A masterful technician, and one of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's most respected teachers, Luis Heredia has been on the cutting edge of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu revolution since its earliest years. Nicknamed "Limao" (Lemon), he has long been Rickson Gracie's right hand man. A Gracie student in Rio for several years , Rickson chose Heredia to accompany him to the United States when he first came here in the late 1980's.
Originally, Luis helped Rickson teach out of his older brother Rorion Gracie's garage, and later the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California. With the coming out of the UFC, and Royce Gracie's victories in it, Brazilian jiu jitsu exploded in popularity. With a growing number of students, Rickson decided to branch out from the Gracie academy and start his own organization. Going with him, watching his back and backing his play, as always, was Limao. Soon, Luis had his purple belt and was virtually running Rickson's West Los Angeles school.
Within two years, Heredia had earned his brown belt and when Vale Tudo '95 rolled around the following year, Heredia - who had been training hard - decided to accompany Rickson for his title defense. "Going with Rickson to Japan was really a great experience," Heredia says. "Even though it is the birthplace of submission, I had never been. I got a chance to grapple with some of the top guys there are."
That tournament, documented in Ron Goodman's film "Choke" was the first time Heredia would face world-class grapplers in their own environment. After Rickson won the tournament for the second straight year, he gave a seminar the following weekend. Predictably, with all the attention in the Japanese media surrounding his win, the seminar was packed and attracted top fighters from the arts of judo, jiu-jitsu, shoot fighting, shoot wrestling, aikido and even karate.
"There had to be 200 guys there," Heredia recalls. "And everyone wanted to test themselves against Rickson, of course. But there were too many people for him to train with. So Rickson took all the big guys, maybe a hundred, then Royler Gracie (Rickson's brother) took some, and then I took some too. Maybe 30 or 40. Then we just started training all out. Everything went except for punches and kicks - chokes, armbars, leg and foot locks, whatever. And everyone wanted to beat you. So I just put my mind on autopilot, let my body respond to the attacks, and just started grappling. Some were my size but alot of them were 20 or 30 pounds heavier, too. I didn't know it at the time, but there were members of the Japanese Judo Team there, some shooto and shootfighting champions, and also quite a few traditional jiu-jitsu guys. These were all very skilled and in shape fighters."
He pauses for a second, shrugs, and then smiles modestly. "But I made them all tap. What can I say? That day I was very proud of of both myself and jiu-jitsu." But there were more people watching Heredia than he knew. After the seminar had ended and he had flown back to Los Angeles, Rickson called him up in front of his Los Angeles class and gave him his black belt. "I was surprised for sure," Heredia says. "But at the same time I knew I deserved it. Maybe before the Vale Tudo '95 seminar I couldn't have said that, but after that I knew - and I guess so did Rickson. Only ten people, at most I think have ever gotten a black belt from Rickson in the 30 year's he's been teaching. So for me, it was the ultimate honor and I'm very proud of it."
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Tournament History
July 2009
Masters & Senior Internationals
Rio de Janeiro
2nd Place
Senior III Feather Weight
June 2009
Pan Ams
2nd Place Black Belt
Senior II Feather Weight Division
May 2008
Pan Ams
2nd Place Black Belt
Senior Featherweight Division
April 2007
Pan Ams
1st Place Black Belt
Senior Featherweight Division
April 2006
Pan Ams
1st Place Black Belt
Featherweight Division
April 2005
Pan Ams
1st Place Black Belt
Featherweight Division
April 2004
Pan Ams1st Place Black Belt Featherweight Division
2nd Place Black Belt Open Division
April 2003
Pan American Games1st Place Black Belt Featherweight Division
2nd Place Black Belt
Open Division
April 2002
Fourth Copa Pacifica
1st Place Black Belt
Lightweight Division
February 2000
Seventh Pan American
3rd Place Black Belt
Master Division
August 2000
Second Rickson Gracie Association
2nd Place Black Belt
Lightweight Division
April 2000
Third Copa Pacifica
2nd Place Black Belt
Lightweight Division
April 1998
First Copa Pacifica
2nd Place Black Belt
Lightweight Division
January 1998
Pan American Games
2nd Place Black Belt (injury)
Lightweight Division
August 1997
First Annual Rickson Gracie Association
2nd Place Black Belt
Lightweight Division
July 1997
Fourth Annual Joe Moreira
1st Place Black Belt
Lightweight Division
June 1996
Second Pan American Games2nd Place Black Belt Lightweight Division
2nd Place Black Belt
Masters Open Division
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