Last Saturday October 18th, 10th planet Jiu-Jitsu leader Eddie Bravo was on his way to the UK for a seminar tour. A normal thing when you are a world famous Jiu-Jitsu instructor like Bravo. When he arrived at London’s Heathrow airport, he told immigration the purpose of his visit, which was to teach seminars. Once that happened, they took him for questioning and he was made to wait for hours. They told him that he would be deported back to the US.

In the UK, you cannot conduct seminars (which are paying) on a tourist Visa like bravo had. A work Visa is required. Bravo had the same situation in the past in Canada.

A similar situation happened a few years ago to Andre Galvao when he arrived in the UK. He too was deported for the same reason.

Bravo talked about the situation on the Eddie Bravo Show:

Generally when people teach seminars out of the country generally, they just say they’re here for holiday. But some countries have super tight immigration, and Canada is one of them. I decide to show up (in London)…no more lying. I show them my itinerary. … They took me right into a detention center in the airport.

“It was good for me,” Bravo said. “I got a tiny little, little taste of what being imprisoned feels like.”

He later, added on Twitter:

Eddie Bravo @eddiebravo
*2nite at 10pmPsT (6am UK time) I will explain in detail why I was put in jail in the UK
•My UK seminars will be rescheduled,I got stopped at Heathrow by immigration,I got sent back to the states.I apologize tremendously
•It’s looking like I’m gonna reschedule my UK dates for the second half of January, this time with a proper work visa