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Gezary Matuda Kubis Bandeira

“Ge”

Source: bjjlegends.com

Gezary Matuda won three black-belt world titles for American Top Team, then called bringing women into jiu-jitsu her next world title.

Biography

Gezary Matuda, known as Ge since childhood, is a Curitiba native who won three black-belt world titles at the IBJJF World Championship while competing for American Top Team (ATT) in Florida. She was still taking world medals in 2019. Away from competition she became a teacher, with a particular focus on bringing women and girls into the sport. Before jiu-jitsu she trained in capoeira and then Muay Thai. According to BJJ Heroes, she asked to fight in Muay Thai but never got a bout, and she came to jiu-jitsu in 2004 through her Muay Thai coach, who wanted her to add ground skills. In her new sport she was competing within a month, and competition drew her away from striking. Her first jiu-jitsu teacher was Alexandre "Penão" Conceição, a black belt of the Carlson Gracie line, who in BJJ Heroes' account promoted her through each rank up to purple belt. In a 2014 interview with BJJ Legends she recalled that few women competed in Curitiba when she started, so she usually faced heavier opponents. Penão stood behind her, kept entering her in tournaments and told her again and again to believe she could do it. As a white belt she watched the women she would later meet at black belt, and her dream was to become a black-belt world champion. In 2009 she left Brazil for the United States with her husband, Katel Kubis, who coached Muay Thai for ATT's professional team. She was a purple belt when she arrived, and she began training at ATT under Ricardo Libório. Asked in 2019 which decision had mattered most to her success, she named leaving Brazil: she gave up comfort, family and friends because she was sure she would win the World Championship at black belt. At purple belt in 2010 she won the light-featherweight division at the Pan Championship and at the World Championship. At the 2011 Pan she won a light-featherweight division that combined brown and black belts. At the 2011 World Championship, she took bronze in the combined brown- and black-belt adult women's light-featherweight division, listed in the official results as Gezary Bandeira. She later recalled fighting in merged divisions like that because so few women had registered, and said in 2016 that rising numbers and technical level had left no easy divisions for women. In 2012 she won the World Championship at brown belt, ahead of Nyjah Easton, and in July that year Libório promoted her to black belt. At black belt she took bronze at the 2013 Pan and won the World Championship that year, again with Easton second. In 2014 she kept the title, beating Ariadne de Oliveira in the final of a bracket that also held Letícia Ribeiro and Easton, who shared third place. The BJJ Legends interviewer, who had trained with her, described her game in 2014 as a nonstop assault: a punishing pace, a preference for shooting in for takedowns, a tripod sweep the moment she pulled guard, and one submission or sweep attempt after another. The interviewer suggested the style might owe something to her striking background. In her own account, she fights the plan her coaches set in camp, and if it fails at first she keeps adjusting until it works, holding to it until the match ends rather than switching when an opponent imposes their game. In 2015 she won the Pan at black belt and took silver at the World Championship behind Rikako Yuasa. That September, at Polaris Pro 2 in Cardiff, Wales, she submitted Michelle Nicolini with an armbar, a finish BJJEE headlined as "The sub everyone is talking about." After winning the 2016 Pan, her match at Polaris 3 in April ended in a draw without a submission. She said the result was not what she had hoped for but gave her experience and more will to win the World title. In June she regained it, again ahead of Kristina Barlaan, who had also been runner-up at the Pan; FloGrappling's record lists her win over Barlaan at the Worlds as a choke. In 2017 she won the European Championship, again with Barlaan in second place. Graciemag later singled out her match there against Sofia Amarante, who tried to play guard while Matuda attacked from on top until she took the back and finished with a bow-and-arrow choke. At the Worlds that year she took silver behind Talita Alencar, and in 2018 she won the Pan with Alencar second. World bronze medals followed in 2018 and 2019. She won by straight ankle lock at Polaris 6 in February 2018, and at Polaris 9 in March 2019 she lost to Ffion Davies, who caught her in an arm triangle off a counterattack; BJJEE called Davies's win the breakthrough of the