My name is Timur “Ty” Yilmaz and I am currently a student enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. I started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Leonardo Xavier for the first time at the beginning of June ’05 during my summer break with no previous experience in this art. My reasons were two-fold: to learn self-defense and to get in better shape. With Leo’s help, I accomplished more than I had hoped to.

At the beginning of June, I weighed over 230 pounds – standing at 5’8-5’9, that put me at quite a bit overweight. Long story short, I lost 50 pounds with Leo’s help over the course of just three months, from the beginning of June till the end of August. I did diet at the same time, but it was hardly very strict as culinary choices at work were merely which take-out service to order from. For anyone looking for a weight-loss solution in a fun and friendly atmosphere, I cannot stress enough how perfect Leonardo Xavier’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy is. Time is not a problem either; I was working 50 hours a week at a petroleum engineering company at a very sedimentary desk job, but still found time to train with Leo four times a week with a combination of public and private classes.

There are two different public classes, the gi class and no-gi class, the difference between the two being whether or not you wear the traditional gi outfit. I don’t think the group there could have been any more friendly and welcoming. Even the students that had only a few more months of experience than I were just amazing and were willing to help me through my clumsy first few sessions and continue to give me valuable pointers and tips. This is all in addition to Leo’s own instruction – the way he teaches and trains, it is impossible not to get it. Typically in the public class he will demonstrate a new technique several times with one student, going through all the details and answering all questions. After that, he will dismiss us to pair up and go through the technique ourselves while observing us, pointing out any mistakes and demonstrating again for the class should there be a need. This was the perfect system for my own learning style, allowing me to both see and experience something and do it over and over until I had it down. With private lessons, Leo will either train you himself or invite another student from class to act as a sort of practice-dummy for your jiu-jitsu while he watches – which he chooses is all dependent on your preference and learning style. Personally, I found training with another person much more beneficial.

Once more, I cannot imagine a better jiu-jitsu trainer than Leo. Not only does he have a wealth of experience and knowledge, he is also a very friendly and likeable guy. You don’t have to look further than his students to see how much people like him. I am extremely grateful to Leo for giving me what he has – a better physique, a bolstering of my own self-confidence, discipline that can be applied anywhere from school to work to martial arts, a number of new friends, and a huge amount of knowledge. In fact, he has inspired me to continue to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for continued fitness and the sheer fun of it. Whenever I am in Houston, I look Leo up for the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lessons there are. He’s worth every penny and then some.

Timur Yilmaz
Student
Austin, TX