“Founder of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu”
Helio Gracie 1913 – 2009
“Founder of Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu”
Hélio Gracie was a Brazilian martial artist who, together with his older brother Carlos Gracie, founded the martial art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and with Luiz França and Oswaldo Fadda the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ).
He was the teacher of Helio Gracie, the youngest brother, and brothers Oswaldo, Gastao, and George. Helio became the star pupil of Carlos, and in 1932, at the age of 18, was given his first no-holds-barred fight against boxer Antonio Portugal. The fight lasted less than a minute as Helio choked his opponent out.
Helio fought several
times to promote the Gracie academy. He
left the rings and mats in 1938, moving to a different town. Returning at the age of 38, following a
challenge by Landufo Caribe, the Jiu Jitsu Champion, Helio finished Caribe
quickly. In 1951, he fought the mighty
Masahiko Kimura, Jigoro Kano Jodoka champion of Japan, and was defeated by the
‘Kimura lock’. 5 years later Helio
accepted another challenge by former student Waldemar Santana, a fight which
was the longest no holds barred fight recorded, and in which he was left
unconscious due to a soccer kick. He
then dedicated himself into teaching his sons and Carlos Gracie’s sons. It took another 12 years for him to fight
again.
According to Rorion Gracie, his father Helio Gracie is one of the first sports heroes in Brazilian history; he was named Man of the Year in 1997 by the American martial arts publication Black Belt magazine.
He was the father of Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Relson Gracie, and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Co-founder Rorion Gracie, among other sons and daughters. He held the rank of 10th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. According to one of his most notable opponents, Masahiko Kimura, Gracie held the rank of 6th dan in judo.
The record shows clearly that BJJ set the stage for a worldwide revolution in the martial arts. Gracie Jiu Jitsu was the start of the popular Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), co-founded by Rorion Gracie, one of the fastest growing combative sports in the world today.
Helio Gracie died on January 29, 2009 in Petropolis, Brazil at the age of 95. He will always be remembered as Grandmaster and founder of the amazing martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that so many around the world practice and love.