Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fifth degree black belt under Carlos Gracie, Jr. and also at the same time a brown belt in Judo, and a Muay Thai expert. He has been teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for over 18 years. He has instructed mixed martial arts and grappling champions. Draculino has produced such talent as Joaquim Ferreira, Romulo Barral, Alberto Crane, Marcelo Azevedo, Cristiano Titi, and Samuel Braga.
Draculino grew up with Ryan Gracie, Ralph Gracie, and Renzo Gracie, taking classes under both Jean Jacques Machado and Carlos Gracie, Jr. at the original Gracie Barra Academy. He began competition early, earning championships from the blue belt upwards. In 2007, Draculino, Ryan Gracie, and Roberto Gordo founded Gracie Fusion MMA team. The unexpected death of Ryan put the fledgling team in question, but Draculino and Gordo kept the team active in tribute to Ryan’s memory.
Accomplishments:
4x Pan American Champion (once in the master division)
Pan American No-Gi Champion in master division
2x Brazilian National Champion
2x Silver Medalist of World BJJ Championships
No-Gi International Master and Senior Champion
Abu-Dhabi Contender
He (along with Renzo Gracie) is also one of the innovators of the Spider guard and one of the first to use it successfully in competition. The spider guard is now a mainstay guard in BJJ with hundreds of sweeps, submissions and variation that come from it.
In an interview with GracieBarra.com, Draculino discussed how a 44 year grappler like himself stays in great shape, and stay injury free while rolling with younger training partners:
“GB: You have been training jiu-jitsu for many years. What are your secrets to continue to stay in great physical condition, injury free and keep training everyday?
Professor Draculino: Almost 32 years. I think consistency is key for a long run journey in JJ. Like every other sport, if you compete and train at high level, injuries can happen but JJ is far more than competition and it is perfectly possible to train and live the lifestyle with minimal injuries.
GB: Can you give spome advice on how older (+40) bjj guys should roll to stay injury free and roll with the big, strong young training partners?
Professor Draculino: First of all, always warm up well. Then avoid training 100% hard at the beginning. Pace yourself until body is ready for a harder roll. Also never neglect defense skills. It saves your life on he long run.”
