Was born in India amongst the budist monks around 500 B.C., in the region where Prince Siddhartha (Buda) lived and preeched his religion, the budism. The monks had the mission of walking and dissiminating the religion away and were constantly assaulted and murdered by thieves, bringing huge damage to Budism.
It was then that they’ve created a system that would allow them to defend themselves against the thieves without the use of weapons in order to follow with their creed to their religion. Some time later after Prince Siddhartha’s passing, the “arte suave” migrated, in Prince Azoca’s hands, to Tibet, Bhirmany, Siao, China and finally to Japan by the year of 200 B.C..The japanese developed the techniques and created their own self-defence system which had been hidden from other cultures until 100 years ago, when Japan, China and other asiatic countries opened their harbours for international commerce.
The brittish sailormen, marvelled with the art, eager to learn it at any cost, constantly asking the japanese to teach them, however with no avail. At that time, it would be considered a crime against the Empire, teach other cultures the Jiu-Jitsu.
After much pressure, Jigoro Kano created a new method containing only a part of Jiu-Jitsu to resolve the problem. Then teaching Jiu-Jitsu wouldn’t be considered an offence to the National Security Law. Later on, that method was named Judo.
Some time later, it was introduced into Brazil through Count Koma’s hands. Count Koma or Maeda, moved to Belem of Para, north of Brazil, and there, as an exchange of favors, he taught the secrets of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu (not Judo) to Gastao Gracie’s oldest kid, Carlos Gracie. That is considered by many, the begining of Gracie family’s saga. Carlos had 7 siblings, being Helio the youngest.
With the passing of Helio’s grandfather in Para, Gastao Gracie and his family moved back to Rio and Carlos started to teach the art to his closest friends.
Rio, at that time, was the capital of Brazil and of the cultural vanguard. It was the time of creation of samba and malandragem carioca, epoch in which all types of altercation were disputed in a fair and unarmed fist fight. The major part of the fighters, valiants and browlers were divided between capoeira and boxing only. Carlos then taught the carioca society the new art, the “arte suave”.
Helio was the youngest brother and at the age of 15 had already memorized all classes Carlos would teach. In one occasion Carlos could not come out teach class and Helio promptly offered himself to do so, the student did like it and asked Carlos if he could keep Helio as his teacher. Carlos liked the idea and that way Helio was named professor.
Helio felt frustrated when realized he could demonstrate the techniques although he could not perform them himself when in a fight. It was, as Helio Gracie quotes himself, with a tremendous effort that he started to modify and adapt the strong japanese Jiu-Jitsu into a more technical and strategical Jiu-Jitsu that would fit to his needs as a very fragile, small lightweighted man that he was.
This new set of techniques helped Helio performing with ease the same techniques the japanese would with strength It brought the solid japanese style to a more fluid and technical brazilian style. The techniques were based on the use of our bodies’s natural levers and strategies to enable the weak defeat the strong, later on referred as Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu worldwide.
Helio left us all a legacy of techniques that allow the weak men defend themselves against a stronger and larger opponent. Putting himself to test against the strongest browlers of that time.
His contribution to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is no brighter than his life itself, full of challenges and heroic battles, Helio was considered the most courageous of the courageous, nonetheless an excelent educator and good father of a big family.
