| Jiu-Jitsu in BrazilEventually, in Japan many different | | | | name a few. This is another example of Judo's |
| variations of the art (Jiu-Jitsu) took shape, including | | | | influence on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and that Helio Gracie did |
| Karate, Aikido, and Judo. But these arts were missing | | | | not invent it. The Gracie family developed the art of |
| essential pieces of what the complete art of Jiu-Jitsu | | | | Judo into a more effective rules-free style. While in |
| originally held. Soon the day of the Samurai came to | | | | Brazil, I learned about a Grand Master named "Fadda," |
| an end, the gun replaced the sword, and new | | | | who learned Jiu-Jitsu from a man named Luis Franca. |
| sportive ways to practice martial arts were | | | | Like Carlos Gracie, Franca also learned Jiu-Jitsu (Judo) |
| developed. This lack of reality created years of | | | | from Meada. Fadda took the Jiu-Jitsu he learned from |
| confusion in the martial arts community, a confusion | | | | Franca and started his own school of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil. |
| that legendary Bruce Lee would later refer to as the | | | | His popularity is not as great as the Gracie family, but |
| 'classical mess'. The 'sport arts', such as Judo and | | | | nonetheless, he is an example of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Kendo were wonderful in the way of offering their | | | | being refined and practiced outside the Gracie family. |
| practitioners a safe way to realistically train the | | | | His students compete in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments |
| techniques of their system, but often limited their | | | | and consider their art separate from both Gracie |
| practitioners with too many rules to maintain | | | | Jiu-Jitsu and the older styles of Jiu-Jitsu in Japan. This |
| effectiveness as a combative style. The more | | | | stands as evidence that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Gracie |
| traditional combat schools were simply practicing | | | | Jiu-Jitsu is not the same thing.In 1967, the first |
| techniques no longer suitable for modern day | | | | federation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was created by Helio |
| combat, and with no way to safely test them, | | | | Gracie, and the system of belts as we know it was |
| practicing these arts became like swimming without | | | | developed (white, blue, purple, brown, and black). |
| water. It wasn't until the sport art of Judo and the | | | | Around the time the Carlson Gracie team was born in |
| combat art of Jiu-Jitsu were introduced to the Gracie | | | | the early 1970's, the Gracie family made their first |
| family in Brazil that the real art of Jiu-Jitsu would be | | | | split. Carlson Gracie was the son of Carlos and a very |
| brought to life again. Japanese Jiu-Jitsu (practiced as | | | | reputable Vale Tudo fighter. He claimed many |
| Judo) was introduced to the Gracie family in Brazil (@ | | | | victories while defending the Gracie family name, |
| 1915) by Esai Maeda, who is also known as Conde | | | | including avenging one of Helio's very few losses. |
| Koma. This name came about when Maeda was in | | | | There were now two sides of the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu |
| Spain (1908). While in Spain, Maeda, having some | | | | Family, students under Helio and students under |
| financial troubles, used the Japanese verb "komaru", | | | | Carlson. Helio's side would argue that Carlson's style |
| meaning to be in trouble, to describe himself. Maeda | | | | of Jiu-Jitsu involved too much strength and that it |
| decided this didn't sound right, so he dropped the last | | | | was Helio who developed the technique further due |
| syllable and changed it to "koma." The word "conde" | | | | to the fact that he was much smaller than his |
| comes from the Spanish language, meaning "Count." | | | | brother Carlos, who taught it to him. The fact |
| Later in his life, Maeda would be given the Brazilian | | | | remains that it is basically the same Jiu-Jitsu with a |
| title of "Conte Comte," or Count Combat.Maeda was | | | | few natural variations in teaching methods in the |
| a champion of Judo and a direct student of its | | | | actual application of techniques. Robson Gracie |
| founder, Jigoro Kano, at the Kodokan in Japan. He | | | | created a new federation in 1988 and Carlos Gracie |
| was born in 1878, and became a student of Judo in | | | | Jr. created the Confederacao Brasiliera in 1993. Carlos |
| 1897. In 1904 Maeda was given the opportunity to | | | | Jr.'s federation is the most active one worldwide and |
| travel to the United States with one of his teachers, | | | | is responsible for the development of the World |
| Tsunejiro Tomita. While in the U.S. they | | | | Championships. The idea of the Mundial (World's) is to |
