Located in the heart of Yaletown, our Vancouver academy hosts classes for both kids and adults. There are classes for both beginners and students of all levels.
Your jiu-jitsu journey will be guided by Canada’s only red belt with over 50 years of Brazilian jiu-jitsu experience. You will learn the famous Carlson Gracie jiu-jitsu style and be introduced to a team of ambitious, goal-driven teammates and coaches who will support you in your BJJ goals, whether you’re looking to begin a new healthy lifestyle, develop self-defense skills, or are interested in competition.
When you start BJJ, you’ll learn to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. This will develop an inner calm that carries over to life off the mats and result in improved focus, reduced stress and anxiety, and increased discipline.
Carlson Gracie is known for having created the most dominant team in possibly any sport ever. He did so by opening the famous Carlson Gracie Academy where he started the very first group classes in Jiu-Jitsu (previously BJJ was only taught in one-on-one sessions), he also opened the doors of his gym to the lower classes, and allowed students to train without paying, asking in return full commitment and to step up in competitions. In the process, Carlson assembled one of the greatest teams that ever competed, with fighters like our founder Marcus Soares, Ricardo Liborio, André Pederneiras founder of the Nova Uniao Academy, Murilo Bustamante world champion and UFC middleweight champion as well as founder of Brazilian Top Team, former UFC Light-heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort “The Phenom”, Walid Ismail (another BJJ legend) among many others.
The Marcus Soares Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy offers the best training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from beginners to professional MMA fighters, as well as law enforcement. At our Academies, students are family and friendship and trust is what we offer first and foremost. We always do our best to help our students reach their goals, whether it’s to get fit, learn Self-Defense, prepare for competition or to pursue a career in MMA or as a BJJ Competitor. Our philosophy is to make our students feel at home, get in shape, gain self-confidence, obtain discipline and create a new healthy lifestyle. We also prepare our students through pedagogical progression to feel comfortable in the uncomfortable positions in every aspect of an attack, standing, on the ground, with strikes, holds or a submission attempt; when you know BJJ, you will learn to always keep calm when faced with these kind of situations. People are afraid of what they don’t know and with knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you will learn not to panic because you will be prepared with different forms of attack and pressure in your training
BJJ was formulated from an almost scientific process of maneuvering, patience, flexibility, diet, strength of mind, strength of will and self-control.
We are led by Master Marcus Soares (Black Belt, 9th Degree), who was a direct student of Grand Master Carlson Gracie, he was part of the first generation of the Carlson Gracie team that was formed in 1970’s. Marcus was also a Professor at the Carlson Gracie Academy at the famous Copacabana School in Rio de Janeiro in Brasil. Carlson Gracie was the leader of a team that dominated the BJJ scene in Brasil for over 30 years, no other team in the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, let alone any other national sport has that kind of track record. In not only Marcus Soares opinion but many other respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, feel Carlson Gracie should be awarded the trainer of the century, as he has created a legacy of notable names and is responsible for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to be taught to the general public outside of the family and on such an international level to gain the level of recognition BJJ has today.