Street Sports 10th Anniversary Belt Ceremony

Congratulations to Renato Magno as Street Sports Jiu Jitsu recently celebrated it's 10 year anniversary! To commemorate the occasion the belt ceremony was extra special this year and was attended by what seemed like at least 120 students, family and special guests.

The day was extra special for the following grapplers as they finally received their black belts:

• Tim Roth


• Bob Jeninnas


• Rob Dixon


• Adam Treanor


• Matt Cable


• Francisco Arias

In addition to those belts, 30 other students also received promotions.

We have made the belt ceremony PowerPoint available online as a memento of the historic occasion. Included in the slide show are old photos and other material we did not get to go over due to time constraints.

Be patient, after you click on the link, it might take up to a minute for the file to start downloading:

The Story of the Movie "Redbelt"

This video will allow you to go behind the scenes into Street Sports Jiu Jitsu to discover the inspiration for David Mamet's epic movie "Redbelt". Included are interviews with fighters Renato Magno, John Machado and Randy Couture.

Renato Magno Seminar: Sat Aug 16th 2008

Renato Magno will be giving a seminar at at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club in Sherman Oaks on Aug 16th at 12 noon. For 3 hours, Renato will be sharing technique and strategies that have made him and his students champions. Register today for only $100!

Renato Magno Awarded 4th Degree Black Belt

Renato Magno along with several other leading jiu-jitsu black belts were recently honored at the 2008 Jiu Jitsu Mundials during a belt ceremony.

At this time Renato was awarded his 4th degree black belt--quite a feat! This puts Renato with a very elite few who have demonstrated this significant level of expertise in competition and who have also contributed to the growth of the jiu-jitsu community world wide.

Click on the pictures from the Mundials ceremony for a larger version.

Renato Puts on Seminar for NYPD

Renato Magno and John Machado were in NY not too long ago and they were given the opportunity share their expertise with the NYPD. The seminar was conducted with the NYPD's tactical traning unit and focused on adapting jiu-jitsu for law enforcement personnel.

Police officers often must employ very different tactics when using jiu jitsu to end a confrontation and Renato has been refining jiu-jitsu with this special vocabulary for years.

Renato would like to thank the NYPD for such an important opportunity.

If you are interested in jiu jitsu or other ground fighting law enforcement defense tactics, please contact Renato about a seminar using the email above.

Street Sports in Masters Magazine

Masters Magazine: The Making of Redbelt

In this issue of Masters Magazine they do a great job of getting some back story on Renato Magno and Street Sports jiu jitsu and some of the inspiration for the film Redbelt.

From the article, "Renato Magno is the product of elite teachers born in Brazil during a time when Gracies and Machados trained and surfed together as a big Brazilian family. Renato's background as an outstanding athlete, holding medals in judo and jiu jitsu, combined with his gregarious personality make him the 'diplomat of martial arts'. Don't be surprised if, while training at Street Sports, some of the biggest names in the martial arts industry stop by just to say hello."

Renato Magno in Fight! Magazine

Fight! magazine was in the Street Sports Gym to talk with Renato Magno about choregraphing the fight scenes in the movie Redbelt. The magazine also highlights Danile Inosanto, world famous martial artist, who sometimes trains jiu-jitsu with Renato. Click on the images for a larger version...

Street Sports in Gladiator Magazine

Street Sports was featured in another recent issue of Gladiator Magazine for a story on the making of "Redbelt". In the article, David Mamet (the writer/director) was asked about some his inspiration for the film's characters to which he answered, "Well sure, the first of course, was my teacher Renato Magno and then Dan Inosanto was also a person who inspired me because I had a chance to train with Dan. Then of course, there were aspects of the Gracie and Machado families that I found very interesting".

Street Sports in RealFighter Magazine

RealFighter magazine recently delved behind the scenes into the making of the film Redbelt and talked to some of the key players in the martial arts world responsible for bringing the realism to the screen.

