The Extreme sports | Martial Arts Abroad programmes in Brazil and South America
From Price: 755.00EUR / GBP628.00
The Brazilians love wearing bikinis and grappling. Unfortunately not always at the same time. See why when you learn an extremely effective form of self defense taught by one of the best BJJ academies in Rio run by 9x world champion on your Brazil gap year.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio de Janeiro Essential Info
BJJ or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a Brazilian martial art that turns the attackers weight against them. An incredibly effective grappling combat system and the basis of most MMA fighters bag of tricks. Originating from Japan Japanese Jujitsu the Brazilians embraced the sport and made it their own. Made famous by the legendary Gracie family.
The Training
The first training session you do serves as an assessment to set up a personal training plan. You will have one-to-one classes in the mornings and group classes in the evenings, five days a week, from Monday to Friday. Class duration is 1 hour for the private class, which concentrates more on strategy and techniques, and 1½ hours for the group class. This class will be held in one of two available academies depending on your level. Group classes are when you really get worked out including warm up and lots of two-by-two activities.
Apart from the scheduled lessons more classes can be booked individually, for example on the weekends, for those who are looking for total immersion and don’t get sidetracked by the amount of offers for other extreme sport activities, party and social life, beach life, and culture.
This is a unique gap year programme you get the incredible opportunity to train at the school that trained with some of the Gracie family and continues to be one of the worlds top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academies. Owned and operated by 9x BJJ world champion Ricardo Vieira your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training will be second to none.
Optionals
Outdoor activities
Surfing: take surf classes at Arpoador beach, or just rent a surfboard if you already are a good surfer. Take the surfbus on the weekends to get to Prainha, one hour from the south zone and one of the best surf spots in Rio.
Hiking: different level hikes are available in the city from easy Tijuca Forest, the Pico da Tijuca, or the more demanding Pedra Bonita, Corcovado, or the quite challenging Pedra da Gavea. Duration varies greatly, be prepared for a whole day out for some destinations. There is also great trekking available within two hour from Rio. These trails take a whole day or even several days.
Nature walks: easy walks are possible up the Fortress in Leme on the weekends, up the Catacumba sculpture park, or up the Urca hill.
Running: If you seriously want to get into shape, do it like the Carioca and run along the beach early in the morning. You can take the beach promenade or try the soft sand. Copacabana beach is a stretch of 4km, Ipanema and Leblon 3.5km.
Waterfalls: There are various waterfalls in the forest of Tijuca in the middle of Rio de Janeiro and they represent a fantastic alternative to the hot beaches in the heat of the mid-summer sun.
Rock climbing: There are various climbing areas available within the city, Babilonia hill is a standard one, Sugar Loaf mountain is for the more experienced ones, you can climb the Corcovado, the Gavea Stone or go outside of Rio and climb in the Serra dos Orgãos or Itatiaia national parks.
Abseiling: for those who rather go down than up, abseiling is a great way to experience heights.
Cycling: cycling trips are a great option for half day excursions, for example around the lagoon or through the Aterro de Flamengo. The more hardened ones can do a whole day mountain bike tour on Paineiras street that goes along the hillside of Rio’s south zone that has great views and is particularly recommendable on weekends when the street is closed off for cars.
Diving: diving trips can be arranged to the Cagarra Islands, a fish and bird sanctuary five kilometers off Ipanema beach. Also Arraial do Cabo Marine Reserve is a great place for diving. It is two hours by car from Rio de Janeiro and you will be picked up and brought back to the hostel.
Kitesurfing: good winds, great beaches, the kitesurf spot in Rio is Barra da Tijuca. Outside of Rio de Janeiro you can do kitesurf in the lagoon of Araruama, in Cabo Frio, and Búzios.
Hang gliding and paragliding: get the ultimate adrenaline rush jumping off Pedra Bonita and gliding or flying down to São Conrado beach. Don’t worry your tandem pilot will be with you so you’ll land safe on your feet again.
Rafting: boost your adrenaline rafting down wild water rapids. This is a whole day trip and you will be picked up and brought back to the hostel.
Carioca Culture / revelry
Sightseeing:
Do the classic sightseeing tour to the Sugar loaf and the Christ, experience the city centre with stops at the Maracanã, the Sambadrome and the Cathedral, or get to know different parts of the Tijuca Forest and the picturesque borough of Santa Teresa. Tours of the historic centre on foot are also recommended.
Samba city tour: this is the place where the big samba schools have their secret workshops. The tour shows you what is behind the biggest carnival parade in the world and you will gain thorough inside and be probably even more thrilled about carnival than before. The Samba City holds a special event on Thursday evenings that starts with a pagode (slow samba) concert and explodes into a mini carnival celebration ending with fireworks. This will provide you a spectacular outside season carnival feeling.
Maracanã: watching a soccer game in Maracanã stadium, one of the biggest in the world, is a must if you have any liking for the ball game and even if you don’t. The Brazilian way of football cheering is passionate and will get everyone of his feet. Tickets can be organized including pick up and return to the hostel.
