Marcus Vinicius de Macedo Soares
…was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has been a member of Carlson Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team since 1970. Soares, a 8th Degree Black Belt, is the most experienced Carlson Gracie Team Professor in activity today.
During his lifetime career, Marcus has had the opportunity to spar with and instruct some of the best Brazilian fighters of our time. During the years of 1970 – 1981, Professor Soares was a very active and successful member of the Carlson Gracie Team.In 1975, Soares began his university studies in economics and was invited to be a member of Gama Filho University Judo Team. During this time he began his judo training with the best Judo Team in the country. The quality of instruction was high and once a year Prof. Pedro Gama Filho (The owner of the University) brought the best Judo masters from Japan (like Sensei Yamamoto, Tokyo Police Instructor) for two-month courses.In 1979, after a few years teaching at Carlson Gracie Academy, Soares decided to open his own school. “I began to create a strong team, always representing the Carlson Gracie Team. My students always received classification at the Carlson Gracie Team Trials. Originally we were only allowed two competitors of each weight category, and usually we had ten to fifteen of each weight category. To win club trials was always harder than winning any other competition”.
In 1980 Professor Soares began another university program (physical education) that enabled him to develop in his students, not only technical expertise but also perfect physical conditioning, the most important attribute for any successful fighter.In 1991 the Professor returned to teaching his students at the Carlson Gracie Academy and began organizing the main Jiu Jitsu Tournaments in Rio de Janeiro. Soares was directly involved in coordinating events at the Copa Rio Sport Center, the Oscar Do Jiu-Jitsu (Copa Pele de Jiu-Jitsu), the Iate Clube Jardim Guanabara Tournament, the Copa Pixacao, the Company Championship, and the Copa Nastra among many others.In 1996, after receiving a student from Vancouver, Canada for some private classes the student was so impressed with the Professor’s methodology and style of teaching that she invited Soares to come to Canada to teach Jiu-Jitsu.In March 1997, Professor Soares left Rio de Janeiro and began his journey to Canada. Along the way he stopped in Miami for a visit with some his old students Marcus “Conan” Silviera and his brother Marcelo Silveira. Conan and Marcelo now lead the very successful American Top Team Academy in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. After visiting Miami, Soares traveled to Los Angeles to visit Carlson Gracie to discuss his plans for opening the first Carlson Gracie affiliated academy in Canada.On April 7, 1997 Marcus held his first introductory class in Vancouver, British Columbia. After six months, with student membership steadily growing, the newly founded Team participated in its first tournament and received Overall First Place in rankings.
Today, years after Professor Marcus Soares arrived in Canada, his influence and teachings are clearly evident in the champions that he has produced. His students are very fortunate to receive such high levels of training and instruction from the man who has widely been referred to as the “Encyclopedia of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Marcus’ strict attention to detail and expert level experience in Brazilian Vale Tudo assist in ensuring that his fighters are fully prepared for all ranges of Mixed Martial Arts competition.