night. At ATT she trained among mixed martial artists. In 2016 she named UFC fighters she trained with there, among them Amanda Nunes, Valérie Létourneau and Tecia Torres, and said that she had support for a move to MMA but was in no hurry to leave jiu-jitsu. In 2022 she said she had thought about MMA but wondered whether the wish came from her or from her ego, and that going all in would push aside her newer projects. She also coached Joanna Jędrzejczyk in jiu-jitsu at ATT and called her one of the hardest-working athletes she had seen. In February 2017 she helped Anderson Silva with his ground training before his bout against Derek Brunson, and praised his jiu-jitsu in the gi. She has said that Silva was her first teacher, in Muay Thai, and that they are close because he is her husband's best friend, though she chose to devote herself to jiu-jitsu instead. BJJ Legends added a further link: Penão had also coached Silva in jiu-jitsu. Graciemag noted in 2019 that she had reached the typical age of a masters competitor but was still fighting much younger opponents in the adult division, something she put down to mental strength. Usually the lightest athlete in any gym, she trained with much heavier partners. When playing guard so often left her with lower-back pain, she shifted to fighting more from on top, so that she was not always carrying a heavier partner's weight, and she called adapting the secret. She also said she had trained for 15 years without ever needing surgery, which she credited to training sensibly and doing physical preparation alongside it. At the seminars she teaches around the world, students asked why a three-time black-belt world champion kept competing. Her answer was that she loves training and the people she trains with, and that she would stop once she no longer enjoyed it. In a 2022 interview with Jiu-Jitsu Times she described the harder side of that choice: the need to prove that she could still fight against much younger women, and the pull of more world titles, made it difficult to stop, and she had wondered who she would be without the gi. She credited Bear Quitugua, her sponsor at Shoyoroll, with pushing her to look beyond competition by telling her that more titles would not change her life. She concluded that her titles do not define her; her attitude does. She had said something similar in 2019: winning the Worlds changes very little in an athlete's life apart from inner satisfaction. Teaching online began with the pandemic. Early on, in 2020, Emily Kwok of Princeton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu encouraged her to try it. Her first virtual class, free and given on behalf of Shoyoroll, was on bodyweight fitness for grapplers and drew more than 300 people, and by early 2022 she had been running a weekly all-levels class online for more than a year. Her website offers private lessons and workshops over Zoom, with recordings of her Zoom classes for subscribers. Her instructionals include The Ge Guard, presented as her signature open-guard system, and the passing course Pass Like a G, both with BJJ Fanatics, and De La Spider with Jiu-Jitsu X, which mixes the spider and De La Riva guards to break an opponent's posture and set up sweeps and submissions. In 2014 BJJ Legends called her a strong advocate for women in jiu-jitsu, proudest when she saw a women's program thriving. She told women to talk to their teachers, set clear goals and not give up the first time training became hard, and she told white belts who get tapped by everyone that this is not a phase but part of learning, and that those who keep going are the most dedicated. In spring 2016 she was one of five black belts, with Hannette Staack and Carina Damm, who taught more than 150 women at a Girls in Gis event at ATT Vero Beach in Florida. That June she and Mackenzie Dern were guest teachers at a women's camp organized by Frota Academy. In 2017 the two friends ran a women-only camp in Cannes, where each showed her own version of a position built on shared principles; she said they wanted the students to see two instructors cooperating rather than competing. In 2022 she said that through the colored belts she had usually been the only woman in her academy. By then she had taught children's classes for eight years, and she had seen that a woman black belt on the mat makes girls want to try the sport. In the same interview she urged women of every build to train whether or not they wanted to compete, asked experienced women to guide newcomers rather than haze them, and said every woman should learn some self-defense. Working with women and girls, she said, gave her the satisfaction that competition once did. She called bringing women into jiu-jitsu her life goal and "my next world title."

