Rener Gracie (born November 10, 1983) is an American fourth-degree black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a head instructor at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy and co-creator of Gracie University. He is the grandson of Helio Gracie, the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and the second eldest son of Rorion Gracie, the father of Gracie jiu-jitsu in the United States. Rener has spent over twenty-five years at the Gracie Academy studying under Rorion and Helio Gracie. Rener and his brother, Ryron Gracie created Gracie University, an online martial arts learning center, and developed distance learning packages for the Academy's proprietary courses. Today, Gracie University has more than 84,000 active students in 196 countries offering tailored self-defense programs for men, women, and children. The curriculum includes Gracie Combatives, Gracie Bullyproof, Women Empowered, the Master Cycle, special instructor certification courses and special courses for military and law enforcement professionals.