And the fruits began to be reaped last weekend. Trained by Kyra Gracie, the kids competed at the Rio State Championship, and returned home flashing medals and smiles.

“We took the kids of Frei Gaspar to compete at their first Jiu-Jitsu championship, the Ryan Gracie No-Gi State Championship & 2^nd Carlson Gracie Tournament. We only picked the ones displaying exemplary behavior, and we were rigorous in our criteria,” says Bruno Neves.

“Of the 130 students, we made a list of the 50 that deserved to go because of their behavior in Jiu-Jitsu class. However, after consulting their teachers in other disciplines, we made a bigger cut and took only 16,” says the musician,” who pointed out that, despite the rigorous selection process, the NGO noted sensible behavior from everyone when it comes to being a good citizen, education and respect.

Master Carlson Gracie honored. Photo: publicity

With more than a thousand signed up, the Copa Carlson and Ryan Gracie No-Gi State championships take place at the Jardim Guanabara Yacht Club this Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. The events are organized by the FJJ-Rio and count for the entity’s annual rankings.

The competitions pay tribute to two members of the family who have passed away but will never be forgotten. The timetable and brackets are available on the FJJ-Rio website (click here).

Carlson’s son Junior will attend the event. His Carlson Gracie team will enter the competition with more than 90 athletes headed by professors Marcelo Saporito and Alan Moraes.

“I’ll attend the event. They’re paying tribute to my father and I think that’s real cool,” remarks Carlson Gracie Jr.