1. Hi Tereza can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ community of Eastern Europe? 

Hi! My name is Tereza Crisley Cordeiro de Souza , I am from Brazil but I live in Budapest, Hungary for the past few years. I am a blue belt from Gracie Barra.
My main BJJ titles are:
Europeans 3rd place, WPJJC 2nd place, 2nd Hungarian open 1st place, 2x austria open 1st place…

2. How did you end up living in Hungary?

Winning Romanian Worl Pro Trials

I came here through a Brazilian friend, who was already teaching Capoeira here i Hungary. In Brazil we spent a lot of time together and we are very good friends , this was the reason that I came here, and since then I started teaching Capoeira here.

3. Please tell us about how you started training Capoeira and then eventually started training Jiu-Jitsu?

I started training Capoeira through a friend when we were both in school in Brazil. This was back in 1996. He was doing some Capoeira in the school courtyard and did all thse acrobatic moves which really impressed me so the next day, I went to train. I really liked it and started to take it really seriously and training 3x a day!

When I came to Hungary, I met professor Max Carvalho (Gracie Barra) and started training in 2005. I was training for a few months but then had to stop because of a injury. It was also hard to combine BJJ and Capoeira so I stopped. At the end of 2009 I went back to training and haven’t stopped since then and no longer want to stop, that’s what I want!

4. How did your Capoeira training help your progression in Jiu-Jitsu?

Capoeira for example help me in flexibility, balance, coordination and helps me in some movements.
In Jiu -Jitsu it is possible to use some movements of Capoeira such as cartwheels, bridges, upside down position. It can give you some advantages in live sparring. In Capoeira, I do not think it’s good to use Jiu-Jitsu, as Capoeira and an open struggle and the movements of Jiu-Jitsu don’t really translate well as they are mostly on the ground.

5. How do you see Jiu-Jitsu and Capoeira progressing in Hungary?


Jiu-Jitsu has grown a lot here over the last eight years. Before that most people did not know what it was. One of the first academy started in an small flat with six students! Today Jiu-Jitsu is getting much more popular, and present in with more than 15 cities in Hungary, with competitions, camps, many practitioners …

Capoeira is also getting to be very popula. Many people practice, teach, there are always meetings, festivals etc …

With Max Carvalho i Andrej Banik

6. What does Max Carvalho represent for you?

He represents everything to me (husband, friend, companion, trainer). He is a good and honest person and loves what he does . I am very happy to be with him!

7. Who are your favorite women BJJ players?

Luanna alzuguir…

8. Who are your favorite BJJ players

Braulio Estima…

9. Your favorite submissions

With Luanna Alziguir

Any kind of choke

10. How often do you train per week and what is your program when you are preparing for a competition?

 I train every day. Before the competitions I continue to do what I always do in training but with more attention to the repetition of the techniques, especially basic ones.

12. What is next for you and your team in 2012?

ADCC Slovenia, No Gi Europeans and all competitions that we can participate (Hungarian BJJ Open, Serbian BJJ Open, )