Sources for this profile

  • BJJ Legends Magazine, 'Interview with World Champion Gezary Matuda', interview by Aiseop, 17 June 2014.(opens in a new tab)

    • She is known by the nickname Ge.

      Where in the source: Intro paragraph, first sentence about the 2014 final — (“Ge”)

      Accessed:

    • She received her black belt from Ricardo Libório in 2012.

      Where in the source: Intro paragraph, sentence on her 2012 black-belt promotion

      Accessed:

    • In 2014 she represented American Top Team from Coconut Creek, Florida.

      Where in the source: Intro paragraph, sentence on her team and home gym — 'Coconut Creek'

      Accessed:

    • Her first jiu-jitsu teacher was Alexandre 'Penão' Conceição, a black belt from the Carlson Gracie line; the interviewer adds that Penão had also coached Anderson Silva in jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Intro paragraph and her answer to question 2 — 'Alexandre Penão'

      Accessed:

    • She has said that when she started there were few women competing in Curitiba, so she usually had to fight heavier women, and that Penão backed her, sent her to compete and kept telling her to believe she could do it.

      Where in the source: Her answer to question 2 — 'heavier girls'

      Accessed:

    • She has said that as a white belt she watched the women she would later face at black belt, and that her dream was to become a black-belt world champion.

      Where in the source: Her answer to question 2, opening lines — 'used to watch'

      Accessed:

    • She and her husband, Katel Kubis, the Muay Thai coach of American Top Team's professional team, moved to the United States in 2009.

      Where in the source: Intro paragraph, closing sentences — 'Katel Kubis'

      Accessed:

    • The BJJ Legends interviewer, who had trained with her, described a game that perhaps owed something to her striking background: a relentless pace, a preference for shooting takedowns, an immediate tripod sweep when she pulled guard, and constant submission and sweep attacks.

      Where in the source: Third paragraph of the intro — 'demon of speed'

      Accessed:

    • Asked to describe her game, she said she fights the game plan her coaches set in camp and keeps to it until the end of the match, adapting until it works rather than switching when an opponent imposes their game.

      Where in the source: Her answer to question 3, on how she describes her game

      Accessed:

    • Her advice to white belts who are tapped by everyone is that this is not a phase but part of learning the art, and that the most dedicated are those who keep going.

      Where in the source: Her answer to question 5 — 'part of the game'

      Accessed:

    • The magazine described her as a strong advocate for women in jiu-jitsu who is proudest when she sees a thriving women's programme; in the same interview she urged women to talk to their teachers, set clear goals and not quit the first time training gets hard.

      Where in the source: Fourth paragraph of the intro — 'strong advocate'; her answer to question 6

      Accessed:

    • At the 2014 World Championship she beat Ariadne de Oliveira in the light-featherweight black-belt final, in a bracket that also included Letícia Ribeiro and Nyjah Easton.

      Where in the source: Intro paragraph, first two sentences about the 2014 final

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'World champion Gezary Matuda on training with mentor Anderson Silva', 8 February 2017 (based on a press release).(opens in a new tab)

    • She has said that Anderson Silva was her first teacher, in Muay Thai, that they are close because he is the best friend of her husband, Katel Kubis, and that she later chose to dedicate herself to jiu-jitsu instead.

      Where in the source: Second quoted passage — 'my first teacher'

      Accessed:

    • In February 2017 she helped Anderson Silva with his ground training before his bout against Derek Brunson, and praised his jiu-jitsu in the gi.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph and first quoted passage — 'ground training'

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'A champion’s mind: Gezary Matuda’s lessons for you to win in BJJ', 1 July 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • Graciemag describes her as a native of Curitiba.

      Where in the source: First paragraph — 'Curitiba native'

      Accessed:

    • In mid-2019 Graciemag noted that she was 35, the usual age of a masters competitor, yet was still competing in the adult division against much younger opponents; she put this down to mental strength and said she felt better than at 25.

      Where in the source: First paragraph and first quote — '35 years old'

      Accessed:

    • Graciemag credits her with three world titles at black belt, won in the adult division.

      Where in the source: First paragraph, last sentence — 'three world titles'

      Accessed:

    • Usually the lightest person in any gym, she trained with much heavier partners; after lower-back pain from playing guard so much, she began fighting more from on top to avoid carrying her partners' weight, and called adapting the secret.

      Where in the source: Third and fourth paragraphs — 'lumbar pains'

      Accessed:

    • In 2019 she said she had trained for 15 years without ever having surgery, crediting sensible training and parallel physical preparation.

      Where in the source: Fourth paragraph, end of quote — 'never had surgery'

      Accessed:

    • She teaches seminars around the world, and has told students who ask why a three-time black-belt world champion keeps competing that the reason is simply that she loves training and the people she trains with, and will stop when she no longer enjoys it.

      Where in the source: Fifth paragraph, on questions at her seminars

      Accessed:

    • Asked for the decision most crucial to her success, she named leaving Brazil: she left comfort, family and friends because she was certain she would win the black-belt World Championship; she added that winning the Worlds changes an athlete's life very little beyond inner satisfaction.

      Where in the source: Closing quote — 'Having left Brazil'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult purple-belt light-featherweight division at the 2010 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, listed as Gezary Matuda Kubis of American Top Team.

