EDDIE BRAVO

Eddie Bravo is the founder of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu — the first major no-gi-specific BJJ system — and one of the most influential figures in the development of modern submission grappling. Born in Santa Ana, California in 1970 and trained under Jean Jacques Machado in Los Angeles in the 1990s, Bravo became famous in 2003 when he submitted Royler Gracie at ADCC at black belt, ending Royler's dominance at featherweight and demonstrating that an American no-gi-focused competitor could defeat one of the Gracie family's most accomplished representatives.

Following the ADCC win Bravo founded 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu and developed an entirely new technical vocabulary specifically optimized for no-gi grappling. The rubber guard, the twister, the lockdown, the electric chair, mission control, the truck position, and dozens of other now-canonical techniques and positions were either invented or systematized by Bravo across the 2000s and 2010s. The 10th Planet system was initially controversial within the broader BJJ community — partly because of stylistic differences, partly because of Bravo's polarizing public persona — but the system's competitive success and pedagogical impact have made it a permanent fixture of the modern no-gi landscape.

In 2014 Bravo founded the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI), the first major submission-only grappling tournament with a structured overtime format. EBI's commercial and competitive success was instrumental in establishing the modern submission-only ecosystem (ADCC adjustments, WNO, Polaris, CJI). Bravo continues to run 10th Planet, EBI, and the broader 10th Planet network of affiliate gyms as of 2026, and his impact on modern BJJ is comparable in scope to the most influential coaches of his era.