Rorion Gracie
Encyclopedia
Rorion Gracie (ˈhɔəri.ɒn ˈɡræsiː; born 1952) is a 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...

 practitioner and instructor, a prominent member of the Gracie family
Gracie family
The Gracie family is a prominent sporting family from Brazil known for their founding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . They have been successful in combat sport competitions including mixed martial arts, vale tudo and submission wrestling events...

, and a founder of the 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...

. He is the oldest son of Hélio Gracie
Hélio Gracie
Hélio Gracie 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...

 and one of the few people in the world to hold a 9th degree red belt 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...

, receiving that promotion on October 27, 2003 from his father. He is considered the first practitioner to bring widespread awareness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the United States.

Rorion taught Mel Gibson Gracie Jiu Jitsu for the movie Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...

.

Gracie, who holds a bachelors degree in law, is known for strongly defending the trademarks he claims for the term "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu" and for the triangle logo associated with his academy. In 1999–2000 he was involved with a legal dispute with his cousin Carley Gracie
Carley Gracie
Carley Gracie, nicknamed "The lion of the Gracie family", is a Brazilian-born martial artist and a prominent member of the Gracie family.- Biography :...

 for trademark infringement. Rorion ultimately won his lawsuit and was awarded $108,000 in damages (along with $620,000 in attorney's fees) from Carley for infringement of the triangle logo trademark, though the jury found in favour of Carley that Rorion did not have a valid federal trademark for the name "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu".

He is the father-in-law of UFC fighter Javier Vazquez
Javier Vazquez (fighter)
Javier Vazquez is an Cuban-American mixed martial artist currently fighting for The UFC's featherweight division. He was previously fighting for the WEC before the UFC merged the promotions in 2010. He is the son-in-law of Rorion Gracie....

.
  • Black Belt Magazine
    Black Belt Magazine
    Black 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...

    • 2006 Instructor of the Year

External links

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