| demonstrated the art of Judo for Theodore | | | | attract foreign competitors in hopes of making |
| Roosevelt at the White House, and for cadets at the | | | | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu an Olympic sport. This was all done |
| West Point Military Academy. This is an exert from | | | | around the time Royce was winning the first UFC |
| Roosevelt's letters to his children on wrestling and | | | | (early 1990's) and giving America its first prominent |
| Jiu-jitsu (note the spelling is Jiu-jitsu, not Jujutsu due | | | | taste of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Members of the Gracie |
| to the fact that it is before 1950):White House, Feb. | | | | family are not the only ones to operate federations |
| 24, 1905. | | | | and associations of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who may |
| Darling Kermit: | | | | organize tournaments or give rank within the art. In |
| "... I still box with Grant, who has now become the | | | | an interview with Andre Pederneiras, a fifth degree |
| champion middleweight wrestler of the United States. | | | | black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and founder of the Nova |
| Yesterday afternoon we had Professor Yamashita | | | | Uniao team, he was asked about his involvement in |
| (Yamashita was Roosevelt's Jiu-jitsu instructor before | | | | the promotion of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and organization of |
| Meada and Tomita had arrived there in the U.S.) up | | | | the art's first tournament. He stated that he had |
| here to wrestle with Grant. It was very interesting, | | | | organized the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in |
| but of course jiu jitsu and our wrestling are so far | | | | 1993, then the following questions were asked:"What |
| apart that it is difficult to make any comparison | | | | is the difference between the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| between them. Wrestling is simply a sport with rules | | | | tournament you created and the BJJ Confederation |
| almost as conventional as those of tennis, while jiu | | | | (Carlos Jr.'s) Tournament?""Price for one. In my |
| jitsu is really meant for practice in killing or disabling | | | | tournament, I charged competitors ten dollars per |
| our adversary. In consequence, Grant did not know | | | | person and Carlos Gracie Jr. charged thirty dollars. I |
| what to do except to put Yamashita on his back, | | | | only charged ten dollars, but I held the event in an |
| and Yamashita was perfectly content to be on his | | | | expensive place called Club Hebraica. At the time his |
| back. Inside of a minute Yamashita had choked | | | | tournament was held as the Clube Guanabarra and I |
| Grant, and inside of two minutes more he got an | | | | know he paid nothing for this place.""Did you |
| elbow hold on him that would have enabled him to | | | | collaborate on this event with the president of the |
| break his arm; so that there is no question but that | | | | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Confederation, Mr. Carlos Gracie |
| he could have put Grant out. So far this made it | | | | Jr.?""Of course not. The confederation did not exist |
| evident that the jiu jitsu man could handle the | | | | yet when I was putting this tournament together. |
| ordinary wrestler. But Grant, in the actual wrestling | | | | After my idea, Carlos Gracie created the Brazilian |
| and throwing was about as good as the Japanese, | | | | Confederation and started to make the other |
| and he was so much stronger that he evidently hurt | | | | Brazilian tournaments." |
| and wore out the Japanese. With a little practice in | | | | "So basically he made a much greater profit than |
| the art I am sure that one of our big wrestlers or | | | | you did?""Exactly. I created the tournament so that |
| boxers, simply because of his greatly superior | | | | all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters could compete and have a |
| strength, would be able to kill any of those Japanese, | | | | good time, not to get rich. Our priorities are were |
| who though very good men for their inches and | | | | just different."(from interview for August 2001)JJ |
| pounds are altogether too small to hold their own | | | | Machado on the Gracie Family's influence: |
| against big, powerful, quick men who are as well | | | | "Carlos Gracie Jr. was our teacher from the |
| trained."Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) | | | | beginning. When you say Jiu-Jitsu you have to link it |
| (Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children. 1919. | | | | to the Gracie family. That's the family that started |
| NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 1919 NEW | | | | our Jiu-Jitsu style and we're just one part of that |
