Paulo Santana
Head Instructor
Paulo Roberto Santana, better known as Paulo Santana, 33, was born on August 20, 1986, in the city of Goiânia, state of Goiás, Brazil. He was introduced to Brazilian Jiu – Jitsu at age 14, and since then never stopped training. Jiu – Jitsu has become the central focus of his life.
Paulo is a first-degree black belt, and was an athlete of Gracie Humaita team-Goiás. The team is led by fifth degree Black Belt Master Rodrigo Castro. Paulo has been emerging as one of the top names of the Brazilian Jiu – Jitsu nationwide.
In addition to Paulo’s growing success in competing and teaching Jiu-Jitsu, he is an influential athlete in the state of Goiás, where he’s been teaching Jiu – Jitsu since 2010. He also founded the all women Jiu- Jitsu class called “Gatas no tatami”, today know internationally.
Paulo earned his bachelor degree in physical education from Universidade Salgado de Oliveira and is a qualified instructor of physical preparation for high-performance athletes, physical preparation for combat athletes, and the refereeing course of Jiu – Jitsu.
Paulo has participated and won several national and international Championships. He has conquered a large number of victories always standing out among the best in the world. His 2014 championships calendar was extensive including the IBJJF World in California and the World of UAEJJ in Abu Dhabi. Where only the champions of the UAEJJ Trial have a spot. Paulo won the UAEJJ Trial in Rio Grande do Sul placing him among the top Jiu-Jitsu athletes in the world!
Paulo is now the owner of Paulo Santana BJJ, the premiere training facility for World Class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Winston Salem, NC USA.
Highlights
Adam Yates
Instructor
Adam Yates was born in Lakenheath, England in 1986 on a U.S. military base. After his father separated from the military in the early 1990s his family settled in Ohio. Like many others, he was introduced to BJJ by Royce Gracie and the UFC. He and his brother would imitate Royce on each other - and their friends - throughout their youth.
Adam is a lifelong athlete that has competed in many different sports, such as folk-style wrestling, swimming, soccer, and track and field. It wasn’t until he was stationed in San Diego with the U.S. Navy that he started to train BJJ seriously. He trained off and on with Fabio Santos before finding Rob Lovi and the Pedro Sauer Association; when he received his Blue Belt.
Due to separation from the military and starting university training to become a forester, Adam had to take some years away from the mat. During that time, he and his family moved to California to Colorado, and ultimately to North Carolina where he met Paulo Santana at the start of 2017. Since that time, Adam and his son Sawyer, have been devoted students of Paulo and BJJ. It wasn’t until recently that Adam competed for the first time - as a Purple Belt - where he won his division.
Adam is now a Brown Belt and assistant coach under Professor Paulo Santana at his gym in Winston Salem, NC.