Luiz Vitor Dias
Luiz Vitor Dias took his Rio teaching to Europe, building friendships through jiu-jitsu and writing about how the art is taught.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, Luiz Dias biography(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes identifies the teacher and writer as Luiz Vitor Dias, a black belt under Leoni Nascimento.
Where in the source: Opening and full-name field; biography opening
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BJJ Heroes dates his birth to 13 December 1964 in Rio de Janeiro and says he grew up in Urca.
Where in the source: Biography opening
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According to BJJ Heroes, Dias founded Geração Arte Suave (GAS) in 2003, teaching the art’s history and philosophy alongside its competitive practice.
Where in the source: Biography, GAS founding paragraph
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BJJ Heroes relates that he began writing for Tatame to challenge the negative image associated with jiu-jitsu; an encouraging reception to his first article led to further invitations and a regular column.
Where in the source: Biography, final writing paragraphs
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Francisco Lacao, interview with Luiz Vitor Dias, 12 August 2013(opens in a new tab)
In his 2013 interview, Dias recalled starting at eleven or twelve with Leoni Nascimento near his home in Urca, in a living-room dojo where local children learned self-defense and jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: Portuguese first answer; parallel Spanish opening answer
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Dias described those early classes as among his happiest childhood memories and connected training with confidence, discipline and learning to think under pressure.
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In 2013 he credited competitions with raising technical standards and exposing new talent, while favouring attacking, submission-oriented jiu-jitsu over managing a lead.
Where in the source: Answers on competition, referees and preferred style
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The 2013 interview described his recent teaching in Paris and Porto; he said the Porto students were interested both in techniques and in the art’s history.
Where in the source: Answer on European seminars
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The 2013 interview introduced Dias as a Tatame columnist, and he thanked Spanish-speaking readers who followed his writing.
Where in the source: Introduction and final answer
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Graciemag, Luiz Dias first-person travel account, 22 May 2017(opens in a new tab)
Recalling a 2010 family trip to Paris, Dias said he hoped to arrange seminars, meet people and earn money through jiu-jitsu, despite having no local contacts or French.
Where in the source: First-person narrative, opening Paris paragraphs
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He found a boxing and Muay Thai gym and, using improvised English, offered its owner a free hour of self-defense instruction as a trial for paid lessons.
Where in the source: Narrative, gym meeting and proposed free hour
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In his account, a demonstration of an escape from a headlock persuaded the owner; Dias then taught there for two weeks and returned in later years.
Where in the source: Demonstration through agreement and subsequent returns
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Dias said referrals from students carried his teaching from France to Portugal, Spain and Hungary, and that GAS subsequently had a branch in Porto.
Where in the source: Final travel-network paragraphs
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Graciemag interview with Luiz Dias, 20 December 2022(opens in a new tab)
In a 2022 interview, Dias said he had always preferred teaching to competing; becoming a professional instructor was gradual, including registering as a teacher and designing his own crest.
Where in the source: Answer to Quando voce percebeu que viveria em prol do Jiu-Jitsu? (second answer).
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He described his greatest teaching satisfaction as helping develop capable people and professionals, including students who gained confidence, rather than concentrating only on champions.
Where in the source: Second answer: gratification
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For beginners, Dias sought to separate jiu-jitsu from its violent public image, presenting it as simple and adaptable to each student’s capacity.
Where in the source: Question on removing fear from white belts
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He recalled the difficulty of establishing a team among existing academies and advised new instructors to accept slow recruitment, persist with good classes and let students choose their teacher.
Where in the source: Question on opening a team
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Dias urged teachers to continue technical study without abandoning fundamentals, combining patience in developing the school with care for the quality of instruction.
Where in the source: Final teaching/business advice
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Luiz Dias, account to Marcelo Dunlop, Graciemag, 5 October 2024(opens in a new tab)
In his 2024 travel account, Dias described taking a gi on surfing trips and forming friendships through training in places including Costa Rica, Portugal, Bali and Hungary.
Where in the source: Opening travel and destination paragraphs
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He said people he met abroad wanted both jiu-jitsu history and self-defense, while local training friendships helped him discover places and return feeling at home.
Where in the source: Middle paragraphs on local interest and friendships
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Dias presented travelling practitioners as representatives of their art, arguing that respect for local culture and good conduct mattered alongside technical ability.
Where in the source: Concluding cultural-exchange advice
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His practical travel habit was to roll the gi and pack it in the centre of his suitcase.
Where in the source: Practical packing passage
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Luiz Dias, Feliz dia do Professor de Jiu Jitsu, 15 October 2013(opens in a new tab)
In his 2013 Teachers’ Day essay, Dias argued that instructors set an example inside and outside the academy and should pay attention to students’ conduct as well as techniques.
Where in the source: Essay opening and teacher-as-example paragraphs
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He described teaching as guiding relations between stronger and weaker or newer students, discouraging personal friction, and modelling how to behave after competition wins and losses.
Where in the source: Essay, relationships and competition conduct paragraphs
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Graciemag, seminar advice by Luiz Dias, 28 June 2017(opens in a new tab)
His seminar advice emphasised watching grips and hooks closely, testing unfamiliar positions before dismissing them, and listening to other students’ questions.
Where in the source: Numbered advice, observation and open-mindedness
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Dias advised students to practise seminar material repeatedly afterward and to study unfamiliar attacks partly to understand how to defend them.
Where in the source: Numbered advice, retention and disliked techniques
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Luiz Dias, Self Defense, published by BJJ Heroes(opens in a new tab)
In his own essay, Dias said he included self-defense in every class, using repetition and situations that showed students why a movement mattered.
Where in the source: Main essay on self-defense in classes
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He wrote that some students initially showed little interest in self-defense but became more engaged when the exercises had a clear practical purpose.
Where in the source: Essay, student response to self-defense practice
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Professor Luiz Dias, first-person column, Graciemag, 19 July 2024(opens in a new tab)
Writing shortly before his sixtieth birthday, Dias described adjusting his goals to his physical limits and refusing to measure his training only against his younger self.
Where in the source: Final first-person paragraphs
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He wrote that continued training with students and friends, and being able to keep surfing, mattered more to him than defining practice solely through wins and losses.
Where in the source: First-person conclusion
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Professor Luiz Dias, column on terminology, Graciemag, 29 January 2026(opens in a new tab)
In his January 2026 column, Dias referred to GAS in Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro, as his academy.
Where in the source: Opening anecdote: GAS academy in Laranjeiras
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Dias placed his GAS academy in Rio de Janeiro in his January 2026 column.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph
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When a visitor called the position side control, Dias asked why the Portuguese term cem-quilos had been dropped; he used the exchange to argue that teachers also preserve the art’s language.
Where in the source: Opening visitor anecdote and argument
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He distinguished established imported terms such as armlock from replacing familiar Portuguese words unnecessarily, presenting terminology as part of teaching the art’s culture.
Where in the source: Middle and concluding language paragraphs
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Gabriel Almada, Graciemag, 18 November 2022(opens in a new tab)
A 2022 Graciemag lesson presented Dias teaching a no-gi submission from side control, using control around the opponent’s arm and chest pressure on the triceps.
Where in the source: Written article preceding embedded video
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage