Hélio Gracie
Encyclopedia
Hélio Gracie (ˈɛliu ˈɡɾejsi; October 1, 1913 – January 29, 2009) was a Brazilian martial artist who, together with his brother Carlos Gracie
, founded the martial art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, known internationally as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ). Until his death, Gracie was the only living 10th degree grand master of that system, and is widely considered as one of the first sports heroes in Brazilian history; he was named Black Belt magazine's Man of the Year in 1997. He was the father of the world-renowned fighters Rickson Gracie
, Royler Gracie
, Royce Gracie
, Relson Gracie
, and Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC) Co-founder Rorion Gracie
. According to one of his most notable opponents, Masahiko Kimura
, Gracie held the rank of 6th dan in judo.
. When he was 16 years old, he found the opportunity to teach a jujutsu
class (at that time judo was commonly referred to as Kano Jiu-Jitsu or simply Jiu-Jitsu), and this experience led him to develop Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A director of the Bank of Brazil, Mario Brandt, arrived for a private class at the original Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro
, as scheduled. The instructor, Carlos Gracie, was running late and was not present. Helio offered to begin the class with the man. When the tardy Carlos arrived offering his apologies, the student assured him it was no problem, and actually requested that he be allowed to continue learning with Helio Gracie instead. Carlos agreed to this and Helio Gracie became an instructor.
Gracie realized, however, that even though he knew the techniques theoretically, the moves were much harder to execute. Due to his smaller size, he realized many of the judo moves required brute strength which did not suit his small stature. Consequently, he began adapting judo for his particular physical attributes, and through trial and error learned to maximize leverage, thus minimizing the force that needed to be exerted to execute a technique. From these experiments, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, later known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
, was created. Using these new techniques, smaller and weaker practitioners gained the capability to defend themselves and even defeat much larger opponents.
teacher Manoel Rufino dos Santos in 1935, at the age of 22. He and three of his brothers went to the target's gymnasium and attacked him after class in front of a crowd of cheering fans. Rufino dos Santos suffered two fractures to his head, a broken arm, and broken ribs. Gracie was prosecuted and sentenced to two and a half years in jail. An appeal was made to the Supreme Court by Gracie's lawyer, Romero Neto, and the sentence was upheld, as the court said, "Today it was with Manoel Rufini dos Santos, tomorrow it will be us." A couple of hours after that decision Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas
pardoned Gracie, to the dismay of the Supreme Court. According to Gracie, one of his students had a brother who was an ambassador and was very close to Getúlio, and he intervened in favor of Gracie. Gracie and Getúlio subsequently met many times and Gracie eventually taught Getúlio's son Maneco.
professional boxer
Antonio Portugal in 30 seconds in 1932. In that same year, he fought American professional wrestler Fred Ebert for fourteen 3 minute rounds. The event was claimed to have been stopped because Brazilian law did not allow any public events to continue after 2:00 AM, but in an interview Gracie admitted that he was stopped by the doctor due to the high fever caused by a swelling, and he had to undergo an urgent operation the next day.
In 1934, Gracie fought Polish professional wrestler Wladek Zbyszko
, who was billed as a former world champion, for three 10 minute rounds. Even though the wrestler was almost twice Gracie's weight, he could not defeat him, and the match ended in a draw. Gracie then defeated Taro Miyake
, a Japanese professional wrestler and judoka (practitioner of judo) who had an extensive professional fighting record and worked for Ed "Strangler" Lewis
in the United States of America.
Gracie also fought several Japanese judoka under submission rules. In 1932, he fought Japanese judoka Namiki. The fight ended in a draw although Hélio was already twisting his arm when the bell rang. He defeated the Japanese heavyweight judoka and sumo wrestler Massagoishi via armlock. Gracie had two fights with Yasuichi Ono after Ono choked out George Gracie (Hélio Gracie's brother) in a match. Both fights ended in a draw. Gracie fought judoka Kato
(or Kado) twice. The first time was at Maracanã stadium and they went to a draw. Afterwards, Kato asked for a rematch. The rematch was held at Ibirapuera Stadium in São Paulo
and Gracie won by front choke from the guard.
