The Origins of Gracie Humaitá
Origins of Gracie Humaitá
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is more than a sport, it’s a culture. And as with any culture, it has its own collection of origin stories. While there is one common story for the birth of BJJ in general, each team also has their own. Gracie Humaitá is no different.
As members of the Gracie Humaitá team, it’s important that you know your origin story. How did Gracie Humaitá begin? Who were it’s founders? What led the team to become one of the leading academies in the world of jiu-jitsu? In this article we aim to give you a brief summary of the origins of Gracie Humaitá so that you can speak confidently about your jiu-jitsu roots.
Brief History of BJJ
Before we can talk about the history of Gracie Humaitá, we have to know the history of Brazilian jiu-jitsu itself. The roots of BJJ can be traced back to the early 1900s, when a Japanese judoka by the name of Mitsuyo Maeda migrated to Brazil in 1914. It was there, that Brazilian businessman Gastão Gracie invited him to teach jujutsu to his young son, Carlos Gracie.
When the Gracie family moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1921, Carlos continued to teach the martial art to his younger brothers. At the time, the youngest of the family, Hélio Gracie, was in poor health. More fragile than his older brothers, Hélio wasn’t allowed to spar, but he nevertheless was an avid student. Indeed, it was due to his lack of strength and stamina that Hélio was instrumental in developing the techniques to incorporate more leverage, allowing for a weaker, smaller opponent to defend himself and defeat a much larger, stronger opponent. This facilitated the divergence of the Japanese jujutsu taught by Maeda into something new: Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
In 1925, Carlos founded the very first Academia Gracie de Jiu-Jitsu, widely regarded as the birthplace of BJJ.
Gracie Humaitá
Over the years, the original Gracie Academy moved several times. Additionally, many of the sons of the original Gracie brothers began establishing their own academies elsewhere. In 1985, the main academy moved into the Padre Antonio Vieira High College in Humaitá. By then, it was under the direction of Hélio and his son Rickson Gracie.
A talented fighter, Rickson became one of the most renowned representatives of the Gracie family, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and the “vale tudo” style of fighting. He is known to be unbeaten over the entire course of his MMA and BJJ career.
Several years later, Rickson moved to California. Around that time, Royler Gracie, his brother was focused on the competitive jiu-jitsu scene and the led the academy in that direction. As a result, Gracie Humaitá made a name for itself as one of the top academies for the sport, even coming away with five of the black belt championship wins in the very first IBJJF World Championships.
Today, Gracie Humaitá is a worldwide organization, with affiliates across Brazil, as well as in the United States, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and the UAE. It is still one of the top competitive teams in the sport today, and is led by Royler and Rolker Gracie.
Superstars of Gracie Humaitá
With thousands of students carrying the Gracie Humaitá flag worldwide, it is no surprise that the team boasts a great many talented athletes. However, there are a few names worth remembering, for they’ve helped to keep Gracie Humaitá status as one of the greatest teams in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.