Samba school rehearsals: in the second half of the year, samba schools start rehearsing and different events mark the countdown to carnival: selection of the samba song for the carnival, selection of the costumes, presentation of the master of ceremony, flag bearer and queen of the percussionists, etc. By December the rehearsals are boiling with participants and this is a great opportunity to hear some serious samba percussion and see some hot babes shaking their booties and showing off everything they have.
Night out in Lapa: Your Rio de janeiro visit is not complete if you haven’t been at least once to Lapa, the centre of night life in Rio. Whether you just take part in the street party or go into one of the club houses that play samba or any other danceable rhythm, you will definitely get in touch with a lot of people, a lot of drinks, music and flirting.
Feira de São Cristóvão dinner and night: The northeast market is in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro close to the Maracanã stadium. It opens its doors on Friday evening and goes non-stop until Sunday midnight. There, you will find typical products from the Northeast of Brazil, you can eat typical foods and, above all, you will hear lots and lots of Forró, a rhythm from the northeast and second most popular in Brazil after the Samba. You will be able to see lots of couples dancing Forró and if you have a little talent for picking up dance moves, you might just be dancing with various partners, or the same, the whole night long.
Samba classes: Dancing classes can be arranged individually with a teacher from the local dancing school. There are also group classes for couple dance.
Percussion classes: Samba percussion workshops happen every Tuesday and Thursday from 8 to 10pm in the local Samba school.
Accommodation
Home From Home your Rio hang out:
During your stay you will be living in an awesome hostel, very secure and low profile with great amenities. When you are done with the gorgeous beaches and incredible shopping on your doorstep chill in the hostel complete with communal living room, TV room, veranda, garden with barbecue corner and a snooker bar. There is also a kitchen with fridge and microwave available. Breakfast is included in the price.
The hostel is a popular place with backpackers and a really cool atmosphere ensures you will be making friends and experiencing Rio in the company of others in no time. More information on the accommodation you find here. Accommodation Rio de Janeiro
Getting There
The programme begins in Rio de Janeiro, you will be picked up at the airport by our Xtreme Gap representative.
If you would like assistance with your flights to Brazil we can assist with sourcing the best value flight options, just indicate on your booking form.
When To Go
All though Brazil is a year round destination the seasons are reversed from the UK. The hottest months are between December and March, with temperatures way above 30 degrees (Celsius) in the day and hot nights. The rest of the year is cooler. Temperatures regularly rise to near 30 degrees (at midday) but the nights cool off. Rainy season is officially from December till March, but recently the big rains occurred rather in April and May. June, July and August are the so-called winter months, often dry and sunny during the day. September and October do not have tropical rains but can have periods of gray skies and drizzle. The Carnival is particularly popular (usually in February) but already from the end of December onwards, Rio is set for party, holiday, and carnival preparation with samba rehearsals and concerts towards the end of the week and on weekends.
Why Xtreme Gap?
Full Orientation and Back Up Support
English is not widely spoken in Brazil but this will not hold you back. We will back you up every step of the way. Our locally based English, German and Portuguese speaking Xtreme Gap Rep will be there to collect you from the airport, show you round Rio and the Favelas, tell you the in's and outs of the city. We will take you out on your first night, introduce you to the training academy and make sure your programme runs smoothly. If you have any questions you can have peace of mind that someone will be there, happy to help.
Price and Dates
1 week € 775
2 weeks € 1039
4 weeks € 1459
6 weeks € 1879
8 weeks € 2299
De start dates are flexible. This is no group tour. You will be part of the Rio community and our tour guide will be there to introduce and support you.
Included
Airport pick up
Accommodation for the duration
Breakfast during your stay
Membership of the BJJ Academy and BJJ lessons (Monday to Friday)
Samba and afro culture workshop
Welcome dinner, night out.
Introduction in the neighbourhood by our English speaking rep.
Favela tour experience. A really cool tour!
Optional, to be booked in Brazil
Hangliding experience from the mountains to the beach
Night out partying
Excluded
Travel insurance
Flights
Visas
Meal
BJJ Uniform payable locally (or bring your own)
You may also be interested in...
Rio De Janeiro
Planted between lush, forest-covered mountains and breathtaking beaches , the Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvelous City) is one of the most spectacular cities in the world. Verdant mountains and white-sand beaches fronting deep blue sea offer a range of adventure: surfing great breaks off Prainha, hiking through Tijuca's rain forests, sailing across the Bana de Guanabara (Guanabara Bay) or rock climbing up the face of Sugarloaf Mountain.
The world famous beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana are loaded with ridiculously good looking babes in micro bikinis! and guys with outrageous six packs: Cariocas (Rio dwellers) like to look good, and them manage to do this we extremely well.
While large-scale festivities like Carnaval make Rio famous, there are countless occasions for revelry. Saturday at Ipanema Beach, a festa (party) in Lapa, soccer at Maracan!,or an impromptu roda de samba (samba circle) on the sidewalks of Leblon, Copacabana or any other corner of the city.Music is the meeting ground for some of Brazil's most creative artists and nets an audience as diverse as the city. This is another of Rio's disarming traits: its rich melting pot of cultures. Cariocas they may call themselves, but the city's enticing variety of cuisines speaks volumes about its history of immigration.
Itinerary
You will discuss your training schedule personally with your trainer in Brazil.
