Almir Kapic
Almir Kapić is a Bosnian BJJ black belt and BJJ Arena Sarajevo leader who built a long competition career from a small local training room.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Glasnik Rijaseta Islamske zajednice u Bosni i Hercegovini, issues 3-4/2023, p. 341.(opens in a new tab)
A 2023 formal decision of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina records Almir Kapić's date of birth as 2 May 1980.
Where in the source: Decision 02-03-2-1216-6/23, printed page 341 (PDF page 128)
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The same official decision records Kapić's birthplace as Banovići, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Where in the source: Decision 02-03-2-1216-6/23, printed page 341 (PDF page 128)
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The 2023 decision states that Kapić memorised the Quran before Sheikh Abdul-Hadi Muhammad Shafiq Muswati in Syria and received the corresponding recitation qualification on 2 May 2008; the Rijaset formally recognised the qualification on 13 April 2023.
Where in the source: Decision and reasoning, printed pages 341-342 (PDF pages 128-129)
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AJP Tour, weekend recap, 22 July 2024.(opens in a new tab)
AJP’s official 2024 Split recap identifies Almir Kapić as a Bosnia and Herzegovina black belt.
Where in the source: Split International section, men’s 120kg recap
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AJP’s official 2024 Split recap explicitly identifies Kapić as a black belt in the professional 120-kilogram division.
Where in the source: Split International section, men’s 120kg recap
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At the 2024 AJP Tour Split International, Kapić competed for Frota Academy in the professional black-belt 120-kilogram division and won gold after a 4-1 semifinal and a 7-6 final.
Where in the source: Split International section, men's 120kg recap
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AJP Tour, BJJ Arena Sarajevo club profile (accessed 14 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
The current AJP Tour club directory lists Almir Kapić as the person in charge of BJJ Arena Sarajevo.
Where in the source: Club profile, contact and person-in-charge block
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Mersiha Gadzo, Al Jazeera, 18 May 2018.(opens in a new tab)
Kapić grew up in Banovići during the Bosnian war. He told Al Jazeera that his father was killed by sniper fire when Kapić was thirteen and that he and his mother depended on humanitarian food distributions.
Where in the source: Started from the bottom section
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By 2018, Kapić spoke Arabic after study in Egypt and Syria, worked as a book translator and taught Quran classes online alongside his athletic career.
Where in the source: Section on work, study and faith
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Kapić's Sarajevo group trained in a rented eighty-square-metre room on mats too thin for repeated falls, and friends helped finance his 2018 trip to Abu Dhabi amid limited institutional support.
Where in the source: Against the odds section
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After the 2018 brown-belt championship, Kapić was preparing to travel to Rio de Janeiro for promotion; later federation records confirm that he subsequently competed at black belt.
Where in the source: Closing section on planned Rio journey
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AKOS/Stav interview with Almir Kapić, 27 May 2018.(opens in a new tab)
Kapić said he began Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2011, after earlier amateur participation in several sports had built the physical base he brought to competition.
Where in the source: Interview answer on Quran study and beginning jiu-jitsu
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Kapić said his preparation for the 2018 Abu Dhabi title began in December, was interrupted by unspecified health difficulties, and required alternating training with rest while reducing his weight to make the 110-kilogram category.
Where in the source: First interview answer on preparation and sacrifice
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BJJ Arena page preserving Omar Tipura's 16 August 2014 interview (accessed 14 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
A preserved 2014 interview says Kapić took up kickboxing after moving to Sarajevo, paused training for studies, and later helped found BJJ Arena in 2013 with Edin Nuković and Maid Pajević.
Where in the source: Archived 2014 BJJ Arena interview excerpt
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The same 2014 interview described Peter Schira as BJJ Arena's coach, visiting Sarajevo about every six months for seminars after the young club established an international affiliation.
Where in the source: Archived 2014 interview, academy-development answer
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Klix.ba, Abu Dhabi competition report, 21 April 2016.(opens in a new tab)
Klix reported that Kapić represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2016 Abu Dhabi World Professional event, winning the open category and placing second in the over-94-kilogram category.
Where in the source: Article body, result paragraphs
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Klix.ba, NAGA European Grappling Championship report, 17 November 2019.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2019 NAGA European Grappling Championship in Amstelveen, Kapić represented BJJ Arena and won the gi black-belt division above 114 kilograms, receiving both gold and the championship belt.
Where in the source: Article body, Bosnian team results
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SportSport.ba, interview with Almir Kapić, 12 June 2021.(opens in a new tab)
In 2021, Kapić and BJJ Arena organized their first Sarajevo Open, drawing several hundred participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina and neighboring countries; he said the academy then had about one hundred members.
Where in the source: Sarajevo Open report and organizer interview
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Kapić described competition organization as a way to revive regional sport after the pandemic and motivate children, while presenting jiu-jitsu as a practice that develops physical and mental health across age groups.
Where in the source: Organizer interview, aims and closing invitation
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Klix.ba, BJJ Arena profile, 24 October 2023.(opens in a new tab)
In 2023, Kapić described BJJ Arena as teaching children and adults, preparing competitors while also offering recreational sessions, and maintaining dedicated training opportunities for girls and women.
Where in the source: Academy-program section near the end
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage