Fitness

Fathers & Sons

A Legacy of Fitness from the Gracie Family of Brazil

By: Myatt Murphy, Photographs by: David Yellen
[ Updated: Aug 22, 2008 - 3:43:06 PM ]

Ninety-four-year-old Helio Gracie could teach you a lot about healthy, wholesome living. But the wiry old man could also incapacitate you with a choke hold in less time than it takes to say 10th-degree red-belt grand master of what's called Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (also known as Brazilian jujitsu).

This leather-skinned gent is patriarch of a dynasty of the most formidable martial artists the world has ever known. A national hero in Brazil in his youth, he defeated countless Japanese jujitsu masters and holds the record for being in the longest fight in the history of organized sport grappling: a 3-hour-40-minute brawl with no rest periods -- and no rules.

But that's not why we should admire Helio Gracie. Instead, we should aspire to be as strong and as healthy as he is when we reach our 10th decade and to be as effective at instilling healthy habits into our own offspring right now.

Helio's back is as straight as a marine's, and his blood pressure would be the envy of any cardiologist. He is lean and spry, and he wears a frequent smile. On this particular April day, at his ranch in Itaipava, Brazil, Helio has cut the grass, tended his horses, and climbed onto the roof of his house to check the shingles -- all before breakfast. Most amazing, however, may be the legacy of health and fitness that he has given his nine children, 33 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren: a bloodline that's among the fittest on the planet.

Helio taught his sons, Rorion, Relson, Rickson, Rolker, Royler, Royce, and Robin, to practice strict nutrition and exercise rituals from an early age. He was motivated by something more than a desire to raise healthy sons; frankly, he wanted to save their necks. Being Gracies, they had inherited the "Gracie Challenge," an open invitation to anyone -- no matter his fighting style, size, or weight -- to pit his skills against Gracie Jiu-Jitsu's street-fighting arsenal of holds, chokes, strikes, and arm and leg locks anytime. So every meal, every minute of training, and every exercise was for the purpose of being prepared to take on any challenger who knocked on the family's door. In this way, they were able to prove that theirs is the most effective self-defense system in the world.

"I remember before every competition, our father would always say the same thing," recalls 40-year-old Royler, a four-time world jujitsu champion. "'If you win, I'll give you one gift. But if you lose, I'll give you two.' That was his way of taking the pressure off of us."