Grand Master Carlson Gracie
Carlson Gracie was born on the 13th of August, 1932 in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil. He was the son of Gracie Jiu Jitsu Founder
Carlos Gracie and he became a top competitor in No Holds
Barred/Vale Tudo matches during the 1950’s and 1960’s era.
He was also one of the finest Jiu Jitsu coaches to have ever
lived. He will always be remembered as a warm hearted person who made
history in the sport and as one of the greatest masters to have ever
lived.
Carlson started competing at the age of 5 at the Campeonato Aberto de Jiu Jitsu e Luta Livre, an open tournament between Jiu Jitsu and Submission Wrestling. At the age of 17, he won the Campeonato Carioca de Jiu Jitsu, Rio de Janeiro’s first ever State Championship. The legendary Gracie was never an avid student, though most of his academic failure came due to the long trips he and his uncles would make to different parts of the country looking for ways to display their family’s legacy of Jiu Jitsu. At the age of 15 he left school to dedicate himself fully to fighting.
His first professional fight came when he was 18 against Judo expert Sakai who weighed 92kg against Carlson’s 67kg. That fight was held under grappling rules where no strikes were allowed and it ended in a draw as neither competitor managed to submit the other during the predetermined time limit. After this fight, Carlson Gracie released a press note challenging anyone in the country to come and fight him. This fight’s revenue would go to a charity fund helping the victims of the drought that was devastating the country’s Northwest region (with which the family had strong ties). Cirandinha, a 100kg Capoeira fighter took the challenge. Carlson defeated Cirandinha by verbal tap out due to strikes from the mount.
Carlson continued to compete, always trying to improve his skill-set, and at the age of 23 he faced one of Brazil’s most renowned fighters, Waldemar Santana, who had already achieved a knockout of one of Carlson Gracie’s mentors, his uncle Helio Gracie. Carlson’s father Carlos Gracie went on record stating that he would give 300,000 real if Waldemar managed to survive his son’s superior technique. Unfortunately for Carlos, Waldemar played a defensive fight and managed to keep at bay most of Carlson’s attacks and the fight was labeled a draw and the money was given to Santana. Another fight was arranged soon after, and this time Carlson managed to get the win he so anxiously looked for in order to save the family honor. The fight took place at a sold out, 40,000 seat venue at Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro. Carlson beat Santana with strikes from the mount. Both fighters met again a couple of years later, although hype and expectation of the first two fights had subsided and the third fight was a lackluster.
Carlson was always a creative fighter and teacher. He used to go to the beaches in Rio and ask people to fight him, allowing the challengers to use any methods they wished, (punches, kicks, head butts, and so on) while Carlson would use only his grappling. Although he did not submit these challengers, he would wear each of them out until they gave up.
Carlson reigned supreme for almost 30 years. He split with Gracie Academy and developed a bit of a rivalry with his own uncle Helio, sometimes disregarding Helio’s coaching methods. Carlson believed the only way to move forward was to test yourself, and to do so, you needed to convey your knowledge to the public. He opened the famous Carlson Gracie Academy where he started the first group classes in Jiu Jitsu (previously only taught in a one-on-one format), he also opened the doors of his gym to the lower classes, and allowed students to train without paying, only asking in return for their full commitment and to step up in competitions. In the process, Carlson assembled one of the greatest teams that ever competed, with fighters like Ricardo Liborio, André Pederneiras (founder of the Nova Uniao Academy),Murilo Bustamante (World Champion and UFC Middleweight Champion as well as founder of BTT (Brazilian Top Team)), former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort, Walid Ismail, along with numerous other top grapplers. This team would break up in the early 2000’s as Carlson was spending most of his time in the United States. Most of the students from Brazil decided to open their own academy though some remained under their Master Carlson.
Always opinionated and charismatic, his death on February 1st, 2006 in Chicago, came as a shock to the Jiu Jitsu community. His achievements will be remembered forever.