      Where in the source: Division 'Adult / Purple / Female / Light Feather', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult purple-belt light-featherweight division at the 2010 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, listed as Gezary Matuda Kubis of American Top Team.

      Where in the source: Division 'Adult / Purple / Female / Light Feather', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2011.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the combined brown-and-black-belt female adult light-featherweight division at the 2011 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, representing American Top Team.

      Where in the source: Division 'Adult / Brown Black / Female / Light Feather', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2012.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult brown-belt light-featherweight division at the 2012 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship for American Top Team, with Nyjah Easton second.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Brown / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2013.(opens in a new tab)

    • She took third place in the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2013 Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, representing American Top Team.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2013.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2013 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship for American Top Team, with Nyjah Easton second.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2014.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2014 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship for American Top Team, ahead of Ariadne de Oliveira, with Letícia Ribeiro and Nyjah Easton third.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2015.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2015 Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship for American Top Team.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2015.(opens in a new tab)

    • She took second place in the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2015 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, behind Rikako Yuasa.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 2

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2016 Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship for American Top Team, with Kristina Barlaan second.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2016 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship for American Top Team, with Kristina Barlaan second.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (114.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2017.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division (53.5 kg) at the 2017 European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship for American Top Team, with Kristina Barlaan second and Sofia Amarante among the third places.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (53.50kg)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2017.(opens in a new tab)

    • She took second place in the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2017 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, behind Ana Talita de Oliveira Alencar.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (118.00lb)', place 2

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • She won the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2018 Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship for American Top Team, ahead of Talita Alencar.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (118.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • She took third place in the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, listed with American Top Team Coconut Creek.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (118.00lb)', place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • She took third place in the female adult black-belt light-featherweight division at the 2019 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, representing American Top Team.

      Where in the source: Division 'Female / Adult / Black / Light Feather (118.00lb)', place 3

      Accessed:

  • BJJEE, 'Gezary Matuda on Growth of Jiu-Jitsu Among Women, Possible MMA Bout and More', 3 July 2016, quoting her interview with Tatame.(opens in a new tab)

    • In 2016 she said that earlier in her career she had fought in merged brown-and-black-belt divisions because so few women were registered, and that by then rising numbers and technical level meant there were no easy divisions for women.

      Where in the source: Section on growth among women — 'merged division'

      Accessed:

    • She said that after the 2016 Pan her Polaris 3 match ended in a draw without a submission, a result she had not wanted but which gave her more experience and more will to win that year's World Championship.

      Where in the source: Section on challenges in 2016 — 'Polaris 3'

      Accessed:

    • In 2016 she said that at American Top Team she trained with UFC fighters including Amanda Nunes, Nina Ansaroff, Jessica Aguilar, Tecia Torres and Valérie Létourneau, and that while she had support for a move to MMA she was in no hurry to leave jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Section on a possible MMA move — 'no hurry'

      Accessed:

  • FloGrappling, athlete profile 'Gezary Matuda'.(opens in a new tab)

    • On FloGrappling's athlete profile she is presented as a three-time world champion and black belt whose home city is Curitiba in Brazil.

      Where in the source: Profile header, first line of the description — 'from Curitiba, Brazil'

      Accessed:

    • According to FloGrappling, she began jiu-jitsu in her early twenties after years of capoeira and Muay Thai.

      Where in the source: Profile description, expanded panel — 'early 20s'

      Accessed:

    • According to FloGrappling, she moved to the United States as a purple belt, began training at American Top Team under Ricardo Libório, and was promoted by him to black belt in July 2012.

      Where in the source: Profile description, expanded panel — 'July 2012'

      Accessed:

    • FloGrappling's match record lists an armbar win over Michelle Nicolini at Polaris 2 on 12 September 2015.

      Where in the source: Results table, 2015 section, row for Polaris 2

      Accessed:

    • FloGrappling's match record lists her win over Kristina Barlaan at the 2016 World Championship as a choke submission.

      Where in the source: Results table, 2016 section, row dated 06/02

      Accessed:

    • FloGrappling's match record lists her Polaris 3 match on 2 April 2016 against L. Fouillat as a draw.

      Where in the source: Results table, 2016 section, row for Polaris 3 — 'N/A - Draw'

      Accessed:

    • FloGrappling's match record lists a straight ankle lock win over S. Gabrielli at Polaris 6 on 17 February 2018.

