Royce Gracie Jiu Jitsu
The son of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) founder Hélio Gracie Royce has stepped out of his father’s shadow and built a reputation as a tough competitor in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), and has made his family’s sport popular worldwide. Though he first exploded on the seen in the 1990’s when he won a string of victories in the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) he has been competing since he was eight years old and earned his black belt by the age of eighteen. Royce has proven time and time again what many BJJ practitioners already know; size doesn’t matter if you have skill.
Today Royce can be found teaching at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, California with his brother Rorion, but like all of the nine children his training started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His father never pressured any of the children to training, but when Royce wanted to train there was a place for him at his father’s academy. After earning his purple belt he traveled to the United States and lived and trained with his brother Rorion who was then teaching out of his garage. It was in the United States where he would earn his black belt and his fame.
The Royce first came to the attention of the martial arts world when he competed in the first UFC which was created by Rorion and Art Davie. Competitors would compete in a no holds barred eight-man single-elimination tournament for $50,000 dollars. Though pitting martial artists of different styles against each other had been going on in Brazil since the start of BJJ, but it was new to American martial arts fans. Competitors thought they were going to be fighting Rorion not the smaller less experienced Royce, but he dominated very match. The tournament showed the importance of grappling, and Royce would go on to win many other victories.
Royce has had his share of troubles which has included a steroid scandal which is still ongoing. He has also abandoned his traditional kimono during MMA matches, and has lost several high stakes matches. Still Royce Gracie Jiu Jitsu remains a potent force in martial arts, and he has done a lot to advance his sport. Today MMA is more popular then boxing, and he deserves a share of the credit.
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