 Carlos was working as Rolls' assistant instructor when Rolls died in a hang-gliding accident in 1982; Carlos was asked to assume the head instructor role.The first Gracie Barra school was first founded in the upper-class Barra da Tijuca () neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro.In a few years Carlos Gracie Jr. was able to turn Gracie Barra into one of the most dominant teams in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu winning many consecutive world titles.