| YORK: BARTLEBY.COM, 1999)Maeda eventually | | | | clan. I think that everyone today that knows Brazilian |
| parted ways with Tomita, and settled in Brazil. Maeda | | | | Jiu-Jitsu learned it, directly or indirectly, from a |
| was staying in Sao Palo City to help establish a | | | | member of the Gracie family. I think everyone should |
| Japanese Immigration colony. At this time Brazil held | | | | be grateful to them for that."A good example of |
| the largest population of Japanese people outside | | | | how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is truly a mixed martial art and |
| Japan. He was aided in Brazil by Gastao Gracie, a | | | | not developed PURELY by Gracie family members is |
| Brazilian of Scottish decent, who's first experience | | | | illustrated in a question from an Interview with |
| with Jiu-Jitsu was most likely through managing an | | | | Romero "Jacare" Cavalcanti by Kid Pellegro: |
| Italian boxer named Alfredi Leconti, who fought a | | | | "You are one of the few Black Belts from Rolls |
| friend of Maeda in November of 1916.For some time | | | | Gracie, what was it like learning from him?""It was |
| in Japan, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu were almost synonymous. | | | | spectacular, Rolls as the best of his time, besides |
| Judo was known as Kano's Jiu-Jitsu. Regardless, this | | | | being a great instructor he was also an incredible |
| answers the question, "why do they call it Brazilian | | | | person. I trained with him from '74 until '82 when he |
| Jiu-Jitsu and not Brazilian Judo?" Because they were | | | | died. He died on June 6th, '82 and I had received my |
| essentially the same thing at the time, remember, the | | | | Black Belt in February. He would teach a lot of self |
| Gracie family was learning Jiu-Jitsu and Judo while | | | | defense, stand up, and ground fighting, with and |
| Kano was still struggling to show the difference | | | | without gi. It was a very complete class. He had |
| between the two and popularize his art. In the early | | | | started to do wrestling, so he added a lot of the |
| 1900's there was very little difference between the | | | | wrestling attacks, single leg and double legs |
| two. In fact, Judo was merely a collection of Jiu-jitsu | | | | takedowns. So Rolls revolutionized the Jiu-Jitsu with |
| styles, whose strongest points were put together to | | | | his new positions. As a matter of fact, the "Triangle" |
| make what then became Judo. The Gracie family | | | | was invented by one of his students, Sergio Dorileo, |
| was introduced to Judo at a time when the Kodokan | | | | Sergio had been studying a Japanese book of |
| had recently suffered a great defeat to the grappling | | | | positions and invented the Triangle. At that time |
| style of the Fusen Ryu. This can be compared to the | | | | everybody would pass the Guard the traditional way |
| Ultimate Fighting Championship of the early 1990's, | | | | with one hand on the biceps and the other hand |
| when most martial artists were attempting to fight | | | | between the legs and low, so all of a sudden, if you |
| Royce Gracie standing. They would all eventually find | | | | would try to pass Dorileo's guard you'd end up in a |
| themselves on the ground, where they were at a | | | | triangle. What was considered the right way didn't |
| loss as to what to do. Consequently, grappling | | | | work anymore. Can you imagine!!! Everybody had to |
| became very popular over the next ten years and | | | | go back and rethink a lot. It was an incredible |
| many styles began to incorporate grappling | | | | experience, I learned so much from Rolls, even the |
| techniques into their curriculum. Royce Gracie was | | | | way he warm up the class was special. It was one of |
| simply doing what had already been done in the early | | | | the greatest losses in my life and it took me years |
| 1900's by the Fusen Ryu to Judo practitioners of the | | | | to get over. I still get choked up, to this day, when I |
| Kodokan, so we can easily draw the conclusion from | | | | reminisce."During the mid 1900's while Vale Tudo |
| the experience in our own time that when Meada | | | | (free-style fighting) was developing in Brazil, there |
| arrived in Brazil, he was a student of a Kodokan that | | | | were experts of Judo, wrestling, capoeira, and boxing |
| was adding "new" grappling techniques to its | | | | mixing together in these no-rules contests. It is |
| system.To show gratitude to Gracie for his help in | | | | impossible to think that as these competitions took |
| the colonization, Maeda taught Gastao's son Carlos | | | | place, the participants wouldn't cross-train and |
| the basic techniques of Jiu-Jitsu. Carlos Gracie then | | | | "borrow" techniques from their competition. This |
