Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where from an early age,
he began training in the martial arts. At age five, he began boxing
and later took up judo and taekwondo. At age fifteen, however,
his friend, Rickson Gracie, invited him to train jiu-jitsu with his
younger brother, Royler, who at the time was only nine years old.
Pedro Earned his Black Belt from Helio and Rickson in 1985. Long
recognized for the superior technical efficiency of his jiu-jitsu, he
then began his career as an instructor in 1986 when asked to teach
with an organization known in Brazil as Corpo/Quatro
(Body of Four) where he taught and continued his training under
renowned jiu-jitsu instructors Alvaro Barreto (who is a red belt
master under Helio Gracie). After moving to Utah in December of
1990, he taught as one of only two non-Gracie black belts under the
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy (run by Rorion and Royce Gracie). In
October of 1996, he became an official representative Black Belt
Instructor under the Rickson Gracie American Jiu-Jitsu Association.
Currently, Pedro resides in Virginia where he instructs at
One Spirit Martial Arts and at Jeff Gordon's Self Defense Academy.
He also has several affiliated schools across the country, and he
visits them on a regular basis to give intensive instruction to the
students and instructors. He is one of the most highly sought after
instructors in the U.S. (of any martial discipline) and has presented
hundreds of public seminars around the nation.
