Hélio Gracie

Hélio Gracie (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛlju 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 and with Luiz França and Oswaldo Fadda the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). 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. According to one of his most notable opponents, Masahiko Kimura, Gracie held the rank of 6th dan in judo.

Early life

Gracie was born on October 1, 1913, in Belém do Pará, Brazil. When he was 16 years old, he found the opportunity to teach a Kodokan Judo class (at that time judo was commonly referred to as Kano Jujutsu or simply Jujutsu), and this experience led him to develop Gracie 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.