Fateh Belkalem

Fateh Belkalem is the owner of Gracie Barra London in London, Ontario, and one of its professors. Born in Algiers, Algeria, he followed his father into judo, earned his judo black belt and spent six years on the Algerian national judo team, later coaching the country's junior and women's national teams. He completed a master's in kinesiology at INFSTS before moving to Canada in 1993. Belkalem opened his first club in London in 1996, when Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was still new to Canada. He developed his BJJ under Mario Esfiha Queiroga from 2001 and later under Bruno Fernandes, who awarded him his black belt in 2011. He affiliated with Gracie Barra in 2006 to open Gracie Barra London, and in 2012 left his job as a school counsellor to run the club full time. The academy credits him with bringing BJJ to London.