As a pre-teen, Victor Estima had a horrible experience at his first Jiu-Jitsu class. This was in the late 1990s and the Jiu-Jitsu culture was far different than it is today. He went to an academy that had no other students his age and was teased by the older students and tied to a pole in the middle of the room. He believes this was retaliation because Victor's older brother Braulio had been beating the other students at the academy for years. This experience turned Victor off of Jiu-Jitsu for several years but after being convinced by his father and older brother that the culture of Jiu-Jitsu had changed, Victor gave Jiu-Jitsu another chance. The culture had indeed changed and Victor now found himself training in an inclusive environment with kids his own age and he fell in love with the sport.
Victor went on to have an incredible competition career becoming one of the best in his weight class, winning the IBJJF European Open, IBJJF Pan American Championship, 2011 IBJJF World NoGi Championship, and has stood on the podium numerous other times over the past few decades.
Victor also dedicated himself to teaching Jiu-Jitsu, pouring the love he had for Jiu-Jitsu as a competitor into instructing others. Victor taught first out of financial necessity, then out of his love for sharing the sport. Many competitors focus solely on themselves, however, Victor gave back to Jiu-Jitsu by teaching. While doing so he was able to use that mat time and the knowledge he gained as an instructor to better his own Jiu-Jitsu and further his competition career.
Victor, again with passion and dedication, moved into the business world. In 2011 he founded Gracie Barra Nottingham and in 2016 Gracie Barra Arnold in the United Kingdom. He now focuses on making sure Jiu-Jitsu is an all-inclusive community so that no person ever feels that a Jiu-Jitsu academy isn't a welcoming place where they can use the principles of Jiu-Jitsu to make their lives better.
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