HISTORY

This work emerges at the intersection of embodied practice, historical inquiry, and strategic analysis. It is grounded in a lifelong engagement with grappling systems and driven by the conviction that martial arts—particularly Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and related close-combat disciplines—constitute not merely sportive or technical practices, but living repositories of human adaptation, conflict management, and survival logic.

I am a Brazilian, born and raised in Campo Grande, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Now 53 years old, I am the father of two young adults, Camila and Caio Luiz. Since 2015, I have resided in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where I currently develop projects focused on Jiu-Jitsu and self-defense training for the UAE local Army. This professional context situates my research within real-world operational demands, where efficiency, adaptability, and human factors are central. 

My formal training reflects an intentionally interdisciplinary path. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Data Processing Technology (2005) and professional certifications in Data Analysis and Solution Development using PHP and Python, which inform a systematic, analytical approach to problem-solving. I also earned a Master’s degree in Political Science and Strategic Development (2007), an MBA in Project Management and Social Business (2020), and a degree in the Teaching of History and Geography and their Languages (2022). Additionally, I pursued academic studies in Economics and History at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. 

Parallel to my academic formation, I am a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Luta Livre, with decades of continuous practice, instruction, and applied research in grappling systems. This dual engagement—intellectual and corporeal—forms the foundation of this study. Grappling, as examined here, is approached as an evolutionary, cultural, and strategic phenomenon: a discipline shaped by biological imperatives, historical conditions, and social organization. 

The motivation for this research lies in the recognition that grappling arts preserve fundamental principles of human conflict that predate modern warfare, technology, and even written history. Concepts such as leverage, positional control, balance, pressure, and economy of movement reflect adaptive solutions to close-range violence and asymmetric confrontation. By examining these systems through historical, anthropological, and strategic lenses, this work seeks to articulate how ancient survival mechanisms persist within contemporary martial practices and institutional training environments. 

Ultimately, this research is an attempt to bridge past and present, theory and practice, body and intellect. As a practitioner, educator, and researcher, I define myself as an explorer of history—not as a static record, but as a living process inscribed in human movement, conflict, and learning. Grappling serves here as both subject and method: a means to understand how humanity has confronted chaos, structured violence, and transformed survival into knowledge.