Brent Bowers

5.1.06

Grandmaster Helio Gracie

Jiu-Jitsu is one of the oldest forms of martial arts known to man. It is said to have originated in India more than 2,000 years before Christ, spread through China and eventually settled in Japan.

In 1914, a Japanese jiu-jitsu champion arrived in Brazil to help establish a Japanese immigration Colony. Gastao Gracie befriended Maeda and helped to get the Japanese man established. In order to show his gratitude, Maeda taught the basic secrets of jiu-jitsu to Gastao's son, Carlos Gracie. Carlos taught Maeda's techniques to his brothers: Oswaldo, Gastao, Jorge, and Helio. In 1925 they opened their first academy in Botalogo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The youngest son of Gastao and Cesalina Gracie’s eight children, Helio was always a very physically frail child. He would run up a flight of stairs and have fainting spells. Nobody could figure out why. So, after completing second grade, he convinced his mother he shouldn’t go to school anymore.

After a couple of years when he was about 14, Helio was limited to only watching his brothers teach jiu-jitsu, especially Carlos, since doctors had recommended that they keep Helio away from any form of physical activity.

One day when he was 16 years old, a student showed up for class and Carlos was not around. Helio who had watch for years and memorized the moves and words of his older brother, offered to start the class. When the class was over Carlos showed as was very apologetic. The student answered, “No problem. I enjoyed the class with Helio very much, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to take classes from him.” Carlos agreed and Helio began to teach.

Helio realized that some of the techniques he had memorized form watching Carlos teach were not easy for him to execute, because he was not very strong. He then started adapting those moves to his body’s abilities, basing the movements on leverage instead of strength. Helio Gracie went a step further than his teachers by introducing techniques that required less strength than the Japanese style. Daring to break away from the traditional Japanese style, they began experimenting, modifying, and perfecting simple techniques that would be effective regardless of stature. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was born.

Helio fought 17 fights. Some of his most famous matches were against the world wrestling champion, Wladek Zbyszko who weighed 280 lbs, and the number 2 jiu-jitsu fighter in the world, Kato (who was the world lightweight champion). Helio choked him unconscious in six minutes. This led to a match with the #1 jiu-jitsu fighter in the world.

One of Helio's proudest accomplishments as a fighter was his match with undefeated Japanese judo champion Masahiko Kimura. Confident of victory, Kimura, who was 32 years old and weighed 195 lbs., told the press that if Helio, 42 and weighed 140lbs, lasted longer than three minutes he should consider himself the winner of the bout. Helio lasted 13 minutes and was still fighting when his older brother and mentor, Carlos, threw in the towel, afraid that the arm lock Kimura had caught his younger brother in would shatter Helio's arm.

Kimura was so impressed with Helio’s technique, the Japanese masters invited Helio to come to Japan and teach. Respectfully, Helio declined.

Helio also holds the longest match in history for a battle against his former student, Waldemar Santana who was younger and heavier, which lasted an amazing 3 hours and 45 minutes!

Helio also challenged boxing greats Primo Carnera, Ezzard Charles, and world heavy weight champion Joe Louis to matches in order to compare styles. They all declined. Throughout his career Helio defeated fighters from several different styles in order to prove the superiority of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as a martial art. Helio became a national hero in Brazil. He is recognized world wide as the father of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.