On a recent Tuesday afternoon at Gregor Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Brooklyn Bridge Park, a black belt named Mark was pinning a student noticeably bigger than him to the mat. To the untrained eye, it looked like two people wrestling. Gregor Gracie saw a game of chess.
“Every single thing — the way he got the head, where his knee is — there’s a purpose,” he said.
In jiu-jitsu, size matters less than leverage, Gracie explained. That’s by design, he said: His grandfather, Carlos Gracie, an “extremely skinny” man who struggled to pull off the strength-based moves of Japanese jujitsu, helped develop the Brazilian version around technique instead.
Gracie, a world championship medalist, is a member of the Gracie family, often called jiu-jitsu’s royal family. One of his uncles, Rorion Gracie, co-founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the 1990s. In the first UFC, in 1993, Rorion’s younger brother Royce Gracie used Brazilian jiu-jitsu to beat much larger opponents and win the tournament, a turning point for the sport’s popularity.
Jiu-jitsu is “basically a family tradition,” Gracie said. “Almost everyone became a black belt then followed that career.”
In August, he won the masters tournament at BJJ Stars 19, a professional jiu-jitsu event, beating 15 other veteran competitors. He called it “one of the biggest accomplishments” of his career. One opponent, he said, weighed about 260 pounds to his 190.
Gracie first opened his Brooklyn gym in a small space next to Kaigo Coffee Room in October 2017. After the pandemic forced him to close for more than a year, Gracie reopened next door in a nearly 5,000-square-foot space that had housed a kids’ activity center.
He said he was initially looking for a space in Park Slope, which he’d heard was a good neighborhood for families. But as he explored more of Brooklyn, he kept coming back to Brooklyn Heights to eat and walk around, especially in the summer. “When I came here for the first time, I said, ‘Wow, this is really nice,’” said Gracie, who lives in Carroll Gardens.
Now, his students range from 3-year-olds to people in their 70s, and about half are kids. Some families train together: One mother and her three kids all take classes. Many students live nearby, some in the same building, while others come from elsewhere in Brooklyn and from Manhattan.
Almost all of the gym’s instructors came up through its classes. “I don’t really hire from outside,” Gracie said. “I like to keep the philosophy of the gym.”
That philosophy is “all about respect and helping each other and community,” he said. “Most of the people here are friends.”
Most adult students are men, but the gym also offers women’s classes. Many women start there, Gracie said, then join the mixed classes, where men and women train together. Gracie said jiu-jitsu, built around leverage instead of strength, is especially useful for women defending themselves against bigger attackers.
The sport is also therapeutic, Gracie said, as it forces you to stay calm under pressure. “It doesn’t matter what kind of problem you’re having in your day,” he said. “When someone’s on top of you trying to choke you, you’re present.”
He encourages most of his students to push themselves and compete at least once. “It’s a very unique feeling going through a competition,” he said. After you compete, “you understand yourself a little bit better.”
As for what’s next, Gracie said he has no big plans, though he’d like to expand someday. “Just keep reaching people and keep making things a little bit better for everyone,” he said.
Heights Happenings
There seems to be a trash problem at 269 Henry Street. Neighbors have posted signs around the block asking people to report the building to 311, saying the building continues to leave trash bags on the sidewalk, resulting in a “rat infestation.” Since the building’s owner, Townhouse Rental V LLC, bought it in February 2024, the address has drawn 66 sanitation complaints, 33 of which ended in Notices of Violation from the Department of Sanitation, according to city 311 records. Health Department inspectors also found violations three times after rodent complaints. The owner did not respond to a request for comment sent through its attorney’s office.
