{"id":371,"date":"2013-09-18T08:39:54","date_gmt":"2013-09-18T07:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/?p=371"},"modified":"2016-09-04T14:51:22","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T13:51:22","slug":"bjj-cyprus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/bjj-cyprus\/","title":{"rendered":"BJJ on Aphrodite\u2019s island"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Known for its Mount Olympus, its Greek ruins and its beaches where Aphrodite would have been born, Cyprus is also a land of BJJ. Let\u2019s discover the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.graciebarracy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Gracie Barra Cyprus<\/a> in Limassol.<\/p>\n<h2>Birth of Gracie Barra Cyprus<\/h2>\n<p>The academy is located at the bend of a street in the suburb of Limassol. An former garage now shows a window dedicated to <strong>martial art and Brazilian jiu-jitsu<\/strong>. As I crossed the door I immediately saw a Brazilian flag, Taz and the Gracie Barra logo. There was no doubt about the main sport in the gym! Many pictures of <strong>Braulio Estima<\/strong> (master of the team) also complete the scenery. For an entire practice of BJJ each corner of the gym is used (with an upper floor fitted out for physical training).<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-371 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/65749_10150706750030867_1463560215_n-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Gracie Barra Cyprus academy brazilian jiu-jitsu\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/65749_10150706750030867_1463560215_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/65749_10150706750030867_1463560215_n-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/62657_10150910243870867_752177140_n-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Gracie Barra Cyprus academy brazilian jiu-jitsu\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/62657_10150910243870867_752177140_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/62657_10150910243870867_752177140_n-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/389335_10150910238655867_1886141988_n-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Gracie Barra Cyprus academy brazilian jiu-jitsu\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/389335_10150910238655867_1886141988_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/389335_10150910238655867_1886141988_n-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/525503_10150910238495867_1254139874_n-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Gracie Barra Cyprus academy brazilian jiu-jitsu\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/525503_10150910238495867_1254139874_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/525503_10150910238495867_1254139874_n-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/541233_10150910238385867_1765413580_n-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Gracie Barra Cyprus academy brazilian jiu-jitsu\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/541233_10150910238385867_1765413580_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/541233_10150910238385867_1765413580_n-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now that the stage is set, let\u2019s focus on <strong>Gracie Barra Cyprus\u2019 story<\/strong> and more specifically its founder: <strong>Argyris Argyrides.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 1998 when he was in the army, he discovered (painfully ^^) Brazilian jiu-jitsu during a hand-to-hand sparing with his coach. Despite of his long experience in karate (15 years of practice which might be at the origin of his nickname \u201cSense\u00ef\u201d), he was submitted with a choke without really understanding how.<br \/>\nSurprised and impressed, he decided to find out more about jiu-jitsu. How? With some technics taught by the coach in the army but more especially with books and VHS sent to him by his brother who lives in the USA. From then on he developed his knowledge in BJJ with a few friends. This was a prolific way to train as Argyris won to <strong>two medals at the European championship.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To keep on progressing he was very keen to meet a <strong>Brazilian jiu-jitsu master<\/strong>. So he went to <strong>Birmingham<\/strong> in 2005 in the <strong>Gracie Barra<\/strong> academy directed by <strong>Braulio Estima<\/strong>. The current cypriot academy and a strong relationship have been created at this meeting. Braulio Estima followed the academy\u2019s evolution, visiting them regularly and recently gave the<strong> black belt to Argyris<\/strong> (oss!).<\/p>\n<p>Gracie Barra Cyprus counts around 50 members: <strong>one black belt, one brown belt, 5 purple belts, around 15 blue belts and many white belts.<\/strong><br \/>\nThe team also counts <strong>several women<\/strong> who began BJJ with self-defence\/BJJ for women class. As they became familiar with BJJ, they slowly abandoned this course to train with men in the traditional BJJ course.<br \/>\nArgyris is also proud to propose recently a <strong>children BJJ class<\/strong> with already 10 students.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see, the academy has evolved well and has a nice dynamic both at local and European level. Despite the limits of insular living (it is harder to travel when you live on an island!) the <strong>members of Gracie Barra Cyprus regularly compete at European meetings<\/strong>. They are also <strong>very pleased to regularly welcome visitors to exchange about Brazilian jiu-jitsu<\/strong> (good time guaranteed!).<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-384 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/793761_10151823858025867_604644339_o-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Gracie Barra Cyprus academy brazilian jiu-jitsu\" width=\"580\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/793761_10151823858025867_604644339_o-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/793761_10151823858025867_604644339_o-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/793761_10151823858025867_604644339_o.jpg 1032w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>BJJ an increasing sport on the island<\/h2>\n<p>Jiu-jitsu is well established in Cyprus with <strong>4 academies on the island<\/strong> (2 in Limassol, 1 in Nicosie and the academy of Famagouste, North Cyprus, that you can discover on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bjjglobetrotter.com\/?cat=17\" target=\"_blank\">BJJ Globetrotter<\/a>).<\/p>\n<h2>After training?<\/h2>\n<p>Let yourself be guided by the members of the academy. They will be pleased to give you some good addresses. Remember that you can find good places to go out at the marina and around the old castle in the old town of Limassol.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-371 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000009599477Small-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Limassol seafront\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000009599477Small-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000009599477Small-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000010102129Small-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Limassol castle\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000010102129Small-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000010102129Small-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000023440041Small-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Limassol mosque\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000023440041Small-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000023440041Small-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>I also invite you to discover the island\u2019s fabulous Greek ruins and more specially the site of Kourion, near Limassol.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-371 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000026158444Small-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Ruins of an early Christian basilica on Cyprus\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000026158444Small-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000026158444Small-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000026084213Small-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Mosaic of the gladiator Kourion\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000026084213Small-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/iStock_000026084213Small-70x70.jpg 70w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<br \/>\nFor board sports lovers Limassol has some good kitesurfing spots (especially in Kourion).<br \/>\nThe island is also plentiful with nice villages and hiking trails in the mountains (a good way to find some coolness in summer when you have 35\u00b0C on the coast!). Basking on its nice beaches or practicing one of the many activities you can find there (snorkelling, boat trip&#8230;). To sum up Cyprus has on many different attractive points with a <strong>very warm population.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I could feel this warm welcome during my entire stay and <strong>more particularly at the Gracie Barra Cypru<\/strong>s. I left the island with the impression that I had been a member of the team&#8230; and with the wish to come back.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to all and see you soon!<br \/>\nOss!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Known for its Mount Olympus, its Greek ruins and its beaches where Aphrodite would have..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v14.0.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/bjj-cyprus\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Art-of-BJJ a feminin look on BJJ\",\"description\":\"Un site utilisant R\\u00e9seau Art of BJJ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/bjj-cyprus\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/09\/793761_10151823858025867_604644339_o.jpg\",\"width\":1032,\"height\":774,\"caption\":\"Gracie Barra Cyprus academy brazilian jiu-jitsu\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/bjj-cyprus\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/bjj-cyprus\/\",\"name\":\"BJJ in Cyprus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/bjj-cyprus\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-09-18T07:39:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-04T13:51:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b7b7daf894741691dffc821f67cc6e0e\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/bjj-cyprus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":[\"Person\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b7b7daf894741691dffc821f67cc6e0e\",\"name\":\"Marie-Laure\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d5c75b0ab8f228866a67eaafdbc59e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Marie-Laure\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":955,"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions\/955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.art-of-bjj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}