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SAS Team BJJ is the Sá family’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team, rooted in Ceará, Brazil, under Grand Master Francisco Sá. His teachings and legacy have been passed down through the Sá family for generations.
Spartan Academy MMA proudly represents SAS Team in Columbia, South Carolina, under Head Professor Guybson Sá. Here, students train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu directly within the Sá family lineage and carry forward the techniques, values, and traditions that have shaped SAS Team.
When you train at Spartan Academy, you become part of a Jiu-Jitsu lineage with deep roots and a rich family history.
We proudly honor the life and legacy of Grand Master Francisco Sá on our memorial page.
Grand Master Francisco Sá, born December 17, 1935, in Senador Pompeu, Ceará, Brazil, is the foundation of the Sá family Jiu-Jitsu lineage.
His journey began after discovering Jiu-Jitsu in O Cruzeiro magazine. He first trained with Nilo Veloso before moving to Recife, where he studied under Takeo Iano for six years, progressing from white belt to instructor.
After returning to Ceará, Francisco Sá dedicated his life to teaching and growing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He founded Central Ringue Club, later known as Academia Professor Sá, and received his black belt in 1959.
Over a lifetime devoted to the art, he eventually achieved the prestigious red belt and became recognized as a Grand Master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
In Ceará, December 17, his birthday, is recognized as Jiu-Jitsu Day in honor of Grand Master Francisco Sá under State Law No. 16,967/2019.
Grand Master Francisco Sá passed away on September 10, 2013, at the age of 77 following a battle with melanoma. His legacy lives on through his three sons, Guybson Sá, Sazinho Sá, and Robson Sá; his students; and generations of practitioners around the world.
We are proud to carry his lineage forward and honor his life and legacy on our memorial page.
The legacy of Grand Master Francisco Sá continues through his sons and the generations of students they have taught.
Professor Guybson Sá continued the family tradition under both his father, Grand Master Francisco Sá, and his older brother, Sazinho Sá. He brought the Sá lineage to South Carolina, where he founded Spartan Academy MMA and established SAS Team in Columbia.
As both a competitor and instructor, Guybson has carried his family’s Jiu-Jitsu into a new generation of students in the United States.
Master Francisco Carlos Pinto Sá, known as “Sazinho,” was born March 13, 1964, in Fortaleza, Ceará. The eldest son of Grand Master Francisco Sá, Sazinho grew up training directly under his father and received his black belt from him in 1985.
Today, he holds the rank of 7th-degree black belt and remains one of the leading figures in preserving and expanding the Sá family’s Jiu-Jitsu legacy.
He played a central role in developing competitive Jiu-Jitsu in Ceará and, in 2009, reestablished the family association as SAS Team BJJ.
Professor Robson Sá, the youngest of the Sá brothers, was also raised within the family’s Jiu-Jitsu tradition, training under Sazinho and representing the Sá lineage in Brazil.
The Sá academy in Fortaleza became much more than a family school. Under Francisco Sá and later Sazinho, it developed generations of accomplished Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA athletes. Among the notable names connected to this lineage are Daniel Beleza, Marcus Aurélio, Hermes França, Wilson Gouveia, and Daniel Tavares.
Together, the Sá family and their students have carried a Jiu-Jitsu tradition that began with Grand Master Francisco Sá in Ceará and continues today through SAS Team academies and instructors around the world.
Spartan Academy MMA proudly represents SAS Team BJJ in Columbia, South Carolina.
Led by Head Professor Guybson Sá, son of Grand Master Francisco Sá, our academy carries forward the Sá family’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lineage, rooted in Ceará, Brazil, and passed down through generations of the Sá family.
When you step onto the mats at Spartan Academy, you are training within that living lineage. The techniques, traditions, and values passed down through the Sá family continue here in Columbia through Professor Guybson and the students he teaches.
Spartan Academy MMA
6169 St Andrews Rd, Suite 130
Columbia, SC 29212
Learn more about the Sá family, SAS Team, and the lineage behind our academy on our History page.