In 1951, famous judoka Masahiko Kimura
defeated Gracie in a submission judo/jiujitsu match held in Brazil
. During the fight, Kimura threw Gracie repeatedly with ippon seoi nage (one point back carry throw) and osoto gari
(major outer reap, Kimura's signature throw). He threw Gracie three times with osoto gari, ouchi gari
(major inner reap), uchi mata
(inner thigh throw), and harai goshi
(sweeping hip).
Kimura reportedly threw Gracie repeatedly in an unsuccessful effort to knock him unconscious; Kimura later claimed that the reason for his lack of success was the excessive softness of the mat. Kimura also inflicted painful, suffocating grappling techniques on Gracie such as kuzure-kamishiho-gatame (modified upper four corner hold), kesa gatame (scarf hold), and sankaku jime (triangle choke
). Kimura was, however, unable to make Gracie submit even though he had claimed in the press that he would finish the fight with the first grip. Kimura also claimed that if Gracie could survive three minutes, he should consider himself a winner; the fight lasted 13 minutes.
Finally, thirteen minutes into the bout, Kimura positioned himself to apply a reverse ude garami (arm entanglement, a shoulderlock). Gracie refused to submit. At this point, Carlos Gracie interrupted the match. In 1994, Gracie admitted in an interview that he had in fact been choked unconscious
earlier in the match, but had regained consciousness when Kimura released the choke.
As a tribute to Kimura's victory, the reverse ude garami technique was named as the 'Kimura lock,' or simply the 'Kimura,' in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
.
Kimura describes the event as follows:
In May 1955, at the YMCA
in Rio de Janeiro
, Gracie participated in a 3 hour 42 minute fight against his former student Valdemar Santana
, with Gracie losing by technical knockout due to exhaustion. This fight is the longest uninterrupted MMA fight in history.
, was the first Gracie family member to bring Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the United States of America, and later founded the UFC. Royce Gracie
, Rorion's younger brother, went on to become the first UFC champion in the organization's history; Helio coached Royce from outside the cage at UFC 1
and UFC 2
.
Gracie died on the morning of January 29, 2009, in his sleep in Itaipava, in the city of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. The cause of death, reported by the family, was natural causes. His last words were: "I created a flag from the sport’s dignity. I oversee the name of my family with affection, steady nerves and blood." Gracie was able to utilize the same Jiu-Jitsu techniques which he helped to develop until his death. He was 95 years old, and was teaching/training on the mat until 10 days before his death, when he became ill.
, Relson
, and Rickson
. After Margarida's death, Gracie married Vera (who was 32 years younger than him), and they had four sons (Royler
, Rolker
, Royce
, and Robin
) and two daughters (Rerika and Ricci). Gracie was grandfather to many BJJ black belts, including Ryron
, Rener, Ralek
, Kron
, and Rhalan
.
Carlos Gracie
Carlos Gracie was the first Gracie to learn Judo from Otávio Mitsuyo Maeda. Based on this judo training, Carlos and his brothers founded the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu...
, founded the martial art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, known internationally as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
(BJJ). Until his death, Gracie was the only living 10th degree grand master of that system, and is widely considered as one of the first sports heroes in Brazilian history; he was named Black Belt magazine's Man of the Year in 1997. He was the father of the world-renowned fighters Rickson Gracie
Rickson Gracie
Rickson Gracie is a Brazilian 8th degree black and red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin and Royler Gracie.-Biography:Rickson...
, Royler Gracie
Royler Gracie
Royler Gracie is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He ran the Gracie Humaitá jiu-jitsu school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for many years under his father Helio's direction, but currently resides in San Diego, US.Royler travels around the world teaching...
, Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
, Relson Gracie
Relson Gracie
Relson "Campeão" Gracie is a retired professional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and martial arts personality. He is a member of the legendary Gracie family.Relson currently lives in Hawaii where he still teaches Gracie Jiu-Jitsu at his academy in Honolulu. There are many Relson Gracie affiliated...
, and Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
(UFC) Co-founder Rorion Gracie
Rorion Gracie
Rorion Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and instructor, a prominent member of the Gracie family, and a founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the oldest son of Hélio Gracie and one of the few people in the world to hold a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,...
