Peter Letsos
| Peter Letsos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Panayotis Letsos January 1, 1979  Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Other names | Pete The Greek, P.T.G. |
| Nationality |  American |
| Team | Rio Jiu Jitsu |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Other information | |
| Website | http://www.riojj.com/ |
Peter Letsos (born January 1, 1979), aka Pete "The Greek," is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Carlson Gracie Jr.
Biography
[edit]Letsos is a 3-time Pan Am medalist,[1] as well as a 3-time Gracie World Champion.[citation needed]
Letsos began training in Jiu Jitsu in high school at the Carlson Gracie Academy in downtown Chicago, and won several matches in the Jiu Jitsu World Championships as a purple belt. [citation needed] He then lived and train Jiu Jitsu in Brazil for four years, spending many hours on the mat with Osvaldo Alves and Carlson Gracie. [citation needed]
He is featured in the book The Gracie Way by Jiu Jitsu journalist Kid Peligro.[2]
Letsos has trained alongside many of the world's best Jiu Jitsu fighters and mixed martial artists, such as Fredson Paixao,[3] André Galvão, Tony DeSouza, and Miguel Torres. [citation needed] He is friends with Eddie Bravo, Kenny Florian, Jeff Glover, and B.J. Penn. [citation needed] Letsos lived and trained with Penn at his mixed martial arts academy in Hilo, Hawaii, where he eventually suffered a devastating injury to his neck while surfing.[4]
Since then, Letsos' emphasis has been on training students in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at his gym, Rio Jiu Jitsu Academy,[5][6] in Chicago's Irving Park neighborhood.
Instructor lineage
[edit]Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carlson Gracie → Carlson Gracie Jr. → Peter Letsos
External links
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Pete the Greek | BJJ Heroes". 18 June 2011.
- ^ Peligro, Kid. The Gracie Way: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Martial Arts Family. Montpelier, VT: Invisible Cities, 2003.
- ^ "Jiu-Jitsu Hurts! The Flip Side of the 'Gentle' Art - FloGrappling". 29 October 2015.
- ^ "FIGHT! Doctor: Pete the Greek - FIGHT!". Archived from the original on 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ Herle, Erin. "Rio Jiu-Jitsu Academy." GracieMag #190 Jan. 2013: 80. Print.
- ^ "Rio Jiu Jitsu Academy | on the Mat | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | MMA | More". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-03-05.