ALLDAYBJJ

Imagine being around martial arts your whole life and having a father who was an active competitor for a large part of your childhood. That was life for Jiu-Jitsu power couple, Raquel (formerly Pa’aluhi) and Renato Canuto of Zenith Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas, Nevada. While we now know them as a newly married (and inseparable) couple, the Canuto's couldn't have had more of a similar upbringing… aside from being raised in two totally different countries.

Raquel, a native from Wai’anae, Hawaii, grew up in the gym watching her dad train. Her father, David Pa’aluhi, was an MMA fighter who notably won a tournament at Superbrawl 1 in January 1996 - the first MMA event ever staged in Hawaii. It wasn't until her sophomore year that she began to train seriously when she started wrestling in high school. She wrestled for three years in high school and one year in college. During her first summer in college, Raquel returned home and trained at her father’s gym during the summer to stay in shape. At that time, things fell through with her college transfer to another university so she decided to begin her MMA career since it was always something she wanted to do. Who knew it would eventually fuel her passion for Jiu-Jitsu and lead to her life now.

“I'd taken a lot of tough fights early in my career and all of my losses were by submission. So my professor at the time told me to take a year off and just train in the gi. This was at the end of 2012. Two months later they held an Abu Dhabi trials in Hawaii so I decided to compete for the hell of it and ended up winning the white/blue belt open and the ticket to Abu Dhabi. The rest is history! (Lol) Just fell in love with the art and haven't stopped training since.”

Renato, a native from Brazil, and six years Raquel’s junior, says he was pretty much born into the martial arts. He first tried karate but was too hyper active and preferred to watch cartoons. He also didn't understand why they would never really fight in the training so he would fight with other kids outside of the academy. At age 8, Renato began training judo. He trained for one year before his father, black belt and IBJJF referee, Tio Chico, was asked to teach BJJ in a social project. Renato was his first student and in less than a year, there were more than 50 kids doing BJJ.

“My dad was always a Jiu-Jitsu competitor and for sure he put us to compete too. After my first victory I got addicted with the feeling to compete and was decided that I'd be fighter, a good one! So I still have a lot of work to do…”

Raquel and Renato first met last year when Renato went to Vegas for Zenith’s Pan Ams camp. At the time he was just an 18-year-old purple belt “ugly and full of confidence.” His English was also pretty horrible at the time. Nothing happened then, but fast forward to this year’s Pan Ams, Renato decided to stay until Worlds so that he could be focused and just train.

Like most plans, it almost never works out the way you expect it to. Within 3 1/2 months, Raquel and Renato went from dating to getting married. While most people think it’s crazy, those closest to them know it's meant to be. Their coach, Robert Drysdale, has known both of them separately for years now and has never seen them happier. He also noted that they make each other better. At Worlds, Drysdale knew that Renato would win… because he was fighting happy. And he did. After chasing a world title all this time, Renato finally won… nonetheless with a beautiful woman by his side on and off the mats.

So what is a day like in the life of a married couple… who just so happens to be professional fighters? Every morning they wake up and have breakfast and coffee together. Renato teaches a morning class most days so they go to the gym and teach/train. They go home to have lunch that the master chef (as Renato refers to his wife) prepares, he does the dishes (most times), and they relax for a bit. Raquel teaches a women's class in the evenings so they go back to teach/train. They come home, have dinner (that the master chef prepares) and “annoy each other” until it's time to go to bed… and then they do it all over again the next day.

As newlyweds, Raquel and Renato are still learning. But one thing is for sure, marriage has made them both work harder for a life that they love.

“It's made us both work a lot harder and smarter to create a better life for us. It's definitely been a big motivation for me… It's been amazing having each other during tournaments and travel. It's so much more enjoyable with someone rather than doing it alone. We warm up together but after that we leave each other alone… We are each other's best training partner most days but also each other's worst on other days.” - Raquel

“As crazy as jiujitsu fighters are, to choose to live from jiujitsu. We decided get married and never allow this good relationship we have to finish. We have been living the most beautiful and the hardest moments together. But everything is so easy to work with and to figure out when I have her, that for me nothing is ever is a big deal… Since I met her, she has being my inspiration, who pushed me the most, who changed my life, she made me forget all the problems, and feel so happy that nothing could frustrate my goals. My goals just got bigger and more couple goals than individual goals. Nowadays I feel motivated all the time now we fight for our life, and I couldn't feel less motivation, with the beautiful life we have been building together.” - Renato

To keep up with the Canuto's, check out their IG @canutotravels that highlights their BJJ lifestyle and travels.