      Where in the source: Results table, 2018 section, row for Polaris 6

      Accessed:

    • FloGrappling's match record lists her loss to F. Davies at Polaris 9 on 15 March 2019 by kata-gatame.

      Where in the source: Results table, 2019 section, row for Polaris 9 — 'Katagatame'

      Accessed:

  • BJJEE, 'The sub everyone is talking about… Polaris Pro 2 [HD] Gezary Matuda vs Michelle Nicolini', 16 September 2015.(opens in a new tab)

    • Her match against Michelle Nicolini took place at Polaris Pro 2 in Cardiff, Wales, on 12 September 2015, and BJJEE headlined her submission as the one everyone was talking about.

      Where in the source: Headline and caption under the video — 'Cardiff, Wales'

      Accessed:

  • BJJEE, 'Polaris 9 Results: Tough Match Ups and One Breakthrough Performance', 16 March 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJEE's Polaris 9 report called Ffion Davies's submission win over her the breakthrough of the night and probably its most exciting match, ended by an arm triangle that Davies reached from a counterattack.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on the breakthrough of the night — 'arm triangle position'

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'Gezary Matuda’s golden choke at the 2017 Euros', 15 January 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • Graciemag highlighted her 2017 European Championship win over Sofia Amarante, in which Amarante tried to play guard while she attacked from on top until taking the back and finishing with a bow-and-arrow choke.

      Where in the source: Second and third paragraphs — 'bow-and-arrow choke'

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'Girls in Gis gathers 150 women to learn from Hannette Staack, Gezary Matuda, Carina Damm, others', 3 May 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • In spring 2016 she was one of five black belts, alongside Hannette Staack and Carina Damm, who taught more than 150 women at a Girls in Gis event at ATT Vero Beach in Florida.

      Where in the source: First two paragraphs — 'over 150 women'

      Accessed:

  • Jiu-Jitsu X, instructor page 'Gezary Matuda'.(opens in a new tab)

    • She released an instructional course with Jiu-Jitsu X, 'De La Spider – A Spider De La Riva System', which combines the spider and De La Riva guards to break an opponent's posture and set up sweeps and submissions.

      Where in the source: Instructor page, biography and course list — 'De La Spider'

      Accessed:

  • BJJEE, 'Training Report: Mackenzie Dern, Gezary Matuda at Frota Academy', 28 June 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • In June 2016 she and Mackenzie Dern were guest teachers at a women's jiu-jitsu camp organised by Frota Academy with BJJ Private Camps; she thanked the hosts for supporting women's jiu-jitsu and believing in her work.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraphs and her quoted thanks — 'Guest teachers'

      Accessed:

  • Gezary Matuda, official website gezary.com, home page (footer ©2023).(opens in a new tab)

    • Her own website presents her as a professional jiu-jitsu fighter who shares her training workouts, and offers subscribers recorded videos from her Zoom classes.

      Where in the source: Home page, section 'About Gezary Matuda' and subscriber box — 'Ge's Zoom Class'

      Accessed:

  • Elite Sports, 'Gezary Matuda - American Top Team’s Submission Grappler', by Christian Rios, 2 August 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • Elite Sports' athlete profile lists her nationality as Brazilian.

      Where in the source: Section 1, details table, row 'Nationality'

      Accessed:

  • Gezary Matuda, official website gezary.com, 'Instructionals' page.(opens in a new tab)

    • Her website lists instructionals she has made: 'The Ge Guard', presented as her signature open-guard system, and the passing course 'Pass Like a G', both with BJJ Fanatics, and 'De la Spider' with Jiu Jitsu X.

      Where in the source: Instructionals page, three product panels — 'Ge Guard'

      Accessed:

  • Gezary Matuda, official website gezary.com, 'Book Online' page.(opens in a new tab)

    • Through her website she offers one-hour private lessons and workshops over Zoom, including a guest workshop with Michael Langhi.

