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Monir Salomão

Monir Salomão was a Rio de Janeiro coral belt in the Oswaldo Fadda line whose Vila da Penha academy produced Marcos Barreto and Júlio César Pereira.

Biography

Monir Salomão was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master who taught in Vila da Penha, in the northern suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, and whose students carried Oswaldo Fadda's branch of the art into the next generation. He was a seventh-degree coral belt when he died in the mid-1990s, and what he is identified with, in every account of him, is the leg lock. Very little about his early life was ever written down. Most of what follows comes from the fighter database BJJ Heroes, with one Brazilian article filling in the rest. That article tells the same story in the same order, so the two are better read as one source than as two, and neither gives a year for his birth or his death. Fadda brought him to the sport as a child and, both accounts agree, was the only teacher he ever had, grading him from the first belt to the last. That placed Salomão in the branch running from Mitsuyo Maeda through Luiz França to Fadda, whose gym is described as one of the better ones in the country and as belonging to a line outside the Gracie family. The Brazilian article adds that Fadda singled him out early, before he had made any name for himself in competition, and predicted he would become one of the standard-bearers of the art. What he became known for was the part of the curriculum most of his contemporaries left alone. He worked the locks that attack the feet, the ankles and the knees, and people who trained in that era called him an encyclopedia on the subject. Several of the entries in that encyclopedia were later ruled out of competition, ankle and heel attacks among them, which is why the Brazilian article treats the ban as a limit on how far his knowledge could travel. The same article says he liked to train without the gi during the vale-tudo years and calls him an excellent and winning athlete. It names no bout, no opponent and no title, and his entry in the fighter database leaves the achievements line empty. In the 1970s he opened his own academy in Vila da Penha, and that gym is the reason his name is still in circulation. Marcos "Juruna" Barreto arrived in 1978 with his younger brother and trained there for years alongside Júlio César Pereira and Rafael Caldeira. Juarez Soares was enrolled at eleven, on a doctor's advice, and took his yellow, orange and blue belts from Salomão. Alexandre Baraúna started at eight, and his first classes were taken by an instructor named Milton rather than by Salomão himself. The academy produced competitors across three decades; the same page that describes Baraúna's first classes there calls the gym extinct today. The record disagrees with itself about how far Salomão's grading actually went. His own entry in the fighter database lists Juarez Soares among the black belts he developed, and the Brazilian article does the same. The database's own entry on Soares is narrower, and it explains why: Salomão graded him to blue, then the family moved to Araruama, and the distance sent him to Marcos Siqueira's academy, where he took purple, brown and black, the last of them on November 17, 1997. Salomão's lineage still appears on that page, at Soares' own request, because Soares regarded him as his true master. Who awarded the black belt is not in doubt. What is loose is the shorthand the other two accounts use, and one of them sits on the same site as the page that corrects it. Salomão died in the mid-1990s. Barreto, his senior assistant at the academy, took the gym over, and in 1996 won the world title at rooster weight before stepping away from competition almost entirely; he later started the Equipe Supreme team with Caldeira. Júlio César Pereira, who began under Salomão in 1974 and stayed until his own black belt, leads GF Team, which took that name in 2007. The team still prints Salomão's name in its own lineage, one link after Academia Fadda.

Sources for this profile

  • BJJ Heroes, “Monir Salomão”, undated(opens in a new tab)

    • Salomão's line is given as Mitsuyo Maeda to Luiz França to Oswaldo Fadda to Monir Salomão.

      Where in the source: Infobox line: “Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Luiz França > Oswaldo Fadda > Monir Salomão”.

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    • BJJ Heroes says little is known about Salomão’s upbringing, that he was raised in the Rio de Janeiro suburbs known as the Zona Norte, and that Oswaldo Fadda — whose gym the page describes as one of the better ones in the country and as being of a non-Gracie lineage — was his one and only instructor.

      Where in the source: Biography, first paragraph: “Monir Salomão’s one and only instructor in Jiu Jitsu was the great Oswaldo Fadda, famous having developed one of the better gyms in the country and for being of a non-Gracie lineage.” Preceded by “Not much is known about Master Salomão’s upbringing. He was raised in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, commonly known as Zona Norte (North Area).”

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    • Salomão was regarded as a leg and foot-lock specialist and was described by jiu-jitsu figures of his time as an encyclopedia on the subject.

      Where in the source: Biography, second paragraph: “Monir Salomão was regarded as a leg and foot-lock specialist, and is mentioned by several Jiu Jitsu figures of the time as an encyclopaedia on the subject.”

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    • Salomão started his own team in the 1970s in the Vila da Penha neighborhood, and the team raised competitors from the region.

      Where in the source: Biography, second paragraph: “Monir started his own team in the 1970’s in the Vila da Penha neighbourhood. The team flourished and raised some of the toughest competitors in the region.”