. According to one of his most notable opponents, Masahiko Kimura
Masahiko Kimura
was a Japanese judoka who is widely considered one of the greatest judoka of all time. Kimura was born on September 10, 1917 in Kumamoto, Japan...
, Gracie held the rank of 6th dan in judo.
Early life
Gracie was born on October 1, 1913, in Belém do Pará, BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. When he was 16 years old, he found the opportunity to teach a jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
class (at that time judo was commonly referred to as Kano Jiu-Jitsu or simply Jiu-Jitsu), and this experience led him to develop Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A director of the Bank of Brazil, Mario Brandt, arrived for a private class at the original Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, as scheduled. The instructor, Carlos Gracie, was running late and was not present. Helio offered to begin the class with the man. When the tardy Carlos arrived offering his apologies, the student assured him it was no problem, and actually requested that he be allowed to continue learning with Helio Gracie instead. Carlos agreed to this and Helio Gracie became an instructor.
Gracie realized, however, that even though he knew the techniques theoretically, the moves were much harder to execute. Due to his smaller size, he realized many of the judo moves required brute strength which did not suit his small stature. Consequently, he began adapting judo for his particular physical attributes, and through trial and error learned to maximize leverage, thus minimizing the force that needed to be exerted to execute a technique. From these experiments, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, later known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
, was created. Using these new techniques, smaller and weaker practitioners gained the capability to defend themselves and even defeat much larger opponents.
Arrest
Gracie was involved in an attack on gymnasticsGymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
teacher Manoel Rufino dos Santos in 1935, at the age of 22. He and three of his brothers went to the target's gymnasium and attacked him after class in front of a crowd of cheering fans. Rufino dos Santos suffered two fractures to his head, a broken arm, and broken ribs. Gracie was prosecuted and sentenced to two and a half years in jail. An appeal was made to the Supreme Court by Gracie's lawyer, Romero Neto, and the sentence was upheld, as the court said, "Today it was with Manoel Rufini dos Santos, tomorrow it will be us." A couple of hours after that decision Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
pardoned Gracie, to the dismay of the Supreme Court. According to Gracie, one of his students had a brother who was an ambassador and was very close to Getúlio, and he intervened in favor of Gracie. Gracie and Getúlio subsequently met many times and Gracie eventually taught Getúlio's son Maneco.
Fighting career
Gracie had 19 professional fights in his career. He began his fighting career when he submittedSubmission (combat sport term)
A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat...
professional boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Antonio Portugal in 30 seconds in 1932. In that same year, he fought American professional wrestler Fred Ebert for fourteen 3 minute rounds. The event was claimed to have been stopped because Brazilian law did not allow any public events to continue after 2:00 AM, but in an interview Gracie admitted that he was stopped by the doctor due to the high fever caused by a swelling, and he had to undergo an urgent operation the next day.
In 1934, Gracie fought Polish professional wrestler Wladek Zbyszko
Wladek Zbyszko
Wladek Zbyszko , real name Wladyslaw Cyganiewicz, was a Polish professional wrestler and strongman. He is the brother of Stanislaus Zbyszko...
, who was billed as a former world champion, for three 10 minute rounds. Even though the wrestler was almost twice Gracie's weight, he could not defeat him, and the match ended in a draw. Gracie then defeated Taro Miyake
Taro Miyake
Taro Miyake was a Japanese professional wrestler. In 1905 he departed Japan for London, where he famously defeated the reigning champion in the jiujitsu style, Yukio Tani. Miyake and Tani then joined forces, opening a jiujitsu school and co-authoring a book titled "The Game of Jiu-Jitsu"...
, a Japanese professional wrestler and judoka (practitioner of judo) who had an extensive professional fighting record and worked for Ed "Strangler" Lewis
Ed Lewis (wrestler)
Robert Herman Julius Friedrich , was a professional wrestler best known by his ring name Ed "Strangler" Lewis, whose career spanned four decades.-Wrestling career:...
in the United States of America.
