Yvonne Duarte

Yvone Magalhães Duarte (born 26 August 1963 in Boa Vista, Brazil) is a 7th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt practitioner and instructor. The first woman to achieve the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Duarte is considered the martial art's foremost female pioneer. In 2021, she became the highest-ranked woman after reaching the 7th degree Coral belt.

Biography

Yvone Magalhães Duarte grew up in the town of Boa Vista in the Brazilian Amazon state of Roraima. In 1978, at age 14 she moved to Rio de Janeiro to join her brothers living with her grandparents. She started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) with her older brother Pascoal Duarte, (Today a BJJ coral belt Duarte asked Marcelo Behring and Rickson Gracie if women could be included in the Carioca Championship, the local tournament, Grandmaster Hélio Gracie agreed on the condition that "no women of the Gracie family participate".)

In 1985, a female division was added to the Rio de Janeiro BJJ federation allowing women to finally compete. Duarte won the first competition taking place in Rio, her division was for - women including white and blue belts. Duarte kept competing in very female BJJ division without losing a fight for the next ten years, winning both her weight class and the open class vision despite being only .

Towards the end of the 1980s Duarte settled in Brasilia and opened her own BJJ school , the first academy ran by a woman. Duarte became the first woman to earn a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, receiving her CBJJ (IBJJF) certificate in 1991. After moving to Rome with her family in 2018, she trained women in BJJ for the United Nations security course.

Championships Main achievements: Rio de Janeiro State Champion (1985, 1986, 1987) Brazilian National Champion (1991, 1992, 1996)

Instructor lineage Carlos Gracie Sr. > Reyson Gracie > Osvaldo Alves > Yvone Duarte