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#374 Training With Rickson Gracie in 1994: Draculino on Jiu-Jitsu’s Golden Era

By 18 oktober 2026No Comments

Training With Rickson Gracie in 1994: Draculino on Jiu-Jitsu’s Golden Era

Coral belt Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães is one of the most respected figures in jiu-jitsu. A pioneer of Gracie Barra, he opened the first Gracie Barra school outside of Rio de Janeiro, built Gracie Barra Texas into a team that won the state’s biggest competition 22 times in a row, fought MMA until the age of 40 and gave up a career as an attorney to follow his love for the art. More than 40 years on the mats, and still training every day.

Nine years after his last visit, Draculino is back at Eindbazen. We start with a photo from 1994: the day Rickson Gracie showed up to train with a group of young black and brown belts, Draculino among them, and tapped every single one of them. Draculino remembers every detail.

From there he opens up about what jiu-jitsu gained and what it lost, the moment with his master Carlinhos Gracie Jr. that changed his life, the price his body paid for training for results, his upcoming book, and why jiu-jitsu can save lives without healing trauma on its own.

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