      Where in the source: Booking page, list of services — 'private Zoom session'

      Accessed:

  • Andrea Tang, 'Gezary Matuda on Chasing Passions Beyond the Competition Mats', Jiu-Jitsu Times, 24 January 2022 (Wayback Machine snapshot of 9 February 2023).(opens in a new tab)

    • In a 2022 interview she described how, still competing as a black belt into her mid-thirties against much younger women, the need to prove she could still fight and the pull of winning world titles made stopping hard, and she had asked herself who she would be without the gi.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraphs, on longevity and identity — 'without a gi'

      Accessed:

    • She credits her Shoyoroll sponsor, Bear Quitugua, with pushing her to look beyond competition by telling her that more world titles would not change her life; she concluded that her titles do not define her, her attitude does.

      Where in the source: Section on her sponsor's advice — 'Bear Quitugua'

      Accessed:

    • Early in the 2020 pandemic, Emily Kwok of Princeton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu encouraged her to teach online; her first virtual class, free and given on behalf of Shoyoroll, covered bodyweight fitness for grapplers and drew more than 300 participants, and by early 2022 she had been teaching a weekly all-levels online class for over a year.

      Where in the source: Section on her move into teaching online — 'Emily Kwok'

      Accessed:

    • At American Top Team she coached UFC fighter Joanna Jędrzejczyk in jiu-jitsu; Jiu-Jitsu Times described her as the only black-belt world champion then at the gym, and she called Jędrzejczyk one of the hardest-working athletes she had seen.

      Where in the source: Section on MMA and her student — 'valuable coaching resource'

      Accessed:

    • She said she had considered MMA but questioned whether it was something she wanted or her ego wanting to prove something, and that going all in on MMA would push aside her newer projects.

      Where in the source: Section on MMA temptations — 'eat, sleep, train'

      Accessed:

    • In 2017 she and her friend Mackenzie Dern ran a women-only camp together in Cannes; she said each of them taught her own version of a position on shared principles, and that they set out to show the students cooperation rather than rivalry between two instructors.

      Where in the source: Section on the camp with Mackenzie Dern — 'raise each other up'

      Accessed:

    • She said that working with women and girls gave her the satisfaction competition once had, and called bringing women into jiu-jitsu her life goal and her next world title.

      Where in the source: Paragraph after the camp section — 'my next world title'

      Accessed:

    • She said that through the coloured belts she was usually the only woman in her academy, that she had taught children's classes for eight years by 2022, and that seeing a woman black belt on the mat makes girls want to try the sport.

      Where in the source: Paragraphs on the next generation of women, children's classes

      Accessed:

    • She urges women of every build to try jiu-jitsu, whether or not they want to compete, wants experienced women to guide newcomers rather than haze them, and believes every woman should learn some self-defence.

      Where in the source: Closing section on welcoming women — 'self-defense'

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, 'Gezary Matuda' fighter profile.(opens in a new tab)

    • According to BJJ Heroes she took up capoeira at 15 and Muay Thai about two years later; it was through her Muay Thai coach, who wanted her to add groundwork, that she came to jiu-jitsu in 2004 as a student of Carlos 'Penão' Alexandre Conceição, a Carlson Gracie black belt.

      Where in the source: Biography, first paragraph — 'ground work'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes says she never got to fight in Muay Thai despite asking, whereas in jiu-jitsu she was competing within her first month, and that competing drew her into jiu-jitsu at the expense of striking.

      Where in the source: Biography, second paragraph — 'less then a month'

      Accessed:

    • According to BJJ Heroes, Penão gave her every belt from white to purple; after moving to the United States with her husband she sought out Ricardo Libório at American Top Team, where she earned her brown belt and, in July 2012 after winning the world championship, her black belt.

      Where in the source: Biography, third paragraph — 'from white to purple'

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    • BJJ Heroes says her nickname Ge, short for Gezary, has followed her since childhood.

      Where in the source: Profile header, nickname line — 'since childhood'

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  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2011.(opens in a new tab)

    • Gezary Bandeira of American Top Team placed third in the adult female light-featherweight division combining brown and black belts at the 2011 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship.

      Where in the source: Athletes results by category; Adult / Brown Black / Female / Light Feather: 1 Leticia Ribeiro, 2 Nyjah Easton, 3 Gezary Bandeira (American Top Team), 3 Jennifer Sutingco.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Miami International Open IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2011.(opens in a new tab)

    • The 2011 Miami International Open results list Gezary Matuda Kubis Bandeira of American Top Team first in the adult female light-featherweight division combining brown and black belts.

      Where in the source: Athletes results by category; Adult / Brown Black / Female / Light Feather: 1 Gezary Matuda Kubis Bandeira (American Top Team).

      Accessed:

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