Art of Jiu Jitsu (AOJ) is a

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

academy and team started in 2012 by black belt world champion brothers

Rafael Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...

and

Guilherme Mendes Guilherme Mendes Godoy (born 1988 in Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil) is a four-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) world champion at the black belt level. Guilherme along with his brother Rafael Mendes are 3rd degree black belts under R ...

together with

RVCA RVCA is a Costa Mesa, California–based clothing company owned by Boardriders. Etymology The logotype for RVCA portrays the letter A without a crossbar, resembling an uppercase lambda (Λ). The 'V' character is really a "U". Occasionally "RVC ...

founder PM Tenore. The academy is known for developing young grapplers for world-class competitions.

History

The Art Of Jiu Jitsu (AOJ) academy was established in 2012 by Rafael and Guilherme Mendes, in collaboration with

founder PM Tenore, originally as an affiliate of

Atos Jiu-Jitsu Atos Jiu-Jitsu is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy and team started in 2008 by Ramon Lemos and Andre Galvão with its current headquarters in San Diego, California. Atos is one of the most dominant teams in BJJ competitions. History In October ...

. The academy is located in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

. In 2015, the Mendes brothers started the ''Believe & Achieve Grappling Scholarship,'' a training scholarship to provide select juvenile athletes full room and board, assistance with event registration and travel, and the opportunity to train with one of the world's top competitive teams. The first two athletes to be recruited were Caio Antonini from

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

and Johnatha Alves from

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, chosen out of 1,000 applicants. Recipients of the scholarship later included

Tainan Dalpra Tainan Dalpra Costa (born 6 November 2000) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. A winner of every major tournaments as a colored belt, Dalpra is a two-time World, Pan American, and European champion. Dalpra is ranked No. 1 in the middl ...

. In 2015 and 2016 the Mendes brothers retired from their competitive careers, after winning 10 world titles between them, to focus on their academy. The academy became known for its strong children's program, among their first students were twin brothers Tye and

Kade Ruotolo Kade Ruotolo (born January 22, 2003) is an American submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete. A competitor with his twin brother Tye since the age of 3, Ruotolo is a IBJJF World champion, Pan Am and European Open champ ...

who trained at AOJ between the age of 10 and 14, before transferring to Atos’ adult program in 2017. During the 2020 IBJJF European Championship taking place in January, AOJ athletes started competing under "Art of Jiu Jitsu", instead of Atos; the following month, AOJ officially split from Atos becoming its own affiliation. The same year, the brothers promoted the first black belts from the kid's program,

Jessa Khan Jessamine Jada Khan (born 8 October 2001), often shortened as Jessa Khan ( km, ខាន់ ចេសា, Khăn Chésa ), is an American-born Cambodian jiu-jitsu athlete. She is the 2023 IBJJF World Champion. Career Khan represented Cambodi ...

and

who started at AOJ through the ''Believe & Achieve'' program. As a black belt, Dalpra won the 2021 IBJJF World Championship. The following year, Dalpra and Thalison Soares won the 2022 World Championship representing AOJ. The AOJ men's team came fourth at the 2022 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. In April 2023, the Mendes brothers announced that they would be opening a second Art of Jiu Jitsu location. At the

2023 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship The 2023 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship was an international Brazilian jiu-jitsu event organised by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJFF) and held at the California State University, Long Beach in California from 1 to 4 Ju ...

AOJ had six black belt finalists, four of whom won gold, all of them issued of a single academy.

Notable members

A list of current and former members: * Cole Abate * Johnatha Alves * Lucas Carvalho *

Margot Ciccarelli Margot Ciccarelli (; born 17 November 1993) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor and coach. Representing Italy, she is a multiple-time World, World Pro, World No-Gi and European Open Champion in the lower belt divisions. Ciccarelli is a three ...

* Sophia Dalpra * Pablo Lavaselli *

* Jhonathan Marques *

Mikey Musumeci Michael Musumeci Jr. (born July 7, 1996) is an American submission grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt competitor. A four-time World Champion and Pan American Champion in colored belts, Musumeci is a five-time IBJJF black belt World Cham ...

Tammi Musumeci Tammi Musumeci (born July 8, 1994) is an American submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. A multiple times world champion in colored belts, Musumeci is a black belt world champion, a four-time No-Gi world champion an ...

* Diego "Pato" Oliveira * Mateus Rodrigues *

Tye Ruotolo Tye Ruotolo (born January 22, 2003) is an American submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete. A competitor with his twin brother Kade since the age of 3, Ruotolo is currently the youngest IBJJF World champion at black belt ...

* Thalison Soares

References

External links

Secret Sauce: Art Of Jiu-Jitsu's Three Pillars of Success
Brazilian jiu-jitsu organizations 2012 establishments {{Brazilian jiu-jitsu-stub