Alessandra Vieira
Vieira in May 2022
BornAlessandra Vieira de Souza[1]
(1976-03-14) March 14, 1976
São Pedro dos Ferros
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Other namesAlessandra Vieira Jamgochian[2]
NicknameLeka[1]
ResidenceValencia, California
NationalityBrazilian / American
DivisionFeathereweight
StyleBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu
TeamCheckmat
Gracie Humaitá
Dojo/Machado
Rank6th deg. BJJ black belt[lower-alpha 1]
OccupationBJJ instructor
Websitecheckmatvalencia
Medal record
Representing  Brazil
Submission Wrestling
ADCC World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2005 Anaheim, USA -60 kg
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1999 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil −60 kg
Silver medal – second place 2000 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil −64 kg
Gold medal – first place 2002 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil −64 kg
Gold medal – first place 2005 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil −64 kg
Pan-American Championship
Gold medal – first place 2001 Florida, USA −64 kg
Gold medal – first place 2002 Florida, USA −64 kg
Gold medal – first place 2003 Florida, USA −64 kg
Brazilian National Championship
Silver medal – second place 1994 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil − 58.5 kg

Alessandra "Leka" Vieira (born March 14, 1976) is a submission grappler and a 6th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach.[lower-alpha 1] Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of women's Brazilian jiu-jitsu, she became in 1999 the first-ever female black belt World champion.[1][3]

A highly accomplished competitor, Vieira is a three-time World champion, four-time Pan American champion[lower-alpha 2] as well as an ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship finalist, in 2022 she was inducted in the United States Martial Art Hall of Fame.[3] As a 6th degree black belt, she is one of the highest ranked female jiu-jitsu practitioners in the United States.[1]

Career

Alessandra Vieira de Souza was born on March 14, 1976, in São Pedro dos Ferros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.[1] At the age of 16, after an ACL injury forced her to take time away from handball, she started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) under Aloisio Silva, a Carlos Gracie's black belt, founder of Dojo jiu-jitsu and one of the first BJJ masters to teach women.[4] She was promoted to blue belt after six months of training and two years later was a finalist at the 1994 Brazilian National Championship winning silver. She was promoted to black belt by Silva in 1998 then won the 1999 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship a year later, becoming the first female black belt world champion.[1][lower-alpha 3] She won silver at the 2000 World Championship in the featherweight division,[6][lower-alpha 4] then the following year, she won gold at the Pan American Championship. In 2001 she was invited to help start a women's only class at Rigan Machado's academy which resulted in her move to California and representing Machado JJ in competition.[8]

In 2002, Vieira won the World Championship and the Pan American in the same year.[9] After promoting Cindy Omatsu in 2002, she became the first woman to promote another woman to BJJ black belt.[lower-alpha 5][10] She won the Pan championship again in 2003 in the featherweight division.[lower-alpha 4] In 2005, she faced Kyra Gracie in the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship final losing on points after a 16-minute match for the woman's under 60 kilograms (130 lb) title;.[11] that same year, representing Gracie Humaitá, Vieira won the World Championship for the third time after defeating Kyra Gracie in the lightweight final.[lower-alpha 6][13] In 2004, Vieira opened her own school out of Torrance, California.[14] In 2015, she opened CheckMat Valencia an affiliate of Checkmat.[15] In 2014, she became a member of Black Belt Magazine hall of fame after being chosen as Competitor of the Year.[16]

In 2018, Vieira launched the Wonder Woman BJJ Project, a program to help promote and expand the role of women in jiu-jitsu.[10] In 2019 Vieira returned to competition to win the Pan Masters championship in the featherweight division.[2] In March 2022, she received her 6th degree from Léo Vieira,[3][17] and was inducted in the United States Martial Art Hall of Fame.[3]

Championships and recognitions

Championships

Main Achievements:[1]

Recognitions

  • Black Belt Magazine hall of fame (2014 Competitor of the Year[16])
  • United States Martial Art Hall of Fame (Silver Life Award 2022[3])

Instructor lineage

Vieira's jiu-jitsu instructor lineage can be traced from Carlos Gracie Sr, one of the founders of the art, to Grand Master Aloísio Silva (7th degree):[1][19]

Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Robson Gracie > Aloísio Silva > Leka Vieira[1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 under Aloísio Silva
  2. ↑ 3 in the Adult black belt division,[1] 1 in the Master 3 black belt division[2]
  3. ↑ The first IBJJF World Championship open to women took place in 1998, the unique female division, which merged all belts from blue to black, was won by purple belt Thaís Ramos.[5]
  4. 1 2 Purple, brown and black adult female combined division[7]
  5. ↑ Black Belt awarded together with Rigan Machado[1]
  6. ↑ Brown and black adult female division[12]
  7. ↑ Master 3 black belt female featherweight division as Alessandra Vieira Jamgochian[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Alessandra "Leka" Vieira". BJJ Heroes.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Pan 2019 results". International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Inductees, USMAHOF. "Inductee Class of 2022" (PDF). United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
  4. ↑ "The Fabulous Five Featuring Leka Vieira". Girls in Gis Strength in Solidarity. January 11, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Timeline, The Development Of The Female Division In The IBJJF World Championships". BJJ Heroes - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team History, Fighter Stats, Biographies and News. December 10, 2021.
  6. ↑ "World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2000". World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2000.
  7. ↑ "Timeline, The Development of the Female Division in the IBJJF World Championships". BJJ Heroes. December 10, 2021.
  8. ↑ "World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2002". World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2002.
  9. ↑ Circle, Jiu-Jitsu (October 19, 2020). "Famous Female BJJ Black Belts". Jiu-Jitsu Circle.
  10. 1 2 "Leka Vieira's Female BJJ Project, Empowering Through Education". BJJ Heroes. September 6, 2018.
  11. ↑ Burne, Kathrine (October 10, 2023). "Throwback: ADCC 2005 Introduces First Women's Divisions". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  12. ↑ "World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2005". World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2005.
  13. ↑ "ADCC 2005". A Look Back at the Women's Divisions! • ADCC NEWS. August 11, 2005.
  14. ↑ "Não Para: Leka Vieira A Relentless Competitor – BJJ Legends Magazine". BJJ Legends Magazine – Training Tomorrows Legends Today. January 3, 2015.
  15. ↑ Miller, Rose (May 29, 2019). "Women's Jiu-Jitsu Continues To Grow at 2019 IBJJF World Championships". FloGrappling.
  16. 1 2 Team, Black Belt (April 7, 2021). "2010–2019". Black Belt Magazine.
  17. ↑ "LEKA VIEIRA – Checkmat Valencia". Checkmat Valencia. March 14, 1976.
  18. ↑ "Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 1994". Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 1994.
  19. ↑ "BJJ Red Belts: Things That You May Not Know". Jiujitsu News. May 20, 2020.
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