Teaching as a Mission

Vini Fonseca grew up around the Gracie family — Rickson, Royler, Helio — and came to jiu-jitsu the gentle way, through games rather than grind. That early experience shaped his confidence, his boundaries, and his identity. After studying engineering and running a surf business, he committed fully to teaching about a decade ago, dedicating himself to preserving Rickson’s interpretation of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu: the fundamentals, the “invisible” details, and the life transformation underneath.

In this conversation with host Pete Deeley, Fonseca describes teaching as deep personal attention — scanning each student to find exactly what they need. He uses self-defense to build humility, compassion, and confidence for kids, neurodivergent students, seniors, and fighters alike, and shares the story of an autistic student who changed socially through training. Along the way he reflects on competition as optional, and recounts memorable rolls with Chris Burns, Scott Burr, and Michael Casey.