Early Life
Born on October 9, 1973, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, son of the economist Roberto Salim Atalla and teacher Sheila de Moraes Santos Atalla, Luis Carlos “Luca" de Moraes Atalla is the founder of the Jiu-Jitsu news and training publication GRACIE Magazine. Introduced to the martial art by his brother, Roberto “Risada” Atalla, after finishing the technician school, Luca was taken with it and flourished within the ranks of the Gávea Jiu-Jitsu academy, under instructors Helio “Soneca” Moreira, Roberto “Gordo” Correia and José Henrique Leão Teixeira Filho, before his training was interrupted by his engineering studies at university. During the following summer vacation (December 1993), Luca took up the sport again, this time at Gracie, the Gracie Ipanema Academy, under Renzo Gracie with whom he immediately developed strong ties.
After starting training again with Renzo Gracie, Luca would continue his practice of Jiu-Jitsu at the Gracie Barra Academy, where Renzo had received his own instruction, as Renzo was actively fighting in Jiu-Jitsu and, eventually, at the mixed martial arts and carried out his preparations there. Luca had at this point (August 1994) decided to drop out of engineering school and quit his internship as a systems analyst to devote himself to Jiu-Jitsu, as a competitor and journalist.
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