Professor Adriano Magnani has travelled the world teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu so it's no surprise the team at Gracie Barra Orange are over the moon to have him.
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Mr Magnani, who has held a black belt in the martial art since 2006, is the new head instructor at the Orange branch.
For operator Luke Engle, it's the culmination of a journey that began soon after he took the sport up himself.
"I'd been training for a few months and loved Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the night before a class I was watching a mixed martial arts fight and it was amazing because the fighter was a smaller guy against a bigger guy," he said.
"It lasted 15 seconds and the smaller guy got a take down and submission without hurting himself or his opponent.
"I went to my class the next day and the guy who walked onto the mat had the same name and looked the same as the guy on TV."
That man was Mr Magnani, who has had a well-travelled career in gyms across Brazil and Australia. He even did a stint helping train military personnel in the United Arab Emirates and in Brazil.
Mr Magnani, who hails from Sao Paulo said he kept getting drawn back to Australia and was excited to teach the people of Orange the sport he has loved for so long.
"I love Australia I think it's an awesome place to live," he said.
"Jiu-jitsu is something that I have loved since I was a kid. I have a background in judo but with judo if you are stronger than your opponent you are probably going to win the fight.
"That's the beauty of jiu-jitsu, sometimes you can be small and I cannot beat you. The weakest one can still defend themselves."
Mr Engle said he was excited to see the difference Mr Magnani would make to the gym.
"We were already the most technical school in the Central West and I was the highest ranked practitioner [until now]," he said.
"Our school develops students with amazing skills already but this is like going from a TAFE to Harvard.
"I have two to three years experience running a school here in Orange whereas Professor Adriano has had his black belt longer than I've done jiu-jitsu.
"He has 20 years experience teaching kids, adults, military, first grade footballers. Not just the techniques but the tricks, the drills, the principals that developed me so quickly.
"The difference is immeasurable."
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Dominic Unwin
Sports reporter covering the length and breadth of Western NSW since 2024. Got a yarn? Send me an email via dominic.unwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
