On Saturday, September 29th at 2PM, Valente Brothers will bring together all Professors, Instructors and Black Belts for the first ever annual meeting. All Black Belts, Instructors and professors are invited.
12th Hélio Gracie Self Defense Challenge
On Sunday, September 30th at 2PM the 12th edition of the Hélio Gracie Self-Defense Challenge will take place at Valente Brothers Headquarters in North Miami Beach. All students, from all levels, are eleigible to participate.
For registration, please contact our front desk.
History and format
The Hélio Gracie Self Defense Challenge was devised by the Valente Brothers in 2000 to preserve and promote a vital element in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that was slowly being forgotten: Stand up Self-Defense. With the tremendous growth of sport jiu-jitsu, most instructors were lured by the prestige and excitement connected with positive tournament results and started focusing their classes almost exclusively on point grappling rather than realistic street fighting. However, several jiu-jitsu masters still regard the defenses against strikes, bear hugs, headlocks, collar grabs and other common street attacks as the most important component of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
Under the supervision of Grandmaster Hélio Gracie, this challenge was elaborated to test students’ technique and reflexes as they perform defenses against randomly selected stand up attacks. The attacks are executed in a realistic manner by the professors and expert judges award points based on the participants’ precision, technical proficiency, timing and realism. After three rounds the top four contestants are announced to the audience.
Today, 12 years after the Valente Brothers created this challenge, jiu-jitsu is gradually finding itself again and thousands of practitioners and instructors around the world are refocusing their training on the street effectiveness that made the art famous.
All Monday classes on the Valente Brother’s South Florida locations have been canceled. This measure was taken to ensure the safety of all our students. Plans are to resume all normal operations on Tuesday. Thank you very much for your understanding.
Dear Pedro, Gui, and Joaquim Valente:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the awesome seminar you provided for our Law Enforcement community. Among the attendees, were representatives from various Law Enforcement branches; Miami-Dade Police Department, Miami-Dade Corrections, Miami Gardens Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff, Miami Beach Police Department, U.S. Customs, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Homeland Security, I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (A.T.F.).
The level of expertise you demonstrated, along with your effective method of training and professionalism, made our seminar unique in the training world and an experience we will not forget. In a mere three days of training you have given the attendees a preparation that could easily save their lives if they faced an attack from a larger and stronger aggressor. How could we ever put a monetary value on that? How can we ever repay that kind of a debt? In our world, where we often lose some of our own to senseless violence, this is highly appreciated.
It is from the bottom of our hearts that we thank you as a community, as a Law Enforcement Family, for your continued support and tutorship. You have opened the doors of your prestigious family to us and these bonds will not be easily broken.
If there is ever anything we can do for you, please feel free to contact us.
Respectfully,
Victor Gatell
MDPD
Police Survival Unit
For the past three days I had the honor to train with you brothers. As a police officer in Dade County I know that the training received will possibly save my life. You made my first time participating in this type of training a life changing moment. I look forward to continuing my training with your family. Thank you for your patience, knowledge, and motivation!
Sam Espinosa
Valente Brothers Professors, Pedro, Gui, and Joaquim Valente returned to the MIami-Dade Police training facility to once again instruct officers from a variety of departments in South Florida, state a federal agencies and members of the US Military. The course was hosted and organized by the Police Survival Unit of the Miami-Dade Police. Black Belts Eduardo Cambas, Oliver Jordan, and Paul Hansen along with brown belts Troy Lee and Steven Abood assited Professors Pedro, Gui and Joaquim during the course. The Valente brothers have been teaching at the Miami-Dade Police since 1999. The Miami Dade Police Department Training Bureau functions as a state certified training facility tasked with providing training to all law enforcement agencies in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Attending the seminar were officers and agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Homeland Security, US Southern Command, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Gardens Police and the Miami Dade Police. After the seminar, Professor Pedro thanked all who participated, the Miami Dade Police Survival Unit and officer Victor Gatell for origanizing and promoting the course.
Gui, Royler, Pedro and Joaquim.
This Wednesday at 8pm Valente Brothers will hold its annual Summer Belt Ceremony. Students from our headquarters in North Miami Beach and our affiliates in Fort Lauderdale and Pembroke Pines will come together to celebrate an amazing first semester. This year, for the first time, Master Royler Gracie, who was recently promoted to the rank of Red and Balck belt will join all Valente Brothers during the festivities. This will be a very special moment for Professors, Pedro, Gui and Joaquim. The three brothers grew up training daily with Royler Gracie at the Academia Gracie in Rio de Janeiro. On Saturday, June 9th, Royler will teach a 3-hour seminar that will cover self-defense, grappling and throwing techniques.
Grand Master Hélio Gracie defined courage as one of the most important virtues in a human being. This Memorial Day, the Valente Brothers would like to honor all the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives to defend this great nation and everything that it stands for. Thank you.