Salt Lake City Teaching Staff LOCATION: 9460 South 560 West - Sandy, UT 84070 PHONE: (801) 561-2535 click here for a map to our location Pedro Sauer Certified 6th Degree Black Belt Instructor under Rickson Gracie. Check out the Rickson Gracie International Jiu-Jitsu Association Personal History Professor Pedro Sauer was 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. The outcome of this experience convinced him that jiu-jitsu was the most effective of all the martial arts, and he began training the very next day. Pedro worked towards a double major (Economics and Business Administration) in college, and took post graduation course at Fundacao Getulio Vargas. He worked in Brazil as a stockbroker for eleven years before deciding to move to the United States and pursue a career teaching jiu-jitsu. In 1990, he moved to California with the original wave of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors. He lived in California with Rickson Gracie and trained daily with the Gracie brothers (Rickson, Rorion, and Royce), their father, Helio Gracie, their cousin, Renzo Gracie, and the Machado Brothers, as well as many others. In December of that same year, he moved to Utah where he has lived for the past eight years, pioneering brazilian jiu-jitsu in the American southwest. Certifications 1985 - Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Helio and Rickson Gracie 1986 - Tecnico de Jiu-Jitsu. This is a special certificate given in recognition of superior technical mastery of the art of jiu-jitsu, given to only a handful of students by Helio Gracie. 1990 - Certified Black Belt Instructor by Robson Gracie and the Federacao de Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Judo 1993 - 3rd Degree Black Belt from Rorion Gracie 1996 - Level 6 Instructor Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy (Rorion and Royce Gracie) 2000 - 5th Degree Black Belt under the Federacao de Jiu-Jitsu 2003 - 6th Degree Black Belt Teaching Experience 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 runs his main jiu-jitsu academy in Salt Lake City, where he has over 200 active students. 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 in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. (In Virginia alone, Pedro has done over 25 seminars.) Military and Law Enforcement Agencies: Pedro works extensively with military groups in Virginia, including the Marines and various groups from the Navy SEAL teams (including the snipers). He has also trained FBI and CIA agents in Texas. SWAT teams in Colorado and Utah. Also in Utah, Pedro has trained the police in Provo, Orem, DARE officers, the Sheriffs department in Salt Lake City, POST (Police Officer's Standard Training) in SLC, and also the Orem Fire Department. Pedro's skill, confidence, and fearlessness as a jiu-jitsu practitioner win him the respect of all that work with him. However, it is through his sincere personality, his passion for teaching, and his ability to transfer his skills to his students in an efficient and professional manner, that he has earned the loyalty of students across the nation, and has established himself as one of the premiere military and law enforcement instructors in the U.S. Shawn Weaver   BLACK BELT  Instructor Allen "Zé Bonitinho" Hopkins Black Belt Assistant Instructor Allen is a Black Belt in several styles including Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Chinese Kempo, and Tai Kung Fu. Allen also acted as an assistant instructor in Modern Arnis and Ving Tsun Kung Fu. In July 1991, Allen met Rorion Gracie at a seminar in North Glenn, Colorado. Later in 1992, Allen became the first affiliate for Prof. Sauer Association in Dodge City, Kansas. To get more extensive training, Allen moved to Provo, Utah in October of 1993 where he began to work with Prof. Sauer. In 1997, Allen became a full time manager and instructor for Prof. Sauer's main academy and association. In the beginning of 1999, Allen began teaching seminars across the US. After many visits to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Allen decided to make it his home and has plans of relocating there at the end of this year. Allen will continue teaching and sharing his knowledge at Chad Pittmans affiliate school, Deep South Jiu-Jitsu. While at his new home in Mississippi, Allen will also work closely with another affiliate, John Blunchi in West Monroe, Louisiana. Will Bernales Black Belt Assistant Instructor (and certified Instructor of JKD Philosophies, the FMA, and Thai Boxing) Will Bernales has been training in the Martial Arts for over 17 years and has been exposed to a pot pourri of arts and disciplines. These disciplines include Wing Chun Kung Fu, Judo, Boxing, Kendo, Shoot Wrestling, Tang Soo Do, Aikido, and the Maphilindo Martial Arts. Moreover, he is certified to teach Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do (JKD) Philosophies, the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) Kali, Escrima and Silat, as well as Muay Thai (Thai Boxing). Will Started training at the age of 12 in the Korean Style Tang Soo Do. In 1990, He met ex-Navy SEAL Frank Cucci, who was his initial instructor in Will's three certified arts (JKD, the FMA, and Muay Thai). In 1994, he received a black belt under Frank Cucci. Also in 1994, he successfully tested for instructorship under the Thai Boxing Association of the USA, receiving his diploma from its President, Ajarn Surachai Sirisute. In 1996, he was accepted into the Inosanto Instructor's Association, receiving certification to teach JKD Philosophies and the FMA under Guro Dan Inosanto. Later in 1996, Will relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Professor Pedro Sauer. Since he has been here, he has established the first Thai Boxing Association of the USA branch in Utah (he is their Utah State Representative). Currently, Will is teaching his own curriculum of classes in the FMA and Muay Thai at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Jorge Jimenez Black Belt Assistant Instructor Jorge Jimenez (jorge@pedrosauer.com) began training Jiu-Jitsu under Pedro Sauer in 1993. Since then, he has had the opportunity to train in several schools in the United States and Rio de Janeiro. From that experience, he feels Pedro Sauer's Jiu-Jitsu Academy Ranks highly. "What I enjoy most about Jiu-Jitsu is it's precision and details... It's been quite a ride for the last few years... I'm sure the next twenty years will be even better." -- Jorge Jimenez John "One Eye" Carlquist  ll Brown Training Assistant Mike Diaz  Brown Belt Training Assistant Matt Strack    Brown Belt Training Assistant Sarah Fairbanks  Brown Belt Training Assistant Robert Lovi   Brown Belt Training Assistant Morgan Perkins  llll Purple Belt Training Assistant Michael Harris    Purple Belt Training Assistant