Training MMA in Portugal: a guide for newcomers to the Porto and Aveiro area

You've just arrived in Portugal and want to keep training

Many readers of this blog come from abroad, and some of them are planning a move to Portugal or have just landed. If training is part of your life, this guide is for you: what changes in martial arts when you move here, what stays the same, and how to start again without losing months looking for a gym.

We talk about the area we know: Santa Maria da Feira, halfway between Porto and Aveiro, where Badazz Station is.

What changes: the words, not the fight

The first surprise is usually the vocabulary. The training is the same, the names are not always.

• Luta Livre. In Brazil, Luta Livre is a submission art with its own history. In Portugal, "luta livre" often makes people think of Olympic wrestling. At Badazz Station, Luta Livre is the Brazilian one: no-gi jiu-jitsu, with a lineage that comes from Brazil. Our coach Paulo Souza is a Luta Livre black belt from the lineage of master Flávio Santiago Peroba.
• Wrestling. Olympic-style wrestling, with dedicated classes, which is not common in Portugal.
• Kickboxing and Muay Thai. The same everywhere. The difference is in who teaches and how you train, not in the name. See Kickboxing and Muay Thai.
• MMA. Also the same. MMA in Portugal is a smaller scene than in Brazil or the US, with fewer events and fewer gyms, but it is growing and the doors are open to anyone who arrives wanting to train.

What stays the same: the language and the mat

Coaching runs in Portuguese and, whenever needed, in English, so you will understand your coach from day one. Accents mix, and after a week nobody notices anymore. If you are new to Portugal, take a look at our train with us page as well.

The rest stays the same too: respect on the mat, the warm-up before everything, the partner who helps you improve. Anyone coming from a good gym abroad arrives with a base that shows right away.

How a gym works in Portugal

A few practical differences that tend to surprise newcomers:

• Timetable. The main classes are in the evening, after work. Check the schedule before you come.
• Membership. Plans are monthly, with no long contracts. You can train a single discipline or get access to all of them, and there are dedicated plans for kids aged 4 to 10 and for the women's programme Lady Boxing.
• Payments. MB WAY, bank transfer, cash or card. MB WAY is the Portuguese payment app: worth installing as soon as you have a Portuguese bank account.
• Gear. Gloves suited to the discipline, a mouthguard, shorts without pockets and a fitted t-shirt. If you brought your own gear, it will do.
• First class. Free, with no commitment, in any discipline. Book on WhatsApp or through the contact form.

Where Badazz Station is and how to get here

We are in Arrifana, Santa Maria da Feira, in the Aveiro district. From central Porto it is 25 to 35 minutes on the A1; from Vila Nova de Gaia even less; from Aveiro, 25 to 35 minutes on the A1 or the A29. There is free parking right next to the gym.

If you are still deciding where to live, it is worth knowing that the area between Porto and Aveiro has more affordable rents than either city and good motorway links. Many of our members live in São João da Madeira, Espinho or Oliveira de Azeméis and make the trip every week.

Your first session

Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, introduce yourself to the coach and tell us where you come from and what you used to train. You do not have to prove anything on day one. Come and try it, feel the room and see whether Brotherhood Beyond Limits makes sense to you. Meet the team and book your free class. Welcome to Portugal.