The youngest son of Gastao and Cesalina Gracie's eight children, Helio was always a very physically frail child. He would run up a flight of stairs and have fainting
spells. Nobody could figure out why. So, after completing second grade, he
convinced his mother that he shouldn't go to school any more.

After a couple of years, when he was about 14, he moved in with his older brothers who lived and taught jiu-jitsu in a house in Botafogo, a borough of Rio de Janeiro. He would spend the next few years limited to only watching his brothers teach, especially Carlos, since doctors had recommended that they keep Helio away
from any physical activity.

One day when he was 16 years old, a student showed up for class and Carlos was
not around. Helio, who had memorized all the moves and words of his older brother, offered to start the class. When the class was over, Carlos showed up very apologetic for his delay. The student answered, "No problem. I enjoyed the class with Helio very much and, if you don't mind, I'd like to continue with him." Carlos agreed and Helio became an instructor.

He soon realized that some of the techniques he had memorized from watching
Carlos teach were not very easy for him to execute. He then started to adapt
those moves to his frail body's abilities, improving the leverage in the execution
of some of those techniques. He dared to break away from the traditional jiu-jitsu
his brothers had learned and were teaching, and through trial and error,
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was born.

Helio eventually fought 17 fights including matches against the world wrestling champion, Wladek Zbyszko and a qualifying fight against the #2 jiu-jitsu fighter
in the world, Kato, who Helio choked unconscious in 6 minutes. This victory
enabled him to enter the ring with the world champion, Masahiko Kimura, who outweighed Helio by over 80 pounds. Helio Gracie holds the record for the
longest match in history for a battle against his former student, Waldemar
Santana, which lasted an amazing 3 hours and 40 minutes!

Helio, the first sports hero in Brazilian history, also challenged boxing icons
Primo Carnera, Joe Louis and Ezzard Charles. They all declined.

Outside of the ring, always looking for a challenge, he enjoyed breaking wild
horses and bulls. In an event worthy of a Hollywood movie, he once jumped
into shark infested waters in the Atlantic Ocean to save a man's life which
earned him a medal of honor.

Helio's relentless contribution to the perfection of jiu-jitsu techniques, his philosophy on life and his unique teaching methodology have been an
example for his children and his students worldwide. These are the pillars
on which the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was built.