I arrived in Bangkok in 2022 as a visiting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt invited to teach a seminar at a gym in Sukhumvit. I had been teaching BJJ in Rio de Janeiro for twelve years, running a successful academy in Copacabana. The seminar was supposed to be a one-weekend gig. Four years later, I own a gym, teach 200 students, and have no intention of returning to Brazil.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Thailand have an unexpected but natural connection. Thailand is the home of Muay Thai, one of the most effective striking martial arts in the world. BJJ complements Muay Thai perfectly as a grappling system. Many Thai fighters are now cross-training in BJJ to become complete mixed martial artists. The growth potential for BJJ in Thailand is enormous, and I arrived at the right time.

After the seminar, the gym owner asked me to stay for a month as a guest instructor. Thai students were enthusiastic and hungry to learn. Unlike in Brazil, where BJJ is established and competitive, the Thai BJJ scene is young and growing. Students here absorb techniques like sponges, without the ego or preconceptions that sometimes hinder learning in more established BJJ communities.

One month became three months. Three months became a year. During that year, I fell in love with Bangkok, with Thai culture, and with the potential of building something new in a place where martial arts are deeply respected. In Brazil, martial arts are popular but sometimes associated with violence. In Thailand, martial arts carry the prestige of national heritage. The respect for fighting disciplines here is genuine and profound.

I opened Bangkok BJJ Academy in the On Nut area in 2023. The gym has 400 square meters of mat space, a weight area, and a small cafe. The opening investment was about 2 million THB, funded by savings from my Rio academy and a small business loan from Bangkok Bank. The gym now has 200 active members, making it one of the largest BJJ academies in Thailand.

My students are incredibly diverse. About 40% are Thai, 20% are expats from Europe and North America, 20% are from other Asian countries, and 20% are from Latin America and the Middle East. Training sessions are conducted in a mix of English and Portuguese, with Thai students helping translate for newcomers. The mat is genuinely multicultural in a way I never experienced in Rio.

What I love about teaching in Thailand is how Thai students approach learning. In Brazil, BJJ culture can be aggressive and ego-driven. Thai students bring the same respect and discipline they learn from Muay Thai culture. They bow before stepping on the mat. They help each other learn. They train hard but without the chest-thumping competitiveness that can make BJJ gyms intimidating for beginners.

The gym generates about 500,000 THB in monthly revenue from memberships, private lessons, and merchandise. Operating costs are about 350,000 THB including rent, utilities, staff salaries, and marketing. I pay myself 100,000 THB per month and reinvest the rest in expansion.

I live in a modern condo near the gym for 18,000 THB per month. My total living expenses are about 35,000 THB. In Rio, my gym generated more revenue but my living costs were triple, and the security concerns were constant. I have not been robbed since moving to Bangkok. In Rio, it happened three times in my final year.

The BJJ competition scene in Southeast Asia is growing rapidly. I take a team to compete in tournaments across Thailand, Singapore, and Japan. My students have won medals at the Asian IBJJF Championships and the Thailand Open. Building a competition team from scratch in a new country has been one of the proudest achievements of my career.

Brazil will always be in my blood. I miss the samba, the beaches, my family, and the food my mother makes. But Bangkok has given me something Rio could not: the chance to build something new in a place that values what I do. In Brazil, I was one of thousands of BJJ black belts. In Thailand, I am helping build a martial arts community from the ground up. That sense of contribution is irreplaceable.

The BJJ community in Bangkok has become my family. We train together, eat together, travel together for competitions. My Thai students have taught me about sanook - finding joy in everything, even in the intensity of martial arts training. A hard training session should be fun, not a punishment. That is a very Thai philosophy, and it has made me a better teacher.