Cyclone Dana is expected to strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds gusting up to 120 kph and is likely to make landfall late on Thursday
asia56 minutes ago
Being a Brazilian and born in Rio de Janeiro, Oliveira likes spending time on the beach, watching movies and listening to Alicia Keys.
Oliveira spoke about the School Jiu-Jitsu programme and about the city he calls his own with Khaleej Times.
Excerpts:
I came here 11 months ago. I got invited to work here for the School Jiu-Jitsu programme by Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed. They invited me to move over here and teach the kids and also work at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club. I love to be here in Abu Dhabi.
It is a project started by Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed, who is a keen Jiu-Jitsu competitor. It is under his patronage.
We have 20,000 kids learning Jiu-Jitsu from Grades 6, 7 and 8. By 2015, his project will have 500 schools teaching Jiu-Jitsu in Abu Dhabi.
It is a unique project. There is no such project as big as this, the size of this, anywhere around the world.
In the future, we are going to have the best Jiu-Jitsu fighters of the world from Abu Dhabi. We are also teaching and training them in Jiu-Jitsu to become better people. We have already started seeing the changes. Kids have more respect, confidence. That is the idea behind the project. It is not just about being a fighter but being a better person as well. We are doing great and everyone is impressed by how the kids have improved. Teaching kids is my second love.
When I was a kid, my family had a horse in Brazil. I started horse riding but I started getting bigger and heavy. I was more interested in fight sport like wrestling and judo. As a Brazilian, I had to play football but I never seriously took up football. I wanted to be a fighter.
It is a prestigious event with some great fighters from around the world. This event is going to put Abu Dhabi on the map. After the Ultimate Fighting Championship, people have started talking about Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi also hosted the Jiu-Jitsu World Cup. Abu Dhabi has an interest in the sport.
Abu Dhabi is very positive. When I moved to Abu Dhabi, good things started happening to me in my life. I’m happy here and proud of my work here and with myself. Now, it is time to give back what Abu Dhabi gave to me.
What I like here is the energy, the people. There is construction happening, it is a bustling city. Everyone wants to get better together. People want to improve. And it is the same for me. I want to improve myself and the person I am. I’m in a good place right now.
Cyclone Dana is expected to strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds gusting up to 120 kph and is likely to make landfall late on Thursday
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