Professors and owners James Robertson (Jimmy) and Burak Eyilik are among the most qualified jujutsu teachers in the world. With over 40 years of experience between them, Jimmy and Burak are experts in the art of teaching the VB method of self-defense to students of all ages. They worked with brothers Pedro, Gui and Joaquim for many years before opening their school.

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THE VB CERTIFICATE OF QUALITY

At Valente Brothers we are proud to remain loyal to the principles, ideals and methods that Grandmaster Hélio Gracie left for us. The VBJJ affiliate program is a reflection of his strict requirements and rigorous instructor’s course. As he laid out on his book “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,” before becoming an instructor, a practitioner must have “years of fulltime dedication” to the art. In the glory days of the original Academia Gracie in Rio, instructors actually lived inside the school. This apprenticeship program was designed so that everyone who was teaching classes not only understood the techniques and how to transmit them, but also absorbed the culture and the philosophy of Jiu-jitsu.

A student would only be invited to participate in the course after developing an extended acquaintance at the academy. This occurred so that the Grandmaster could determine if the potential instructor possessed the moral and ethical qualities that he felt were essential for the job. According to Grandmaster Hélio, an apprentice instructor had to personally assist in hundreds of classes before he could start teaching his own classes. Once he started to teach, his classes were constantly monitored and evaluated. Only after at least seven years of teaching classes would a person be eligible to receive the coveted professors diploma.

Consequently, in a span of 80 years, Grandmaster Hélio only awarded 27 diplomas. This represents an average of one diploma for every 3 years. His philosophy was to prioritize quality over quantity. Before passing away, Grandmaster Hélio encouraged the Valente Brothers to maintain his strict methodology and stated that this was the way for us to eternize his legacy. For this reason, in order to become a VBJJ affiliate one must devote years of dedication to our school as a student as well as an apprentice instructor. Our goal is not to create a large number of affiliates but rather to support our qualified students who, after years of dedication to the art, decide to dedicate their lives to the proper dissemination of jiu-jitsu according to Grandmaster Hélio Gracie’s strict guidelines.

All Valente Brothers affiliates are independently owned and operated.