About Gracie Jiu Jitsu Bolzano
Ours is a school with decades of experience, representative and heir of the Academia Gracie, which has existed since 1925, founded by Helio Gracie, father of our master, Robin Gracie.
Our two main locations in Bolzano are at the Palaresia on Via Resia, Palamazzali on Via Trieste.
Our instructors are Master Alessandro Federico (3rd degree Black Belt, 40+ Years Experience), Simon Nogler (3rd degree Black Belt, 20+ Years experience), Raphael Federico (Black Belt, Pro MMA Fighter, 20+ years experience), Angelo Contino (1st degree Black Belt, 30+ years experience), "Guinho" Everson de Castro (Black Belt, 20+ years experience), Daniela Rima (1st degree Black Belt, 15+ years experience), Mirko Granelli (Black Belt, 15+ years experience) and Oskar Bauer (purple Belt, 10+ years experience).
The second location where another children's course is held is at the San Genesio School Gym , where the club's adult and adolescent athletes join the Bolzano training sessions the following hour. The instructors here are Alessandro Federico and Oskar Bauer.
Network:
We expanded, spreading the gentle art throughout the rest of South Tyrol and beyond. Other branches are currently fully operational:
Merano - Patrick Benetti
Bressanone - Ennio Scarcelli
Laives - Marius Trenkwalder
Laives Judo - Valter Plazzer, Enrico Colatuzzo
Laghetti - Angelo Contino
Trento - Marco Manara
Mantova - Kevin Moietta, Luca Tarabori
Cesena - Marco Zoccheddu
Piacenza - Emanuele Baldanti
Castel San Giovanni - Filippo Fontana, Marica Tosca
Udine - Ivan Gazzoli
Latisana - Alessandro Peresan
Padova - Luigi della Ducata
Venezia - Francesco Bonaldo
Chioggia LDE - Cristiano Duse
Chioggia MMA - Marco Zennaro
The martial art practiced, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, is essentially based on hand-to-hand combat, an excellent self-defense system for both street and indoor self-defense. The same discipline, as taught at the Gracie Academy, finds excellent expression in its competitive versions, namely Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Grappling. These disciplines are based on a grappling system consisting of throws, joint locks, and chokes, and their scoring varies depending on the type of competition and age group.
Many of our school's teachers and trainees are managers, inspectors, and officers of various police and military forces, including some of the most "operational" on the crime scene in Northern Italy; one of these is Alessandro Federico, the school's headmaster.
Thirty years of experience in the field of martial arts and combat disciplines, influenced by his quest for pure effectiveness in terms of real-life confrontation—certainly not by attacks from the school bully, but often degenerating into brawls with high-class criminals, sometimes even murderers or robbers—led Alessandro Federico, first to assiduous practice and then to teaching and founding a school of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Alessandro and his teachers' experience extends beyond the specific technical aspects of Gracie Jiu Jitsu to the more complex physical education training, drawing on the technical expertise of physical education teachers, particularly in managing the training of athletes still developing and those with disabilities.
When it comes to self-defense, it's important to emphasize the evidently realistic experience of the teachers at the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy in Bolzano. In addition to their practical knowledge of combat situations, they also understand the legal and social context surrounding the phenomenon. In short, by spending time with the "family," it's possible to understand, when necessary, the more unexplored nuances of the subject, such as:
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the first , that is, how to behave to prevent something from happening or going beyond; especially with legal and procedural aspects of the context.
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during : self-defense - purely essential personal defense, with precise awareness of one's physical, technical and mental limits.
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after: how to behave after the fact has happened.
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continued: a typical case of situations subject to "stalking"; in which Dr. Alessandro Federico is personally expert due to specific university studies he has carried out and a professional in the field.
Our School is effectively an Amateur Sports Association, which is structured on the basis of a statute and is essentially self-managed.
Our goal is not for profit, but rather to advance the technical level of Jiu-Jitsu practice and related activities, such as the growth and education of the school's members. This includes a focus on healthy development of discipline, training, and competitive activities for children; and more sporting activities—amateur and even competitive—for adults, with a focus on their health and well-being, first and foremost.
Many families in our club participate fully in the courses, with mothers, fathers and children.
The money raised from membership fees is usually used to cover the rent of the facilities used, the expenses of external instructors, who are often called from abroad, such as Robin Gracie and others, travel for technical training courses and competitive races, and last but not least, materials such as clothing, backpacks, caps, bearing the Academy logos, and anything else, which all our athletes can proudly use.
