We’re the largest and one of the most decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu schools in the world, with over 100.000 team members on six continents. But WHAT IS BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU?

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art that uses the principles of angles and timing to win a non-violent submission of your opponent with no punches or kicks. Sometimes called ‘human chess,’ BJJ is an incredible physical and mental workout. BJJ, as we know and experience it in the 21st century, is the realization of a dream conceived back in the 1920s. A young Carlos Gracie joined forces with his brothers to found the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school in the living room of his rental home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Despite all odds, Carlos Gracie and his brothers succeeded and turned the gentle art into a trendy sport in Brazil. Helio Gracie, the most notorious fighter of the first generation of Gracie’s, had some of his epic fights witnessed by over 50,000 spectators at soccer stadiums and broadcasted live via radio to hundreds of thousands of people nationwide.

Jiu Jitsu became popular, when the first generation of Gracie’s brothers battled the most formidable opponents in no-rules fights (Vale Tudo) to prove the effectiveness of Jiu-Jitsu. 

Carlos Gracie and his brothers' vision was never about being better than others. The goal was to show the efficacy of Jiu-Jitsu as a fighting system and as a way of life from the sport aspect to self-defense. 

They had to fight to establish Jiu-Jitsu as an inclusive sport of practitioners that could benefit virtually everyone. 

When Master Carlos Gracie Jr., the last male son of Great Grand Carlos Gracie Sr., founded in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro and named as GRACIE BARRA, he aligned his efforts with his father's dream. His goal was to create a school where everyone would be welcome and be proud to represent the team.

His father's dream became his own. He founded a school on the premise of teamwork and mutual support. He made sure to create a unique identity that every team member would be proud to fight for on the mats and represent with dignity off the mats.