Episode 63: Claudio Franca: From Rio to Santa Cruz: How Jiu-Jitsu Built a Community of Mercy, Humility, and Embracing How to Lose

Mercy isn’t the word most people expect from a fighting art—but that’s exactly where we start. We sit down with Master Claudio Franca, who left Rio de Janeiro in the mid-90s with little more than a gi, a surfer’s heart, and a mission to plant Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Santa Cruz long before it anybody have ever heard of it. He opens up about early challenge matches, skeptical onlookers, and how a rough surf town learned to love the “gentle art” that wins with control, not damage.

From choosing Santa Cruz over the sprawl of SoCal to building a school that feels like family, Claudio traces the evolution of BJJ from a niche curiosity to a global community. We explore why the first lesson is learning how to lose—and how that rewires ego, patience, and resilience more than any medal ever could. The stories flow from Gracie lineage and the roots of self-defense to quiet transformations: kids finding their voice, women setting boundaries, and stressed adults walking out calmer than they walked in.

The conversation turns raw when we talk about COVID: a shuttered gym, teammates training in garages, and the grief of those we lost. When the mats reopened, Claudio’s joy was simple and profound—I forgot how much I love this. He describes the dojo as the most democratic room in the county: cops and former rivals, rich and broke, teens and sixty-year-olds, immigrants and locals—all solving problems together, one round at a time. If you’ve ever wondered how BJJ can be both fierce and kind, this is your map to the mindset, the community, and the deeper health that keeps people coming back.

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