Rogerio Poggio
Poggio began on his grandmother's Persian rugs, took charge of Infight's Rio academy in 1995 and was still winning Brazilian national masters titles past 50.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, 'Rogerio Poggio'.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes says Poggio trained for a short spell with Romero 'Jacaré' before Pitoco called on him to help launch the Infight team in Barra da Tijuca.
Where in the source: Biography section, third paragraph — 'short spell'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes says Poggio also holds a brown belt in judo.
Where in the source: Biography section, end of third paragraph — 'Judo'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes gives his full name as Rogerio Poggio de Castro.
Where in the source: Fact box under the introduction, full-name line
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes says Rogerio Poggio was born on 21 September 1971 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Where in the source: Biography section, first sentence — '1971'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes says Totila 'Pitoco' Jordan set up the improvised dojo at Paulo Nardy's house to get more mat time, and that Renzo Gracie often coached there.
Where in the source: Biography section, second paragraph — 'improvised dojo'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes says Poggio got jiu-jitsu adopted as a sport in two schools in Rio de Janeiro's Zona Sul, teaching children aged 3 to 10, in a project running since the mid-1990s.
Where in the source: Biography section, fourth paragraph — 'two schools'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes says Infight also runs a social project in the Cidade de Deus community in Rio de Janeiro.
Where in the source: Biography section, end of fourth paragraph — 'social project'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes traces his lineage as Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie, Hélio Gracie, Rickson Gracie, Renan Pitanguy, Pitoco Jordan, Rogerio Poggio, and names his favourite technique as the butterfly guard sweep and his weight class as lightweight (76 kg).
Where in the source: Fact box, lineage and favourite-technique lines
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes says Poggio received his black belt at Infight under Pitoco's guidance on 21 September 1995, his 24th birthday.
Where in the source: Biography section, third paragraph — '24th birthday'
Accessed:
Infight Jiu-Jitsu, 'Fundadores' (infightbjj.com), Internet Archive snapshot of 30 March 2023.(opens in a new tab)
Infight's own founders page says Rogério Poggio was one of the founders of the Infight academy in Rio de Janeiro in 1995, together with Toti Jordan and Paulo Nardy, and that the academy is based at the club of the Alfabarra condominium in Barra da Tijuca.
Where in the source: Founders page, Poggio section, first paragraph — 'um dos fundadores'
Accessed:
According to Infight's founders page, Poggio moved the academy between several venues over the years, each time looking for larger and better training spaces as his team grew, and as a teacher and coach he produced several national and international champions.
Where in the source: Founders page, Poggio section, second and third paragraphs — 'maiores e melhores espaços'
Accessed:
Infight Jiu-Jitsu, 'História' (infightbjj.com), Internet Archive snapshot of 30 March 2023.(opens in a new tab)
Infight's history page says the team began when Toti 'Pitoco' Jordan used a Barra da Tijuca resident's free space and spare rugs as a dojo for local youngsters, and names Paulo Nardy and Rogério Poggio among the very first students.
Where in the source: History page, paragraphs 1-3 — 'Os primeiros alunos'
Accessed:
Infight's history traces the group through several homes: a jiu-jitsu nucleus called Pitoco-Barra at the Espaço Vital gym, then the Oficina do Corpo gym with a branch at the Barramares condominium, then the Canaveral club, a merger with Jorge Pereira's academy under the name Khan Jiu-Jitsu, a return to the house where it all began, and finally, after that union ended, the founding of the Infight academy at the Alfa-Barra condominium.
Where in the source: History page, paragraphs 3-7 — 'Pitoco-Barra'; 'KHAN-JIU-JITSU'
Accessed:
In 1995 Toti Jordan moved to Santo André in São Paulo state and opened Infight there, leaving Rogério Poggio responsible for the Rio de Janeiro academy.
Where in the source: History page, paragraph 8 — 'responsável pela academia do Rio'
Accessed:
Infight's history says Paulo Nardy began teaching with Toti Jordan in Santo André in 1996, and that when Jordan returned to Rio de Janeiro in 2003, Nardy took charge of Infight São Paulo.
