Founded by | Carlos Gracie, Jr. |
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Headquarters | 14988 Sand Canyon Avenue Irvine, CA 92618 |
Website | www |
Gracie Barra is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association, with over 500 schools on six continents. The organization was founded by Carlos Gracie, Jr., (to the members of Gracie Barra, he is known as Master Carlos.) who was born on January 17, 1956 and grew up heavily influenced by his family, especially his father Carlos Gracie Sr. and his brother Rolls Gracie. While working as Roll's assistant instructor, Rolls suddenly died and Carlos was asked to assume the head instructor role. As one of the latest count from the organization, they have graduated more than 600 black belts all over the world.
The very first Gracie Barra school was first founded in the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro in 1986. In a few years Carlos Gracie Jr. was able to turn Gracie Barra into one of the most dominant teams in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu winning many consecutive world titles. Despite the outstanding results in tournaments, Carlos Gracie Jr. worked hard to create a positive learning environment where all kinds of people could learn the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. At the school, people can see world champions training with lawyers, doctors, business men, etc. on a mutual supportive environment dedicated to development of the individual and strengthening of the team spirit.
Gracie Barra created the instructors' certification program which aims to increase the level of instructions given to their students. Each instructor goes through a series of modules which caters to different aspects / facets within the organization. The aim is to standardize each instruction based on the traditional teaching methods of founder Carlos Gracie, Jr.
The certification program in Gracie Barra also provides all instructors insight into the inner workings of the organization, such as the business model and strategy.
Currently, the certification program is authored by the top executives of the organization namely Marcio Feitosa, Marco Joca, and Flavio Almeida. All of which trained under Carlos Gracie, Jr.
The Gracie Barra CompNet (Competition Network) is designed to promote competition within the members of Gracie Barra. The tournament is exclusive to Gracie Barra school members. The rules in the tournament coincide with the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation rules. Weight classes follows the international standards as well.