalities to participate in the tryouts, take a tour of the city, and later meet with the superstar at a mat set up in the city center.
The idea arose at a meeting between the tryouts organizers and sponsors, who brought up the need for the event to address social responsibility.
DILMA, JIU-JITSU AND SOCIAL ADVANCES
Kevin Krieger, president of Fundação de Assistência Social e Cidadania (foundation for social assistance and citizenship) of the city of Porto Alegre, implemented Projeto Arte Suave (gentle art project) in high risk areas of the city, and now Jiu-Jitsu has joined the fight against society’s problems in the metropolis. Krieger commented on the idea:
“Minotauro is undeniably a national hero. His story speaks for itself. We’ve made some major advances and our goal is to get kids off the street by appealing to them through Jiu-Jitsu, and he is here to help us out in our efforst. I hope more public administrators join us in sharing our vision for the good of the children,” said Kevin, who has already presented some of the strides they have made to President Dilma Roussef.
Governor Tarso Genro and Mayor José Fortunati discuss Projeto Arte Suave with President Dilma Rousseff, as presented by Kevin Krieger: Jiu-Jitsu as a tool for social change. Publicity photo.
For athletse interested in competing at the tryouts in Gramado, they are open only to South Americans, and sign-ups can be performed at www.abudhabiprojj.com,
The winners earn a trip to Abu Dhabi for the main event in April.
In the USA, the final qualifying tournament for the main event in the Emirates will take place March 10 and 11 in San Diego, California. You can register by clicking here.
