GRAND MASTER FRANCISCO DÁRCIO LIRA

A BIOGRAPHY of the early years of the Master

He was born on 21.01.1952 in Senador Pompeau -EC Senator, and was always fascinated by Eastern Martial Arts. Due to his town's absence of schools or teachers, he started jiu-jitsu training as an autodidact. While still a young teenager (between 13 and 14 years old), he began studying only from books and practicing with an adopted brother - Pinheiro - on the sands of the Banabuiú River. From time to time, when military officials and instructors of Martial Arts appeared in the city, he took advantage of the opportunity to take lessons or at least observe hidden away (sometimes up trees and walls ) when classes were private.

• 1967 – The Senador Pompeu team disputed the intercity soccer championship and was going through a phase of defeats. They then hired some players from the Tiradentes team to help strengthen the Pompeu Senador team. Among them came a few officers, one of whom was Corporal Mark, a black belt in Judo / Jiu-Jitsu ( the two arts were less differentiated at the time, and the names were interchangeable). Noting the potential and the deep interest in grappling by the young Dárcio, the Corporal decided to start training him every day from 5 am to 6 am in the sands of Rio Banabuiú. This was the time the Corporal had free before the start of their soccer practices. This super-intensive training began at sunrise, and the dojo was the beautiful sands along the reef. This lasted for a few months until the Senador Pompeau team was disqualified from the competition, and the Cape Marcos had to return to Fortaleza.

Looking ahead a few years (around 1970), Dárcio had the opportunity to practice formally with the well-known Professor Francisco Sá after moving to the capital. Dárcio would later receive his Black Belt BJJ from Master Sá. As an always disciplined and persevering practitioner, Dárcio soon became a trainer assistant, featured in constant demonstrations of self-defense that the academy promoted in the city. *

• In these open challenges, after the demonstrations, Professor Sá wondered if any of those present doubted the efficiency of such defenses. If the answer is affirmative, the challengers came onstage to attack the practitioner as they pleased, often with weapons ( sticks, knives, chairs ). The demonstrator had to be ready for the unexpected.

Then Professor Dárcio Lira came to open gyms a few times (even in the period when he was living for about 10 years in Porto Velho - RO ). Still, for lack of time due to his arduous working hours and irregular scale, he declined to keep them formally.

• Upon returning to teach formally in 1996, in response to the desire of his sons and several friends, he started developing a didactic practice completely different from that commonly found in the absolute majority of the academies of the time. Dárcio insisted on serious work, based mainly on the rescue of the martial culture of the East, which had been completely denied by teachers and practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

By 1999, Dárcio was already recognized as a true, legitimate Professor for the originality of his ideas and the seriousness of his conduct. He was being praised not only by Jiu-Jitsu teachers from various states of the country but also by teachers of other systems of Martial Arts (around the globe). His work in martial arts and the growth of his system were not unnoticed in his own State, and he received recognition from Grand Master José Gomes (Brother of the late Ivan Gomes) and graduated from Master 6th Dan.

• In 2003, he was promoted to 7th degree by FIDAM (Federación Internacional de Artes Marciales), in an international recognition of his important work done in favor of disclosure and rescue of the social respect to Jiu-Jitsu art in Brazil.

In 2009, again at the insistence of the Grand Master José Gomes in recognition of the fruits of his labors, which had reached international lands, he was promoted to 9th degree, in a ceremony never before witnessed in the State of Ceará. It was specially marked by the presence of two Grand Masters icons of Jiu-Jitsu of the Northeast because the Grand Master Francisco Sá - his first teacher - also made sure to be present to support the grant. *

• The Master Dárcio has never given importance to his own graduation and sometimes even tried to avoid them. In the past, when he started training, his only goal was learning the art itself without any intention of teaching. Later, after returning to teach officially, he felt compelled to RECEIVE promotion and recognition because of a need to strengthen the hierarchical structure of his work and his good image in the face of public opinion. Unlike certain teachers who had to buy or ask for their degrees (as it is known in the métier backstage), Master Dárcio never asked to receive any degree, but the opposite; every time that it happened, he was called by his teachers to ACCEPT THE RECOGNITIONS.

The Master Dárcio has a Veterinary Medicine (UECE) degree and has been retired since 1999 by the Agriculture Federal Station of Ceará. He founded the Dárcio Lira School of Jiu-Jitsu - EDLJJ and FJJTEC (Traditional Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Ceará). He is an honored League Salteña Jiu-Jitsu (Argentina) member and an international delegate to FIDAM (Federación Internacional de Artes Marciales) in the modality of Jiu-Jitsu. Additionally, he was one of the more important activists of the country in the fight AGAINST the inclusion of Martial Arts into the Physical Education curriculum (CONFEF Federal Council of Physical Education). He received many thanks for his dedication to this social movement to preserve the differential cultural identity of Martial Arts. Thus allowing the continuation of independence and autonomy of Martial Arts teaching in Brazil without interference from the EDUCATION PHYSICAL COUNCILS.

In June 2010, he was honored at the Legislative Assembly of the State of Ceará for the relevant services rendered to the State in humanitarian activities and sporting highlights through the work of the Dárcio Lira School of JJ.

Even though we have much documented evidence, we will never know for sure all of the positive influence and impact that Master Dárcio Lira has had on the global community of Jiu-Jitsu. His philosophical vision dissemination has become widely known and researched over the internet (much from the School's official website.) The PIONEERING of the Master, regarding the rescue of philosophical and ritualistic-disciplinary concepts of Eastern Martial Arts Culture for the Jiu-Jitsu environment in Brazil, is undeniable (and has never been seen before), and any sincere research can prove this.

Through the same internet, emails and more emails have been received by the Master from renowned Teachers and sincere practitioners from various states of Brazil and elsewhere in the world, praising the differentiated Martial Teaching methodology of Master Dárcio Lira, thus reaffirming the importance of his work.

• Besides calls, conversations, letters, and so forth.

As those who recognize and publicly manifest, we are sure that thousands of others are also in the distance, accompanying us even without manifesting and have the DÁRCIO LIRA SCHOOL like a model to be followed (in view of the hundreds of hits to our website registered daily from various parts of Brazil and the world).

However, regardless of any of the titles or above recognitions, the leadership of Master Francisco Dárcio Lira is unquestionable, it does not take more than a few minutes of conversation to realize his charisma, strength, eloquence along with his deep knowledge of martial philosophy. As the saying goes: "A Master is not made; it is recognized."