Where in the source: History page, paragraphs 9-10 — 'Em 1996'; 'em 2003'
Accessed:
At the time of the archived page, Infight described itself as having branches in Brazil, the United States, Canada and Japan.
Where in the source: History page, last paragraph — 'EUA, Canadá e Japão'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes, 'Totila "Pitoco" Jordan'.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes' profile of Totila 'Pitoco' Jordan says that, because Barra da Tijuca then had no classes for children, he arranged training at the house of Paulo Nardy's family, where the young students often got skin burns from sparring on carpets and a group including Rogério Poggio, Roberto 'Gordo', Ralph and Ryan Gracie trained; Jordan then rented space at Espaço Vital, the start of the team first called Pitoco-Barra, merged with Jorge Pereira's students in 1990 under the name Khan Jiu Jitsu, split again and chose the name Infight, and in 1995 moved to Santo André, leaving Poggio responsible for the Rio de Janeiro group.
Where in the source: Biography section, early-years paragraphs — 'skin burns'; 'Khan Jiu Jitsu'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes, 'Edson Diniz'.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes says Edson Diniz, who started under Jorge Pereira and Pitoco at Clube Canaveral, later joined the classes of Rogério Poggio, who promoted him to purple, brown and black belt; Diniz received the black belt on the podium of the Brazilian Nationals in October 1999, becoming the first black belt Poggio promoted.
Where in the source: Edson Diniz biography, third and fourth paragraphs — 'very first black belt'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes, 'Felipe "Bocão" Silva'.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes says Felipe 'Bocão' Silva, who trained at the Alfabarra club from white to black belt, met Rogério Poggio there; Poggio saw his potential and in 1997, when Bocão was a blue belt, asked him to help coach the children's classes as an assistant, and Bocão received his black belt from Pitoco Jordan and Poggio in December 2002.
Where in the source: Felipe Bocão biography, paragraphs 3-5 — 'assistant coach in the kids program'
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes, 'Gabrieli Pessanha'.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes' lineage for Gabrieli Pessanha runs from Pitoco Jordan to Rogério Poggio to her teacher Márcio de Deus.
Where in the source: Fact box, lineage line — 'Rogério Poggio > Marcio de Deus'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Vídeo: O estilo de Rogério Poggio da Infight, nosso novo GMI', 3 May 2016.(opens in a new tab)
In May 2016 Graciemag announced that the Infight team, led by professor Rogério Poggio, had joined its GRACIEMAG Indica (GMI) network of recommended academies.
Where in the source: First paragraph — 'liderada pelo professor'
Accessed:
Graciemag wrote in 2016 that Poggio had been a black belt since 1995 and ran Infight from the academy at the Alfabarra condominium in Barra da Tijuca.
Where in the source: Second paragraph — 'Faixa-preta desde 1995'
Accessed:
Graciemag highlighted a win by Poggio over Alexandre 'Soca' at the 2010 International Masters.
Where in the source: Third paragraph — 'Alexandre Soca'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Dos tapetes da avó a uma das academias mais tradicionais do Brasil: a lição de Rogerio Poggio', 31 July 2019.(opens in a new tab)
In a July 2019 Graciemag profile, Poggio, a native of Rio de Janeiro aged 47, had 35 years in jiu-jitsu and almost 25 as a black belt, and took seriously the mission of teaching and forming young people at Infight.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph — '35 anos'
Accessed:
Graciemag says Poggio left a suit-and-tie job as an accounting employee in downtown Rio de Janeiro to make the gi his everyday clothing, and never regretted it.
Where in the source: Fourth paragraph, on his career change — 'contabilidade'
Accessed:
Poggio told Graciemag that being a jiu-jitsu teacher goes far beyond class hours: teachers are a mirror for young students, so what they do outside the academy matters, and the job means being at tournaments on Saturdays and Sundays to support students, which he had done for many years and still did.
