History of Vinicius Draculino

Vinicius Bittencourt Almeida Magalhaes, better known in the Jiu-Jitsu scene as “Draculino”, was born in Rio de Janeiro on the 30th of July, year 1971. In his childhood, passed on the Barra da Tijuca district, south side of Rio, he spent the time in going to school and surfing. His neighbors and friends Renzo, Ralph, Ryan Gracie and Totila Jordan took him to the Gracie Barra Academy to take classes. By the time (1985), the school was run by Carlos Gracie Junior and the Machado Brothers. The competition began early, in the juvenile blue belt division, and soon the good results began to happen.

Up to the purple belt, Draculino took classes from Carlos Gracie Junior and Jean Jacques Machado. After Jean Jacques’s move to the U.S., Carlos turned to be his “Full Time” master, teaching him knowledge and techniques that were essential to the victories conquered during his career. Another Professor that influenced Draculino’s Jiu-Jitsu for the best was Renzo Gracie. The countless times on the mat and private classes that Renzo taught were a blessing.

His experience as an instructor began in Gracie Barra Academy where supervised by Carlos, he taught basic techniques to beginners. Then, with his teammate Roberto Correa, o “Gordo”, began to teach at Marina Barra Club, in Rio, for a group of 60 students. Draculino also worked as an assistant instructor at Gracie Ipanema Academy, run by Renzo Gracie, up to the year of 1995.

In March of 1995, he received the black belt and later, in June, the Lawyer Certificate from U.F.R.J. and O. A .B. In October, he started to teach at one of the first Gracie Barra's Schools outside Rio ,The Gracie Barra- Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais.

Belo Horizonte was the chosen city because: First: It’s the city of his wife Monica, and her whole family gave him a lot of support. Second: the market potential of the city. Third; It’s the 3rd biggest city of Brazil and the 2nd in life quality. It would be better to work and raise his children Jade and Igor.

Nowadays, Gracie Barra BH/Draculino Team (GBBH Competition records-Link to http://www.jjbh.com/english/titles.html ) is one of the main power houses of the sport. The “squad” conquered the prestigious overall title of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 National teams championships, being considered one of the best schools in the world by the fighting media. Also, the amount of world class Jiu-Jitsu athletes, Grapplers and MMA fighters (Gracie Fusion MMA Team BH-Link to http://www.jjbh.com/english/mma.html) produced by that school is gigantic! People from all over the world come to train and learn with some of the best fighters and instructors in the world.

Now, that powerhouse is arriving in the USA to stay. The city of Webster (Greater Houston), in the Clearlake area was chosen because of the great atmosphere, adorable people and business potential. The area needed a BJJ/Self Defense/MMA school that could bring the best service and technique in the world to the community. Professor Draculino and his family are now Clearlake/Webster citizens with all the respect and pride.