He manages to be pro-Gracie Academy without the marketing spiel, therefore playing a central role in moderating the excessive vitriol that often gets directed at Rorion and his sons. I have been impressed with how he has conducted himself in places like Sherdog and reddit, always ready to offer up a rational argument and solid points. My guide was Ben, whose articulate online presence has provided a much-needed perspective on the Gracie Academy, posting as bjh13. Walking along the corridor, your route is lined with magazine covers depicting the jiu jitsu explosion ushered in by Rorion and his relatives, until eventually you catch sight of those famous green mats. I recognised several of the names as early US pioneers, like Chris Haueter, Bob Bass and Chris Saunders. The museum display I found most interesting was the case containing original logbooks from the first year the Torrance Academy was operating, in 1989. I was reminded once again that it would be extremely useful to read Portuguese: I've been through the Pimsleur course, but need to start practicing in some methodical way, perhaps by finally tackling that Carlos Gracie biography sitting on my bookshelf. There are lots of tributes to Helio, as you would expect, newspaper clippings from the heyday of vale tudo and old gis from the middle of the last century.
![gracie master cycle reddit gracie master cycle reddit](https://graciejiujitsuwinnipeg.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/cropped-Gracie-Triangle.png)
This is a building well aware of its significance, most obviously in the small Gracie Museum filled with artefacts from jiu jitsu's past. It was therefore really cool to finally walk through those doors and see all that history staring right back at me. It was not the first place on US soil to teach BJJ, but the Gracie Academy was undeniably the most important school in the initial growth of the art outside of Brazil. Torrance has a special place in the history of international Brazilian jiu jitsu, because it is where the expansion truly began. Gracie Academy (BJJ), Rener Gracie, Torrance, CA, USA.