Biography
Having taught Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since he was a blue belt, Marcelo Ribeiro became a JJ black belt under Carlos Gracie Junior, after which he migrated to the United States of America where he became the head coach of the Gracie Barra franchise in Austin, Texas. Marcelo Ribeiro is also a highly regarded BJJ referee, having judged some of the most important competitions in the IBJJF roster. Main Competitive Achievements: (No Record) Marcelo Ribeiro was born on the 27th of May, 1976 in Rio de Janeiro - Brazil. Marcelo's family was very much into the healthy lifestyle, and Jiu Jitsu ticked all the right boxes as to what sport they felt young Marcelo should practice. And so he was placed in the Gracie Barra school where he began his tuition under Carlos Gracie Junior. Marcelo was not too interested in competition and he did not pursue a career as a competitor chosing to dedicate most of his time to coaching, something he picked up since he was a blue belt at Gracie Barra. Marcelo Ribeiro went through the ranks at the Barra team receiving his black belt in 2001. In 2006, a year after the Gracie Barra franchise settled in the US, Marcelo Ribeiro was invited to come and teach there by his master, Carlos Gracie Junior. Marcelo accepted the challenge and moved to the United States with his wife and his son Joao Marcelo. There he helped develop the Gracie Barra premises in Florida, after that moving to Texas. When not teaching classes, Marcelo also takes his time also teach law enforcement, and has done seminars and special self defense training for SWAT, Troopers and Sheriff's departments. Great profile. Really interesting to see another high level instructor that doesn't compete. He is our hole family's professor, it is amazing having him for my boys .. great exemple .. great family! Marcelo and gracie barra are opening schools across the world. They are very good business owners. Gracie barra is a successful martial arts franchise. Does anyone know about any of the competitions he has done? To my understanding in bjj you have to test yourself to get to the next Belt level through some type of competion. Dear Bm, unfortunately Professor Marcelo Ribeiro could never compete... He has a very serious injure that he has each and everyday since he was very young, have to learn how to live with it. And yes you are right when you said him and GB are very good business owner... =) Only because he does every single detail about the schools with his heart! I will have to disagree when you said that you have to test your self. Black Belts can be wonderful teachers, even though they are not able to compete. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu it is a life style, it is how you eat, how you raise your kids and the respect you have for the others... I'm by the way i'm his wife... and thats why i decided to write you back! =) So, more than anybody i can tell the world how proud i'm of my husband, everything he went thru in life.. How great father of our 3 wonderful children he is, how Wonderful Professor he is and more than anything how beautiful his heart is... I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to learn everyday with him. Hope you have a great 2012! =) Not true BM, black belts are not required to compete to advance. there are tests and qualification processes the high level black belts must go through with the federation to advance to the different degrees. Professor Marcelo is a great teacher! We miss you so much in Palm Beach!!!! Professor Marcelo is a great teacher, I am lucky to have him as my professor now here in TN. He's a great man with a huge heart and take it from someone who has rolled with him, he knows exactly what he's doing.... 🙂 I got my blue belt from Professor Marcelo.. I still miss him to this day.. If he gets this I want him to know I am now coaching kids BJJ with Mike Spallholtz in WPB Fl.. I still have his blue belt from over 2 years ago and am very proud of it.. I still use the same techniques he taught me in years past and I truly miss him as a person and my professor. Mike is now a brown belt and has developed a pretty solid spider guard to add to his game and he pushes me the same way Professor Marcelo did with the same "common man" and " what are you doing??" comments... Hope the Ribeiro family is happy and doing well. Feel free to email me or check out the website any time. It is my pleasure to recommend Professor Marcelo Ribeiro for a wonderful Professor and great family man. I came to know Professor Marcelo when my wife and I decided to enroll our three girls into his school two years ago. After a year of the girls begging me to join I decided to show up and try the adults class. After one visit, I decided to join myself and this was one year ago. Today, I am very fortunate to call professor Marcelo my friend. A true teacher who enjoys teaching kids and loves his family. I will gladly vouch for this school and would easily stake my reputation on the character of Professor Marcelo Ribeiro. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );