About
Academia de la Costa is a martial arts academy and grassroots community center based in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. Locally known as The Academy, our mission is to foster local talents in sports, art and culture.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belts, Tomas “Papo” Soñé and Joe Neurauter founded the Academy in 2006. We host daily Jiu Jitsu, Boxing and Kickboxing classes as well as private lessons, group workshops, and personal defense trainings. The Academy has trained and mentored local athletes including Alex Garcia (first Dominican MMA competitor in the UFC), Delvin Reyes, Henry Jiménez, Patrick Mendoza and Iskania Perez, among others, who have gone on to compete internationally.
The octopus on the logo has a special significance of expansion, versatility and fluidity—applicable to both the Jiu Jitsu discipline and our cultural projects. One small location in the north coast has grown to branches in Las Terrenas, Santo Domingo, Bonao, nagua and as far as Ottawa,Canada.
Through our scholarship programs and scaling fee model, we teach, inspire and empower economically disadvantage children and young adults who may have otherwise lacked direction.
The Academy, organized the first street art festival in Cabarete (organizing artists to create the beautiful murals found throughout town) and co-founded the Cabarete Carnaval in 2015 and Cabarete Sostenible in 2020. The carnaval brings traditional Dominican folklore to its annual celebration along the main streets of Cabarete. Cabarete Sostenible provides emergency food aid and works with food sovereignty via conscious and civic agriculture.
For over a decade, we have been able to do this work through the generosity of friends who share our belief that local youth deserve paths to self-confidence and various resources for development.
tomas “Papo” Soñé
Co-Founder & Head Instructor
Tomas “Papo” Soñé is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt (third rank/dan), mixed martial arts instructor, former professional MMA fighter and gardening enthusiast.
Papo’s lineage goes back to Mamoro Matsunaga, considered the father of Dominican Judo, followed by Abraham Tabar, father of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Vale Tudo/MMA in the Dominican Republic.
He is the co-founder of Academia de la Costa, a martial arts academy and community center based in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. Through Academia de la Costa, Papo has organized free Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, art and skateboard classes for local children, as well as the Carnaval de Cabarete and yearly medical fairs providing dental and pediatric services to underserved communities. Originally from Santo Domingo, Papo has lived in Cabarete for over 15 years.
Papo is also co-founder and President of Cabarete Sostenible. Cabarete Sostenible is a non-profit addressing food insecurity through food aid programs, and community-led spaces for civic agriculture
Iskania Perez
Instructor
Iskania Livanessa Perez Peña was born in Montecristi, Dom. Rep., and grew up in Cabarete. At the age of 16, she began practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is currently a brown belt, instructor, and international competitor under Academia de la Costa. She regularly leads our BJJ for women and self-defense courses.
Iskania is completing her higher education in Physical Education at the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo. Currently she is the Head of School at 3 Mariposas Montessori in Cabarete, Puerto Plata.
Iskania feels a strong social commitment to her community and has completed diplomas in Social Doctrine and Preservation of the Environment. In her free time, you can find Iskania surfing or providing accessible fitness classes to women and girls of La Cienega, Cabarete.
our community
The Academy's mission is to make our programs available to as many people and/or communities as possible, particularly low-income ones; to develop qualified instructors who will continue to provide community service through martial arts while also establishing a sustainable source of income.
Our “pay what you can” model is a reflection of the importance of community in the values of Academia de la Costa. We expect our athletes to become involved in community development and we actively foster a culture of service in our activities.
For our athletes dedicated to the sport, our standards are not only measured by skills on the mat, but we also measure volunteer activities in our communities in order to move up in rank.
