Paiva family at Euro Open / Photo: personal archive
Who in your view will be the purple belt standouts at the 2011 Pan, starting this Thursday in Irvine, California?
Our first bet comes from the Rio de Janeiro branch of team Alliance.
It was there, at the academy located in the Leblon borough of the city, that GRACIEMAG.com heard a practitioner remark about one of the team’s purple belts:
“Have you ever heard Gigi praise a student without cause? And especially his son? So the kid must really be good.” Makes sense.
Yes, at great cost, Alexandre “Gigi” Paiva let escape words of praise. They were for his son, young Victor Genovesi Paiva, a lightweight signed up for the Pan. Will he confirm the favoritism? Check out Victinho (in white gi) in action in the European Open 2011 semifinals, where he won head and neck above the rest.