Márcio "Macarrão" Stambowsky (; born February 22, 1959) is a Brazilian martial artist. An 8th degree coral belt in

Gracie 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 ...

, he is one of the " Famous Five" Rolls Gracie black belts. Regarded as one of the top Brazilian competitors of the 1980s, he is also the father of professional

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

fighter Neiman Gracie Stambowsky.

Technical contributions

During the formative years of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Stambowsky was notable for revolutionizing the

closed guard The guard is a grappling position#Ground grappling position, ground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs. In pure grappling combat sports, the gu ...

, triangles, and leglock tactics. He was named by MMA hall-of-famer Rickson Gracie as one of the original Brazilian competitors to popularize the concept of the now iconic triangle choke. Acclaimed as an influential mentor and coach, he has been credited by world champion

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family of Brazil, Renzo is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the so ...

for practicing "one of the most beautiful jiu jitsu tylesever seen."

Athletic achievements

In 1980, Stambowsky was selected to join a group of top fighters that the Brazilian government planned to send to the Olympic Games in Moscow and the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

in the United States. Although a dispute involving sponsors prevented the team from traveling to the Olympics, Stambowsky went on to win two gold medals in national championship competitions in 1981 and 1985. He won a bronze medal in a world championship competition, representing Brazil among 37 countries at the

1985 Maccabiah Games The 12th Maccabiah Games brought over 4,000 athletes to Israel from 38 nations to compete in 28 sports. History The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and super ...

in Israel.

Personal life

Marcio was born to a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

mother and a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

father who later emigrated to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He is the highest ranking

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish BJJ practitioner. Keeping close ties with the Gracies, Stambowsky eventually married Carla Gracie, daughter of

Robson Gracie Carlos Robson Gracie Sr. (; born August 13, 1935) is the second son of Carlos Gracie. Gracie is a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, affording him the title of Grandmaster. Biography Robson Gracie learned martial arts from his father, ...

. In addition to his son Neiman, he has one daughter, Deborah Gracie Stambowsky, who, together with

Kyra Gracie Kyra Gracie Guimarães (born 29 May 1985) is a Brazilian submission grappler and a 4th degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner. A member of the Gracie family and a highly decorated competitor, she is a four-time World Jiu-Jit ...

, is one of only two women in 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 ...

to have attained the rank of black belt. Stambowsky moved his family from Brazil to the United States in 2007. He is the founder of Gracie Sports USA and Team Macarra BJJ, based in

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County and Connecticut , coordinates ...

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 betwe ...

→

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 Maeda ,Virgílio, pp. 22–25 a Brazilian naturalized as Otávio Maeda (),Virgílio, p. 9 was a Japanese ''judōka'' (judo practitioner) and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions, also being one of the first documented mixed martial artists of t ...

→

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 an ...

→

Hélio Gracie Hélio Gracie (October 1, 1913 – January 29, 2009) was a Brazilian martial artist who together with his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George and Carlos Gracie founded and developed the self-defense martial art system of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, also ...

→ Rolls Gracie → Márcio Stambowsky

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stambowsky, Marcio Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people 1959 births Gracie family Maccabiah Games bronze medalists for Brazil Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish male martial artists Brazilian male judoka Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainers Mixed martial arts trainers Maccabiah Games medalists in judo Competitors at the 1985 Maccabiah Games Jewish Brazilian sportspeople People awarded a coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Technical contributions

Athletic achievements

Personal life

Lineage

See also

References