With the personal blessing of Helio Gracie, Rebelo returned to Teresópolis and established a small academy, bringing Gracie jiu-jitsu to the mountain communities of Rio de Janeiro state. That modest beginning grew into the celebrated Academia Serrana in 1958, which developed into one of the most significant grappling hubs in Brazil. The academy's location in the mountainous Teresópolis region carried real symbolic weight — jiu-jitsu had, until that point, been predominantly concentrated within Rio de Janeiro's South Zone, and Rebelo played a pioneering role in extending the art's reach beyond those boundaries. Over the decades, Academia Serrana produced numerous influential jiu-jitsu figures who went on to contribute meaningfully to the sport's growth across Brazil, cementing the institution's place in the history of the art.