Carlos Gracie was the founder of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and the leader of the Gracie Family as well as a successful enterpreneur. He reached the “Decimo Grau” 10th Dan in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Also Known as Gracie Jiu Jitsu) a degree only given to the founders of the “Arte Suave” (gentle art).
Nickname: “Pai Branco” (so called by his family members). Pai Branco means “White Father” in Portuguese, this was the name his brothers and close family called him due to his habit of wearing white at all times and because he was considered the head of the clan (fatherly figure).
Helio Gracie is arguably the most important figure in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. One of the first Gracie Jiu Jitsu representative in the 1930s and 1940s he is also the father and master of many fighters who carried the name of BJJ to Martial Arts main stream in the early 1990s, such as Royler, Rickson and Royce Gracie. His lineage and legacy is one of the strongest in Jiu Jitsu and he is seen as one of the fathers of the Brazilian grappling art.
Rickson Gracie was born in November 20, 1958 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the son of Jiu Jitsu Grandmaster Helio Gracie and considered by many the greatest Gracie Jiu Jitsu practitioner in the family’s history, and having been praised by many BJJ champions (like Paulo Filho, Demian Maia and Ricardo Arona) as the best BJJer they haver rolled with.
Rickson’s youth was spent on the mats, he was raised to be the next family representative in the fighting World, following his predecessors path’s, people like his father (the first representative of the Gracie Clan), his cousin Carlson (the second family representative) and his other cousin Rolls. Always considering himself of being a Gracie Jiu Jitsu practitioner and not an MMA fighter, he took pride on the fact that he did not cross train in other martial arts in order to compete against the best.
Marcelo Behring is widely considered one of the most important Jiu Jitsu figures in the 1990’s. A black belt under Rickson Gracie, he was often praised by Rickson himself as his best student and said to be by the media as the number 2 BJJ fighter in the World (being the first in line Rickson) at that time. His charisma and prowess helped raise BJJ in Sao Paulo, Brazil, though his thirst for life led him to extreme highs in his life.
The above coaches are the current heads of Cia Paulista. They all have a wealth of experince and knowledge that this has been passed down through the lingage you see above.
Head Coach Carlos Vieira joined to the Cia Paulista Team when he was a brown belt and was graded as a black belt from the above professors. He has much respect from them and still keeps in contact. He was recently graded his fourth stripe by the same professors. He has dedicated his life to training. He is the founder of Cia Paulista in Australia.