Where in the source: Opening and third paragraphs, his quotes on teaching — 'espelho'
Accessed:
Poggio described himself to Graciemag as an enthusiast of jiu-jitsu for children, named Leão Teixeira's work as something he admires, said the greatest reward is seeing the academy's children grow into adults of good character, and said that at Infight and in the network of private schools where he has taught for decades, children learn that you do not always win, that the best were not born good but sweated for it, to look people in the eye with respect rather than challenge, and that perfection comes through mistakes.
Where in the source: Fifth paragraph, quote on children — 'escolas particulares'
Accessed:
In his own account to Graciemag, Poggio liked to surf and lived across from Renzo, Ralph and Ryan Gracie, who became his beach friends, and jiu-jitsu started naturally from watching them; around 1984 he and his friends stacked four of his grandmother's Persian rugs at his friend Paulo Nardy's house and began classes with their teacher Toti 'Pitoco' Jordan. He recalled that Renzo was a purple belt then and that Roberto 'Gordo' began training on those old rugs.
Where in the source: Sixth paragraph, quote on his beginnings — 'tapetes persas'
Accessed:
Graciemag says Pitoco accepted an attractive offer to teach in São Paulo and left the team's headquarters at the Alfabarra club in Poggio's charge; Poggio received his black belt on 21 September 1995, his birthday, and said that, despite the joy, it was a little frightening because he would now have to lead the training and prepare the team's athletes.
Where in the source: Seventh paragraph, on the handover — 'assustador'
Accessed:
Poggio told Graciemag that after taking over he made the hard decision to step away from elite competition and spent five years developing fighters and the team's younger athletes; when he turned 30 and became a master-age competitor he returned to master tournaments, and by 2019 had been competing continuously for 16 years, travelling to events as a way to study jiu-jitsu, inspire his students, stay up to date and keep fit.
Where in the source: Seventh paragraph, later part — 'virei master'
Accessed:
Graciemag reported in July 2019 that Poggio would receive the sixth degree on his black belt that September from his teacher and friend Pitoco.
Where in the source: Eighth paragraph — 'sexto grau'
Accessed:
Graciemag wrote in 2019 that Infight had more than 40 affiliated academies around the world, from Canada to Japan.
Where in the source: Sixth paragraph, first sentence — '40 filiais'
Accessed:
In 2019 Poggio said he saw Infight growing toward the United States and Europe over the next five to ten years; he credited professor Renato with solid work in Japan and his students and teachers Ryan Christopher and Eduardo Cadena with consistent work in Canada, a country he travels to often.
Where in the source: Final quoted paragraph, on expansion — 'Estados Unidos'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Rogerio Poggio confirma datas e detalhes da Copa Alfabarra', 16 August 2022.(opens in a new tab)
As organiser of the Copa Alfabarra tournament, Poggio told Graciemag in 2022 that he created its Festival Kids because he is a fan of children's jiu-jitsu and had worked with children for more than 25 years: children who did not want to or could not compete for a medal got an hour of the event to themselves, learning the rules through play, and every child received a gold medal at the end.
Where in the source: Fourth paragraph, his quote on the festival — 'Decidi criar o Festival kids'
Accessed:
Poggio explained that Copa Alfabarra's cash prizes for open-class winners began as a way to attract big names, at first only for black belts and later also for brown, purple and blue belts, and that the tournament splits its open class into light and heavy so that lighter athletes have a real chance; he described Copa Alfabarra as a tournament created when Rio de Janeiro had only one jiu-jitsu federation and as an important amateur event for people who love the art but do not compete professionally.
Where in the source: Fifth to eighth paragraphs — 'premiação em dinheiro'; 'só existia uma federação'
Accessed:
IBJJF, Master International Jiu-Jitsu Championship – South America 2022 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Poggio took silver in the Master 5 black belt lightweight (76 kg) division at the 2022 IBJJF Master International – South America.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 5 / Black / Light (76.00kg)', place 2
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Rogerio Poggio comenta sucesso da 30ª edição da Copa Alfabarra', 6 December 2022.(opens in a new tab)
Copa Alfabarra held its 30th edition on 4 December 2022 at the Barra da Tijuca Velodrome with about 800 registered athletes; organiser Rogerio Poggio said it had become the oldest active tournament of its kind in Rio, that it had survived while many others failed for lack of sponsors and growing competition, and that this edition added a no-gi open class with prize money in an ADCC year and a Festival Teens, a rules-and-technique workshop for 10- to 15-year-olds not yet ready for competition brackets.
