Mario Aleixo was a Brazilian fencing master who became the first Brazilian to teach jiu-jitsu professionally, starting in 1913 at the Centro do Sportivo do Engenho Velho in Rio de Janeiro. He created the 'Escola de Defesa Pessoal' (School of Self-Defense), combining jiu-jitsu, boxing, capoeira, jogo do pau, and wrestling — a proto-MMA system decades before Bruce Lee or modern MMA. He was also a pioneer of physical education in Brazilian schools from 1917. He likely learned jiu-jitsu from Portuguese translations of Irving Hancock's books. On December 3, 1931, he fought George Gracie at Teatro Republica and lost by armlock — a defeat that ended the era of book-taught jiu-jitsu instruction in Brazil. He died on May 30, 1947.