Saving Fernando Terere

Monday, 23 November 2009 22:48

While giving us more insight into his early days of Jiu Jitsu in Brazil, Toronto BJJ's Professor Jorge Britto last night made a passionate plea for help from the members of the academy after a story surfaced on GracieMag.com. Jorge was asking for help for his friend and to help keep a dream alive that he may one day get to compete against 'Terere'.

If you are a student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the chances are you have watched a few Mundials DVD's and there is always a chant going out over the crowd

WHOOP TERERE! WHOOP TERERE!

Terere is the name lovingly assigned to Fernando Augusto and the chant at BJJ tournaments are call outs for the fallen fighter.

If you wish to learn about the story of Terere it is written and documented by Gracie Mag.com. It is a tragic story of a fighter who's life was turned upside down after he was arrested on plane coming back from from Washington to Sao Paulo.

Something led Terere to bite a passenger on row 20 and hit another one, on row 15 of United Airlines’ flight 861.

Please click on this link for the full story
Hard times for Fernando Terere
The BJJ champion's struggle
by Luca Atalla (part 1 published in Nov. 2004, part 2 in Jan. 2005)

This chain of events dragged Terere off the tatame's and into a desperate life fighting the Legal system and sadly a drug addiction.

Between his return to Brazil in 2005 and 2009 there have been several stories reporting a 'mentally ill and homeless' Terere taking care of cars in the streets and begging for change. Jorge himself spoke of this and recalled seeing him doing this exact thing last time he was home visiting.

Now Terere’s family pleas for help through Graciemag.com as the Black belt needs immediate rehab. Jorge, being a friend and Graciemag associate is rallying Toronto BJJ to come to his aid. The family cannot afford the treatment that he so desperately needs.

Terere’s family pleas for help
Black belt needs immediate rehab

If you wish to help GRACIEMAG.com can receive at the gracie@graciemag.com email messages from anyone wishing to help Terere at this moment of difficulty. Information will be passed over to Elan Santiago and the fighter’s family.

You can also make a donation at Toronto BJJ at the front desk- $5 will go a hell of a long way.

I hope you can help bring one of Jiu Jitsu most loved Black Belts back to his former greatness and help the family bring their son back.