Te Manawa's vision is to bring world class jiu jitsu instructors to Queenstown NZ. We believe that you need to learn from many different instructors as Jiu Jitsu is a journey and should be shared with as many people as possible. Here is a list of amazing instructors we have had the pleasure to learn from so far;
1st Lead Instructor - Rodrigo Teixeira is from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. He started his Jiu Jitsu journey at the age of 12 under his brother Professor Pedro Carvalho. In 1995 Rodrigo moved to USA, Rodrigo & his brother were amongst the first few BJJ Instructors spreading the gentle art in the states. Rodrigo got his Black Belt at the age of 21, recently he got promoted to the rank of 5th Degree Black Belt. Rodrigo will be back on NZ shores again, so keep an eye out.
2nd Lead Instructor - Jess Fraser has dedicated every aspect of her life into the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Amongst the first of Australian females that have made Brazilian Jiu Jitsu her career, she is an outstanding BJJ athlete as well as community leader. She continues to work tirelessly on both pursuits and changes the landscape of jiu jitsu within Australia as a result.
Though she is an accomplished athlete (earning her black belt in a record 6 years) she is most well known for creating and leading the internationally recognised group, Australian Girls In Gi.