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    • After Salomão died in the mid-1990s his right-hand man and most accomplished student, Marcos “Juruna” Barreto, took over the academy, and Barreto later co-founded the Equipe Supreme team with Rafael Caldeira, another former student of Salomão.

      Where in the source: Biography, second paragraph: “After Master Monir passed away, in the mid 1990’s, his right hand man and most accomplished student, Marcos ‘Juruna’ Barreto took over the academy. Barreto would later be the co-founder of the Equipe Supreme team, together with another former student of Monir, Mr. Rafael Caldeira.”

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    • Salomão held the seventh degree at the time of his death.

      Where in the source: Biography, closing sentence: “Master Monir was a 7th degree coral belt at the time of his passing.”

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    • Salomão was a coral belt, the red-and-black rank, at the time of his death.

      Where in the source: Biography, closing sentence: “Master Monir was a 7th degree coral belt at the time of his passing.”

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    • Monir Salomão was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach and the founder of the Academia Monir de Jiu-Jitsu in the Vila da Penha neighborhood, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, where he developed black belts including the world champion Marcos Barreto, the GF Team leader Julio César Pereira and Juarez Soares.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph: “Monir Salomão was a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach and founder of the Academia Monir de Jiu-Jitsu in the Vila da Penha neighbourhood (North Zone of Rio de Janeiro) where he developed several high class black belts such as world champion Marcos Barreto and GF Team leader Julio César Pereira as well as Juarez Soares.”

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    • BJJ Heroes lists Salomão's team as Monir de Jiu-Jitsu and his favorite position or technique as footlocks.

      Where in the source: Infobox “Monir Salomão Jiu Jitsu”: “Favourite Position/Technique: Footlocks” and “Team/Association: Monir de Jiu-Jitsu”.

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  • BJJ Heroes, “Marcos Barreto”, undated(opens in a new tab)

    • Marcos Barreto began training at Salomão's academy in 1978 together with his younger brother, sharing the mats for years with Julio Cesar and Rafael Caldeira, and became Salomão's right-hand man at the gym.

      Where in the source: Marcos Barreto Biography, first paragraph: “Marcos Barreto started training jiu jitsu with his younger brother in 1978 at Monir Salomão’s academy, sharing the mats for many years with BJJ’ers such as Julio Cesar and Rafael Caldeira. Marcos quickly became Salomao’s right hand man at the gym”.

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    • Barreto is described as a black belt under Salomão, won the world championship in the rooster division in 1996, and stepped away from competition almost entirely after his master's death; his team is listed as Equipe Supreme, formerly Academia Monir Salomão.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph and infobox: “A black belt under another historical figure in Monir Salomão (from the Oswaldo Fadda lineage), Barreto – aka “Juruna” – abandoned competitive Jiu Jitsu almost completely after his master’s death.” · “Main Achievements: World Champion (1996)” · “Team/Association: Equipe Supreme (Formerly: Academia Monir Salomão)”.

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  • BJJ Heroes, “Julio Cesar Pereira”, undated(opens in a new tab)

    • Julio Cesar Pereira, born in Rio de Janeiro on December 22, 1964, started training under Salomão in 1974 and stayed with him until he earned his own black belt.

      Where in the source: Julio Cesar Pereira Biography, first paragraph: “born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on the 22nd of December 1964. Julio Cesar started training Jiu-Jitsu under Monir Salomão’s tutelage in 1974 and continued training under the Oswaldo Fadda black belt until he received his black belt himself.”

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  • BJJ Heroes, “Juarez Soares”, undated(opens in a new tab)

    • Juarez Soares, born April 19, 1962, was enrolled at the Monir academy at the age of eleven on a doctor's advice; the classes were led by Salomão, who also coached Marcos Barreto and Julio Cesar, and Salomão graded Soares to yellow, orange and blue belt.

      Where in the source: Juarez Soares Biography: “Soares was signed up to the Monir Academy at the age of 11. The classes were led by the legendary Monir Salomao, the same coach of illustrious jiu jitsu figures such as Marcos Barreto and Julio Cesar. Salomao graded Juarez with his yellow, orange and blue belts.”

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    • Conflicting accounts

      The same publisher states that Soares did not receive his black belt from Salomão, and that the Salomão line was added to the page at Soares' own request because he regarded Salomão as his true master.

      Where in the source: Footnote under the two lineages: “*Although Master Soares did not receive his black belt directly from the hands of Monir Salomao, he always identified with his original instructor and felt Monir to be his true Master. For that reason, and at Soares’ request, we added Master Monir’s lineage.”

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    • The same page explains why the accounts differ: after his blue belt Soares and his family moved to Araruama, and he joined Marcos Siqueira’s academy largely because of the distance from Salomão. Siqueira promoted him on purple, brown and black, and the black belt is dated November 17, 1997.

