Grandmaster Helio Gracie Has Passed Away at 95 Years of Age

Posted on January 29th, 2009

Beloved Grandmaster of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Helio Gracie passed away this morning in Beneficencia Portuguesa Hospital in the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro. Helio himself is responsible for the rise of modern BJJ, using the theories of leverage to adapt moves to his small frame he was able to submit people larger and stronger than him. Jiu Jitsu practitioners no longer needed to be strong and athletic as once thought, the technical side suddenly gave the small guy the advantage.

Father of nine children, Rorion, Relson, Rickson, Rolker, Royler, Royce, Rherica, Robin and Ricci, he taught each one of them his jiu jitsu, which was based on self defense. As he developed his system it never strayed from it’s original goal, and as more and more people learned BJJ it strayed away from the self defense aspect a bit, and incorporated more sport jiu jitsu techniques – most of which can’t be used in the street. When Helio saw this happening he trademarked Gracie Jiu Jitsu, which can still be debated as the most complete self defense system in the world.

His impact on the MMA world cannot be overlooked either, he holds the record for the longest fight ever (3hours and 45mins), and also perhaps the most famous no holds barred fight where he lost to Masahiko Kimura via reverse ude-garami – more commonly known nowadays as a Kimura.

He is also the first Gracie to fight in the “Gracie Challenge”, in which any martial artist could come and try to prove their martial art was more effective than Gracie Jiu Jitsu. An extension of that became the UFC, created by his son Rorion, in which Royce would fight larger men and prove the effectiveness of the art. While other sons like the legendary Rickson would have been a better choice for victories, the Gracie’s wanted the more slender Royce to show the effectiveness regardless of his small stature.

Helio Gracie was an icon the BJJ and MMA, he will be missed.