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 www.PedroSauer.com

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MASTER CARLOS "CAIQUE" ELIAS

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Master Carlos “Caique” Elias is an 8th-degree coral belt, and one of the most senior practitioners of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu outside the Gracie family. A longtime friend and student of Rickson Gracie, Caique first met Rickson as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro and trained under him and Grandmaster Hélio Gracie from purple belt through black belt. He received his black belt from Rickson and Hélio in 1982, becoming one of only a small number of non-Gracie students ever awarded that distinction directly by them. Rickson personally promoted Caique to 7th-degree coral belt in 2009 and to 8th degree in 2023.

Caique taught for many years at the original Gracie Academy in Brazil, and was regarded by Hélio as one of his finest students. In 1996, Hélio invited him to move to the United States to teach at the Gracie Academy in California, an opportunity for which he was extremely proud and thankful. An accomplished competitor as well as instructor, Caique won the Brazilian Nationals in 1995 and later founded the Caique Jiu-Jitsu Academy and Association. Throughout his journey, he has maintained an unwavering loyalty to the Gracie family and the principles of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, continuing to teach, protect, and preserve the pure, traditional art he learned directly from Hélio and Rickson.​

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Learn more about Master Sauer at www.CJJUSA.com

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MASTER LUIS "LIMÃO" HEREDIA

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Luis “Limão” Heredia is a 7th-degree coral belt under Rickson Gracie, and one of Rickson’s longest-standing students, friends, and representatives. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Luis began training Jiu-Jitsu as a teenager and studied directly with Hélio Gracie, as well as extensively with both Rickson and Royler Gracie. In the late 1980s, he moved to the United States with Rickson and Ralph Gracie, becoming part of the small group that helped establish Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in America. He remained alongside Rickson for more than a decade, helping teach and build Rickson’s academies in Southern California, and received his black belt from Rickson in 1995.

An accomplished competitor as well as instructor, Heredia won multiple Pan American titles at black belt and competed successfully for decades. He later relocated to Hawaii, where he founded Maui Jiu-Jitsu and has continued to teach the self-defense-oriented approach and principles he learned from Rickson, Royler, and Hélio.

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Learn more about Master Heredia at www.MauiJiuJitsu.com

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PROFESSOR DAVE KAMA

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Professor Dave Kama is a 6th-degree black belt under Rickson Gracie, and one of the pioneers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the United States. 

Professor Kama began training Jiu-Jitsu in the mid-1980s, and was among the early American students who trained at Rorion Gracie’s legendary Gracie Garage in Southern California. He received all of his belts from Master Rickson, from blue through black, earning his black belt in 1995. He is recognized as a member of the “Dirty Dozen”—the first twelve non-Brazilians to earn black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

In 1993, Master Rickson asked Professor Kama to take over as head instructor of the Rickson Gracie academy in Laguna Niguel, California. Dave continued to operate that school for nearly two decades before it became Kama Jiu-Jitsu in 2012. Today, he continues to teach the self-defense, connection, leverage, base, and other principles at the heart of Master Rickson’s approach, carrying forward a relationship and lineage that extends back to the earliest days of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in the United States.

Learn more about Professor Kama at www.KamaJiuJitsu.com

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PROFESSOR HAROLD HARDER

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Harold Harder is a 5th Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and has dedicated more than 30 years to the study and teaching of Jiu-Jitsu. His direct connection with Master Rickson Gracie began in 1996, when he trained at the Rickson Gracie Academy in Los Angeles. Master Rickson’s approach to Jiu-Jitsu has remained a defining influence throughout Harold’s journey in the art.

Harold is the founder and head instructor of Harder Jiu-Jitsu in Venlo, the Netherlands, as well as founder of the European Grappling & Jiu-Jitsu Federation (EGJJF). He is committed to preserving and passing on the principles that make Jiu-Jitsu effective beyond competition — self-defense, efficiency, connection, timing, leverage, and the deeper understanding of the art that Master Rickson continues to teach.

Learn more about Professor Harder at www.Harder-JiuJitsu.com

Contact him at harold@harder-jiujitsu.com

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