From the article:

"Mamet is a fine choice to lead the charge of MMA into the moviegoing mainstream. Over the past several years, he has earned a purple belt under Renato Magno, a BJJ instructor in Santa Monica, Calif. (In one for the "Fact is Stranger than Fiction" file, Mamet was reportedly introduced to BJJ by his rabbi.) According to Magno, Mamet walks the walk: "His jiu-jitsu is very technical and he did some boxing and grappling before. He has some good chokes and armbars," says Magno who appeared in Mamet's movie "Spartan" and helped choreograph the fight scenes in "Redbelt".

Street Sports In Gladiator Magazine

Gladiator Magazine has a write up on Chiwetel Ejiofor (star of Redbelt) and Renato Magno's plans to turn him into a black belt for his role in the movie over the course of just a few months. (Article is not online, click image to read)

Party At Tribeca: Redbelt Premiere

Redbelt was chosen as the gala premiere for the Tribeca/ESPN sports film festival in New York and according to ESPN it was not your average festival opening. I guess that's what happens when you get fighters and artists in the same room, add alcohol and maybe a few b-list celebs.

"NEW YORK -- How to kick off a sports film festival: Take one totally off-the-wall David Mamet movie, add celebrity sycophants, a hint of paranoia and some anxious mixed martial artists, then liberally dump in overmatched security goons, the world's most famous magician, Steve Martin, Smash Williams and a dude who's lived with a fatwa over his head for the better part of two decades, and stir. Then, of course, turn away from this dangerous concoction -- pointing in any direction, really -- and run for your friggin' life." Full article here.

Also, more photos from the premiere here: Redbelt Tribeca Premeire Photos

Street Sports on ESPN.com

Sam Alipour of ESPN.com has written one of the best articles yet about Redbelt, the philosophy of jiu jitsu, and its importance to those involved in the film.

"'Redbelt' is Mamet's love letter to this nondescript building along a sun-bleached slab of Ocean Park Boulevard, the men who sweat here and its purveyor, Renato Magno, a BJJ black belt and Mamet's teacher of six years. It's why the notoriously private Mamet, also a celebrated playwright, fire-breathing essayist and a purple belt, has agreed to guide me into his safe haven where, it seems, only two rules apply: Remove your shoes and leave the outside on the outside."

Full Article Here

Street Sports in the LA Times

The Los Angeles Times drops by Street Sports Jiu Jitsu to interview David Mamet and Renato Magno about Redbelt the Movie and Mamet's inspiration for the film.

Full Article Here

On the Set of the Movie Redbelt

Here are some behind the scenes photos of the Rebelt on location at The Pryamid at Long Beach State University.

Ready for Action



You should have seen the other guys



The Tunnel






The Reservoir Dogs


The Ring


Grappling Dummies


Where's Renato?


Renato and Jean Jacques Machado


John Machado and Chiwitel


Jean Jacques and Frank Trigg





Randy Couture

Redbelt Training at R1 Gym

Behind the Scenes Training: Renato Magno and Rico Chiapparelli take Chiwitel and Rodrigo Santoro out to the R1 gym to learn some of the basics of MMA.

Redbelt on Planeta Brasil

Planeta Brasil recently did a feature on the making of the movie Redbelt and caught up with two Brazilians involved with the movie: Renato Magno and John Machado.

New Redbelt The Movie Website Launched

Sony Pictures Classics has unveiled a new website promoting the movie Redbelt on which Renato Magno served as the jiu-jitsu consultant.

Redbelt Movie Trailer Is Here!

Check out the Redbelt Movie Trailer

David Mamet Interview - On Set of Redbelt

Here's another recent interview with David Mamet (the writer and director of Redbelt), professing to be a regular guy in a cowboy hat. David's a modest guy; not only is he a pullitzer prize winner and an academy award nominee, he's also an accomplished Jiu-Jitsu player and a purple belt at Street Sports BJJ under Renato Magno.

In the video you can also see Street Sports athletes Ray Mancini and Steve DeCastro doing some fight rehearsals.

Renato Featured on Fightworks Podcast

Recently the Fightworks Podcast caught up with Renato at this year's Jiu Jitsu Mundials to interview him about his role in developing the movie "Redbelt". Rico Chiaparelli was also on hand to provide some insight.

You can listen to the full interview here.