Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was brought to Canada by Marcus Soares, a black belt from Carlson Gracie's team in Rio de Janeiro, who arrived in March 1997 and became the first black belt to teach the art in this country. Nearly thirty years later he holds the rank of 9th-degree red belt, the only one in Canada, and still teaches at academies in Vancouver, Langley and Maple Ridge.
Who is Marcus Soares?
Marcus Soares was born in Brazil in 1956 and began training in 1970, as part of the first generation of Carlson Gracie's team, one of the most influential academies in the history of the sport. He taught at the Carlson Gracie Academy in Copacabana, opened his own school in Rio de Janeiro in 1979, and completed a diploma in physical education in 1983.
When did Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu come to Canada?
The invitation to teach in Canada came in 1996, and Marcus arrived the following spring. In a 2001 interview with Stephan Kesting for Grappling Magazine, he put it simply: “in March of 1997 I came to North America for the first time and started teaching.” The person who invited him, he said, “liked the material I taught and the way I taught it.”
The timing matters. Royce Gracie's win at the first UFC in 1993 had made North Americans curious about jiu-jitsu, but curiosity is not instruction. Very few people outside Brazil held the rank to teach the art properly, and in Canada, no black belt was teaching it at all.
What was it like to start from nothing?
Harder than it sounds. A martial art needs training partners at every level, and in 1997 there were none. “It was really difficult to start my work in Canada,” Marcus said, “because my students didn't have high level guys to train with.” The only way to build that depth was to produce it, one student at a time, over years.
That is what happened. The academy's own record lists 37 black belts promoted by Marcus between 2004 and 2025. The first of them, Denis Kang, was promoted in July 2004.
Who are Marcus Soares' best-known students?
Two of the earliest names on that roll show how far the lineage has travelled. Denis Kang, promoted in July 2004, went on to a long professional career in mixed martial arts. Stephan Kesting, promoted in December 2006, founded the instructional site Grapplearts and conducted the 2001 interview quoted above.
Today, eleven affiliated academies in Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands and South Africa teach the same curriculum, each led by an instructor who earned their black belt from Marcus.
A timeline of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's arrival in Canada
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1956 | Marcus Soares is born in Brazil |
| 1970 | Begins training as part of Carlson Gracie's first generation |
| 1979 | Opens his own academy in Rio de Janeiro |
| 1983 | Completes a diploma in physical education |
| 1996 | Is invited to teach in Canada |
| 1997 | Arrives in March and becomes the first black belt to teach BJJ in Canada |
| 2004 | Begins teaching in Langley, and promotes Denis Kang to black belt |
| 2006 | Promotes Stephan Kesting to black belt |
| 2025 | The most recent black belt promotions on the academy's roll |
| Today | 9th-degree red belt, still teaching at three academies |
Why does it matter who came first?
In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, rank is personal. A black belt is awarded by a specific instructor, who was promoted by another, and that chain can be traced back to the Gracie family. Knowing where a lineage starts is how students, parents and other academies judge whether a rank means what it claims to. In Canada, one of the clearest starting points is Marcus Soares, and the chain from him runs straight back to Carlson Gracie.
It is also why he is widely known as the Father of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Canada: a title earned by arriving first, and then staying for nearly thirty years to build the depth the art needed.
Common questions
Marcus Soares, a Carlson Gracie black belt from Rio de Janeiro. He arrived in March 1997 and became the first black belt to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Canada. He is now a 9th-degree red belt and still teaches in Greater Vancouver.
Black-belt instruction in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu began in Canada in March 1997, when Marcus Soares arrived to teach after being invited the year before.
Marcus Soares, a 9th-degree red belt and the only practitioner of that rank in Canada. Under the IBJJF's graduation system, the 9th degree is the highest rank a living practitioner can hold.
Carlson Gracie. Marcus joined Carlson Gracie's team in 1970 as part of its first generation, and later taught at the Carlson Gracie Academy in Copacabana.
The academy's own roll lists 37 black belts promoted by Marcus between 2004 and 2025. Eleven of them now lead affiliated academies in Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands and South Africa.
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