Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pioneers: In Memoriam
From the Gracie family academy in Rio de Janeiro and the rival lineage of Oswaldo Fadda to the first academies in the United States, these profiles trace the people who built Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and the record behind the family stories.
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The profiles
Carlos Gracie
1902 – 1994
Eldest of the Gracie brothers and founder of the family jiu-jitsu academy in Rio de Janeiro that became the base of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Hélio Gracie
1913 – 2009
Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher and fighter who, with his brother Carlos, built the Gracie family academy system; father of Rorion, Rickson, Royler and Royce Gracie.
Carlson Gracie
1932 – 2006
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and vale tudo fighter whose open-door Copacabana academy produced the founders of Brazilian Top Team.
Rolls Gracie
1951 – 1982
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, son of Carlos Gracie, whose students included Rickson Gracie, Carlos Gracie Jr., Royler Gracie and Romero Cavalcanti.
Oswaldo Fadda
c. 1920 – 2005
Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher who built the most important jiu-jitsu lineage outside the Gracie family, including Nova União.
Marcio Stambowsky
1959 – 2026
One of Rolls Gracie's Famous Five black belts, an 8th degree red-and-white belt who moved to the United States in 2007 and built his own academy.
Richard Bresler
1953 – 2025
Rorion Gracie's first American student, who funded the opening of the Gracie Academy, invested in the first UFC, and was promoted to coral belt months before his death.
Every profile in this section follows the In Memoriam research standard: deaths confirmed before anything is written, every claim sourced, conflicts between sources printed, and promotional claims labelled as such.