João Miyao

João Ricardo Bordignon Miyao was born on May 11, 1991, in Andirá, Paraná, Brazil, alongside his twin brother Paulo, into a farming family of Japanese descent. Like his brother, João started in judo before moving to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu around age 16 under first instructor Adriano Carvalho, and the pair later relocated to São Paulo to train full-time within Cícero Costha's PSLPB project, a social program built to develop competitive jiu-jitsu talent.

João and Paulo built their reputation together as colored belts, winning IBJJF gold at blue, purple, and brown belt while also making noise in absolute divisions despite weighing barely 64 kilograms — a highlight-reel accomplishment that made the Miyao name synonymous with a new, inversion-based style of guard play. Both brothers were promoted to black belt together on June 25, 2013.

At black belt, João put together one of the most dominant stretches of Pan American Championship gi competition of the mid-2010s, winning the Pan title five years in a row from 2014 through 2018, and backing it up with repeated IBJJF World No-Gi Championship gold in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. His first gi World Championship gold came in 2019, along with European Open titles in multiple years and strong showings at Abu Dhabi Grand Slam and World Pro events.

Technically, João is best known, along with Paulo, for popularizing the berimbolo as a mainstream competitive weapon, and he carries a signature finishing sequence from back control sometimes called the baratoplata, reflecting the family's reputation for inventive, guard-driven offense rather than pure top pressure.

João and Paulo co-founded Studio 1908 in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 2023-2024 after departing Unity Jiu-Jitsu, the New York academy they had co-founded years earlier. Unlike some of his contemporaries who have stepped back from competition to focus purely on coaching, João has remained one of the more active black belts of his generation into the mid-2020s, continuing to compete and win at Master 1 level IBJJF events including Pan, European, and Brazilian Nationals events in 2025-2026 while also teaching at Studio 1908.

A dynamic, inversion-heavy guard game centered on the berimbolo and back takes, finished off with a signature straight-armlock-from-the-back variation known as