Bojan Mirkovic
Bojan Mirkovic learned through videotapes, travel and Werdum, then built teaching relationships across Croatia and other European schools.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Eastern Europe, interview with Bojan Mirkovic, February 3, 2012(opens in a new tab)
Bojan Mirkovic is a Croatian Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach who received his black belt under Fabricio Werdum.
Where in the source: Answer 1: nationality, role and teacher.
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Mirkovic identified himself as Croatian in his 2012 interview.
Where in the source: Answer 1: self-introduction.
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Around 2000, Mirkovic and a friend began exploring jiu-jitsu by trying techniques from Mario Sperry and Minotauro videotapes, before travelling to seminars and camps for instruction.
Where in the source: Answer 2: first training and search for teachers.
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After training with Brazilian Top Team in Spain, Mirkovic recalled meeting Werdum in Croatia around 2004, when Werdum was teaching Mirko Filipovic.
Where in the source: Answer 2: Spain and meeting Werdum.
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Mirkovic said that he and Werdum initially had no shared spoken language. Their training became a friendship, and Mirkovic learned Portuguese so that they could communicate.
Where in the source: Answer 2: language barrier and learning Portuguese.
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A mentor Mirkovic called Mauricão invited him to Brazil. Mirkovic credited him with teaching jiu-jitsu fundamentals, discipline and respect, and described him as a father figure.
Where in the source: Answer 2: invitation to Brazil and mentorship.
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Mirkovic described spending almost six years moving between Brazil, Spain and Croatia to train and compete, learning Portuguese and Spanish along the way.
Where in the source: Answer 3: travel, languages and training.
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He said Werdum provided places to stay and train in Brazil and Spain, while Yuri Simoes and his family welcomed him into their home life. Mirkovic regarded Simoes as a brother.
Where in the source: Answer 3: support from Werdum and the Simoes family.
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In early 2012 Mirkovic said a back injury had kept him out of competition for about two years. He was training regularly again and working with conditioning coach Mario Draksler while considering a return.
Where in the source: Answer 5: injury, training and hoped-for return.
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Mirkovic saw coaching as a responsibility extending beyond technical instruction: a coach also had to educate and motivate, particularly when working with children.
Where in the source: Answer 6: difference between coaching and competing.
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Mirkovic’s relationship with Switzerland’s Ruckus team began through Kristijan Kljaic, a Croatian visitor who trained at his academy and later invited him to teach a seminar. The group subsequently joined Werdum Combat Team.
Where in the source: Answer 7: development of the Ruckus connection.
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Mirkovic wanted his competitive team to retain self-defence, judo and MMA training, which he regarded as essential parts of jiu-jitsu alongside tournament preparation.
Where in the source: Answer 8: breadth of his teaching approach.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, interview with Yuri Simoes, February 6, 2012(opens in a new tab)
In 2012 Yuri Simoes recalled meeting Mirkovic at Hunter gym around 2004, when Simoes was a child and Mirkovic wore a white belt. He described an enduring friendship despite their early language barrier.
Where in the source: Answer 3: meeting Mirkovic and friendship.
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Simoes credited Mirkovic with teaching him about life. Separately, he praised the team Mirkovic was building and his contribution to jiu-jitsu in Croatia.
Where in the source: Answer 3, continuation: friendship and Croatian work.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, interview on Croatian tournaments and teaching, March 14, 2014(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Eastern Europe identified Mirkovic as president of the Croatian BJJ Federation in its March 2014 interview.
Where in the source: Article title and opening introduction.
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Mirkovic said the federation organised the 4 Rivers BJJ Open in Karlovac, the gi East European BJJ Open in Zagreb and its no-gi counterpart. He reported 320 competitors at the February 2014 Zagreb event.
Where in the source: Answer 3: three tournaments and February turnout.
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Discussing a planned Skopje visit, Mirkovic explained his preference for camps and linked seminar sessions because they gave him more time to work with each student than a single short seminar.
Where in the source: Answer 4: preferred teaching format.
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In 2014 Mirkovic described a network spanning Croatia, Switzerland, Slovenia and Germany, with members who knew one another personally, visited each other and trained together.
Where in the source: Answer 5: affiliates and personal relationships.
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Mirkovic said his team taught children from the age of three and placed a wider emphasis on self-defence and personal development than on producing competition champions alone.
Where in the source: Answer 6: children and goals of coaching.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, interview with Zlatko Džaferović, October 24, 2014(opens in a new tab)
In October 2014, Zlatko Džaferović described his Slovenian club’s connection to Mirkovic, identifying Mirkovic as formerly with Werdum Combat Team and then under Ricardo Murgel’s Union team.
Where in the source: Answer 4: T’n’T gym, Mirkovic and Union.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, interview with Ricardo Murgel, March 29, 2016(opens in a new tab)
Ricardo Murgel named Mirkovic and Samir Dacic as European Union Team leaders in 2016, identifying Mirkovic with Croatia and Dacic with Zurich.
Where in the source: Answer on founding Union and its European representatives.
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Murgel described Mirkovic as his European representative and praised a careful approach to adding committed schools to the organisation.
Where in the source: Answer on his special connection with Croatia.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, recollections by Bojan Mirkovic, published April 11, 2024(opens in a new tab)
An autobiographical essay published by BJJ Eastern Europe in April 2024 identified Mirkovic with Union BJJ and Jiu-Jitsu Klub Newaza in Zagreb.
Where in the source: Author identification before the essay.
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In that essay Mirkovic remembered a training culture centred on the instructor, strict mat etiquette and students cleaning the training area, with less access to online instruction.
Where in the source: Early and middle essay paragraphs on the coach and mat routine.
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Mirkovic also recalled tournaments using paper scoreboards and teammates calling out the time, with competitors waiting for names to be announced rather than following a precise match schedule.
Where in the source: Closing essay paragraphs on tournaments.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, Libra Guard technique announcement, May 15, 2012(opens in a new tab)
A May 2012 BJJ Eastern Europe technique feature presented Mirkovic demonstrating an open-guard approach called the Libra Guard.
Where in the source: Single introductory paragraph beneath the date.
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage