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Royce
Gracie
Royce Gracie was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 38-year-old Gracie is one of nine children, seven
of whom are boys. His training in Jiu-Jitsu began at a
very early age as a game with his father Helio, now 91
years old. Helio never pushed any of the children to
take formal classes until they wanted to do so,
however they often went to the Academy in Rio after
school and on weekends.
Royce began competing in tournaments at age
eight
He received his blue belt at age 16 and was promoted
to black belt in less than two years. Royce moved to
the United States at age 18 to live with his brother,
Rorion. They began teaching private classes out of
their garage, sometimes for more than ten hours a day.
Rorion and Royce opened the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy
eleven years ago in Torrance, California. Today it is
one of the largest martial arts schools in the
country.
Royce’s reputable career as a fighter began in 1993
after defeating three opponents in the first Ultimate
Fighting Championship. His brother Rorion came up with
this innovative challenge as a way to show Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu to the world.
Discipline after discipline was defeated by the slight
6’1”, 180 pound Royce Gracie. His opponents
consistently outweighed him by more than 50 pounds. He
went on to win 3 UFC titles and today is the only man
in the history of no holds barred matches to
successfully defeat four opponents in one night.
Royce is still very active in the fight world with
most recent fights in the PRIDE Grand Prix held in
Japan in 2000. Royce’s success has opened the eyes
of many disbelievers to the importance of leverage and
technique in grappling.
The legend of the Gracie family began in Brazil with
Royce’s father, Helio Gracie. Today Royce is
privileged to spread the techniques perfected by his
father all over the world. Throughout his busy
fighting career Royce has maintained a rigorous travel
schedule of seminars and classes. His list of students
is enormous. Royce has taught many of the big screen
greats like Chuck Norris, Ed O’Neal, Guy Ritchie and
Nicholas Cage. He has also been very active with the
CIA, FBI, DEA, Secret Service, Army Rangers, Army
Special Forces, Navy Seals and many sheriff and police
departments.
Royce makes his home in Torrance, California with his
wife, Marianne and three sons, Khonry, Khor and
Kaydon. He maintains an impressive training regimen,
which includes running, weight training,
cardiovascular activity, meditation and countless
hours of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He is always up to the
challenge and eagerly awaits his next fight |
Royce
Gracie
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Royce
on top of Yoshida at
PRIDE Shockwave 2003
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