Kung fu dreams

Augusto Miranda (right) and Luciano Queroz practice in their apartment in Beijing.

Thomassen has a firmer grasp on Mandarin than his fellow trainers, although Queiroz says he's improving every day.

"'Hao, bu hao (good, or not),' you can teach a lot with just those words," Queiroz says with a grin.

A good fight

"I really like China but it is completely different from Brazil and the Western world. Sometimes it's kind of strange and hard to deal with but still, I've been here a year and a half and it gets better every day."

"We work together as a team and we help each other out but it's also an individual challenge," says Thomassen.

The trainer's ultimate goal is to have students they can develop into serious competitors who will represent the gym at competitions in China and abroad. But for now, they are working on developing relationships, building a client base. They show off their logo, two chess pieces with martial arts belts tied around them.

"Jiu-jitsu's like a chess game, using the mind and body together," Queiroz says.

It's the same approach they are taking to building their Chinese dream.