Our Story.
Two mats in North Florida. One lineage going back to Rio de Janeiro, 1986.
Gracie Barra — organized Jiu-Jitsu since 1986.
Carlos Gracie Jr. founded Gracie Barra in 1986 in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. What began as a single academy is now an association of more than 900 schools across six continents, with 10 Black Belt World Champions among its ranks. The art is the same one his family has taught for three generations — refined, codified, and carried forward by the instructors who came up under him.
In 2005, Gracie Barra formalized its affiliate standards so every GB school — from Rio to St Augustine — runs the same curriculum, wears the same uniforms, and holds the same values. Three pillars sit at the center of all of it: Integrity. Respect. Trust.
Prof Roberto Cuartero III.
Black Belt 4th Degree · Former U.S. Marine · 20+ years on the mat.
Prof Roberto came to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu the way a lot of good coaches do — through service first. After the Marine Corps, he found the mat and never really left. He trained under Prof Flavio Almeida at Gracie Barra HQ and cross-trained in catch wrestling and submission grappling under Erik Paulson, building a game that's equal parts GB fundamentals and real-world problem solving.
He opened Gracie Barra Jacksonville as the first GB school in North Florida and has since coached more than 100 amateur and professional fighters to a combined 83% win rate across UFC, Bellator, and PFL. But ask anyone who trains there what makes the academy work, and they'll point to the room before they point to the résumé.
Prof Juan Romero.
Black Belt 1st Degree · 13+ years on the mat · IBJJF & Abu Dhabi World Pro medalist.
Prof Juan leads the day-to-day on the St Johns mat. His game is technical and his teaching is direct — the kind of precision that shows up in his competition record and carries into every class he runs. He's the one most new students meet first at St Johns, and the one senior students keep coming back to when they want to sharpen a specific part of their game.
Juan and Roberto run the two mats as one academy. Same curriculum, same standards, same standing Saturday sparring rounds — one professor on each floor.
See the full roster →Why two locations.
Jacksonville.
The first North Florida mat, and the flagship. Jacksonville runs the full program: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from kids through adults, a complete MMA track, Kickboxing, and Wrestling — plus the competition team's prep cycle for IBJJF, Abu Dhabi, and the pro circuits. If you want every tool in the Gracie Barra toolkit under one roof, this is the room.
St Johns.
Opened to bring Gracie Barra closer to the Nocatee and St Augustine families who were making the drive north. Family-first programming, a sauna and cold plunge for adult recovery, and an expanded GBF Women's program led by a dedicated coach. Same curriculum. Same standards. Closer to home.
Same curriculum. Same standards. Two mats, one academy.
Integrity. Respect. Trust.
Do the work, on and off the mat.
Integrity at Gracie Barra is simple: the uniform on the mat, the curriculum in the class, the standards in every belt test. Instructors are held to the same code they teach. What we say we do is what we do.
Everyone who steps on the mat.
Respect is the price of admission. Respect for training partners, for the instructors who came before us, and for the art itself. It's why the room works for an eight-year-old white belt and a pro fighter prepping for a title on the same night.
Students first. Always.
Trust is earned in the details — the way a coach corrects a technique, the way the academy handles a kid's first belt promotion, the way the program is run when no one is watching. We teach a students-first culture because it's the only version of Gracie Barra worth running.