Kauan Barboza
Kauan Barboza was born on May 7, 1996, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he was raised.
As a child, Kauan’s sporting interests lied solely with football (soccer), yet, during his early teens, martial arts sparked his interest, particularly judo. Although Barboza asked his parents to join a club where the famous Japanese trade was taught, his father was good friends with a local jiu jitsu black belt and decided to sign the young man with his friend’s gym Instead. That friend was Ari “Galo”, a well-known member of the Carlson Gracie Academy.
Purple Belt
In 2015, then a purple belt, Kauan traveled to North America with teammate Alexandre Molinaro to compete at the IBJJF No-Gi World and Pan Championship. During their trip, they met another Carlson Gracie team member and gym owner, André Vasconcelos (Alemão), who offered to sponsor both athletes and help them remain in the country in order to compete year-round in the sport’s most competitive circuit. The offer was accepted by the competitors who rapidly made their names known in America.
Brown/Black Belt
Barboza would earn his brown and black belts from Alemão, the latter of which at a ceremony held on the 5th of June of 2017.
During his time in the USA, Kauan made many good friendships at the Checkmat Headquarters Academy, in California, marrying a member of the team. This close-knit relationship with the Los Angeles workgroup led Kauan to discuss with coach André Vasconcelos a move to the US West Coast and Barboza’s affiliation to Checkmat. A decision fully supported by Alemão at the time.
Well received by team leader Leozinho Vieira, Barboza would later be offered a position as a coach in the well known grappling gym – Checkmat Headquarters.
