Social project by brothers Minotauro and Minotouro teaches martial arts in communities to form 'black belts' in life

The proposal is to ensure that values ​​developed during training, such as patience, discipline and respect, go beyond the limits of the mat and become part of the students' daily lives.

"Our intention is for this boy to leave here confident, in some way resilient. That he can withstand the pressures of the world. But that he has confidence and follows the paths of good, of values. When we talk about honesty, an oath every day, the repetition enters his subconscious and, when he makes a decision, he thinks about values", said Rogério Minotouro, president of Instituto Irmãos Nogueira.

Currently, the project serves 2,400 students: 1,600 in the state of Rio de Janeiro and 800 in Bahia. Children and teenagers from public schools have free classes in jiu-jitsu, muay thai and boxing.

One of the academies is in Penha, in the North Zone of Rio. In the state, the project is also present in communities and municipalities ranging from Jacarezinho, in the capital, to Maricá and Macaé.

Among the students, some dream of pursuing a career in sports, while others are already participating in competitions. For them, however, the effects of training are not limited to sports performance.

"Jiu-jitsu helped me a lot to control my strength, my balance, my character as an athlete and as a person too. There are children here who suffered depression and other things and were saved by jiu-jitsu. I suffered a lot of things, like bullying at school, and jiu-jitsu saved me. Not to fight at school, to obey my parents. So, jiu-jitsu means changing lives and stories", said athlete Gabriel Silva.

The project is maintained with resources from incentive laws and agreements. The teachers who work at the gyms are trained by the Nogueira brothers and follow a methodology that combines the teaching of martial arts techniques with values ​​that must be applied outside the mat.

"We always say here: 'you will be champions in life, on the mat and off it'. To obey your father and mother, study, obey your teacher and master. And, through these little pills of values ​​that they receive every day, they have to practice", stated Minotouro.

At the Penha unit, coordinator Igor Chatubinha knows firsthand the impact that sport can have. He says that his own path was transformed by martial arts and, with his wife, he took the project to the community.

"I was a very rebellious, angry child, and the project gave me direction. I joined the Minotauro team, I became a professional athlete. Nowadays, I am a good person. I added principles and values ​​that I took into my life", said Igor.

In jiu-jitsu, changing belts can take years and requires training, discipline and patience. The institute's bet is that learning from this process will also be taken to life outside the gym.