2011
2011 many are only too happy to say goodbye, but for us it was a GREAT year!
New Academy
July saw the ‘re-birth’ of Renzo Gracie Cape Town into an amazing space that would rival any other in the world!! Classes have grown & standards are high. Special thanks to all of you who helped with the move!
Grading
Achieving stripes or even belts at Renzo Gracie is always a proud moment. Verification of real progress made. Congratulations the class of 2011 Blue & Purple belts! Alex Goldberg (purple), Tain (purple), Wim (blue), Rashaad (blue), Reyburn (blue), Udo (blue), Brendan (blue), Heinrich (blue), Hadlee (blue), Yasser (blue), Gearmo (blue), Leo (blue), Damian (blue) & Ross (blue)!!
Visitors
We LOVE having visitors! This year was amazing – we were honoured to welcome Cassiano Cunha, Clauber Santana, Penny Thomas, Marcelo Mendes, Todd Fox and Lucio ‘Lagarto’ Rodrigues.
Cassiano – living & teaching in Perth came past en-route from Brazil.
Clauber – became part of the family. A man of few words, with a passion for surfing, cooking, and cold beer!
Penny – Becoming a regular visitor, Penny always captivates the guys on the mat with her incredible flexibility & flow. We are looking forward to Penny being with us for three weeks in the New Year.
Marcelo – from Alliance BJJ in Rio and has had his black belt for 20 years. He has beaten Carlson Gracie Jr. three times!
Todd Fox – dropped in for a roll. Todd was in town with Janet Jackson. Thanks Todd, her concert was fantastic
Lagarto – a week with Lucio was too short! It was a great honour privilege to be able to spend time both on and off the mat with such an amazing man. He is truly inspirational. Thanks to all of you who helped make his visit possible!
Competition
Competition is always exciting! This year was no exception – In addition to our in-house competitions Renzo Gracie Cape Town represented at the Africa Trials for the 2011 Abu Dhabi World Pro Championships, GASS & The Carlson Gracie Africa Cup. Always with loads of support we saw many medals, tough rolls, high tension, huge excitement, impressive submissions and the birth of the PE4!
Kids
The kids classes have grown steadily – the little ones are now wearing GI’s, and we even had our first grading ceremony before the Christmas break.
Ladies
The ladies conditioning & self defence classes – From ginastica natural, circuit training, kettle-bells, & self-defence mom’s get fit & toned while the kids train.