100 Years of Gracie Jiu-jitsu

Carlos started teaching jiu-jitsu with three of his brothers from their home in Rio de Janeiro. The brothers begin building a reputation as effective fighters by arranging challenge matches against all comers on a regular basis. During this time, young Helio Gracie is plagued with frequent and inexplicable fainting spells, leading doctors to recommend that he avoid all physical activity.

Eventually, Helio began to practice the techniques and realized that due to his slim frame, he would have to develop his technique through trial and error. Emphasizing the use of leverage and timing over strength and speed, Helio modified countless techniques and, through trial and error, helped create what is now known as Gracie/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Rorion knew that the popularization of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in the United States would open the door to worldwide exposure. He arrived in Southern California with nothing but his passion for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and his faith that he would succeed. Short on money and turned away by every martial arts school, he resorted to teaching classes in his garage. He offered a free lesson to every person he met and, within months, had a dedicated following. 

Local martial artists quickly grasped this significance of the stunning Gracie Jiu-Jitsu victories over heavy-hitting opponents. With 130 students training in the garage, and 80 more on a waiting list, Rorion and his brothers established the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, CA.

On November 12, the martial arts world forever changed with the airing of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC). In the 1970s and 80s, the popularity of Hollywood martial arts hatched hundreds of fighting styles, with each claiming to be superior to all others. The Gracies sought to end the debate over which art was superior, once and for all, by pitting masters against each other in a true no-holds-barred setting. The resulting eight-man, single elimination tournament shocked the world, as Royce Gracie – the smallest and most unassuming fighter in the competition – emerged victorious. Royce’s victory, as had Helio’s victories before him, proved that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was not only the most reliable system of self-defense, but also the only system that gives the average person a realistic chance against a larger, more athletic opponent.

The U.S. Army, the world’s most powerful army, chooses Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as the basis for its military combatives program. Members of U.S. Army Special Operations units charged with finding the most effective fighting systems selected Gracie Jiu-Jitsu based on its undeniable effectiveness. They asked Rorion to develop an intensive training course that would prepare soldiers for hand-to-hand combat in the least amount of time. After thoroughly analyzing hundreds of fights, Rorion identified 36 techniques that were used more often and with more success than all others. He crafted a course based on these techniques, and presented it to the Army. These techniques now serve as the foundation for the U.S. Army’s Modern Army Combatives Program, and have been adopted by hundreds of military and law enforcement organizations around the world. Today, through the Gracie Combatives program, the system is available to private citizens seeking maximum self-defense skills in the shortest amount of time.

With a massive surge in the demand for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction, Ryron and Rener Gracie launch the online Global Training Program to preserve the effectiveness of the art as a self-defense system. By creating demographic specific programs for each segment of society, and then making them available to the world through the GracieUniversity.com interactive online learning center, people are given the opportunity to learn Gracie Jiu-Jitsu from anywhere in the world.

To accommodate the worldwide expansion of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Ryron and Rener open a 32,000 square foot facility in Torrance, California to serve as the global headquarters for Gracie University.

Gracie University surpasses 250 Certified Training Centers and 400,000 students in 196 countries. Jiu-jitsu is saving lives in every sector of society from military to law enforcement to healthcare and everyone in between…and it still feels like just the beginning.

A century after it began, the Gracie legacy continues to grow. In 2025, we launched the Centennial Collection to honor 100 years of Jiu-Jitsu—celebrating the journey from Rio to the world, and inspiring the next generation to carry it forward.