28.02.2007 Helio Gracie, part 3A colossal gym; retirement interrupted; children and a not so conventional conjugal relationship; lots of philosophy and jiu-jitsu. Dive, henceforth, into the conclusion of the saga of Grandmaster Helio Gracie... but don't go too deep, or you may be bitten by the sharks of Abrolhos.
Text and cover photo by Luca Atalla / art by Cleiton
 HELIO IN ACTION IN AN EXHIBITION FIGHT FOR THE ARMED FORCES, IN ONE OF THE FIVE RINGS IN THE GRACIE GYM IN DOWN TOWN RIO DE JANEIRO.The year of 1952, following the year of his epic fight against the Japanese Kimura, stood out in the life of Grandmaster Helio. That was when his first legitimate son, Rorion, was born, and when he, along with his brother Carlos, inaugurated a massive gym on Rio Branco Avenue, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, which was kept running for 30 years. Also in ’52, Carlos bought a "house" in Teresópolis, which served as the setting for the entire Gracie family's weekends until the 1980's.
“We had 600 students per month, with all the timeslots filled. Students would, sometimes, wait a whole year for an opening," Helio Gracie
Helio had announced his retirement after the big fight, and started dedicating himself to the administration of what was, according to him, the greatest Jiu-Jitsu academy of all times. “There has never been and will never be anything like it,says the master with pride. “Although Rorion’s gym in California is more spacious, the Rio Branco organization was a business. It took up the whole floor of the building, with five rings and 100 private lessons per day. We had 600 students per month for over 20 years. Double what Rorion has these days, he compares.
At the time there were no computers, but Hélio organized his entire contingent of students: as he explains: “When the student would sign up, he would receive an ID card and pay his contractual fee. The student would come and pick up his card and go to the clothing booth. The academy would provide a gi and towel, when he would present his card at the clothing booth. The employee would then check to see if everything was in order (time, payment etc.) and he would hand over the little basket with the towel and gi. When the student would go to the dressing room, the employee at the clothing booth would call the secretary informing her that the student had arrived at such and such a time. When he would go to the ring, another call was made to the secretary informing her of the time of entry. All of this she would make note of on the student's form. He would have his class and, when he left the ring, the teacher would go to the reception and turn in the class form signed by the student to the secretary.(ABOVE) HELIO STILL KEEPS THE FORMS OF THE THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS THAT FREQUENTED THE OLD GRACIE ACADEMY. “THE OWNERS OF BRAZIL WOULD GO THERE," HE STATES. ABOVE, AN ILLUSTRIOUS STUDENT: MARIO ANDREAZZA, WHO WAS A MINISTER, DURING THE DAYS OF THE DICTATORSHIP.
Discipline
THE GRACIE FAMILY SHIELD, WHICH WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE SYMBOL OF THE BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU CONFEDERATION.
The team of instructors at the Gracie academy (Carlson and Robson Gracie, Hélio Vígio, Armando Wriedt and João Alberto Barreto were the ones that spent the most time teaching there) was rigorously supervised by Hélio: “I kept track and charged fines for lateness. The teacher had one minute to leave the ring with the student and bring in the next one, in between half-hour classes. Every minute over was a certain amount. If the student arrived late, he would leave at the right time. There was no make-up class, because there was no time for it. Sometimes, people would wait a whole year to sign up for their class. Everything was full, from seven in the morning to seven at night. The teachers ate in the gym, there was no time.
As the academy provided the gis, the Gracies had a stock of 3,000 complete kits, manufactured by themselves. At the end of the week they would load up a pickup with 600 dirty gis and take them to be laundered, using two industrial
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