Grace Gundrum

Grace Gundrum is a grappling athlete who specializes in the No-Gi Submission-Only ruleset. Widely regarded as one of her generation’s foremost talents, Gundrum was the youngest female American to earn the rank black belt in jiu-jitsu at the time of her promotion (July 2020), a rank she earned from coaches JM Holland, Zach Maslany, and Eddie Bravo of the 10th Planet Bethlehem (PA) team. Grace is stated to have gone undefeated from the age of 12 on to the professional circuit where she conquered important titles such as the Fight 2 Win’s Strawweight belt, Quintet Team Invitational, and Finishers Sub-Only.

Grace Gundrum Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Grace Gundrum

Nickname: “The Silent Assassin” is often used as a promotional tag name for the young talent, due to her reserved demeanor on the mats.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Hélio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr > JJ Machado > Eddie Bravo (> JM Holland / Zach Maslany) > Grace Gundrum

Main Achievements:

• F2W Strawweight Champion (2020)
• 1st Place Quintet Team Tournament (2019)
• 1st Place Finishers Sub-Only (2019)
• 1st Place Onnit Invitational 7 (2018)

Favorite Position/Technique: Dead Orchard Armbar

Weight Division: 48,50 kg / 107.00 lbs

Team/Association: 10th Planet

Grace Gundrum Biography

Grace Gundrum was born on May 22, 2002, in China, though she moved to the United States at a very young age, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Connected with sports from a very young age, Grace’s first steps into such activities were taken when she was 4, through karate. One year after she started, Gundrum’s older brother, who practiced martial arts at the same club, decided to quit. As he still had classes left in his plan, Grace helped redeem those by joining the academy’s grappling workgroup, therefore using his extra classes, a decision would change her life.

Grace’s first jiu-jitsu instructor was Robert Villafane, whose schedule was also frequented by JM Holland and Zach Maslany – two athletes who would later become Gundrum’s primary source of grappling knowledge. Holland also taught at this same academy and was a strong influence in Grace’s jiu-jitsu early on, therefore, when he joined forces with Maslany, in 2012, to create the 10th Planet Bethlehem gym, Gundrum followed them.

During elementary school, Gundrum added other sports to her extra-curricular activities, playing basketball for four years, first for a township team then moving on to a club level. When Grace moved on to middle school, she played field hockey while still doing karate, kickboxing, and grappling during that time. Later, as a 16-year-old, Gundrum opted to participate in freestyle wrestling at school, for one year, to help her jiu-jitsu skills.

While under the guidance of JM Holland and Zach Maslany, Grace became a reference in jiu-jitsu’s submission-only circuit, going undefeated from the time she was 12 while beating several of the sport’s most respected athletes in her age group. Her mat prowess would later transcend to the adult division where 16YO Grace went to a draw with 4x adult black belt world champion Rikako Yuasa, at the Quintet Grappling event in 2019.

Her incredible performances on the mats earned Grace her black belt on July 21, 2020, in a ceremony led by 10th Planet team founder, Mr. Eddie Bravo. Being nearly 1 month into her 18th birthday at the time of the promotion meant Grace was, to a degree of certainty, the 2nd youngest female athlete to earn the prestigious rank, only marginally behind Patricia Lage from Brazil, and the youngest in the USA.