Dimitrios Tsitos
“The BJJ Nomad”
Source: bjjasia.comDimitrios Tsitos built a traveling jiu-jitsu teaching career across Asia, Europe and Africa, becoming known as the BJJ Nomad.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Eastern Europe, Dimitrios Tsitos interview part1, March28,2012(opens in a new tab)
Dimitrios Tsitos was born and raised in Athens, where he lived until his mid-twenties. Before BJJ he spent almost fourteen years swimming and reported six years with Greece’s national team.
Where in the source: Answers1-2: Athens and swimming background.
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Tsitos tried several martial arts after his interest in swimming faded. On a2003 trip to Brazil, a woman he met invited him to her academy, where being submitted by much smaller training partners overturned his confidence.
Where in the source: Answer2: introduction to BJJ.
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Back in Athens, Tsitos trained briefly with David Dimopoulos at WarehouseBJJ before joining GracieBarraGreece under Christos Markez and Aris Chatziiakovou.
Where in the source: Answers1-2: firstAthens academies.
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Tsitos studied physical education and later pursued postgraduate studies. Between2003 and2007 his studies and sixteen months of military service limited travel while he continued training in Athens.
Where in the source: Answer3: education and early travel constraints.
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A two-month Brazilian training and competition trip at the end of2006 took Tsitos through BeloHorizonte, Rio, Búzios and Florianópolis; he received his purple belt soon afterwards.
Where in the source: Answer3: late2006Brazil and subsequentpromotion.
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Seasonal lifeguarding in Crete supported another part of Tsitos’s travelling life. He recalled summer work there in2007,2009 and2011, with less intensive training but growing local interest in learning from him.
Where in the source: Answer3: Crete seasons.
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At the end of2007 Tsitos moved to Shanghai for about a year, teaching physical education and swimming while training and sometimes teaching at ShanghaiBJJ. Regional competitions helped him build an Asian network.
Where in the source: Answer3: Shanghai work and training.
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After Shanghai he spent three months mostly in Florianópolis to concentrate on training again. Draculino personally presented his brown belt at a September2009 seminar in Greece.
Where in the source: Answer3: Brazilreturn and2009promotion.
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Tsitos identifies his black belt as a2011 promotion under Draculino. Because he was travelling, he was unable to attend the seminar when it was awarded.
Where in the source: Answer3: belt chronology parenthesis.
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His Asian contacts led to a teaching position at ExecutiveMartialArtsCenter in Bangkok. Tsitos described the academy’s trust as a turning point that made professional BJJ teaching a viable base for further travel.
Where in the source: Answer3: EMAC role and decision tobaseinBangkok.
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His Thailand period also included three months teaching and training at TigerMuayThai in Phuket, alongside further regional competitions and a first trip to the UnitedStates for the PanAms.
Where in the source: Answer3: Thailandperiod.
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In early2011 Tsitos combined a NewZealand cycling trip with classes and seminars at seven academies. He recalled carrying camping gear and his gi for an81-day journey of about5,500kilometres.
Where in the source: Answer3: NewZealandjourney.
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On that trip he taught grappling to an infantry rugby team and at a Māori high school. He remembered the students’ farewell haka and gift as particularly meaningful exchanges.
Where in the source: Answer3: NewZealand teachingencounters.
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Tsitos spent December2011 toMarch2012 in southernAfrica, teaching seminars and classes. Before returning toEurope, he taught in what was then Swaziland and said the proceeds went to local charities, including an orphanage visited with food supplies.
Where in the source: Answer3: southernAfricaandSwaziland.
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In March2012 Tsitos moved to Sofia for a planned six-month teaching assignment at RealPain, invited by Hristo Hristov and his business partner.
Where in the source: Answer1 andclosingAnswer3: Sofiaassignment.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, Hristo Hristov interview, April9,2012(opens in a new tab)
RealPain founder Hristo Hristov independently described Tsitos as the club’s visiting GracieBarra black-belt instructor inApril2012.
Where in the source: Answer3: currentvisitinginstructor.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, Dimitrios Tsitos interview part2, March30,2012(opens in a new tab)
Tsitos saw frequent moves as an advantage for developing as a teacher but a limit on elite competition preparation. With less experienced partners he would concede positions and practise escapes while helping students become stronger training partners.
Where in the source: Answer5: teaching/competitiontradeoff andconcreteadaptation.
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He described his teaching as centred on fundamentals and informed by his physical-education background. His own grappling favoured patience, endurance and submissions, with triangles among his preferred finishes.
Where in the source: Answer9: teachingandpersonalgame.
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When he returned toAthens, Tsitos sought out his GracieBarraGreece training partners and friends. In2012 he estimated spending two tofour weeks there each year.
Where in the source: Answer7: returntrainingandrelationships.
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BJJ Eastern Europe, BJJ NO-MAD episode1 announcement, January10,2015(opens in a new tab)
Tsitos and cinematographer Mihail Kunchev collaborated on BJJNO-MAD, a travel-documentary series. Its first announced season episode, inJanuary2015, followed them toCrete.
Where in the source: Seriesdescription andepisode1paragraph.
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BJJASIA, Jehan interview with Dimitrios Tsitos, November5,2018(opens in a new tab)
By2018 Tsitos was publicly known as theBJJNomad.
Where in the source: Title andopening subjectintroduction.
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Looking back on BJJNO-MAD, Tsitos described dividing the work between his travel funding and local arrangements and Kunchev’s filming and production. He said the project had ended after failing to build a large enough audience for a sustainable continuation.
Where in the source: Answersonshowbusinessangleandoutcome.
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In2018 Tsitos still favoured Thailand and was planning an extended return toBangkok, where he expected to teach again atEMAC. He valued the combination of coaching opportunities and the wider lifestyle.
Where in the source: Answersonfavouritecountry andimmediateplans.
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Tsitos said competing inMMA was a way to test himself and broaden his experience as a martial artist and coach. He did not regard pursuing a majorMMAcareer as a priority.
Where in the source: AnsweronwhystoppedMMA.
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Tsitos preferred continuing to travel and teach, particularly in isolated places, over opening his own academy. In2018 he said he and local friends had already begun charity jiu-jitsu projects inMadagascar.
Where in the source: Answeronfuturejiujitsugoals.
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Tsitos encouraged developing a broad set of skills through formal education, languages, different sports and varied work, rather than organising life around only one expertise.
Where in the source: Answeronadviceforjiujitsulifestyle.
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Midi Madagasikara, Manjato Razafy history of BJJ inMadagascar, May23,2025(opens in a new tab)
A2025 history ofMadagascar’s BJJ community names Tsitos among visiting seminar instructors who contributed to its development, alongside local founders and several other overseas teachers.
Where in the source: Openinghistoryparagraphs beforeLesévénementsemultiplient.
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Lineage
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