      Where in the source: Juarez Soares Biography: “After receiving his blue belt, Juarez and his family moved to Araruama … he did join Marcos Siqueira’s academy to continue his training, largely due to the distance that separated Soares and Salomao.” · “Although Siqueira promoted Soares on all belts from their on (purple, brown and black)” · “Juarez’s promotion to black occurred on November 17, 1997.”

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  • BJJ Heroes, “Alexandre Baraúna”, undated(opens in a new tab)

    • Alexandre Baraúna, born February 17, 1974, was introduced to jiu-jitsu at the age of eight by a coach named Milton at the Academia Monir, which the page calls extinct, and later trained under Rafael Caldeira and Júlio César, described as two black belts produced by Salomão, the founder of the Monir academy in Vila da Penha.

      Where in the source: Alexandre Baraúna Biography: “Baraúna’s introduction to jiu jitsu was done by coach Milton at the now extinct Academia Monir, an iconic gym that produced many important figures of BJJ-s 1980’s and 1990’s era.” … “under the guidance of Rafael Caldeira and Júlio César – two well known black belts produced by Master Monir Salomão”.

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  • BJJ Heroes, “Grappling Fight Team — GFTeam Jiu Jitsu Academy History and Info”, undated(opens in a new tab)

    • GF Team, founded in 2007 by Julio Cesar Pereira, gives its own team line as Luis França to Academia Fadda to Monir Salomão to GFTeam.

      Where in the source: Section “GF Team in Detail”: “Team Lineage: Luis França Jiu Jitsu > Academia FADDA > Monir Salomao > GFTeam” and “Founded: 2007”. Body, on the 2007 change: “In 2007, however, due to some of their competitors having transitioned to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UGF had to change their name … thus giving birth to the name Grappling Fight Team (GF Team).”

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  • BJJ Fanatics BR, “Monir Salomão, O Mestre De Julio Cesar É Uma Das Figuras Mais Importantes Pela Popularização Do Jiu Jitsu”, undated(opens in a new tab)

    • A Brazilian account says Salomão was born and raised in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro's North Zone, was brought to jiu-jitsu by Oswaldo Fadda as a child, and was graded by Fadda from white belt to black belt, Fadda being his only teacher in his whole life.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning “O saudoso Mestre Monir Salomão”: “nascido e criado no subúrbio da Zona Norte do Rio de Janeiro, foi apresentado ao Jiu Jitsu por Oswaldo Fadda quando ainda era uma criança. Monir foi desde a faixa branca até a preta graduado por Fadda, seu único professor em toda a vida.”

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    • The same account says Salomão was a specialist in leg and foot locks who built a game around submissions that were later banned in jiu-jitsu, among them ankle and heel locks, and that the spread of his technical knowledge was limited by those bans even though he was considered an encyclopedia on the subject.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning “Monir Salomão certamente foi um dos alunos”: “especialista em chaves de pernas e pés ele desenvolveu um jogo exclusivo de muitas finalizações que foram proibidas no Jiu Jitsu como chaves de tornozelos e calcanhar.”

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    • The same account says that even before Salomão emerged as a successful athlete, Fadda already held him up as an example and said he would become one of the great standard-bearers of jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Paragraph: “Mesmo antes de despontar como um atleta de grande sucesso, Fadda já o apontava como um exemplo e dizia que Monir seria um dos grandes baluartes do Jiu Jitsu.”

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    • The same account says that in the vale-tudo years Salomão liked to train jiu-jitsu without the gi, that he was an excellent and winning athlete, and that he later became an excellent teacher.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning “Monir Salomão é considerado um dos mais emblemáticos Mestres”: “nos áureos tempos das lutas livres (vale-tudo) gostava muito de praticar também o Jiu Jitsu ‘Sem Kimono’ sendo um excelente e vitorioso atleta e mais tarde tornou-se também um excelente professor.”

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    • The same account says Salomão founded his own team in the 1970s in the Vila da Penha neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro's North Zone, and that the Academia Monir Jiu Jitsu built competitors through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and produced black belts who carried on the line of Luiz França, Fadda and Salomão.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning “Dando continuidade ao trabalho aprendido por Fadda”: “fundou sua própria equipe nos anos 70 no bairro da Vila da Penha, Zona Norte do Rio de Janeiro. A Academia Monir Jiu Jitsu foi responsável por construir alguns dos grandes competidores dos anos 70, 80 e 90.”

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    • Conflicting accounts

      The same account says that after Salomão's death in the mid-1990s one of his most talented students, Marcos “Juruna” Barreto, took over the academy, and that Salomão is also responsible for a large line of black belts such as Juarez Soares and Julio Cesar Pereira.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning “Após o falecimento de Samolão, em meados dos anos 90”: “um de seus alunos mais talentosos, Marcos 'Juruna' Barreto assumiu a academia de Monir. Além de Marcos, Monir também é responsável por uma enorme linhagem de faixas preta de altíssimo nível técnico, como Juarez Soares e Julio Cesar Pereira.”

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