Carlson Gracie (August 13, 1932 – February 1, 2006) was a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A member of the Gracie family, he was the eldest son of Carlos Gracie, and nephew to Hélio Gracie, founders of Gracie jiu-jitsu.
Carlson Gracie is considered one of the most important and influential Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners. He played a major role in bridging the traditional Gracie jiu-jitsu of the early 20th century from a traditional self-defense system into a competitive sport and a foundation of modern mixed martial arts. He and his students created various innovative techniques and strategies which revolutionized Jiu-Jitsu. He advocated for a "warrior style", which emphasized physical prowess, aggressiveness, heavy top pressure, takedowns and cross-training to disciplines such as Judo and Wrestling to better one's game. Gracie also believed in the philosophy that the only way to advance was to test yourself, while also sharing knowledge openly rather than keeping jiu-jitsu secret. His academy helped pioneer a team-based competitive culture in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, producing a generation of elite practitioners and contributing to the development of modern competitive BJJ. The difference in styles and coaching methods led to a rivalry with Hélio Gracie's branch of more orthodox jiu-jitsu.
He was also a mixed martial arts pioneer, having participated in multiple vale tudo matches in the 1950s and 1960s. His academy had one of the first programs for specific training for MMA, and Gracie also served as a cornerman for many of his fighters during the early era of modern MMA. Many of his students would become world champions and go on to establish their own academies.
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Career
The oldest son of Carlos Gracie, who founded Gracie jiu-jitsu in Rio de Janeiro during the 1920s, Carlson reigned as world champion for thirty years covering the '50s, '60s and '70s.
Carlson catapulted to fame at the age of 23 when he avenged the defeat of his uncle Helio Gracie. A former student of Helio's, Waldemar Santana, had defeated the much older Helio during a match in 1955. That match lasted four hours. Carlson's rematch with Santana in 1956 was a much shorter affair: four rounds of vicious vale-tudo combat came to draw.
Carlson fought a total of eighteen vale tudo fights, with only one loss to Luta Livre fighter Euclides Pereira in a fight that was held in Bahia. His first fight was on March 17, 1953, against capoeira practitioner Luiz "Cirandinha" Aguiar, apprentice of Mestre Sinhozinho. Carlson won by submission due to mounted strikes after a tough fight. His second match was a draw against another capoeirista, Wilson "Passarito" Oliveira, in May 1953. Carlson had a rematch with Passarito in March 1954 in the longest fight of his career, which he won in the fifth 30 minute round. Most notable are his four matches with Valdemar Santana, who had defeated his uncle Hélio Gracie in a fabled match in May 1955. He beat Santana in the first fight avenging his family. In October 1955 Carlson fought Santana to a draw in a jiu-jitsu match. In 1956 and 1957 Carlson won two fights and in 1959 they fought to a draw.
After retiring from competition in 1970, Carlson Gracie devoted himself to coaching and established his own academy in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. Unlike the more exclusive Gracie Academy, Carlson's gym welcomed students from different social backgrounds and emphasized competition, with Carlson openly sharing his techniques with his students. He developed a large training group that became known as the Carlson Gracie Team, using group classes and intense competition between teammates to develop fighters. Because there were relatively few tournaments in Brazil during the 1970s, Carlson would even invite students from other academies to train with his team so that his fighters could continually test themselves and identify weaknesses. The academy subsequently became one of the dominant forces in Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, producing numerous elite practitioners. Carlson also encouraged his students to supplement jiu-jitsu with physical conditioning and training in other martial arts. His students were encouraged to develop their physical strengths and to cross-train in disciplines such as boxing and judo, reflecting Carlson's belief that practitioners should continually test and expand their abilities rather than remain confined to a single system. This approach contributed to the more physically demanding and competition-oriented style associated with the Carlson Gracie Team.
Death
Carlson Gracie died on February 1, 2006, in Chicago, Illinois, of heart failure, apparently the result of complications of kidney stones (and possibly his pre-existing diabetes), following a hospitalization of several days. At the time of his death he was a ninth degree red belt and was referred to as Grandmaster.
A bronze statue was installed next to his gym in Rio de Janeiro on August 12, 2019.
Instructor lineage
Kano Jigoro → Tomita Tsunejiro → Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie Sr. →Helio Gracie→ Carlson Gracie.
Personal life
Carlson had three children and two grandchildren.
Gracie was a close friend of Wing Chun Grandmaster Samuel Kwok, and the two often toured and held seminars together.
Documentary
On July 6, 2023, it was announced that ESPN Films is producing a documentary series on the Gracie family directed by Chris Fuller and produced by Greg O'Connor and Guy Ritchie.