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About Us
O C Carlson Gracie Jiu Jitsu, MMA
In 1914 Mitsuyo Maeda (aka “Count Combat”), an expert in traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and judo, immigrated to Brazil. Japanese immigration to Brazil had become a clear trend only six years earlier. Today, Brazil boasts the largest population of first-generation Japanese and people of Japanese ancestry (Nikkei) outside of Japan itself—over 1.5 million. At the beginning of the 20th century, the vast majority of Japanese immigrants (issei) immigrated to the southern state of São Paulo to work in the coffee plantations which were the economic base of the region. Maeda, however, found his way to the north, where sugar cane was the cash crop. Among other activities, he is reported to have exercised the role of an informal political diplomat, coordinating and organizing the Japanese colonies in the region.
Among the few jiu-jitsu pupils Maeda agreed to teach was young Carlos Gracie. Maeda taught the ancient art to Carlos out of gratitude to Carlos’ father Gastão, who had facilitated Maeda’s work. Carlos in turn taught his four brothers and eventually he taught many of his own children.
Foremost among the Gracie innovators were Carlos, Hélio (Carlos’ youngest brother), and Carlson (Carlos’ eldest son). These three men would perfect and mold BJJ until it became a highly recognizable and popular brand in Brazil. Arguably BJJ (aka “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu”) would prove itself to be the world’s most effective martial art.
Their collective efforts in the perpetuation and renovation of the art helped polish and refine it, in the process actually creating a martial art distinct from traditional Japanese jiu-jitsu: an art in its own right that would come to be known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The eldest of Grandmaster Carlos Gracie’s twenty-one children, Carlson “The Father of MMA” Gracie was virtually raised on the mat. He was the son destined to become the defender of the family name—the child chosen from birth to become “the family champion.”
Carlson made his father proud when, still a teenager in 1956, he avenged his uncle Hélio’s ignominious loss by defeating Waldemar Santana, a formidable opponent both physically larger and far more experienced . . . not only once but twice!
In the 1950s and '60s the name “Carlson Gracie” was synonymous with prizefighting. Weighing a scant 140lbs, Carlson routinely defeated opponents twice his size in a fighting environment with few rules, inspired as he was by deep confidence in the skills taught to him by his father. It is no exaggeration to say that Carlson became a living legend in his native Brazil.
Having originally learned the techniques from his father, Carlson adapted them, shaping and forging them in the crucible of dynamic combat experience. While there is no doubt that Carlson became one of jiu-jitsu’s greatest ambassadors, his most important contribution was his refusal to let the ancient art stagnate and die; he was constantly refining and improving on old moves and developing new ones. His consummate dedication produced a creative evolutionary process which shaped an old art into a new one, thus setting a standard for all future generations.
After retiring from the ring at the age of 39, Carlson continued his pursuit of BJJ excellence, dedicating all of his efforts to the betterment of BJJ. He transitioned from fighting to training other fighters, to which he would devote the rest of his life with the same relentless passion with which he had competed. Both phases of his career were dedicated to the same quest—producing more compassionate and socially aware individuals through the practice of his art.
