Giva Santana, along with Juliano Prado, is the second black belt that assists with overseeing our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program. Giva is a third degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a two time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Masters Champion. He currently holds a MMA record of 12 wins with only one loss and won the WXF X-Impact Tournament in Seoul, Korea by winning 4 fights in one night! Giva has earned the nick-name of ‘The Arm Collector’ because 11 of his 12 victories have come by way of armbar in the first round! Giva visits throughout the year and is an excellent instructor.
Ricardo Zanelato comes to us from the city of Torres, which is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He is a Lotus Club black belt under Master Moises Muradi and Professor Raul Vieira. As one of Raul’s best black belt instructors, Ricardo has his own Lotus Club Academy in Torres where he has coached many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champions. Ricardo and his academy have a very good reputation in Brazil and athletes from all over come to his academy to train. Ricardo holds several Jiu-Jitsu Championships which include; Bi-State Champion of Jiu-Jitsu, Garopaba Summer Champion of Jiu-Jitsu and Marra Senki Cup Champion. Ricardo also earned his degree in physical education from the University of Criciuma.
Raul Vieira E Sousa is from Sao Paulo, Brazil and is Lotus Club’s first black belt ever and has now earned the rank of 4th degree black belt under Master Moises Muradi. Raul oversees 3 Jiu-Jitsu schools in Brazil and is the President of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Raul’s Jiu-Jitsu resume includes:
* 7 time Sao Paulo State Champion (Multiple Belt Levels)
* Brazilian National Champion (Black Belt)
* Masters World Champion (Black Belt)
* Pan American Black Belt Champion.
Raul is also a sought after MMA coach and has coached many professional MMA fighters including Giva Santana. Raul was recently seen in the corner of Fabio “Negao” Nasumento during his fight against Matt Lindland at the Affliction “Banned”event. Raul has been married for 20 years and has 3 children with his wife, Leila, who is also a Lotus Club Black Belt.
Andrew Brittin, currently a resident of Surprise, is a native of Garden Grove, California. He began his training in mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2005 and attained the rank of brown belt in 2009. While having comeptition experience in both MMA and grappling events, BJJ is now the focus of Andrew’s training. In addition to his martial arts accomplishments, Andrew holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Communications Studies from Arizona State University and is active in his church, West Valley Bible Church in Surprise.
Jeramaya Amaya has been training in many styles of combative sports since the age of 8. As a child he began boxing at the Glendale Boxing Center and became a 2-time Golden Glove champion, a Silver Glove champion and a Copper Glove champion. Jeramaya wanted to add to his striking game so he began to train Muay Thai Kickboxing at the Go Sho Kai Dojo, which lead him to become a 3-time kickboxing champion and a Muay Thai Kickboxing National Champion! Not just a great striker, Jeramaya also has a shootfighting and wrestling background. Training in both Freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling, Jeramaya earned 3 division championships and 2 state championships while in high school and has wrestled at the national and international level.