Martial Arts event brings the community together in Rio
Participants of the weekend sports event competed in Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Taekwondo and Wrestling (Luta Livre), with over 25 competitive bouts taking place throughout the day.
The Maré Unida project, by Fight for Peace, saw the opening of two new satellite Academies in Maré last year thanks to the support of Petrobras, enabling Fight for Peace to increase the number of martial arts it offers to its young people. Saturday was a great opportunity for many young participants of these sports to gain some competitive experience in front of family and friends. Several other gyms from around Rio de Janeiro were also invited to take part and they added a competitive edge to proceedings, with some high quality bouts on display.
Project Manager for the Rio Academy, Juliana Tibau, said: “I’m really happy to see Fight for Peace uniting so many young people from the 16 favelas that comprise the Maré area. Our project Maré Unida is enabling us to break down more and more barriers within these communities, which are divided by warring drug factions and often do not allow people to move freely between them. I look forward to more events such as this in the near future!”
About Fight for Peace
Fight for Peace uses boxing & martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence.
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