Bruno Barbosa is a BJJ athlete from Petrópolis, north of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Barbosa started BJJ aged 16 years old and got into grappling when a friend invited him to visit his martial arts academy where he had his first class in 1999. It took Barbosa 8 years after starting to reach black belt when he was just 24 years old. Whilst in Brazil he trained at Team Buda Jiu-Jitsu under Professor Adalberto de Souza. Since then Barbosa has relocated to Malaysia, he still keeps in contact with his professor and black belt friends back in Brazil.
When playing guard Barbosa favours the spider guard position and uses the guard to sweep to the top. From there his favourite passing method is the knee slice from top half guard. His favourite submission is the loop choke which can be hit from various positions including stand up – which can be seen on the video below. He lists Cobrinha and Nino Schembri as his biggest grappling influences.
An avid competitor, Barbosa typically competes at 70KG (featherweight) and has won a variety of medals and plans to become world champion at the IBJJF masters event in 2021.
Achievements
- IBJJF Manila International Open Champion GI (2017 Masters 2, 2019 Adult)
- IBJJF Manila International Open Champion NOGI (2017 Masters 2, 2019 Adult)
- IBJJF Asian Open Champion (2017 Master 1)
- NOGI PRO Invitational Open Weight Runner-up (2017)
- Champion SEA Grappling Challenge (2016)
- ONE Championship Grappling Challenge Runner-up (2016)
- PBJJ Pan Asian No-Gi Runner-up (2013 absolute)
- PBJJ Pan Asian Runner-up (2013)
- ADCC Kazakhstan Champion (2013)
- CBJJ Brazilian National No-Gi Championship 3rd Place (2011/2013)
Currently living in Malaysia, Barbosa has embraced the Asian lifestyle and states “Actually, Asia chose me. That’s where I got my first opportunity to work with Jiu-Jitsu out of Brazil”. On BJJ in Asia, he also claims “It’s growing really fast. There are so many talents and hard workers everywhere.”
However, life in Malaysia wasn’t always easy for Barbosa at the start, as he says “In the beginning, it was really hard. I had a baby in Brazil while I was working in Malaysia. Also, I didn’t speak English at that time. I also had to get used to the food and so many things. But it’s just like Jiu-Jitsu. You repeat, you practice and eventually, you learn”.
Adding to this he also ponders eventually returning to Brazil saying “I always ask myself this question. I love Malaysia, but I’m very patriotic. I miss Brazil a lot. But here is where I am able to provide a better life for my family. So I try not to think much about that and just live one day at a time.”
With this in mind, it’s clear Barbosa is happy with life in Malaysia and grateful for the opportunities the country has provided to him. At the same time, he is still connected to his Brazilian roots and continues to spread the art which is his true passion.
