Carlos Gracie
The eldest brother who started the Gracie dynasty
- Born
- September 14, 1902, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Died
- October 7, 1994 (aged 92)
- Nationality
Brazil- Style
- Armbar specialist
- Weight
- Openweight
- Active
- 1929–1931
The story
arlos Gracie, eldest son of Gastão Gracie, is the man most often credited with starting the Gracie family's fighting tradition. As a teenager in Belém he reportedly learned from Mitsuyo Maeda and his assistant Jacyntho Ferro, and in Rio de Janeiro he trained under police instructor Donato Pires dos Reis. Family accounts date his first academy to 1925; the period sources cited by Wikipedia place it in 1930-31, when Carlos took over Pires's school on Rua Marquês de Abrantes. His best-documented professional bout, against Manoel Rufino dos Santos in 1931, was ruled a loss after a disputed finish. His lasting impact came outside the ring: he taught and cornered his younger brothers, above all Hélio, staged open challenges to promote the style, devised the Gracie Diet and fathered 21 children, many of whom became black belts. In the 1930s he and his brothers had trouble with the law.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- Founder of the Gracie family's jiu-jitsu academy in Rio de Janeiro
- Red belt, 10th degree (grandmaster)
- Creator of the Gracie Diet
Defining matches
- 1930Exhibitions vs judoka Geo Omori (São Paulo, non-competitive)
- 1931LOSSvs Manoel Rufino dos Santos (Rufino declared winner after a disputed finish)
- 03WINvs capoeirista Samuel, undated vale tudo bout (listed by BJJ Heroes; Wikipedia treats it as unverified)
Carlos finished most of his fights with the armbar. Drill it from closed guard: trap one arm across your chest, put a foot on the hip, pivot until your body is perpendicular to theirs, then pinch your knees and lift your hips.
