Rener Gracie recently shared some rare footage of himself training under Helio Gracie and several of his other grandchildren back when they were very young. Obviously Helio’s influence is felt throughout multiple generations of the Gracie family and he served as the main instructor for many of them over the years. Helio had plenty of success himself in the very earliest days of Vale Tudo, long before Jiu-Jitsu was anywhere near becoming the organised sport it is today. He had several legendary fights and won the majority of them, although perhaps his most famous was the loss to Masahiko Kimura that resulted in a new name for a classic technique.
Helio eventually retired from fighting and focused on bringing on the next generation of his family, with several of his sons having their own impressive careers. Royce Gracie won multiple early editions of the UFC and Rickson Gracie went undefeated in MMA, while having an almost legendary status in Jiu-Jitsu. Although Royler Gracie didn’t have as much success in MMA as his brothers, he had an incredible Jiu-Jitsu career that saw him win multiple ADCC and IBJJF World Championship titles. They collectively dominated both sports for many years, continuing Helio’s legacy long into his later years and the beginning of the modern eras of BJJ and MMA.
Obviously Helio Gracie was much older by the time that Rener and his siblings came along, but he was still actively training with them regardless. He was almost 80 years old at the time of the recording but can be still be seen allowing his grandchildren to throw him and submit him. Not only is it a unique insight in to what the Gracie family’s training looked like as children, but it’s also a great advert for the longevity that comes from Jiu-Jitsu. When many people are struggling to walk up and down stairs, a lifelong grappler like Helio is still able to playfight with the best of them.
Rener Gracie shared the footage of Helio training with him and his other grandchildren when they were young in a recent post to his official Twitter account:
