THE FIRST CIRCLE

In many traditions and legends, there exists the idea of an inner circle: the trusted few who remain loyal to a mission, an ideal, or a leader through periods of uncertainty and transition. In the Arthurian tradition, the First Circle of the Round Table were those knights whose loyalty, character, and commitment placed them closest to the heart of the kingdom and its ideals, and who carried those ideals forward in Arthur's absence.

In this same tradition, the First Circle of Rickson Gracie United is comprised of those individuals whose loyalty, belief, and contribution to the mission of Rickson Gracie United have been significant, longstanding, and ongoing.

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MASTER PEDRO SAUER​

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Pedro Sauer is an 8th-degree coral belt and one of Rickson Gracie’s oldest friends, students, and representatives. Introduced to Jiu-Jitsu by Rickson as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro, Pedro trained extensively under both Rickson and Hélio Gracie, receiving his black belt from them in 1985 and later the rare Técnico de Jiu-Jitsu certification from Hélio.

Pedro was part of the pioneering generation that brought Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the United States, living and training with Rickson and the Gracie family before establishing himself in Utah in October of 1990. In 1996, he became an official representative of the Rickson Gracie American Jiu-Jitsu Association and later served on the Masters Council of Rickson’s Jiu-Jitsu Global Federation. Founder of the Pedro Sauer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association, he has spent more than four decades teaching and preserving the technical, self-defense-oriented Jiu-Jitsu passed to him by Rickson and Hélio.

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Learn more about Master Sauer at https://pedrosauer.com