Photo: Carlos Ozório
Violence is a reality in big cities all around the world and Brazil is no different. Prisons are overflowing and the prisoners that leave them, for the most part, have few perspectives in readapting to society, for lack of opportunities or activities that would keep them from a life of crime. Quite the contrary, the prison system often makes it harder for a former inmate to readapt to life outside bars.
Now, one such opportunity may be through the martial arts.
“I’ll be working alongside sub-secretary of penitentiary treatment Marcos Vinicius Lips, a Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Coronel Cesar Rubens Monteiro de Carvalho and muay thai teacher Fabio Leão in a project of great importance to society. Our mission is to, through the martial arts, help bring inmates back into society,” Amaury Bitetti tells GRACIEMAG.com.
The classes will take place at Muniz Sodré Penitentiary, in the Bangu prison complex, with inmates about to be released. The aim is to help reintegrate them through sport and, who knows, provide a profession for them through the martial arts.
“Some may even find it dangerous to teach martial arts to those who have been involved in crime. But there are examples showing it to be the opposite. Professor Fabio Leão, for instance, already makes a living through the martial arts and will be working on the project. He’s a former inmate and found opportunity through fighting. He will be a great role model for those who are going through what he went through,” adds the two-time absolute world champion.
The facilities include mats, gloves and brand new equipment, and will be inaugurated on July 27, at 10 am.