THE INSTRUCTORS
The depth of knowledge amassed by our instructors in competitive application will be a great advantage to anyone who desires about learning the art. If you are looking for a new fitness routine our Academy has something for you.
Rogerio Sena
Newaza Co-Founder/Head Professor
Black Belt 1st Degree, Newaza Co-Founder/Head Professor at Newaza Bjj Club, Professor Rogerio moved to United States from Brazil in 1997 with his family. Growing up in a Professional Sport environment (his Father was Professional Soccer Player and Mother a Gym Teacher) Prof. Rogerio played all kinds of sports as a child; Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Swimming, Track and Field, and Handball. As an active competitor, Prof. Rogerio competed at State-level Handball from 15 to 20 years of age when he moved to US. Prof. Rogerio start Jiu Jitsu in 1998 due to a lack of options of sport for adults and he immediately fell in love with it. After several years of hard training, he received his Black Belt in 2014 from Professor Daniel Gracie.
Peter Vo
Black Belt 1st Degree.Kids/Adult Professor
Peter Vo is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt with over 10 years of experience and has a passion to train and teach. His love for grappling began in high school where he wrestled from his sophomore through senior year. The absence of a wrestling program in college led him to try Aikido and Caporeira however, neither satisfied his passion to grapple as, he would come to find, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu would. Shortly after graduating college, Peter began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with Cesario de Souza who at that time was a 2nd Degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under Edvaldo Maguila. As a brown belt, Peter moved and began training and teaching under another Edvaldo Maguila black belt, Adila Pereira. Peter received his Black Belt from Adila Pereira on the podium at the 2014 Summer Boston Open.
Felipe Goncalves
Purple Belt. Adult Instructor
My name is Felipe Goncalves and you can say that my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey is a little strange. When I was 15-years-old I became a UFC fanatic. Anderson Silva had just become the UFC Champion and I watched every single event. I used to hear a lot about BJJ but there were no gyms in town to try out to see what it was all about. It wasn't until years later that my cousin told me that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was coming to town. Long story short, I trained BJJ for about a year and a half, received my blue blet, and out of frustration I quit. About 3 years later Newaza BJJ Club opened in town. I felt as though I had matured and was ready for the challenge so I called Professor Rogerio and asked to join the club. He opened the doors for me and ever since then I never looked back. I was the blue belt that quit but some how I crossed paths with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu again and I believe it’s for me to make a difference, one way or another. When I earned my Purple belt it brought an amazing feeling of accomplishment. Some days I am injured or extremely tired from a long day of work but being there just helps me release everything, even if it means just sitting and watching a class. I love being at the gym and bringing positive energy to the environment.
Jose Fernendez
Brown Belt. Kids/Adult Instructor
A child of the 80’s I grew up on Bruce Lee and Kung Fu movies. My Dad was my first martial arts teacher where I learned a bit of judo from him and a few striking techniques from his karate days.
Back in the day martial arts schools were either Karate or Tae Kwon Do and he eventually brought me to an old Karate instructor of his from the service. I started taking Okinawan Goju Ryu Goshin-Kai and eventually ended up earning my junior black belt when I was 16.
When I was in my late 20’s I realized that I needed to continue my training having gotten into a few altercations. I realized that I needed to learn how to defend myself and started taking Jeet Kune Do (JKD) concepts under Sifu Joe Maffei. I trained with Sifu Joe for several years and eventually achieved my Personal Trainer certificate. I achieved fundamental knowledge of stick fighting, knife fighting, and a few other martial arts concepts that make up JKD.
It was at this time that I had my first exposure to Brazilian jiu jitsu and primarily practiced no-gi during this time frame.
I eventually ended up raising a family and decided to impart some of my knowledge to my children. As luck would have it life comes full circle and I ended up being a part time instructor at Modern Martial Arts Center (MMAC) helping out with the kid’s program.
Brazilian jiu jitsu resurfaced back in my life once again and I rejuvenated my martial arts career. I’ve been training with Newaza for several years now and continue to live the martial way imparting my knowledge to my children and students to this day.
