The Blue Bar
The blue bar on our belts signifies our commitment to teaching Jiu-Jitsu as a complete art with techniques that utilize striking, throwing, grappling, self-defense, and philosophy. In the Jiu-Jitsu community, it is a symbol unique to students of Royce Gracie and the Valente Brothers, with roots that go back almost one hundred years to the original Academia de Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil.
The original Academy of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was established in 1925 in the Flamengo area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the time, all students wore a white kimono (gi) with a white belt, while the practitioners that were enrolled in the instructors' training course wore a light blue belt. The graduates of this prestigious program wore a royal Navy-Blue Belt to signify their status as professors.
In 1967, brothers Carlos and Helio Gracie along with the other teachers of the art established the Confederation de Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CBJJ) as a governing body. They also established the modern system of belt ranks for students consisting of White, Blue, Purple, Brown, and Black Belt. The original guidelines of the Confederation called for Black Belts to distinguish themselves from other arts by wearing a solid red bar near one end of the belt. The Grandmasters of the art, including the original Gracie Brothers, wore a Red Belt.
Near the end of his life, Grandmaster Helio started wearing his original Navy Blue Belt from decades prior, as his views on the fighting identity of Jiu-Jitsu were more in-line with the older values of the art. After Helio’s Gracie’s death in 2009, his son Royce also began wearing the original navy blue belt of the Academia de Jiu-Jitsu. In 2015, the black belts of Royce Gracie and the Valente Brothers also changed their red bar to blue, signifying a commitment to upholding the principals of Helio Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Now, all student ranks including white belts proudly differentiate themselves with the Blue Bar.