| taught his brothers Oswaldo, Jorge, Gastao, and Helio. | | | | interview, taken from Black Belt magazine, illustrates |
| In 1925 the brothers opened their first school, and | | | | this point:Black Belt Magazine: "At what point in your |
| Jiu-Jitsu was cultivated into a more effective martial | | | | jujutsu training did you decide that the art's |
| art and sport known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. What made | | | | techniques needed modification?"Helio Gracie: "I didn't |
| this version of Jiu-Jitsu more effective was the | | | | invent the martial art. I adapted it to my |
| constant exposure of its practitioners to real | | | | necessity-what I needed for my weight and lack of |
| situations. Between their own schools, Brazilian | | | | strength. I learned jujutsu, but some of the moves |
| Jiu-Jitsu players would compete in a sportive way to | | | | required a lot of strength, so I could not use them. I |
| keep the techniques of their art sharp. The Gracie | | | | couldn't get out from some of the positions I learned |
| family would issue a challenge to all others to fight | | | | from my brother because of my lack of strength |
| without rules. In these no rules or 'vale tudo' fights, | | | | and weight. So I developed other ways out."Black |
| the Gracie family and their students would evaluate | | | | Belt Magazine: "Why didn't anyone before you refine |
| the techniques of their fighting art."If you want to | | | | the techniques of traditional jujutsu into a more |
| get your face beaten and well smashed, your ___ | | | | effective style?"Helio Gracie: "Because most people |
| kicked, and your arms broken, Contact Carlos Gracie | | | | who practice the martial arts already have physical |
| at this address..." | | | | strength and ability that I didn't have. I needed to |
| -- Brazilian newspaper ad, circa 1920sThrough the | | | | create those [techniques]. This was the only way I |
| last fifty years, many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools have | | | | had to compensate for my lack of strength."No |
| opened and broken away from the original members | | | | matter where you live or what style of Jiu-Jitsu you |
| of the Gracie family, making subtle differences in | | | | practice, we all owe some degree of respect to the |
| styles within Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Machado | | | | Gracie Family for introducing us to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. |
| Jiu-Jitsu, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are all different schools | | | | The Gracie family is responsible for a large part of |
| of the same art. The Gracie family itself has | | | | the modern advancement or improvement of |
| hundreds of members who do not all associate with | | | | Jiu-Jitsu. The term Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is used to describe |
| one another.The formal teaching of Jiu-Jitsu to | | | | the difference between the 'old' Jiu-Jitsu (jujutsu |
| Brazilians by the Gracie family began in 1940 when | | | | jujitsu), and the Gracie family's advancement of the |
| Helio opened an academy in Rio. Over the next 18 | | | | art through the 1900's. Now that 'Gracie Jiu-Jitsu' has |
| years, if you wanted to learn Jiu-Jitsu from the | | | | spread all over Brazil and to the United States, many |
| Gracie family in Brazil, you had a choice of four | | | | champions of the art are being born that are not |
| academies, all of which were located in Rio. The | | | | Gracie Family members. These champions are |
| Gracie's were not the only one's teaching Judo and | | | | contributing to the art's progression by improving on |
| Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, but they were certainly the most | | | | techniques and developing new ones. The bulk of |
| popular, teaching over 2000 students in that 18 year | | | | basic movements may still be Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, but as |
| period. A good example of this is Mehdi, a Judo | | | | the art develops, the term 'Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu' becomes |
| master who came to Brazil from France in 1949, and | | | | more appropriate. As more and more innovators |
| still teaches there now. There have been Judo | | | | contribute to the art outside of Brazil, it eventually |
| schools in Brazil since the early 1900's and Sao Paulo | | | | may be appropriate to simply call the art 'Jiu-Jitsu'.For |
| still has a very large Japanese population. Mehdi's list | | | | more on this subject, visit Simco is a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu |
| of students include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belts Mario | | | | Black Belt and author of several books on the |
| Sperry, Rickson Gracie, and Sylvio Behring, just to | | | | subject. |