The able guard of the Miyaos brought commoners and noblemen alike to their feet. In this image, Paulo is in the under-65 kg final against Pedro Torres. Photo: John Lamonica.
Anyone who reads GRACIEMAG.com on a regular basis is already aware of some of the achievements of the Miyao brothers, a sort of Mendes brothers hailing from the Brazilian state of Paraná but now train at the São Paulo academy of Cicero Costha.
First, Paulo Henrique and João Ricardo Miyao shone in 2010 at a tournament promoted by Gabriel Vella at Pinheiros Club. Today, the brothers have reached even greater heights. And they have already gained a legion of fans. Among them, the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi.
Featherweight João Miyao went down the line beating each of his opponents in the absolute blue belt division until facing a tough (and big) judoka from Canada in the final.
“The rumor going around here is that the kids here trained day and night for this event, and even the black belts at the gym had their work cut out for them in trying to pass their guard,” whispered a teacher in Abu Dhabi. “João fought so well at blue belt that Sheikh Tahnoon stayed until the absolute final just to see him fight the big guy.”
Once the action had ended, the whole stadium applauded the smaller fighter’s victory. Now his brother, Paulo Miyao, was the winner at purple belt.