Carley Gracie (born January 10, 1952) is a Brazilian-born American

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

, a prominent member of the

Gracie family The Gracie Family () are a prominent martial arts family originally from Belém, state of Pará, Brazil whose ancestors came from Paisley, Scotland. They are known for creating the self-defense martial arts system of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, also kno ...

, and a

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...

grandmaster. His father is Carlos Gracie. Carley Gracie is one of an elite group to have been awarded the rank of red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2012

Early life and education

Carley was born at sea off the coast of Natal, Brazil and was raised in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and Teresopolis. The 11th child of Carlos Gracie, he was the last member of the

to be trained by his father, and is known to be one of the most technical members of the Gracie family.

Career

Carley was a champion in both jiu-jitsu and

vale tudo Vale Tudo (; en, Everything Goes/Everything Allowed), also known No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would even ...

. He received his jiu-jitsu black belt at the age of 22, and is currently certified a 9th degree Red-Belt by the

jiu-jitsu Federation of Rio de Janeiro Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Rio de Janeiro also known as Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Guanabara is a governing body of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The current president of the federation is 9th degree red belt Carlos Ro ...

(the first certifying organization for the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu). Carley and his brothers Carlson Gracie and Rolls Gracie favored a much more active, 'warrior style' of jiu-jitsu that encouraged physical prowess and barraging your opponent with a series of attacks. The interest in sharing Gracie jiu-jitsu with the world inspired Carley to leave Brazil and establish his new home in the US and travel the world teaching the art. In 1972, Carley moved to the United States, where he fought challenge matches and trained students up and down the eastern seaboard. Carley was the first member of the Gracie family to teach

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

in the United States, and gave classes at locations in Virginia and Florida before moving to California in 1979. He opened the first Brazilian/Gracie jiu-jitsu school in San Francisco, California, where he currently teaches.

Legal dispute

In 1994, Carley interceded on behalf of much of the Gracie Family in a dispute over use of the Gracie name in jiu-jitsu in the USA. His cousin Rorion Gracie had obtained a federal

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

registration for the term "Gracie jiu-jitsu" and was demanding that other members of the Gracie family stop using their surname (Gracie) in connection with jiu-jitsu instruction. Carley, who was the first Gracie to teach jiu-jitsu in the United States, challenged Rorion's registration and a lengthy legal battle followed. Carley ultimately won the lawsuit over the Gracie name, when the jury found that Rorion did not have a valid federal trademark registration for the name "Gracie jiu-jitsu." The

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

ruled in Carley's favor, affirmed his victory over the Gracie name and ordered the District Court Judge to cancel Rorion's federal trademark registration. The outcome of Carley winning the lawsuit was that all members of the Gracie family could use their name in association with Gracie jiu-jitsu. It is believed that the outcome of Carley's legal victory allowed Gracie/Brazilian jiu-jitsu to expand and grow across the USA and elsewhere in the world.

Instructor lineage

Kano Jigoro Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

→ Tomita Tsunejiro → Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carley Gracie

Personal life

Carley Gracie is a resident of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

. In keeping with the

tradition his children are also active jiu-jitsu practitioners. His daughter Tanya Gracie and his sons ( Clark Gracie and Ralston Gracie Ralston Gracie
URL accessed on October 12, 2014.) all train in Gracie/Brazilian jiu-jitsu. As of January 2015, Ralston teaches at the Carley Gracie jiu-jitsu Academy. Clark operates his own Gracie Allegiance jiu-jitsu locations, including the headquarters, which is in Morena, San Diego and other locations

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

, and

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

where he teaches.

References

External links

Carley Gracie jiu-jitsu Academy

Gracie dot com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gracie, Carley Brazilian emigrants to the United States Living people Carley Sportspeople from Rio Grande do Norte People awarded a red belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu People born at sea Brazilian American 1952 births