Maurício Motta Gomes (born 25 July, 1955), also known as Maurição, is a practitioner of

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

holding the rank of 8th degree white and red belt.Renzo Gracie News >> Congratulations to Master Maurico Gomes and Roger Gracie
. URL accessed on June 14, 2010.Gracie Barra Black Belts
URL accessed on June 14, 2010. The founder of the first

Gracie Barra Gracie Barra is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu association with over 800 schools on six continents. The organization was founded by Carlos Gracie, Jr. History Carlos Gracie Jr., who was born in 1956, grew up heavily influenced by his family, especiall ...

franchise in the United Kingdom, Gomes has been training and teaching BJJ for over 50 years, one of only six people promoted to black belt by legendary

Rolls Gracie Rolls Gracie (; 1951–1982) was a Brazilian martial artist. He was a prominent member of the Gracie family known for their founding of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and considered by some the family's best ever fighter. He was teacher of Rickson Gracie, Ca ...

. Gomes is the father of

Roger Gracie Roger Gracie (born Roger Gracie Gomes; 26 September, 1981) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist and former professional Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) competitor. The son of coral belt Mauricio Gomes and grandson of BJJ founder Carlos Gracie, ...

, one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu competitors of all time.

Career

Maurício Motta Gomes started training

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

aged four, after his father, a BJJ brown belt, took him to classes at João Alberto Barreto's academy. As a teenager, Gomes began training with the legendary

. Under Gracie's guidance, he became a highly successful competitor winning the absolute division of the Rio de Janeiro State Championships in 1981. Shortly after this victory Gracie awarded Gomes his black belt in November 1981. Gomes continued training with Gracie until his tragic death in 1982. Gomes opened the first

school in 1997 in Tokyo and was the first Brazilian to be invited to Japan to teach. After staying there for a year, he returned to Brazil before accepting a position in England. Gomes set up Gracie Barra UK, teaching at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. Gomes brought over Felipe Souza,

Braulio Estima Braulio de Oliveira Estima is a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He received his black belt from Carlos Gracie Jr. on January 4, 2004. Throughout his grappling career, he has won in many Brazilian Jiu-J ...

, and his son

to help with the teaching in England. Estima later become the main instructor at Gracie Barra Birmingham. In 2000 Gomes was invited to lead the BJJ class at the Budokwai in London. In 2004 his son opened the ''Roger Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy'' where he joined the teaching staff. In 2005 Gomes promoted his first UK students to black belt Jude Samuel, the first home-grown British black belt, Rick Young, and Marc Walder. In 2020 together with his son, Gomes established the first Gracie Barra Jiu Jitsu School in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China. Because of his efforts to grow the sport in the country, Gomes is affectionately known as the ‘Godfather of British Jiu-Jitsu’.

Personal life

Through his close ties with the

Gracie family The Gracie Family () are a prominent martial arts family originally from Belém, state of Pará, Brazil whose ancestors came from Paisley, Scotland. They are known for creating the self-defense martial arts system of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, also kn ...

, Gomes met Reila Gracie, the daughter of

Carlos Gracie Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist who is credited with being one of the primary developers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Along with his younger brother Hélio Gracie and fellow students Luis França and ...

Sr. They married in 1979 and had a son,

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

. Roger Gracie would go on to become a ten-time World Champion, opting to use the Gracie name from his mother's side. Gomes and Reila Gracie divorced, and Gomes now lives in the UK with his wife Natalie Day, a jiu-jitsu brown belt.

Instructor lineage

Kano Jigoro Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

→

Tomita Tsunejiro is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aijiro Tomita (1885–1954), Japanese politician *Hiroyuki Tomita (born 1980), Japanese gymnast *Isao Tomita (1932–2016), Japanese electronic music composer * Kazuo Tomita (born 19 ...

→ Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda →

, Sr. →

Helio Gracie Helio may refer to: * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 * ...

→

→ Mauricio Motta Gomes

Notes

References

External links

Mauricio Gomes Black Belt List

Jiu Jitsu

Gracie Barra

Roger Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy

European Fight Network

Interview with Mauricio Motta Gomes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes, Mauricio Motta Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Living people Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city) People awarded a coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1960 births