Cicero Costha Internacional Jiu-Jitsu Schools Legacy And History

Cicero Costha International Jiu-Jitsu School was founded by Cicero Costha in Sao Paulo Brazil. The school was initiated as a small academy open for all BJJ enthusiasts. As time passed, Cicero Costha became one of the top local Jiu-Jitsu schools.

Now Cicero Costha school stands 11th according to IBJJF  with 98 points and in 6th number according to Grand Slam ranking with 189 points (This ranking is according to April 2023). Cicero Costha produced various big grapplers whose success made this academy into the spotlight. 

Cicero Costha, the founder and the head instructor at Cicero Costha Jiu-Jitsu School trained various big names. The students of the gym usually are from poor families and are used to living in the gym. He loved to choose the most dedicated and passionate students for his gym.

Now Cicero Costha School is growing rapidly and won various championships and also made various franchises in different countries.

Cicero Costha is one of the best Jiu-Jitsu instructors and featherweight competitors of his generation. He received his Black Belt under another BJJ legend, Marco Barbosa. Cicero Costha is well known for producing big names in the grappling world.

Cicero Costha was born in Ipiranga, a district of Brazil. He was very humble and kind from an early age. He worked as a hawker before starting to practice and coaching. Costha started his BJJ journey with an elite of legendary Gracies like Rocian Gracie. He promoted Costha right from White Belt to the Brown Belt.

After his Brown Belt promotion, Costha wanted to train with someone more competent. His search for learning more led him to Marco Barbosa’s Academy. He received his Black Belt from Marco Barbosa. He also tested his skills in UFC and appeared in Mixed Martial Arts. He also won open-weight cage fights and earned a big name.

Later on, Cicero Costa wanted to start a social project for various students who wanted to learn Jiu-Jitsu. He started a project named Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem (PSLPB) which means fighting for good social projects. His Cicero Costha Jiu-Jitsu International School is now producing Gems in the grappling world. 

Cicero Costha started this team as a social project for those students who could not bear the expenses of Jiu-Jitsu training. Cicero Costha wanted to start a gym for those students who have the dedication and passion to conquer the grappling world but they could not have the basic facilities. Having this purpose, Costha laid the foundation of Cicero Costha as a small gym in Sao Paulo.

When initiated, Cicero Costha Gym had a shortage of basic equipment. The only element they had for their training is their dedication to Jiu-Jitsu. Cicero Costha started his gym with a minimum number of students.

Like all other luxurious training centers, they did not own any extra funds to entertain their maximum requirements. They could not pay their travel expenses to visit the gym daily so they live in the gym.

In the initial times, Cicero Costha Gym did not have any selection criteria for the students. They just wanted dedicated and passionate students who are crazy about Jiu-Jitsu. The students who accepted to live in difficult circumstances away from their families in the gym are welcomed.

Manuel Ribamar, an old student of Cicero Costha had an interesting story. He wanted to pursue his Jiu-Jitsu career. On a tour to Manaus, Cicero Costha met with his uncle who wanted Cicero to accept Riba as his student. Costha accepted that student only because he loved his dedication to Jiu-Jitsu which convinced him to live in the gym, away from his family.

After a few years, students increased with time as well as their maintenance became difficult to manage. Cicero wanted to maintain his gym and this could not be done with 50 to 60 students living in the gym. This was a challenge to control all students and keep the gym clean. In a growing gym, it became difficult for them to convince new clients with a lot of mess in the gym.

To resolve that problem, Cicero rented a house away from the gym. He shifted all the students to that house. The house was in the east of the gym so named TUF Leste (East). Students also used to call it “Casa TUF” which means “ TUF(The Ultimate Fighter) house”. They named it by comparing their simple and difficult living ways with the TUF Tv show in which MMA fighters lived away from the people and society and trained hard.

Casa TUF also owns a training mat of 50 square meters where students can train at any time of the day. The students are asked by Cicero Costha to train at least three times a day that are six hours every day.  

Later with the increasing number of students, Cicero had to buy another house for students that were near the gym and near Ipiranga. So the new house was named Ipiranga.

Later Cicero rented another house for female competitors. Various students came and joined Cicero Costha school and took a place at one of these houses. But not every student can survive the difficulties in the gym. Who survived these troubles are now ranked as the top grapplers.      

With time, the Cicero Costha team became famous, and various Jiu-Jitsu lovers were attracted to get the scholarship here. Due to high demand, the gym has to set some selection protocols to enroll the required number of students for scholarships. The current selection protocol moves around Cicero’s motto, “Quality over Quantity”. 

This selection protocol always worked as Cicero Costha took 20 students to the 2018 IBJJF European Open Championship while other teams came with almost 250 competitors. Cicero Costha brings the trophy as he brought less but the best competitor.    

