Radicated in Brazil: Zaid Mirza First Arab To Recieve Black Belt in Middle East
After competing in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in August, ZaidMirza was awarded a black belt in honor of his achievements frommentor and world champion Cassio Werneck (World Class Jiu-Jitsu) this week in Sacramento California.
After living 14 years in Brasilia, Brazil, Mirza returned to his country andwas the first to introduce Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Jordan. His hard work and dedicationinstantly made BJJ a popular and loved sport in the country. He is the Board Secretaryof the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Jordan (www.jordanjiujitsu.com), as well as theConsultant for the Jordan Armed Forces training program. His efforts also brought BJJinto the Royal Palace of Jordan where His Majesty King Abdullah personal bodyguardstrain BJJ on daily basis.
As an active world-class competitor, Mirza is a BJJchampion in and outside the matt. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion is alsoAbu-Dhabi Champion (2004) and two-time Abu Dhabi Super Fight Challenge Champion.”I started training BJJ in 1993 and had to stop training to pursue my college eduacationin the USA when BJJ was very rare there. After 14 years of training i feel like i graduated from University with a PHD. Since i was always away from the competition arena, i hope to give my students a chance tocompete in the interantional arena and bring many titles to this area,” revealed Mirza. Zaid has recently contracted two big names of the BJJ community; names like Pedro Galiza (BTT) and World Champion Jonatas Gurgel (Nova Uniao)are currently living in Jordan where they help Mirza in expanding the gentle art in the region.It is a gratifying achievement to reach such a prestigious level thatreflects all his hard work and ongoing motivation. His students,friends and family are all very proud.