My journey in Jiu-Jitsu started in 1991, when I was just 14 years old. Since then, I have never stopped training, and in 1995, I began teaching—something that has shaped my life and purpose ever since.

In 2001, I earned my black belt and soon after had the opportunity to teach in Europe. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, believed in my dream, and together we moved to Portugal, where we built a strong Kimura foundation. After two years, we made the decision to move to the United States to pursue something even bigger.

When we arrived in Boston in 2003, we had only $2,000 in our pocket, but our vision was priceless. That same year, I started teaching twice a week at a karate school, late at night, with just five or six students—most of them people I worked with at my day job, since I wasn’t yet making a living from Jiu-Jitsu.

In July 2003, I officially founded Kimura USA, and little by little, our school began to grow. My wife worked 80 to 90 hours a week to support us while we built our dream.

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