Issue 048

April 2009

Helio Gracie, patriarch of the famous fighting family, is arguably the most important martial artist to have ever lived. 

The innovator, who took the traditional Japanese fighting style of ju-jitsu and shaped it into the world-renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu, died on 29 January at 95 years of age. 

The youngest of eight children, Helio began learning jiu-jitsu in his teens. A frail and sickly child, he was removed from school lessons due to suffering from vertigo and fainting spells. Spending time with his elder brother Carlos, he learned the traditional jiu-jitsu techniques by sitting in on the lessons his brother taught to the public. His small and weak frame made it difficult for him to execute many of the moves, so he refined and adapted them, giving rise to modern-day Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“I would watch my brother teach class. After a year of this I became a parrot: I knew everything by heart, not only the questions, but the answers and the advice he would give, everything,” he said in a 2001 interview. “I was never too excited about the moves, but I memorised everything. One day his brother was late for class and the student, the director of the Bank of Brazil, arrived. I said, ‘Dr Mario, Carlos is not here. Would you like me to teach you a class?’ He said, ‘Sure, let’s go play’.” 

Throughout his adult life Gracie partook in numerous no-holds-barred challenge matches with fighters from various backgrounds. A reporter coined the fights ‘vale tudo’, or ‘anything goes’. A precursor to the sport we know as mixed martial arts, these fights were often held with little or no rules, no time limits and no weight classes. “My first official fight was in Rio in 1934 when I was 20 years old. It was a vale tudo with punches and kicks. My adversary weighed 100kg, but I won.” 

The young Helio was small, never weighing more than 65kg, but he was feisty and had to learn to control his violent urges. “I had a bad temper in my adolescence. But I was also foolish. I discovered that being brave and being a thug are different. I teach this in my class.” 

Father to nine children, seven of them men who would all earn their black belts in the family art, Helio laid the foundation for a generation of mixed martial arts fighters. Rickson, Royler, and Royce would all compete at the highest level in the USA and Japan. Rorion, the eldest son, was the visionary creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the vehicle that allowed them to show the world the effectiveness of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. 

Dying from natural causes on the farm outside of Rio de Janeiro where he spent most of his time, Helio Gracie split his final years between Brazil and the US, spending much of his time on the mats at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California. Even at his advanced age, he still regularly took to the tatami, continuing to train with people a quarter of his age. 

“I am old but I am not used up,” he said in an interview in 2001. I wouldn’t trade places with a man of 50. I never had bad habits like smoking or drinking. I never had sex more than was necessary for reproduction. Nature is not stupid. You break the rules, you will pay interest and penalties.” 

His fourth son, Royce, known as the family champion in the early 1990s, made this statement to the world upon his father’s death. “He was an inspiration to me throughout my life. As a grandmaster he brought Gracie jiu-jitsu to the forefront of martial arts. He was a man of small stature but his heart was that of a giant. He was truly an innovator. Just look around and you can see how his success gave birth to the sport of mixed martial arts that we all enjoy today.” 

CAREER SNAPSHOT

1913

Born 1 October 1913 to Gastao and Cesalina Gracie, the youngest of eight children. 

1930

Teaches his first jiu-jitsu class, aged 16.  

1934

Has his first official fight in Rio at 20 years old against a 100kg opponent.  

1955

Faces the formidable judo player Masahiko Kimura at 38 years old. Kimura broke his arm with the lock that would forever bear his name. 

1993

Witnessed his son Royce win the inaugural UFC, which was devised by his eldest son, Rorion.  

2009

Dies aged 95 at his home in Itaipava, Brazil.