Helio, Carlos youngest brother, was physically frail and would constantly faint when doing any type of physical activity. The family doctor advised him to avoid any kind of exercise. Consequently, Helio would sit on the side of the mat watching Carlos teach classes. He did that for a couple of years.

One day, when he was 16 years old, a student showed up for class, but Carlos was not around and Helio offered to go through the techniques with the student as he had been watching his brother for so long he had memorised all the moves. The student agreed and Helio was so excited about pleasing the student that when Carlos arrived and apologised for being late the student explained he would now be taking lessons from Helio!

Helio became an instructor and soon after he was teaching the vast majority of the classes while Carlos became more involved with the development of the Gracie Diet and managing the fighting careers of his brothers.

In spite of his small frame and weight of only 140 pounds, Helio became the mastermind behind the development of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, adapting the techniques of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu so that they depended entirely upon leverage, rather than strength and explosiveness. This proves that Ju Jitsu is very effective and can give those with a small build or who are non athletic an advantage over an opponent.

He was driven by a constant determination to find effective ways to deal with every possible aspect of a real fight. Daring to break away from the traditional Japanese style, he began experimenting, modifying and perfecting simple techniques that would be effective regardless of stature.

That is how he developed this style of Jiu-Jitsu. Though Gracie Jiu-Jitsu descended from the ancient Japanese style, the differences are quite apparent. Many of the Japanese facets of the art, which depend on physical prowess and stiff motion, were tossed aside, leaving only pure technique.

Although Jujitsu techniques are initially learned individually, in a static position, the essence of Jujitsu is the ability to move from technique to another, or a second or even a third as needed - and as quickly and as often as necessary to control an attacker. Since each system emphasises only a few major techniques (or waza), the principle behind each technique can be applied in numerous situations (again making it very effective), not just in the manner in which it is learned in a certain technique. Each technique, in fact, is designed to illustrate and teach a specific principle.