Gracie also fought several Japanese judoka under submission rules. In 1932, he fought Japanese judoka Namiki. The fight ended in a draw although Hélio was already twisting his arm when the bell rang. He defeated the Japanese heavyweight judoka and sumo wrestler Massagoishi via armlock. Gracie had two fights with Yasuichi Ono after Ono choked out George Gracie (Hélio Gracie's brother) in a match. Both fights ended in a draw. Gracie fought judoka Kato
Kato
Katō is the eleventh most common Japanese surname. It may refer to:-Given name:*Kato , a Korean-American music producer in Atlanta*Kato , a Danish DJ*Kato Callebaut, a Belgian singer...
(or Kado) twice. The first time was at Maracanã stadium and they went to a draw. Afterwards, Kato asked for a rematch. The rematch was held at Ibirapuera Stadium in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
and Gracie won by front choke from the guard.
Kimura versus Gracie
Masahiko Kimura
was a Japanese judoka who is widely considered one of the greatest judoka of all time. Kimura was born on September 10, 1917 in Kumamoto, Japan...
defeated Gracie in a submission judo/jiujitsu match held in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. During the fight, Kimura threw Gracie repeatedly with ippon seoi nage (one point back carry throw) and osoto gari
Osoto Gari
is one of the original 40 throws of Judoas developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the first group, Dai Ikkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo , of Kodokan Judo. It is also included in the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo...
(major outer reap, Kimura's signature throw). He threw Gracie three times with osoto gari, ouchi gari
Ouchi Gari
is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Kanō Jigorō. It belongs to the first group,Dai Ikkyo,of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo , of Kodokan Judo.It is also included in the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo.It is classified as a foot technique, Ashi-Waza.- Technique...
(major inner reap), uchi mata
Uchi Mata
is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano.It belongs to the second group, Dai Nikyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo , of Kodokan Judo.It is also part of the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo....
(inner thigh throw), and harai goshi
Harai Goshi
is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Kano Jigoro. It belongs to the second group of the traditional throwing list in the Gokyo no waza of the Kodokan Judo....
(sweeping hip).
Kimura reportedly threw Gracie repeatedly in an unsuccessful effort to knock him unconscious; Kimura later claimed that the reason for his lack of success was the excessive softness of the mat. Kimura also inflicted painful, suffocating grappling techniques on Gracie such as kuzure-kamishiho-gatame (modified upper four corner hold), kesa gatame (scarf hold), and sankaku jime (triangle choke
Triangle choke
A triangle choke, or sankaku-jime in Judo, is a type of figure-four chokehold which strangles the opponent by encircling the opponent's neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle...
). Kimura was, however, unable to make Gracie submit even though he had claimed in the press that he would finish the fight with the first grip. Kimura also claimed that if Gracie could survive three minutes, he should consider himself a winner; the fight lasted 13 minutes.
Finally, thirteen minutes into the bout, Kimura positioned himself to apply a reverse ude garami (arm entanglement, a shoulderlock). Gracie refused to submit. At this point, Carlos Gracie interrupted the match. In 1994, Gracie admitted in an interview that he had in fact been choked unconscious
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
earlier in the match, but had regained consciousness when Kimura released the choke.
As a tribute to Kimura's victory, the reverse ude garami technique was named as the 'Kimura lock,' or simply the 'Kimura,' in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...
.
Kimura describes the event as follows:
- 20,000 people came to see the bout including President of Brazil. Helio was 180 cm and 80 kg. When I entered the stadium, I found a coffin. I asked what it was. I was told, "This is for Kimura. Helio brought this in." It was so funny that I almost burst into laughter. As I approached the ring, raw eggs were thrown at me. The gong rang. Helio grabbed me in both lapels, and attacked me with O-soto-gari and Ko-uchi-gari. But they did not move me at all. Now it's my turn. I blew him away up in the air by O-uchi-gari, Harai-goshi, Uchimata, Ippon-seoi-nage. At about 10 minute mark, I threw him by O-soto-gari. I intended to cause a concussion. But since the mat was so soft that it did not have much impact on him. While continuing to throw him, I was thinking of a finishing method. I threw him by O-soto-gari again. As soon as Helio fell, I pinned him by Kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame. I held still for 2 or 3 minutes, and then tried to smother him by belly. Helio shook his head trying to breathe. He could not take it any longer, and tried to push up my body extending his left arm.