Cicero Costha is still serving the grappling world by taking young and new talent to the heights of success. His old students who earned their Black Belts now become coaches and they are running their own academies. Cicero Costha is happy to see his squad spreading everywhere. He is still working with new talent and polishing BJJ legends. Now Cicero Costha Jiu-Jitsu has various franchises in multiple countries of the world.

Cicero Costha Academy is the house for various BJJ legends. This is one of the top academies in the World with 11th position according to the IBJJF ranking.

Cicero Costha School has now transitioned into an international school and has opened various franchises in multiple countries. Some of the franchises of Cicero Costha School are as follows. 

1. Cicero Costha Egypt
2. Cicero Costha Berlin
3. Cicero Costha Canada
4. Patch Cicero Costha Hoga
5. Cicero Costha Jiu-Jitsu Madagascar
6. Cicero Costha Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Palermo
7. Cicero Costha - Braus Fight Jiu Jitsu Australia
8. Alvorada Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Bern
9. Cicero Costha Jiu Jitsu Perú
10. Cicero Costha Valencia

The headquarters of Cicero Costha International Jiu-Jitsu School is located at R. Lino Coutinho, 426 - Ipiranga, São Paulo, Brazil.

Leandro Lo was the most title-holder competitor and made a record of having the most IBJJF World Titles. He started his Jiu-Jitsu career in Cicero Costha Jiu-Jitsu. He was one of the best grapplers who won maximum fights and earned titles in Gi.

Leandro Lo was 8 times World Champion in his Black Belt career. He was also six times Pans Champion, three times CBJJ Brazilian National Champion in Gi, and two times in No-Gi. Later, Leandro Lo started his own academy along with some of his teammates. In 2022, Leandro was killed by an off-duty police officer.

Nathiely de Jesus, a top BJJ competitor of her generation, received her Black Belt under Cicero Costha. She executed great skills in her colored belt divisions. Nathiely de Jesus is a five times World Champion in her Black Belt career and three times World Champion in her colored belt division. Nathiely Jesus also won some other major tournaments including Pans, European Open, and Grand Slam.  

Joao Miyao is one of the top Black Belts under Cicero Costha who earned five World Championship Titles in his Black Belt career. Joao started his BJJ journey at the age of 16 and decided to pursue it as a career. He won various major tournaments including Pans, European Open, IBJJF Brazilian Nationals, and Grand Slam. He is also honored that he has never submitted in his Black belt career. 

Paulo Miyao is the twin brother of Joao Miyao, various times the World Champion. He has a great list of achievements in BJJ. He earned gold medals in various major championships including IBJJF World, IBJJF Pans, European Open, and Brazilian Nationals in both Gi and No-Gi. As his brother, Paulo is also honored for never being submitted in any BJJ fight in his Black Belt career.       

Hiago George is one of the most accomplished BJJ Black Belt under Cicero Costha. He was World Champion in 2019 in both Weight and Absolute divisions along with the World Championship, Hiago also earned various World Championships that include World, Pans, European Open, South American, CBJJ Brazilian Nationals, and Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. 

Thalison Soares is the top Black Belt under Cicero Costha who earned the World Championship title various times in his color belt division. Thalison became popular when he showed extraordinary skills in his Juvenile competitions. Later on, he also became the champion in various tournaments in his Black Belt career i.e. IBJJF Pan, European Open, World, and UAEJJF Grand Slam.    

Cicero Costha School did not have any selection criteria. Rather every student who wanted to pursue Jiu-Jitsu and is dedicated to it is welcomed in the school.

The house that was rented initially for students to live in was named Leste TUF. Leste TUF was away from school. Another house was rented after the number of students increased. That house was near the school and was named TUF Ipiranga.

Costha’s students live in a house with a shortage of basic needs. So they compare themselves with a TV show named The Ultimate Fighters (TUF) in which a group of fighters used to live away from society..    

Cicero Costha Jiu-Jitsu International School is ranked as one of the top schools according to the IBJJF ranking. Cicero Costha, the founder of the school, has aimed to educate and teach new talent in the grappling circuit. Various talented students who trained under the roof of Cicero Costha School passed their Color Belt careers and received their Black belts from Cicero Costha. Now they are running their own academies.

Cicero Costha lit various candles and still working with the new generation of grapplers to polish their skills and introduce them to the world. Cicero Costha school started with a very low budget and without any luxurious environment. From the start school always preferred those students who are dedicated to learning Jiu-Jitsu. That’s why, Cicero Costha Jiu-Jitsu International School won various titles with a low number of competitors from the opponent with great competitors.         

Photo Credit: @cicerocosthaoficial