Carlson Gracie -> Andre Pederneiras -> Cesar Rezek

Bio

Cesar is carioca from Flamengo, grew up in that neighborhood playing all sports from swimming, soccer, beach soccer, volleyball, beach volleyball, futsal, rowing, judo, surfing to jiu-jitsu. He is a live witness to what was the jiu-jitsu, muay thai, luta livre and vale tudo history in Rio, most specifically in Flamengo where legends like Royler, Royce, Rolker, Marco Ruas, Hugo Duarte, Eugenio Tadeu, Flavio Molina, Luis Alves, Paulo Borracha, Manteiga, Narani, Marinho, Andre Pederneiras and many others not so famous hung out around. Curiously enough, the first Jiu-Jitsu academy Master Helio Gracie opened in Rio, at Rua Marques de Abrantes, was exactly in the same spot where Cesar lived for almost 40 years and also, in the same edifice, there was Flavio Molina’s fight den, inside his own apartment in a small covered terrace where muay thai/luta-livre/vale-tudo stars, aforementioned, sparred for innumerous hours.

His first introduction to the art was still in highschool when his colleagues gathered up in the gymnasium and grappled for the first time back in 1983. Although Cesar had had some experience from judo in his early years, there was nothing he could have done in his first grappling match. Suggested by one of the classmates, Luis Coutinho who would eventually become a black belt as well, to look up for jiu-jitsu as well as boxing, Cesar went out to research all clubs around his neighborhood, from kung fu, taekwondo, passing through academia Naja, until he found out about a jiu-jitsu class inside Corpore, a fitness club by his apartment.

He started taking classes sporadicly along with weight lifting until attending, along with his friends, the legendary Rickson x Zulu vale-tudo in Rio. After that event, he started taking jiu-jitsu classes more seriously at Corpore with a judo black belt named Celso aka “Celsinho”. Amongst the training partners in his first classes were characters such as Pedro Sauer (brown belt at that time), Rogerio Camoes (judo black belt) and Chiquinho (judo black belt), Luciano Andrade (Panta, Dede’s black belt). These judo athletes were from the Flamengo Judo Club, a well respected judo dojo in Rio, and used to come by to train at Corpore. Cesar participated into his first in-house tournament 3 weeks later, skipping a calculus test in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he got his diploma of architect and master in urban planning in 1991, already a purple belt under Dede.

Andre Pederneiras,  resident of Flamengo as well, also trained at Corpore that time, in another schedule with Rodrigo (Carlson Gracie black belt) and also at Carlson’s dojo, Cesar and “Dede” knew each other from the streets and beach of Flamengo, mostly from these “street futsal” matches that took place at “Vila”- a quiet street where Dede used to live. Cesar was white belt then and Dede a purple, soon to be brown.

Suggested by Dede to come train in Copacabana at Carlson’s, Cesar and a bunch of friends started to comute all evenings to Copacabana. On the mats, Cesar recalls Carlson and his pupils, Sergio “Bolao”(purple belt), Inacio (black belt), Bombonacha (brown) and many others.

After few months, Dede finally decided to open his own dojo in Flamengo and Cesar quit going to Copacabana to join all his street friends at the “Andre Pederneiras Jiu-Jitsu e Defesa Pessoal”. Dede was then a brown belt. Promoted to black belt shortly after. The place was inside ATP fitness club at Rua Paissandu, Flamengo.

He had amongst his training partners, legends like : Andre Pederneiras, Joao Roque, Marco Bruno, Marcos Goes, Flavio Cardoso, Paulo Barroso (Gracie Humaita), Charuto, Chico Bueno, Alexandre das Dores, Vitor Shaolin (according to his account, Cesar gave Shaolin that nickname and hooked him up with his first sponsor – Pet Food). And later on, in 2001, Andre Marola, Marcelo Meleiro, Kiki Melo, Danillo Cherman, Roberto Leitao Sr. and Jr., Jose Aldo, Marlon Sandro and many others from the Nova Uniao and “Ruas Vale-Tudo” crew who shared the mats during the jiu-jitsu class every morning at the Praia de Botafogo location.

Cesar has accompanied the development of the Andre Pederneiras Jiu-jitsu Academy, and later on Nova Uniao since its inception. As he quotes ” Those were hard times when Dede would knock at your door with a small piece of paper and pen to list how many buddies he could gather up to start his first school… it was a shoebox on the second floor in Largo do Machado, Rio, where we had to jump off the window to take a rest on the marquee while others would roll”.

He started teaching Jiu-Jitsu at his first Budokan academy in Itajuba, Minas Gerais, in the year of 1995, still as a brown belt due to a 3 years stoppage after a shoulder ligaments rupture. He led Budokan for 5 years and got promoted to 1st degree black belt in 2002. His students are now black belts (4 of them, as far as he knows) and still practice the arte suave in Itajuba, MG, under one of Cesar’s best friends and also a Nova Uniao black belt, Douglas Plata.

Cesar then returned to Rio to design a residence and on the day after 911 he was back on the mats, this time to refine his own game instead of teaching. He met Jose Aldo, Marlon Sandro, Marcos Loro, Danilo Cherman, Marcelino Freitas, Fabiano Freitas, Roberto Leitao sr. and jr., Cacareco, Babalu, Ximu, Ebenezer,Zulu, Pedro Rizzo, Antoine Jaoude, Jair Lorenco, Gleison Tibau, Kiki Ribeiro, Tony de Souza and other legends every morning for 5 years until he moved to Toronto, invited to teach at the biggest bjj academy in there.

Known for his profound knowledge and experience on the mats, Cesar leaves no question without an answer in class. His students do always well in tournaments and the club’s atmosphere is the genuine carioca jiu-jitsu club. Due to his professional background, his unique mathematical approach to the game makes him one of the most technical black belts, first generation, Dede ever made.

His best placement in tournaments were two times silver medals, 2002 and 2003 at the Mundial de Jiu-Jitsu Masters, losing by advantage in very exciting matches.

His style of teaching is based on body weight shifting, sharp transitions and basic jiu-jitsu.  Nonetheless, Cesar keeps his students updated with the latest techniques and various types of games so they can forge their defence system to the best.