The Art of Play drama continues. As we all likely know by now, Kelly Clarkson lambasted Art of Play, the curiosity shop on Atlantic Avenue, in a post to her 8.8 million followers on X last weekend. (We won’t get into the details, but the debate centered on an animatronic bird named Molly, which is now “on sale” for $15 million.) Clarkson’s five-minute shopping trip sparked an internet firestorm, garnering coverage from multiple major news outlets. (It also became a New Yorker cartoon.) CCTV footage released by video podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” added even more fuel to the fire. One of the store’s co-owners, Adam Rubin, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that employees, neighbors and customers have been getting threatening phone calls and text messages, and “people are showing up and screaming at us in person.” “Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger,” Rubin told Curbed.
Electric Lady Florals is taking over Eleventh Hour Art tonight through Sunday. Expect fresh and dried botanical installations, plus new work by four other artists. There’s an opening reception tonight from 6 to 8 p.m.
Jules is turning two. The pizza restaurant on Henry Street is having a two-year anniversary party on Saturday, Oct. 17 starting at 10 p.m.
Packer’s pumpkin patch is this weekend. The school is bringing back its annual fall festival with rides, bounce houses, a magic show and carnival games on Sunday, Oct. 18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wristbands for the block party start at $75 per person.
There’s a new bat box in Brooklyn Bridge Park. BBP’s horticulture team installed the park’s first bat box on the Ferryview Lawn on Pier 6. It’s a new home for the two species of bats that live in the park: the eastern red bat and the silver-haired bat. (If you see a bat, do not touch it!)
The Brooklyn Heights Association’s Spooky Stoop Contest is back. Send a photo of your favorite decorated stoop in the neighborhood to BHA via Instagram DM by Sunday, Oct. 25. Neighbors will vote for the winner the week of Halloween. The categories are: classic; chic and stylish; kid-friendly; and over the top.
NYC DOT released details on a BQE town hall. There will be a public information session on the BQE Central Project at Brooklyn Borough Hall at 209 Joralemon St. on Thursday, Oct. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Help plant daffodils in Cadman Plaza Park. The park’s conservancy is looking for volunteers to help plant thousands of daffodil bulbs in Juneteenth Grove on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon.
Get your dog’s Halloween costume ready. There are two dog costume contests coming up in the area:
Montague Diner’s dog costume contest will take place on Sunday, Oct. 25 from noon to 2 p.m. near the diner on Montague Street.
Howl-o-Ween, a dog costume contest in Dumbo, will be held on Washington Street on Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. The prize categories: Most Original, Best Owner/Pet Duo and Best in Show/Cutest/Coolest.
Nearby News
Vintage furniture is coming to Brooklyn Flea this weekend. Dozens of furniture vendors are bringing vintage lighting, mid-century furniture and other pieces to Dumbo Archway Plaza on Sunday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Someday Bar is haunted! Black Lagoon, a traveling Halloween pop-up, is taking over the bar on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill through Nov. 1. There are spooky decorations and drinks like Abyssa’s Obsession, a pumpkin-infused rum drink, and Bone Temple, a take on a margarita with cherry and absinthe.
Stoop Stories is having a stoop soiree. The organization is hosting its second annual fundraiser on Marj’s stoop at 163 Bergen St. on Saturday, Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Join for stoop hanging, snacks and bric-à-brac shopping.
Open House New York is this weekend. The annual festival that opens up over 300 destinations across the city for tours and special activities has several locations in the area: the Center for Brooklyn History and Brooklyn Borough Hall in the Heights; Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn Navy Yard; and the 1914 Lehigh Valley Railroad Barge and historic tanker ship Mary A. Whalen in Red Hook. Check out the map here.
Learn about whiskey at Sunken Harbor Club. Robert Simonson, an award-winning author and cocktail writer for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, is presenting his new book “Bourbon and Rye Cocktails: The History of American Whiskey in 73 Recipes” at the tiki bar above Gage & Tollner in Downtown Brooklyn on Sunday, Oct. 18. Reserve a spot here.
Trudie’s Tavern was reviewed in The New Yorker. The Court Street restaurant, a follow-up to Gertrude’s and Gertie, is a “bastion of playfully Ashkenazi-ish cooking,” Helen Rosner wrote.