Carlson Gracie assembled a true army of black-belts back in the day. His students, who became champions in BJJ and MMA, continue to carry his banner and transmitting his feats around the world. A former UFC and BJJ worlds champion, Murilo Bustamante is one of the great athletes shaped by the late grandmaster. Last weekend, Bustamante gathered the old guard from Carlson Gracie Team in an event for charity. Besides paying homage to and graduating Carlson’s old students, the reunion served as a way to raise money for Lar Dona Meca, an institution that helps children in need.
“Today we did a charity effort for a social project, Dona Meca, which works with kids with cerebral palsy,” Bustamante is heard saying. “I took the opportunity not only to do a seminar, but to call Carlson’s old guard in order to graduate some members of that old guard who should have been promoted a long time ago. So I invited masters Rosado, Pinduca and Peixotinho to perform the graduation, as they are of a higher rank than myself. These were all students of Carlson’s a long time ago; they were my teachers at Carlson’s alongside Rosado, Pinduca and Peixotinho; they all taught me a lot, so it was a way to remember that generation that paved the road that nowadays the kids are walking in BJJ.”
