 Gastão Gracie was a business partner of the American Circus in Belém . In 1916 , Italian Argentine circus <unk> Brothers staged shows there and presented Maeda . In 1917 , Carlos Gracie — 14 ‑ year @-@ old son of Gastão Gracie — watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Da <unk> Theatre and decided to learn judo ( also known at the time as ' Kano Jiu @-@ Jitsu ' ) . Maeda accepted Gracie and Luiz <unk> as students [ 1 ] , and the youth went on to become a great exponent of the art and ultimately , with his younger brother <unk> Gracie , founded Gracie Jiu @-@ Jitsu , modern Brazilian Jiu @-@ Jitsu . In 1921 , Gastão Gracie and his family moved to Rio de Janeiro . Carlos , then 17 years old , passed Maeda 's teachings on to his brothers <unk> , Gastão , and Jorge . <unk> is considered by many as the founder of Brazilian Jiu @-@ Jitsu ( though others , such as Carlson Gracie , have pointed to Carlos as the founder ) . 
