Braulio Estima - BJJ Drill Instructor of Gracie Barra Academy

Braulio de Oliveira Estima holds a fourth-degree black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr. in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has won several Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions held all around the world during his grappling career, including the Mundials, ADCC, Pan American Championship, and European Championship. Given his vast record of accomplishments, he is well-regarded by other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. BJJ enthusiasts rank him among the best practitioners in the BJJ world and consider him one of the great mentors of Gracie Barra U.K.

Braulio Estima was born on 10 June 1980 in Recife, which is the fourth largest urban area in Brazil.

Braulio started martial arts practice when he was 9 years old. He joined the martial arts academy in his hometown and learned the techniques of Judo. After a year passed, his judo instructor lost the life battle that had impacted Braulio Estima’s training. He temporarily paused martial training after the death of his mentor.

In 1996 after a long break of six years, Braulio Estima regained his interest in Judo due to his friend Fernando Cavalcanti. Fernando Cavalcanti's Judo training inspired him to join the Barra Academy

Charles Dos Anjos (who received his Black Belt from the Royce Gracie) was his first instructor at the Gracie Barra academy. Braulio Estima earned 5 junior titles within a year while showing his potential athletic skills.

His phenomenal record on the mat opened the way to success. He was promoted to Blue Belt by his instructor, Charles Dos Anjos. After the mentorship of great Charles dos Anjos, Braulio also got the chance to avail the mentorship of Ze Radiola who is the pioneering figure of Jiu-Jitsu.

Success on the mat demands hard work, determination, and sheer determined training. Braulio Estima’s 3 years of continuous struggle and day-to-night practice paid off and he got the reward for his efforts. He won his first Pan American Championship in 1999. This victory opened new ways for him to get the Purple Belt.

In 2000, one year after receiving his purple belt, Braulio Estima's extraordinary performance on the mat made his coach award Estima his Brown Belt. He was promoted to the brown belt after securing a Bronze Medal in the Pan American Championship.

Appreciation on the mat raised the productivity and performance of Braulio Estima after receiving a brown belt. He proved his elite grappling skills by winning Gold Medals for 3 successive years (2001-2003) in the Pan American Championship.

On recognizing Braulio’s efforts to stand out in the grappling world, Maurição Gomes who is the founder of Gracie Barra in the UK invited him to teach the fighters. Braulio Estima decided to adopt permanent residence in England after accepting Maurição Gomes’s offer. While teaching at the Gracie Barra academy, Braulio also got the chance to level up his grappling skills. He has the honor of teaching the famous icons of the grappling world like Tom Barlow, Kenny Baker, Graham Keys, Luke Costello, and Chris Rees.

On 4th January 2004, Braulio Estima received Black Belt after securing the title in the middleweight (85 kg division) Mundial World Championship. This victory uplifted his respect among the BJJ practitioners. 

He also participated in the wrestling tournament, and in 2009, won the ADCC Championship in both absolute and open weight divisions. Braulio continued his both BJJ and MMA training after winning the most prestigious MMA tournament. However, after the death of his close friend, Steven Fan, Braulio decided to return to the mat in memory of his friend and devoted a victory to him.  

In 2014, Braulio Estima tested positive for PED intake(Performance Enhancing Drugs) in the IBJJF world championship. The USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency), the organization responsible for testing BJJ practitioners before going on the mat, claimed that DMAA had been found. Braulio Estima was suspended for two years for illegal activity.  

Braulio Estima is now offering a foot-lock course after refining his techniques. Grapplers can learn the lethal and devastating techniques of Estima by enrolling in his course. 

In 2014, the semi-final of the world championship was held between Braulio Estima and Murilo Santana. Both grapplers showed their extraordinary offensive and defensive skills.

Murilo Santana and Braulio tried to pull each other to start the fight. After a few minutes, Braulio Estima tried his best to take control of his opponent. However, Murilo never left any chance for Braulio to maintain a dominant position. Murilo Santana succeeded to free himself from the strong grip of Braulio Estima and controlled him through a leglock. 

Braulio showcased his elite offensive and defensive skills and escaped from the strong grip of his opponent. After that, Braulio forcefully attacked from the back and controlled Murilo Santana in such a way that never allowed him to escape. In the end, Braulio Estima won by points.

In 2009, the semi-final bout of the IBJJF world championship Alexandro Ceconi from Rillion Gracie faced Braulio Estima who represented the Gracie Barra academy.

Braulio Estima started the match by triangle choke, his strong grip seemed to be successful. However, Alexandro successfully escaped from the grip of his opponent. Alexandro tried to control Braulio through a lapel guard but failed.

Braulio Estima applied a sleeve choke also called Ezekiel Choke. Alexandro Ceconi tried his best to escape from the choke. However, Braulio Estima's strong grip around Alexandro Ceconi's neck forced him to tap.

This was a sensational fight between Braulio Estima and the Head Coach of Atos academy and ADCC Hall of Famer, Andre Galvao.

Both grapplers showcased technical grappling skills to maintain and regain the dominant position. Andre Galvao tried to control his opponent with a leg lock guard. However, Braulio Estima sweeped the guard by showing his extraordinary defensive skills. Braulio Estima won the match by points.

Braulio Estima VS Andre Galvao / World Championship 2013

Braulio Estima vs Tito Beltran - IBJJF Copenhagen NOGI

Braulio Estima vs Sergio Moraes

Braulio Estima vs Rafael Lovato Jr 2009 ADCC

Titan FC 24- Braulio Estima vs Chris Holland

Photo credit: @braulioestima