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Home > About > History of Jiu-Jitsu > Carlson Gracie
Carlson Gracie Tribute Videos
(Videos Courtesy of YouTube.com)
Carlson Gracie Interview
This is an excerpt of an interview done with the late Carlson Gracie, translated by Tatiana Santos (Asst. to Carlson Gracie).
GW: Whom have you trained with?
CG: My dad was the one who taught me.
GW: Do you accept the notion that Rorion & Helio has put forth that Helio is the one who modified what Carlos Gracie learned to what we know today as "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu?"
CG: No, I don't accept that, I learned with my father, not with Helio & as the years went by, the Jiu-Jitsu was modified with Everyone's help.
GW: Who did you fight besides Santana, and how many times did you fight Santana?
CG: Mentioning only the most important ones; Waldemar Santana: he was a great fighter who trained with us at our academy for 12 years. We fought 6 times. I won 4 and 2 were a draw. Passarito: also a great fighter, very strong & heavy. He was a Brazilian champion in Judo, Luta Livre & Boxing. We fought 4 times, I won 3 and 1 was a draw. Ivan Gomes: He was the most dangerous, a monster. The weight difference between us was absurd. It was a 30-minute fight, and it ended in a draw. He was so amazed that I fought him at all, and for so long that he wanted to study BJJ with me. We became very good friends, and he became a world champion fighting in Japan.
GW: What was Rolls Gracie's contribution to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu besides being a great teacher? Did he add or modify techniques?
CG: Rolls used to study with Helio and used to lose to all my students in the championships. So I invited him to come study with me, I taught him everything I knew. He had great technique and was only 72 Kg (158 lbs.). Yes he modified the techniques that I taught him to benefit his size.
GW: What fighting principles can you draw from your years in Vale Tudo fighting?
CG: Most important one would be technique. If I were to fight nowadays, I would do really well.
GW: When were you born & where?
CG: August 13, 1935 in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
GW: Talk about when you started your own academy.
CG: I used to teach at the Gracie academy in Brazil along with Helio. We had a disagreement and I thought it would be a good time to open my own academy. It was an instant success. I was a champion, so I was very popular which made for a record number of students within the first month.
Carlson Gracie's Memorial
The mass in Carlson Gracie’s memory ended February 4th, 2006 at 7:40 p.m. at Nossa Senhora de Copacabana parish, in Rio de Janeiro. Brothers Rickson and Royler Gracie; luta livre myth Hugo Duarte; and former pupils of Carlson’s Fernando Pinduka and Ricardo de la Riva were among the 500 people who packed Santíssimo chapel (which didn’t hold the entire crowd, so that the ceremony had to be expanded towards the main chapel) in order to pay homage to one of the most charismatic, important characters in the history of fighting.
“Carlson played a fundamental role in expanding Jiu-Jitsu, not only in Brazil but in the world. I’m referring to his participation as athlete and professor, leaving us great pupils,” said Rickson. Robson Gracie, one of Carlson’s brothers, was much crestfallen: “Even dead Carlson can achieve amazing feats. Look at how united everyone is. I myself never thought I’d hug Wallid. Yet I did it with all my heart, and I believe so did he.”
After the ceremony (that began precisely at 7p.m.), dozens of Carlson’s former students –like Luis Carlos Manimal, Bebeo Duarte, Marcelo Saporito, Sérgio Bolao, Wallid Ismail– gathered together on the church’s staircase for a session of photographs. Then there was a great ovation, perhaps the most touching moment of the day.
Carlson Gracie Bio
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