One of just a handful of BJJ coral belts in the world, Richard Bresler, has sadly passed away. Bresler is not just a lifelong practitioner of Jiu-Jitsu but he’s actually widely-recognised as the first student of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in the USA. He first began his training in the martial art under Rorion Gracie, back when he first came to Los Angeles and started teaching. While plenty of people came and went over the years, Bresler dedicated himself to Jiu-Jitsu and climbed his way up the ranks. He was eventually promoted to black belt in 1998, at a time when only a tiny number existed outside of Brazil.
Bresler had carved out a special place in American Jiu-Jitsu history and it’s no exaggeration to say that the sport has only become what it is today thanks to the persistence of people like him. Training back then was a far cry from what it is today, and very few people had the dedication to stick with the sport under such challenging conditions. Bresler’s contribution to the development of Jiu-Jitsu in the USA goes even further than that though. Not only did he help spread the art by training and eventually teaching, he actually invested money into it at a time when virtually nobody did.
Bresler reportedly put up the money that allowed Rorion to open the Gracie Academy, and he was Rorion’s roommate in Hermosa Beach as well. Bresler was a constant supportive figure in the growth of the sport even later on, becoming one of the investors in the very first UFC event that saw Royce Gracie secure a place in combat sports history. Bresler gave more to Jiu-Jitsu than the vast majority of practitioners ever will, and he was right there for the most pivotal moments in the sport’s rise. Bresler was then awarded his coral belt by Rorion’s sons Rener and Ryron just a few months ago.
It was clearly an emotional moment and it represented the culmination of well over 4 decades of hard work and dedication. It unfortunately couldn’t be conducted under the best of circumstances, as Bresler was in hospital at the time of his promotion. He was battling Stage 3 Cirrhosis of the Liver at the time and had set up a GoFundMe to deal with the associated costs. Now Richard Bresler has sadly passed away and tributes to him have been pouring out on social media from all corners of the Jiu-Jitsu community, including both of the men who gave him his coral belt; Rener Gracie and Rorion Gracie.
Rener Gracie shared the news that Richard Bresler had passed away in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
