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The Gracie Family Tree: A Deep Dive Into Rickson Gracie’s Famous Jiu-Jitsu Siblings

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If you’re interested in learning about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie, you’ve probably wondered about his famous fighting siblings too. From my experience training BJJ, the Gracie family tree is huge and branches out in all directions – it can be kind of confusing to keep all the relatives straight!

Rickson Gracie: The Eldest Son

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Rickson is the eldest son of Jiu-Jitsu master Helio Gracie. Born in 1958, he grew up immersed in the Gracie style of BJJ and had some truly amazing grappling training from a young age. Basically, he was destined for BJJ greatness from the get-go. During his competitive career from 1978 to 2000, Rickson established an outstanding reputation with a reported record of over 400 wins and only 2 losses – that’s pretty stunning if you ask me!

Here are some of the major accomplishments on Rickson’s resume: multiple world championships across multiple weight divisions, a 28-0 MMA record before retiring undefeated, and notable wins over much larger opponents using signature Gracie techniques like armlocks and lapel chokes. The guy was amazing – some folks even say he was a better grappler than his father Helio. High praise indeed!

Royler Gracie: The Submission Machine

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Next up is Royler Gracie, Rickson’s youngest brother born in 1966. Similar to Rickson, Royler started training very young under his father Helio and developed world-class BJJ skills. His competitive career spanned from 1985 through 2010 and he won numerous titles, like five-time World Champion. Some folks called Royler “The King of Mata Leão” or “Choke King” since he was so dang good at rear-naked chokes – the dude literally finished over 60% of his fights by tapout!

From my experience, Royler displayed incredible balance, position awareness and control on the mat. In 1994, he notably defeated the renowned Fight Finder Shooto champ Noboru Asahi in under a minute with a wrecking-ball of an armbar. Clearly, Royler carried on the family tradition of grappling dominance with serious skill and success. Even today in his 50s, I wouldn’t want to tangle with this guy!

Rener and Ryron Gracie: The YouTube Sensations

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Moving to a younger generation, we have Rener and Ryron Gracie – Rickson’s nephews and sons of Rorion Gracie. These dudes have taken BJJ to the social media age in an awesome way. Sorta like Rickson’s protégés, Rener and Ryron learned the art from an early age and achieved black belt status. But instead of old school competition, they’ve focused on instruction and spreading BJJ to the masses through their immensely popular Gracie University online platform.

Basically, their instructional YouTube videos have helped billions of viewers learn core techniques. Amazingly, Rener and Ryron have founded multiple academies worldwide with the Gracie Combatives self-defense programs. Talk about taking BJJ global – these guys deserve props for innovating instruction and growing the sport using modern media. Their energy and teaching style is super engaging too, making often complex moves seem way more accessible.

  1. Rener Gracie – Born 1981, five-time World Champion, founder of Gracie University
  2. Ryron Gracie – Born 1983, author, president of the International Gracie Academy

So in summary, while Rener and Ryron didn’t compete like their uncles, they’ve arguably had the biggest global influence on BJJ of any Gracies to date. Not bad for a couple of YouTube kicking dudes, right?

The Other Famous Gracie Brothers

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There are too many Gracie relatives to cover them all, but here are highlights on a few other notable brothers in Rickson’s massive fam:

Relson Gracie

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Born in 1962, Relson was an elite grappler who achieved great success competing throughout the 1980s and 90s. He notably avenged Rickson’s only reported loss by defeating Japanese judoka Yoshimi Osawa. Relson also defeated much larger opponents with his technical ground game and held several world titles before retiring.

Rhaldo Gracie

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Younger brother Rhaldo, born in 1966, had a similarly stellar competitive career highlighted by world championships in Brazil and ADCC tournaments. Like other family members, Rhaldo displayed amazing submissions from all positions with slick transitions and setups.

Roberto “Gordo” Gracie

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While heavier set than his athlete brothers, “Fat Rob” as his family calls him was a world champion in 1995 and fierce competitor with unique techniques. His innovative guard passing and pressure passing style made “Gordo” standout despite his size.

So in summary, the Gracie clan produced many truly amazing grappling talents. It was almost like winning titles and mauling dudes was a family tradition!

Questions From This BJJ Fan

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I hope this overview helped provide some context on Rickson’s siblings and the famous Gracie family tree. Lemme know if you have any other questions! For example:

Is there really any Gracie alive today who could hang with Rickson in his prime? Man, I don’t think so – the dude seemed practically superhuman. But maybe Kyra Gracie or Kron Gracie could put up a great fight?

