Learning the language is OK, but if you really want to understand the culture, I feel one's time woud be better spent on learning things like how to be very late and how be a super friendly back-stabber.
Have any of you guys caught a Brazilian talking shit while he was unaware that you understood? 
Josh Mancuso -JiuJitsuGuard - I strongly suggest using a program called Semantica. I learned so much!! When I started it they only had a basic course but have now added several advanced courses since then. The basic course is like mini movie. It's split up into episodes. It's about an American guy who is trving to Brazil for business. He has a guide there to help him with everything. She helps him am teaches him Portuguese. At the end of the episodes they break everything down. The second course is super advanced and a bit different. It's great though.
Holy shit! This site looks amazing! I am signing up now. Obrigado meu amigo!
No problem. Let me know what your first impressions are. I'm signing back up tonight. They've added it since the time I used it.
I took two semesters of Portuguese at work because it's free. I tried to talk to a Brazilian friend. He gave me a pained look and asked me to speak English. I don't thing my Portuguese is boa at all. 
I think when learning any language immersion and exposure are very very very important.
In addition to the various language programs available (Rosette Stone, Pimsleur, etc) I would listen to as much Brazilian Portuguese as possible.
There is a very natural and intuitive aspect to learning and mastering languages. A big part of this natural and intuitive aspect is immersion and exposure. If you're in an environment where the language you desire to learn is constantly being spoken, you cannot help but learn the language. This is how we learned to speak our native tongues when we were small and this how children learn languages now.
Now when I say listen to the language as much as possible I mean:
- watch Brazilian news
- watch Brazilian movies
- listen to Brazilian music
- watch Brazilian Portuguese conversation videos on Youtube
- listen to Brazilian conversation audio tapes
- watch Brazilian variety shows
- watch interviews of various Brazilian personalities
Listening to the language being spoken by native speakers helps you to become familiar with cadence, pronunciation, tempo, and other aspects of the language which would be very hard to pick up otherwise.
m.g - I think when learning any language immersion and exposure are very very very important.
In addition to the various language programs available (Rosette Stone, Pimsleur, etc) I would listen to as much Brazilian Portuguese as possible.
There is a very natural and intuitive aspect to learning and mastering languages. A big part of this natural and intuitive aspect is immersion and exposure. If you're in an environment where the language you desire to learn is constantly being spoken, you cannot help but learn the language. This is how we learned to speak our native tongues when we were small and this how children learn languages now.
Now when I say listen to the language as much as possible I mean:
- watch Brazilian news
- watch Brazilian movies
- listen to Brazilian music
- watch Brazilian Portuguese conversation videos on Youtube
- listen to Brazilian conversation audio tapes
- watch Brazilian variety shows
- watch interviews of various Brazilian personalities
Listening to the language being spoken by native speakers helps you to become familiar with cadence, pronunciation, tempo, and other aspects of the language which would be very hard to pick up otherwise.
This is great advice. I agree %100. This is exactly what I did. Some YouTube channels I recommend are Xcombate. Besides great matches the have tons of interviews in Portuguese. It was very useful to me. I also recommend BJJ hacks. Great videos in Portuguese with English subtitles. Gods videos to study with.
yes, I can speaks pork n cheese
Mrbrownfolks - Have any of you guys caught a Brazilian talking shit while he was unaware that you understood?
yes quite a few times. I would always dumb down my pork and cheese when I was training in barra. Let me know who was really a friend and who was fake.
but more fun is while at tournaments i would screen obscenities and other random crap at refs when they had their backs turned. Then when they turned around they never thought the blond gringo could have said them. made for lots of fun at long boring tournaments
BillyShalimar -EvilGumby -Josh Mancuso -Tio Te -EvilGumby - I never understood the need that some people have to be as Brazilian as possible just because they do jiujitsu. Learning Portuguese always seemed to be the next step in deciding you suddenly love Acai, and have taken the calling it "the gward" as far as you can.
For time invested vs. life return, learning Spanish seems like a far better payoff personally. But hey, whatever language you enjoy learning should be the one you pursue. Just don't get it when people try to tie it into their jiujitsu as a "jiujitsu thing".
You don't understand why I person who traveled to a foreign country, enjoyed his experience, and wants to return would like to learn the language of that country to enhance his experience on his next trip?
Also, acai is delicious.
This.
I loved my visit to Rio and plan on returning once a year, but also because Brazilian culture has become a somewhat large portion of my life. I have the need to speak portuguese much more often than spanish. Also learning a new language has given me insight to other cultures, and showed me how important it is to be pateint with foreigners.
Acia is fucking delish. Go to Rio and tell me you don't eat that shit 2 times a day.
I guess it's that whole Brazo-phile element of BJJ that I don't understand. It's pervasive across martial arts with white dudes in TKD so badly wanting to be Korean, some judo guys desperately wish they were Japanese samurai, etc.
Jiujitsu guys getting obsessed with Brazilian culture seems to be the BJJ version of the same thing. As BJJ heads more towards the TMAer route with more OSS, more lining up and bowing, and further from the casual atmosphere grappling club vibe that use to be more prevalent in the "old days", the Brazo-phile thing seems to also be picking up with American's thinking a yearly pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Brazil) is in order despite the fact that Brazil's elite all comes to America.
Obviously not going to be a popular opinion in the Atama forum but turning a love of BJJ and grappling into a Brazo-phile cultural fetish is just odd to me. Same as the white dude KungFu master with the uber-long stache, ponytail hair, and scrolls on his wall is.
Just an observation of the growing parallel with whatever the fad martial art of the decade is.
This post makes me think of AJ Agazarm. I don't know him personally, but I'm assuming he was born and raised in Florida and went to college at Ohio State. When I listen to his interviews, I hear a quasi Brazilian accent?
True Story:
While at the last ADCC AJ was coaching someone and there were some questionable points not given. So AJ stared yelling in Pork and Cheese "Cade Putos?" at the top of his lungs over and over.
Some Brazilians and I looked at him and smiled laughing.
I then motioned to him and said its pontos not putos. To which he replied "im speaking Portuguese." with a glare.
yes he was speaking pork and cheese but he was yelling wheres the Gays not where's the points.
love a good laugh
pray for japan - question is, has anyone found a consistent high quality acai outside of rio? im assuming in manaus probably? places outside of rio are hit and miss IME.. but most often not the same formulation as the good rio copa stuff
Been to Manaus 3 times and all the Acai was shit.
I did. I met my Brazilian side several years after I started training.
I found learning Spanish pretty easy after learning Portuguese..