- That moment, I grabbed his left wrist with my right hand, and twisted up his arm. I applied Ude-garami. I thought he would surrender immediately. But Helio would not tap the mat. I had no choice but keep on twisting the arm. The stadium became quiet. The bone of his arm was coming close to the breaking point. Finally, the sound of bone breaking echoed throughout the stadium. Helio still did not surrender. His left arm was already powerless. Under this rule, I had no choice but twist the arm again. There was plenty of time left. I twisted the left arm again. Another bone was broken. Helio still did not tap. When I tried to twist the arm once more, a white towel was thrown in. I won by TKO. My hand was raised high. Japanese Brazilians rushed into the ring and tossed me up in the air. On the other hand, Helio let his left arm hang and looked very sad withstanding the pain.
In May 1955, at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Gracie participated in a 3 hour 42 minute fight against his former student Valdemar Santana
Valdemar Santana
Waldemar Santana , sometimes known as Adema Santa, was a Brazilian martial artist, who trained in Capoeira under Mestre Bimba and also in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Helio Gracie and boxing.-Biography:...
, with Gracie losing by technical knockout due to exhaustion. This fight is the longest uninterrupted MMA fight in history.
Later life
Gracie's son, Rorion GracieRorion Gracie
Rorion Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and instructor, a prominent member of the Gracie family, and a founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the oldest son of Hélio Gracie and one of the few people in the world to hold a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,...
, was the first Gracie family member to bring Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the United States of America, and later founded the UFC. Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
, Rorion's younger brother, went on to become the first UFC champion in the organization's history; Helio coached Royce from outside the cage at UFC 1
UFC 1
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
and UFC 2
UFC 2
UFC 2: No Way Out was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado...
.
Gracie died on the morning of January 29, 2009, in his sleep in Itaipava, in the city of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. The cause of death, reported by the family, was natural causes. His last words were: "I created a flag from the sport’s dignity. I oversee the name of my family with affection, steady nerves and blood." Gracie was able to utilize the same Jiu-Jitsu techniques which he helped to develop until his death. He was 95 years old, and was teaching/training on the mat until 10 days before his death, when he became ill.
Personal life
Gracie was married to Margarida for fifty years, and the couple had three sons: RorionRorion Gracie
Rorion Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and instructor, a prominent member of the Gracie family, and a founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the oldest son of Hélio Gracie and one of the few people in the world to hold a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,...
, Relson
Relson Gracie
Relson "Campeão" Gracie is a retired professional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and martial arts personality. He is a member of the legendary Gracie family.Relson currently lives in Hawaii where he still teaches Gracie Jiu-Jitsu at his academy in Honolulu. There are many Relson Gracie affiliated...
, and Rickson
Rickson Gracie
Rickson Gracie is a Brazilian 8th degree black and red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin and Royler Gracie.-Biography:Rickson...
. After Margarida's death, Gracie married Vera (who was 32 years younger than him), and they had four sons (Royler
Royler Gracie
Royler Gracie is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He ran the Gracie Humaitá jiu-jitsu school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for many years under his father Helio's direction, but currently resides in San Diego, US.Royler travels around the world teaching...
, Rolker
Rolker Gracie
Rolker Gracie is a 7th degree red and black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a prominent member of the Gracie family and the fourth son of Helio Gracie. Along with his younger brother Royler Gracie he is associated with the Gracie Humaitá jiu-jitsu school....
, Royce
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
, and Robin
Robin Gracie
Robin Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Robin is the youngest son of Grand Master Hélio Gracie. He currently resides in Barcelona and runs the official Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy of Spain. He travels regularly to teach seminars throughout...
) and two daughters (Rerika and Ricci). Gracie was grandfather to many BJJ black belts, including Ryron
Ryron Gracie
Ryron Gracie is a Brazilian American jiu-jitsu fighter and teacher specializing in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He is the eldest son of Rorion Gracie and lives and teaches at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California. He is a member of the legendary Gracie family...
, Rener, Ralek
Ralek Gracie
Ralek Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist. He is the son of Rorion Gracie and a member of the legendary Gracie family, and is the nephew of former UFC Champion Royce Gracie and Rickson Gracie. He has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under his father Rorion,...
