R.I.P. Helio Gracie 1913-2009

Helio Gracie (October 1, 1913 ? January 29, 2009) was regarded as the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, also known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Until his death, Gracie was the only living 10th degree master of the discipline and is widely considered as one of the first sports heroes in Brazilian history; he was named Black Belt Magazine's Man of the Year in 1997. He is the father of the world-renowned fighters Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Relson Gracie and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) founder Rorion Gracie. Gracie is also a 6th dan in judo.


On January 29, 2009 Gracie died at the age of 95. Helio Gracie died on the morning of January 29, 2009 in his sleep in Itaipaiva, Rio de Janeiro. The cause of death appeared to be of natural causes. Gracie had been having stomach problems a few days before where he was admitted to a local hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Helio Gracie is survived by his wife Vera; his sons Rickson, Royler, Rolker, Royce, Relson, Robin and Rorion; his daughters Rerika and Ricci, as well as numerous siblings, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.

:(

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9lio_Gracie#Death

Source?

He will be missed, he was one of the few famous Gracies I liked.

I didn't get the original source, but the same thing is posted up on wikipedia now.

Sad to see him go. Too bad Rickson is such a douchebag...

Honestly the only ones that I like that I know anything about are Royler and Rorion. Helio seemed like a pretty cool guy though.

Helio was an amazing ambassador for the sport and martial arts in general. He was one of those people that I wish I could have met before he died, even if it was just for a handshake. Besides essentially creating Gracie jui jitsu, he was one of the classiest and most talented athletes alive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by djwolford

Honestly the only ones that I like that I know anything about are Royler and Rorion. Helio seemed like a pretty cool guy though.

---

Didn't you watch Pride? If not, you should. If so, you should know who Renzo and Ryan are. Renzo is the cool one who lost to Sakuraba via kimura (irony) and keeps a picture of that in his gym to remember/commerate the loss. He's the one who would sometime co-commentate with Bas and Stephen.
Ryan is the douchebag one who lost to Saku via special rules decision (oh the Gracies and their special rules). Oh yeah he's also dead.

Quote:

---

Rickson, Royler, Rolker, Royce, Relson, Robin and Rorion

---

I was just talking about his sons from the list in the article, not counting the 4 million cousins/nephews/great grand nephews/pet guinea pigs/etc. that carry the Gracie family name. :D

and to clear up what i said before, rickson arguably is the most skilled of the gracies, but is a total douchebag.
aka talking shit on the top mma fighters claiming he could easily beat any of them even today, and of course never stepping in the ring. also claims he has a 400+ and 0 record, which he counts sparring, amateur matches, etc in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by raghead

and to clear up what i said before, rickson arguably is the most skilled of the gracies, but is a total douchebag.
aka talking shit on the top mma fighters claiming he could easily beat any of them even today, and of course never stepping in the ring. also claims he has a 400+ and 0 record, which he counts sparring, amateur matches, etc in.

---

he does have that one loss in competition sambo :). After getting thrown and losing he claimed he was unsure of the rules.