Where in the source: Article body, his quotes — 'copa mais antiga em atividade'; 'Festival Teens'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Copa Alfabarra reúne guerreiros e realiza festival infantil de Jiu-Jitsu', 26 November 2014.(opens in a new tab)
Graciemag reported that the 20th Copa Alfabarra on 22-23 November 2014 drew about 1,200 athletes from 78 teams, including competitors from the United States, Canada, Kazakhstan and Europe; its Festival Kids was led by Rogério Poggio and his team, about 400 kg of food collected at the event was to be donated by the organisers to Infight's social project in Cidade de Deus, and Infight won the team title.
Where in the source: Opening paragraphs and Festival Kids section — '400 kilos'; 'coordenada pelo professor Rogério Poggio'
Accessed:
Graciemag, '10 motivos para mulheres praticarem Jiu-Jitsu, por Rogério Poggio', 9 March 2020.(opens in a new tab)
In a 2020 Graciemag piece of ten reasons for women to train jiu-jitsu, Poggio named building self-esteem and self-confidence as a main reason, alongside self-defence, communication and stress relief, and gave social inclusion as another, citing Infight student Gabrieli Pessanha as an example and a reference for the younger children of Infight's social project coordinated by professor Márcio de Deus.
Where in the source: Introduction and reasons 1, 6, 7 and 8 — 'autoestima'; 'coordenado pelo professor Márcio de Deus'
Accessed:
Graciemag, '7 lições de Jiu-Jitsu que os leitores aprenderam em nossa revista mais recente', 29 June 2016.(opens in a new tab)
Graciemag said Poggio gave a lesson plan on the butterfly guard in its June 2016 issue, quoting him that the seated or butterfly guard needs no strength, does not overload the neck and opens variations for chokes and exits to the kimura.
Where in the source: Lesson 6 — 'guarda-borboleta'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Alto rendimento no Jiu-Jitsu', 13 June 2016.(opens in a new tab)
Graciemag's June 2016 high-performance guide described the butterfly guard as Poggio's favourite position, with the Infight leader detailing its details and levers.
Where in the source: Section on the butterfly guard — 'posição predileta'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Aumente sua pressão no Jiu-Jitsu com a manobra "crush", do professor Rogério Poggio', 10 April 2018.(opens in a new tab)
In 2018 Graciemag published Poggio's top-pressure technique he calls 'The Crush': starting from a bullfighter-style guard pass, when the opponent blocks the knee-on-belly he spins into a position that puts pressure on the diaphragm or neck, then after stabilising and scoring the pass returns to the side for a cross choke.
Where in the source: Second and third paragraphs — 'The Crush'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Aprenda a dominar as costas no Jiu-Jitsu, com Rogério Poggio', 6 May 2020.(opens in a new tab)
In May 2020 Graciemag used a match of Poggio's in the Mineirinho circuit of the FJJD-Rio and CBJJD to show his back take: gripping the lapels and spreading his weight, he inserted the first hook, fell back pulling his opponent onto him, attacked the neck and used the opening to insert the second hook and score four points.
Where in the source: Second paragraph — 'Circuito Mineirinho'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Abu Dhabi Grand Slam de Jiu-Jitsu: Os finalistas da faixa-preta no Rio de Janeiro', 12 November 2017.(opens in a new tab)
Graciemag reported that Poggio won gold in the master 4 up-to-77 kg black belt division at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Rio de Janeiro in November 2017.
Where in the source: Masters paragraph — 'garantiu o ouro no master 4'
Accessed:
Graciemag, 'Double Five e Infight empolgadas com o GP Rio de Equipes', 23 September 2020.(opens in a new tab)
In 2020 Poggio told Graciemag he loves team grand prix events because the format involves everyone: even an athlete who loses keeps hoping the team will turn the match around and may get to fight again in the next round.
