In 1978, Bob Anderson, a national champion wrestler and Olympic coach, traveled to Brazil to help develop wrestling in the country. Upon arrival, he was unexpectedly picked up by Carlson and Rolls Gracie, who claimed to be representatives of the wrestling governing body.
Anderson stayed at Rolls Gracie’s house and began attending what he thought were wrestling practices. He was surprised to see the practitioners wearing jackets, which Gracie explained was because they also did jiu-jitsu. Anderson noted Gracie’s innovative approach, saying:
“He’s kind of like a Renaissance guy I think he would take things from different sports and apply them into his jiu-jitsu which I thought was very good.”
Anderson claims he introduced the “Americana” technique to Gracie during their training sessions. The two developed a friendship, with Anderson recalling fun times like narrowly making it to a packed soccer match thanks to Gracie’s police badge.
Before Anderson left Brazil, he and Gracie had an intense 30-minute grappling match. Anderson described the experience:
“We fought and we fought and we fought for position for arms for chokes for arm bars for figure fours and we broke fought each other until I was just sweating and really hot.”
The match continued without jackets for another 25 minutes before Gracie caught Anderson in a heel hook, forcing him to tap out.
Later that year, Anderson invited Gracie to California and helped him enter the Pan American Games in sambo wrestling. Gracie won the competition, which Anderson believes was “the first really showed Brazilian Jujitsu in America.”
Tragically, Rolls Gracie passed away in a hang gliding accident before receiving his medal. Anderson still has the medal and expressed his desire to present it to Gracie’s family, saying:
“I’d really like to get it to his family is sunny eagle or something have a little a little small presentation of and honor the man he was not only a great innovator but it was a great loss to jiu-jitsu when Rolls Gracie passed away.”
Anderson concludes by reflecting on the significant impact Rolls Gracie had on the world of jiu-jitsu.
