Caio Terra on Steroids in BJJ: ‘I feel the problem has gotten worse’

Caio Terra has long been an advocate for a PED and steroid-free sport. Now ten years after he made a speech condemning the use of steroids in Brazilian-jiu jitsu, he does not see much progress toward a clean sport.

In a recent Instagram post, Terra looked back on the speech he gave in 2011 following his IBJJF Pan American championship win. Rather than moving in the direction of a cleaner sport, Terra believes PEDs have only become more prevalent in competitive jiu-jitsu.

“10 years later I feel the problem has gotten worse, not better,” he wrote. “It’s almost accepted these days, and we are seeing 15 year olds looking bigger, stronger and faster than ever.”

Terra does note that in recent years the IBJJF has instituted drug testing for black belt world champions, but he believes that is not nearly enough to combat the use of PEDs. The problem, he says, is that young competitors are becoming more and more likely to turn to steroids to gain a competitive edge.

“More can and should be done. It’s one thing for adults to make that decision, they are old enough. The problem is that kids look up to adults and this can be dangerous,” Terra wrote.

Terra is an incredibly accomplished grappler, winning the IBJJF no-gi Worlds every year from 2008 to 2017. He is also a two-time world champion in the gi.

He currently owns and operates Caio Terra Academy (CTA) in San Jose, CA. Some of the world’s best grapplers have or currently train at CTA, including Mikey Musumeci and Mason Fowler.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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