Henrique Junior

Henrique Junior's path to becoming a full-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor began with a doctor's advice to lose weight. Skeptical of a sport that involved fighting, he nonetheless committed — and that commitment immediately set him apart. When a group of twelve to fifteen friends planned to start training together, Henrique was the only one who followed through. He bought his gi on a Saturday and knocked on his friend's door the following Monday. As he recalled in a 2015 interview with Jiu-Jitsu Style, he became the only member of that original group to advance beyond blue belt.

Before jiu-jitsu took over his professional life, Henrique worked for many years as a graphic designer and spent roughly five years playing in a band. He ultimately stepped away from music when nightly rehearsals and weekend performances across different cities made meaningful relationships difficult to sustain. Redirecting his energy toward jiu-jitsu and personal goals, he found both — a partner and a daughter he describes as his princess.

The decision to leave graphic design and pursue jiu-jitsu full-time was, by his own account, transformative but genuinely risky. In the 2015 Jiu-Jitsu Style interview, he described the change as completely altering his daily life and routine, while affirming a core belief: pursue your dreams even when the outcome is uncertain. That philosophy shapes every practical detail of how he structures his life. He lives within walking distance of the academy, eats with training in mind, and once turned down a higher-paying job because its 7 pm finish time would have cut into training. His partner, he noted with good humour, tells him he may as well sleep at the academy — because he lives on the mats.

Early Training and the Road to London

Henrique Junior's formal BJJ education began at Gracie Barra under a coach known as Toninho — or "Little Tony" — before he relocated to Natal, Brazil. There he trained at two academies and earned his blue belt from Marcelo "Tribal," marking the first formal recognition of his progress on the mats.

His move to London was driven by a genuine desire to change his life. As he explained in the 2015 Jiu-Jitsu Style interview, he was deeply unhappy with his situation in Brazil — characterising it as a nightmare — and viewed London as a dream worth pursuing: a place to study, work, and train. Before he departed, his coach in Brazil made his instructions clear: Henrique had no option but to train with Roger Gracie, and he would not regret it.

Arriving at the Roger Gracie Academy

Henrique arrived in London with the Roger Gracie Academy's address written on a piece of paper. A friend then pointed out that the academy was roughly a five-minute walk from his aunt's home in the Kensal Green area — a coincidence that seemed to confirm he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Through years of dedicated training at the Roger Gracie Academy, Henrique advanced to the rank of 3rd Degree Black Belt — a distinction that reflects both his longevity in the sport and his unwavering commitment to its practice.

A Decorated Competitive Record

Henrique Junior's most significant competitive achievement is a record of three European Championship titles at black belt level, placing him among the most decorated competitors to have come through the Roger Gracie Academy in London. He has also earned a 3rd Place finish at the European Championship Absolute and a British Championship title, building a résumé that spans multiple formats and divisions.

Since arriving in the United Kingdom as a blue belt, Henrique competed steadily against the strongest domestic opposition at each rank — often as one of the older athletes in his division. In the 2015 Jiu-Jitsu Style interview, he acknowledged that by mid-2015 many of his adult division rivals were in the peak of their athletic primes while he felt past his own, yet he continued entering the adult division as a direct measure of his training. His Masters world ranking stood at No. 5 as of July 2015.

Preparation and Tournament Philosophy

Henrique's competitive preparation has included regular two-hour training sessions at the academy alongside Roger Gracie himself, each sharpening the other for competition. The relationship reflects a training culture where even elite instructors remain active students.

His tournament philosophy is equally direct: face the strongest competitor early in a bracket rather than wait for a final that may never come. As he put it in the 2015 interview, "you never know if you don't try." It is an approach grounded in fearlessness and in a broader conviction that genuine ambition demands willingness to be tested against the best.

The Responsibility of the Black Belt

As an instructor at the Roger Gracie Academy in London, Henrique Junior operates within one of the most respected lineages in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and he takes that responsibility seriously. He views his black belt not as the culmination of a journey but as a formal obligation — to keep learning and to pass what he knows on to others. In the 2015 Jiu-Jitsu Style interview, he described his central ambition in straightforward terms: keeping the art of jiu-jitsu alive through teaching.

Measuring Impact on the Mats

Henrique measures his effectiveness as an instructor through tangible, observable changes in his students — improved balance, greater confidence, shifts in how people carry themselves. These markers matter more to him than abstract assessments of technical ability. His ambition is not simply to be an available instructor but to be the kind of teacher students actively seek out, drawn by the quality of what he offers rather than proximity or convenience.

The academy draws practitioners from well beyond London. As Henrique observed in the 2015 interview, visitors from the United States and other countries arrived each week specifically to train at Roger Gracie's academy — a reflection of its global reputation and the standard Henrique works to uphold daily. He anticipated continued growth for the sport in the UK, with more tournaments and larger competitive divisions ahead. For Henrique, that growth is not merely a backdrop to his career — it is part of what his teaching is meant to sustain.