Alex
Federico - Headcoach
3rd degree black belt from the Gracie Barcelona School - Robin Gracie, 20 years of competitive grappling and BJJ, with numerous international titles won in FILA and UWW grappling. He is considered one of the pioneers of BJJ in Italy and has also fought in numerous submission-only superfights in Italy against experienced and renowned fighters, sometimes even in open weight, which has undoubtedly made him a well-known national fighter as well. Master and coach, he has brought several athletes to the top national and international grappling ranks and trained 30 BJJ black belts to date, who have often been his teammates in competitions in Italy and around the world. A teacher of many children's courses, the first of which were launched in 1983... He inherited the Lutador de Elue tournament from its creator Nicola Mercuri, growing it in South Tyrol until it became not only the first, but also the most famous Submission Only BJJ tournament in Italy, opening to amateur and professional MMA matches in 2023. Lutador de Elite grew and thus also created the brand under which the athletes of the Gracie Bolzano School and students throughout Italy dress and compete. Lutador de Elie is also a network with locations throughout northern and central Italy, cradles of pure BJJ technique with highly qualified teachers.
Simon
Nogler
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A 3rd degree black belt in BJJ, he also boasts extensive experience in other combat disciplines, which he has practiced competitively and taught. For the last 20 years, he has dedicated himself exclusively to BJJ, of which he is a great scholar and a highly esteemed technical instructor.
Alfredo
di Giovanni
A 3rd degree black belt in BJJ, he also boasts extensive experience in other combat disciplines, which he has practiced competitively and taught. For the last 20 years, he has dedicated himself exclusively to BJJ, of which he is a great scholar and a highly esteemed technical instructor.
Angelo
Contino
A first-degree black belt, he's been practicing BJJ for 15 years and wrestling and judo since he was a child. He's always been competitive, achieving podium finishes in national and international superfight championships. He's an experienced instructor and is also very good at teaching children.
Everson "Guinho"
DeCastro
A black belt in BJJ, he is a highly skilled and confident technician who has competed in national competitions and international superfights, specializing in teaching with the kimono.
He is also an internationally known Tattoo artist, based in Bolzano at Bolzano Ink.
Jiu Jitsu Coaches
Our Coaching Team
Meet the heart and soul of our academy—our expert coaching team. Each instructor brings a wealth of experience, not just as a high-level practitioner, but as a dedicated mentor committed to your success. With a passion for sharing the art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, they create a supportive and challenging environment where every student, regardless of skill level, can thrive and reach their full potential. Get ready to learn from the best!
MMA Coaches
Raphael
Federico - Headcoach
A black belt in BJJ and a black belt in MMA for the Federkombat, he has been practicing competitive BJJ since he was 6 years old and MMA since the age of 16; several times an Italian Grappling champion as a youth, he also fought and often won international-level submission-only matches; a national amateur MMA champion, he participated in two IMMAF world championships, Bahrain 2019 and Prague 2021; in Prague he won the silver medal in the 66 kg category. He has been fighting professionally since June 2023 with a record of 5 wins and two losses. He competes in the prestigious European promotion Oktagon. An MMA course instructor, he trains and teaches MMA full time.
Alex
Federico
He also teaches amateur MMA and holds a black belt in the Italian Federation of Wrestling Federations (Federerkombat). He has extensive experience in combat sports, from boxing to kickboxing, karate to judo, where he has always competed competitively. He also competed as an amateur in MMA for FILA Wrestling and competed in a professional match in June 2024.
Simon
Nogler
A 3rd degree black belt in BJJ, he also boasts extensive experience in other combat disciplines, which he has practiced competitively and taught. For the last 20 years, he has dedicated himself exclusively to BJJ, of which he is a great scholar and a highly esteemed technical instructor.
Kids Coaches
Angelo
Contino
A first-degree black belt, he's been practicing BJJ for 15 years and wrestling and judo since he was a child. He's always been competitive, achieving podium finishes in national and international superfight championships. He's an experienced instructor and is also very good at teaching children.
He is also the Headcoach of Lutador de Elite Laghetti.
Daniela
Rima
A 1st degree black belt, she has been practicing BJJ for 20 years, with consistency and dedication, has won an Italian Grappling championship and specializes in teaching children.
Oskar
Bauer
purple belt, Kids Coach in San Genesio, 10+ BJJ Experience and competition, also is a school Teacher
Mirko
Granelli
A BJJ black belt, he was a competitive grappling and BJJ competitor, and is known in Italy for his outstanding performances, including in international superfights. A professional educator, he enjoys great success teaching children.