Which sibling rivalry was most intense – Refson vs Royler maybe? Or Rener vs Ryron for YouTube supremacy? Lol just kidding about that last one.

Who has the sickest submission finisher in the family – Kimura for Royler or an old school straight ankle lock for Rickson? Tough call, they’re all nasty!

Ever notice how Helio’s sons all seem to have that crazy intense eye-staring thing going on in photos? It’s like they’re daring you to step on the mat – super intimidating! Does this run in the family or what?

Hope you found this overview helpful for getting to know Rickson Gracie and his fantastic siblings a bit better. Their accomplishments have truly helped establish BJJ as one of the greatest martial arts in the world. Let me know if any other questions come up!

Until next time, keep trainin’ hard and respeitando the art. Later dude!

Rickson Gracie’s Siblings

Name Year of Birth BJJ Rank Accomplishments
Reyson Gracie 1962 9th Degree Red Belt Introduced Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the United States
Relson Gracie 1966 9th Degree Red Belt Founded Gracie Barra, the largest BJJ association
Royler Gracie 1969 9th Degree Red Belt Former UFC champion, multiple tournament wins
Rorion Gracie 1955 9th Degree Red Belt Founded UFC and promoted Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Rolker Gracie 1953 9th Degree Red Belt Early promoter and teacher of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

FAQ

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  1. How many siblings does Rickson Gracie have?

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    Rickson Gracie comes from a pretty big family with seven brothers and sisters. His siblings consist of Reylson Gracie, Relson Gracie, Rorion Gracie, Royce Gracie, Rolls Gracie, Ricardo Gracie and Reyson Gracie.

  2. What martial arts styles do Rickson Gracie’s siblings practice?

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    While Rickson and some of his other brothers like Royce and Rolls are known for their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, not all of Rickson’s siblings focused on martial arts. However,Relson, Rorion, Reylson and Reyson Gracie did train and compete in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as well. Ricardo Gracie on the other hand seemed to take a different path and did not compete or teach BJJ like some of his brothers.

  3. What is the relationship like between Rickson Gracie and his siblings?

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    From what folks say, Rickson had a pretty tight bond with his brothers and sisters when they were growing up. Despite some family drama over the years between a few of the Gracie brothers, Rickson reportedly has remained close with Royce, Relson, Rorion and some of the others. At the same time, his rivalry with Renzo Gracie, who’s actually his nephew, became legendary in BJJ circles. But overall it seems Rickson got along famously with most of his sibs.

  4. Which of Rickson Gracie’s siblings had the most successful martial arts career?

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    When it comes to success in martial arts competitions, Royce Gracie arguably had the biggest impact by winning the first, second and fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the early days of MMA. However, some BJJ folks might say Rickson himself had the most impressive career record since he claimed to have over 400 matches without a single defeat! Both Rickson and Royce helped spread BJJ worldwide and make it what it is today.

  • Did any of Rickson Gracie’s siblings also teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

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    Yeah basically most of Rickson’s bros in some way helped teach or spread Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. His older brother Rorion opened the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school in California and is widely considered a pioneer in establishing BJJ in America. Relson also had some success as an instructor and competitor. Then of course Rickson’s nephew Renzo became one of the top names coaching BJJ in New York City. So safe to say teaching ran in the family alongside their skills on the mats.

  • What is the relationship between Rickson Gracie and his nephew Renzo Gracie?

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    Man their relationship was bananas! Despite being family, those two dudes did not get along at all. It started kinda friendly back in the day when they would challenge each other. But it turned ugly quick apparently. Some folks say jealousy and bad blood spilled over into challenges and disputes. Their various fights and scuffles became the stuff of BJJ legend. So in summary – those two cousins did NOT see eye to eye and had major drama despite sharing the Gracie DNA. Talk about a crazy family feud!

  • Do you have any other questions about Rickson Gracie and his siblings?

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    Hmm that pretty much covers the basics as far as Rickson’s sibs. But lemme know if you have any other thoughts! It’s always fun learning more about the legendary Gracie family tree. Those Brazilians definitely left quite a mark and helped shape martial arts as we know it today. But is it just me, or does it seem like they had some knock-down, drag-out arguments too? Maybe that fiery personality is what drove them to succeed in the ring. Just some thoughts – holler if any other questions pop up!