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Portrait unavailable. General BJJ illustration; not a likeness of this person.Illustration: The BJJ Story

Margot Ciccarelli

“Mars”

Source: bjjheroes.com

Black belt Margot “Mars” Ciccarelli connects a mobile training career with movement-led teaching and elite featherweight competition.

Biography

Margot “Mars” Ciccarelli is a black belt whose path through jiu-jitsu has been unusually mobile. Before grappling, she practiced Wushu, Chinese kickboxing, and Wing Chun, then took up jiu-jitsu as a teenager. In a first-person account of her gap year in Maui, she recalled entering the local Triple Crown tournament with less than a month of experience. By the time she wrote about that beginning six years later, she was competing professionally and teaching internationally. Her belt progression followed her across several training centers. Rodrigo Caporal promoted her to blue belt, Jude Samuel promoted her to purple, and Murilo Santana awarded her brown belt and, in May 2021, black belt. That movement between schools also became part of how she thought about learning. Ciccarelli has said that different rooms and training partners pose different problems, making cross-training valuable rather than incidental. Dance and circus practice gave her another vocabulary for movement. Ciccarelli had tutored former contemporary dancer Stephanie Lee in jiu-jitsu, while Lee brought professional dance and partnering experience to their collaboration. Together they developed Jitz Jamming, a partner practice that uses jiu-jitsu as a movement template but removes submission as the objective, leaving room to explore transitions, continuity, and movement from other disciplines. Separate from that submission-free practice, Ciccarelli describes her general competition teaching as a framework in which partners first learn to move together, then work toward clearer movement and finishing goals as resistance enters the exchange. She has also linked dance to her interest in teaching methods, and advises beginners to stay curious, enjoy learning, and treat the gym as a shared environment. That experimental approach has accompanied a continuing competition career. The IBJJF currently lists Ciccarelli with AOJ. In its Adult Grand Slam featherweight results, she appears as the 2024 European champion, a World bronze medalist in 2024 and 2026, the 2025 Brasileiro silver medalist, and the 2026 Pan champion. Her first Pan black-belt title came through two armbars from rear-triangle positions before a referee’s decision over Larissa Campos in the final.

Sources for this profile

  • BJJ Heroes, “Margot Ciccarelli” (profile, accessed 12 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)

    • Margot Ciccarelli was born in London on 17 November 1993.

      Where in the source: Biography — born on November 17, 1993

      Accessed:

    • Ciccarelli began Wushu at six, later practised Chinese kickboxing and Wing Chun, and took up jiu-jitsu as a teenager.

      Where in the source: Biography — first jiu-jitsu class

      Accessed:

    • Her route through the belts reflected her movement between training centres: Rodrigo Caporal promoted her to blue belt, Jude Samuel to purple, and Murilo Santana to brown and then black belt in May 2021.

      Where in the source: Biography — promoted Margot to blue belt

      Accessed:

    • Alongside jiu-jitsu, Ciccarelli studied movement activities including dance and circus skills; her movement research and friendship with former contemporary dancer Stephanie Lee led them to develop Jitz Jamming, a practice rooted in jiu-jitsu movement.

      Where in the source: Biography — led to Jitz Jamming

      Accessed:

    • The profile identifies “Mars” as a shortened form of Margot.

      Where in the source: Jiu-Jitsu — Nickname: Mars

      Accessed:

  • Hyperfly, “Athlete Focus: The Nomadic Margot Ciccarelli,” 24 May 2021.(opens in a new tab)

    • Ciccarelli describes her teaching approach as a movement framework: partners first learn to move collaboratively, then use clearer movement and finishing objectives when resistance is introduced.

      Where in the source: Athlete Focus — general movement perspective

      Accessed:

    • She says dance influenced both her movement thinking and her interest in teaching methods, and she values cross-training because different schools and partners present different problems to solve.

      Where in the source: Athlete Focus — inspiration from the dance world

      Accessed:

    • Her advice to beginners is to remain curious, prioritise enjoyment and learning, stay open-minded, and treat training partners well because the gym functions as a shared ecosystem.

      Where in the source: Athlete Focus — Stay curious

      Accessed:

  • Margot Ciccarelli, “Happily Ever After,” Hyperfly, 1 August 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • In a first-person 2018 essay, Ciccarelli recalled trying jiu-jitsu in Maui during her gap year, entering the local Triple Crown tournament with less than a month of experience, and six years later competing professionally and teaching internationally.

      Where in the source: Happily Ever After — less than a month

      Accessed:

  • International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “Athlete Results: Margot Ciccarelli” (accessed 12 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)

    • The current IBJJF athlete page lists Ciccarelli as an AOJ competitor.

      Where in the source: Athlete Results — Margot Ciccarelli · AOJ

      Accessed:

    • The current IBJJF athlete page identifies Ciccarelli as a black belt.

      Where in the source: Athlete Results — black

      Accessed:

    • In the page’s complete Adult Grand Slam featherweight section, Ciccarelli is listed as 2024 European champion, 2024 and 2026 World bronze medallist, 2025 Brasileiro silver medallist, and 2026 Pan champion.

      Where in the source: Adult Grand Slam — Feather

      Accessed:

  • Kaelan Crisosto, “2026 Pans Black Belt | Female Champions,” IBJJF, 2 April 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2026 Pan Championship, Ciccarelli won her first Pan black-belt title at featherweight after two armbar finishes from rear-triangle positions and a referee-decision victory over Larissa Campos in the final.

      Where in the source: Female Featherweight — first Pan title

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, “Jiu Jitsu’s Rising Sub-culture, Jitz Jamming” (accessed 12 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)

    • Ciccarelli and Stephanie Lee developed Jitz Jamming from mid-2017 as a partner practice that uses jiu-jitsu as a movement template while removing submission as the objective, allowing participants to explore transitions, continuity, and movements drawn from other disciplines. Ciccarelli had tutored Lee in jiu-jitsu, while Lee brought professional contemporary-dance and partnering experience to the collaboration.

      Where in the source: Jitz Jamming — eliminate the objective of submission

      Accessed:

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