The History of the Gracie Family Champion - Part I

It’s impossible to talk about the evolution of jiu-jitsu without discussing the Gracie family. Carlos Gracie, the eldest brother of the family, is typically credited with being the primary force behind the development of the martial art after adapting the judo of Mitsuyo Maeda, a martial arts master who rose to prominence in Brazil in the early 20th century.

Despite the integral role that Carlos played in developing the art, it was really his brothers, George and Hélio, who learned how to more formidablely apply jiu-jitsu professionally. George had the more traditionally aggressive style of a fighter, but Hélio’s success came from a unique approach to jiu-jitsu that allowed him to thrive despite his smaller stature. The sophistication of his technique allowed him to take on opponents who were significantly larger and stronger than he was. This was something that he regularly displayed during vale tudo—also known as no holds barred—matches, where he showed the superiority of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu over other styles of martial arts. These became known as Gracie Challenges.

Of course, Hélio could not maintain his dominance as he got older, and he had to pass the torch to one of his siblings. As Ryan Young of Kama Jiu-Jitsu explores in part one of this two-part post, the naming of a family champion officially continued for many years, and even today a lot of jiu-jitsu enthusiasts will often ask, “Who was the best Gracie of all time?”

George Gracie

While Carlos was the oldest Gracie and ultimately became the patriarch of the family and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, his younger brother George deserves mention here, too. Two years older than Hélio, George was a bit of a brawler and far less committed to the strict program that students of the Gracie school were expected to follow. While his little brother idolized his eldest brother, Carlos, George was far more independent, which ultimately put him at odds with the family. This is why he is frequently not mentioned in the history of the Gracies.

However, George was an extremely dominant fighter during his prime, which lasted throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s. George would also fight anyone, anywhere, anytime, and under any rules. He also routinely fought multiple people on the same day.

While George had an impressive career as a professional fighter, he was never officially crowned the family champion. Still, a lot of people have speculated that George could have been the standard-bearer for the Gracie family prior to Hélio had he respected the family hierarchy.

Hélio Gracie

By the time Hélio was in his twenties, there was no question that he was the official Gracie family champion. Even today, the strategies developed by Hélio continue to be used by jiu-jitsu fighters.

Hélio’s main contribution to the art was that he learned that ground fighting allowed him to neutralize his opponents’ biggest advantage, which was typically their size, strength, and reach. Hélio would also force his opponents to take the offensive and wear them down. Meanwhile, Hélio would conserve his energy, stay patient, and finally launch an explosive attack when the time was right and his opponent was too exhausted to effectively fight back.

Hélio and Waldemar Santana

Helio’s dominance would last throughout the 1930s and 1940s. It was during this time that he proved the superiority of his more patient style of jiu-jitsu.

In the 1950s, Hélio was challenged by a former student of his named Waldemar Santana. As Ryan explains, the two had had a falling out beforehand but Santana came to Hélio with the proposal for a fight because he was struggling financially. Hélio initially refused, words were exchanged, and, eventually, Hélio agreed even though Santana was significantly younger and quite a bit larger than Hélio. Santana was in his twenties, around 180 pounds, and stood at 5’9”. Hélio was 5’7” and around 140 pounds but was well into his forties.

The fight was epic, evidently lasting well over three hours. In the end, Hélio was defeated after Santana soccer kicked him in the head, knocking him out. It would be Hélio’s final match before his retirement.

Passing the Torch

As will be explored in the second part of this post, Hélio’s loss would lead his nephew, Carlson, to avenge the Gracie name and become the next family champion.