Where in the source: Infight paragraph — 'Eu adoro os GPs por equipes'
Accessed:
Infight Jiu Jitsu SP, Facebook video post, 3 October 2019.(opens in a new tab)
On 3 October 2019 Infight Jiu Jitsu SP posted a video of a seminar by Pitoco and the promotion of professors Paulo Nardy and Rogério Poggio to the sixth degree of the black belt, an event that gathered 160 people on the mat.
Where in the source: Video post caption, dated 3 October 2019 — 'graduação de sexto grau'
Accessed:
INFIGHT OFICIAL (@infight_oficial), Instagram reel, 24 February 2025.(opens in a new tab)
In February 2025 Infight's official Instagram account described master Rogério Poggio as the leader of Infight RJ and reported that, at a seminar at the team's headquarters, he instructed his teachers and black belts on safe practice, stressing that certain techniques should be avoided in daily training to prevent serious injuries to students; the post was titled 'Jiu-Jitsu Preventivo'.
Where in the source: Reel caption, 24 February 2025 — 'Jiu-Jitsu Preventivo'
Accessed:
IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2002 — results.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2002 Brazilian National Championship (Campeonato Brasileiro), Rogerio Poggio of Infight placed second in the Master 1 black belt lightweight division and third in the Master 1 black belt open class.
Where in the source: Division tables 'Master 1 / Preta / Masculino / Leve' (place 2) and '... / Absoluto' (place 3)
Accessed:
IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2003 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Rogerio Poggio of Infight won the Master 1 black belt lightweight division at the 2003 Brazilian National Championship and took silver in the Master 1 black belt open class.
Where in the source: Division tables 'Master 1 / Black / Male / Light' (place 1) and '... / Open Class' (place 2)
Accessed:
IBJJF, Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2005 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Poggio took bronze in the Master 1 black belt lightweight division at the 2005 IBJJF Master International championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Master 1 / Black / Male / Light', place 3
Accessed:
IBJJF, Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2008 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Poggio took silver in the Master 2 black belt lightweight division at the 2008 IBJJF Master International championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Master 2 / Black / Male / Light', place 2
Accessed:
IBJJF, Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2010 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Rogerio Poggio de Castro of Infight took silver in the Master 2 black belt lightweight division at the 2010 IBJJF Master International championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Master 2 / Black / Male / Light', place 2
Accessed:
IBJJF, International Master & Senior Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2012 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Poggio took bronze in the Master 3 black belt lightweight division at the 2012 IBJJF International Master & Senior championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 3 / Black / Light (162.60lb)', place 3
Accessed:
IBJJF, Master International IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2013 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Poggio took bronze in the Master 3 black belt lightweight division at the 2013 IBJJF Master International championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 3 / Black / Light (162.60lb)', place 3
Accessed:
IBJJF, Master International Open Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF 2016 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Poggio took bronze in the Master 3 black belt lightweight division at the 2016 IBJJF Master International Open.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 3 / Black / Light (73.50kg)', place 3
Accessed:
IBJJF, Master International IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship – South America 2017 — results.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2017 IBJJF Master International – South America, Rogerio Poggio de Castro of Infight JJ took silver in the Master 4 black belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 4 / Black / Light (76.00kg)', place 2
Accessed:
IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu (Juvenil, Adulto e Master) 2022 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Rogerio Poggio de Castro of Infight JJ won the Master 5 black belt lightweight (76 kg) division at the 2022 Brazilian National Championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 5 / Black / Light (76.00kg)', place 1
Accessed:
IBJJF, World Master IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2022 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Poggio took silver in the Master 5 black belt lightweight division at the 2022 IBJJF World Master Championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 5 / Black / Light (168.00lb)', place 2
Accessed:
IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu (Juvenil, Adulto e Master) 2023 — results.(opens in a new tab)
Rogerio Poggio de Castro of Infight JJ won the Master 5 black belt lightweight (76 kg) division at the 2023 Brazilian National Championship.
Where in the source: Division table 'Male / Master 5 / Black / Light (76.00kg)', place 1
Accessed: