Gracie Barra Rio, known inside the team as the Matriz (headquarters), is where Gracie Barra began. Carlos Gracie Jr. founded it in 1986 in Barra da Tijuca, the beach district in Rio's West Zone. He took over Rolls Gracie's part of the family academy after Rolls died. The family's earlier academy was in Copacabana. The team's name comes from the neighbourhood.

Early instructors at the school included members of the Gracie and Machado families, and many of them later opened academies around the world. In 2005, Gracie Barra opened its first school outside Brazil, in Southern California, and the team's leadership later moved to the United States. Gracie Barra now has hundreds of schools worldwide, with its administrative base in Irvine, California. According to Gracie Barra, the Barra da Tijuca school now operates inside a fitness gym a few blocks from the beach.

The head instructor is Jefferson Moura, a black belt since 1999. He became head of the Rio headquarters in November 2009, when Carlos Gracie Jr. and Marcio Feitosa moved to the United States. As a competitor, Moura won the 2003 IBJJF World Championship, took silver at the Worlds in 2002 and 2004, and won the Brazilian Nationals three times (2001, 2006 and 2009). He teaches most of the academy's classes.

A regular fixture is the school's Tuesday championship training. It is a roughly two-hour session in which athletes are split by weight and roll four eight-minute rounds against rotating partners. Graciemag reported more than 100 athletes, including 23 black belts, at one 2018 session. Students from every Gracie Barra unit are welcome to attend.

Visiting and first class

• Address and schedule: Gracie Barra does not publish a street address or timetable for the Matriz online, so contact the team or a Rio-based Gracie Barra school before you travel.
• Visiting Gracie Barra students: Gracie Barra says members can train at any official school.

Details above were checked on Gracie Barra's site, Graciemag and BJJ Heroes in October 2026. Confirm the current schedule before you go.