, Kron
Kron Gracie
Kron Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and a member of the Gracie family. He is the youngest son of Rickson Gracie and grandson of Helio Gracie.-Biography:...
, and Rhalan
Rhalan Gracie
Rhalan Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.-Personal:Rhalan has 6 siblings/half-siblings: Karina, Rishna, Kailani, J.T, Hakon & Kaena....
.
Career highlights
- 1932: Submitted Antonio Portugal by armlockArmlockAn armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint and/or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyperflexes or hyperrotates the shoulder joint is referred to as a shoulder lock, and an armlock that hyperextends the elbow joint is called...
- 1932: Draw with Takashi Namiki
- 1932: Draw with Fred Ebert
- 1934: Draw with Wladek ZbyszkoWladek ZbyszkoWladek Zbyszko , real name Wladyslaw Cyganiewicz, was a Polish professional wrestler and strongman. He is the brother of Stanislaus Zbyszko...
- 1934: Submitted Taro MiyakeTaro MiyakeTaro Miyake was a Japanese professional wrestler. In 1905 he departed Japan for London, where he famously defeated the reigning champion in the jiujitsu style, Yukio Tani. Miyake and Tani then joined forces, opening a jiujitsu school and co-authoring a book titled "The Game of Jiu-Jitsu"...
by chokeChokeChoke may refer to:* Choking, obstruction of airflow into the lungs** Choke , a condition in horses in which the esophagus is blocked** Choking game, a schoolyard game involving deprivation of oxygen to the brain... - 1935: Submitted Dudu by Side kick to the spleen.
- 1935: Draw with Yassuiti Ono
- 1936: Draw with Takeo Yano
- 1936: Submitted Massagoichi by armlockArmlockAn armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint and/or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyperflexes or hyperrotates the shoulder joint is referred to as a shoulder lock, and an armlock that hyperextends the elbow joint is called...
- 1936: Draw with Yassuiti Ono
- 1937: Submitted Erwin Klausner by armlockArmlockAn armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint and/or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyperflexes or hyperrotates the shoulder joint is referred to as a shoulder lock, and an armlock that hyperextends the elbow joint is called...
- 1937: Submitted Espingarda
- 1950: Submitted Landulfo Caribe by chokeChokeChoke may refer to:* Choking, obstruction of airflow into the lungs** Choke , a condition in horses in which the esophagus is blocked** Choking game, a schoolyard game involving deprivation of oxygen to the brain...
- 1950: Submitted Azevedo Maia by chokeChokeChoke may refer to:* Choking, obstruction of airflow into the lungs** Choke , a condition in horses in which the esophagus is blocked** Choking game, a schoolyard game involving deprivation of oxygen to the brain...
- 1951: Draw with Kato
- 1951: Submitted Kato by chokeChokeChoke may refer to:* Choking, obstruction of airflow into the lungs** Choke , a condition in horses in which the esophagus is blocked** Choking game, a schoolyard game involving deprivation of oxygen to the brain...
- 1951: Defeated by Masahiko KimuraMasahiko Kimurawas a Japanese judoka who is widely considered one of the greatest judoka of all time. Kimura was born on September 10, 1917 in Kumamoto, Japan...
by Kimura lock - 1955: Defeated by Valdemar SantanaValdemar SantanaWaldemar Santana , sometimes known as Adema Santa, was a Brazilian martial artist, who trained in Capoeira under Mestre Bimba and also in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Helio Gracie and boxing.-Biography:...
by TKO (fight duration 3h 42min) - 1967: Submitted Valdomiro dos Santos Ferreira by choke
Other
- Black Belt MagazineBlack Belt MagazineBlack Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...
- 1997 Man of the Year http://www.blackbeltmag.com/archives/719
External links
- Academia Gracie de Jiu Jitsu
- Gastão and Hélio Gracie talk about Gracie Jiu-Jitsu - interviewed in 1997 for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Videos
- Tribute to Helio Gracie
- Interview with Helio Gracie from Brazilian Playboy February 2001
- Obituary: Hélio Gracie, The Guardian