Brazilian jiu jitsu schools can trace their roots to the early 1920s when the Gracie family began to learn jiu jitsu from a master visiting from Japan. Gracie Jiu-jitsu developed from the teaching Helio Gracie and his brothers received into a discipline that would allow a smaller fighter to best a bigger and stronger one. Helio continued to adapt the martial art techniques so that they became even more efficient and soon he was earning the respect of those around him.
As he grew more adept, Helio introduced the world to the first phase of Gracie Jiu-jitsu in a series of high profile events. In spite of not necessarily claiming victory in these bouts, Helio gained acclamation for lasting significantly longer than anyone thought he would have the ability to against more powerful and more skilled foes. In 1951 he fought Masahiko Kimura, then seen as the best jiu jitsu fighter in the world. Kimura claimed that if the competition lasted more than three minutes, then Helio should be proclaimed the victor; Helio lasted for thirteen. In 1955, the longest fight in the world occurred when Helio fought off a combatant twenty years his junior and forty pounds heavier for three hours and forty minutes.
When Rorion Gracie, Helio's son, departed Brazil to bring Gracie Jiu-jitsu to the United States, he planned to continue his father's legacy. The Gracies intended to found jiu-jitsu institutes to share the martial art methods that they had adapted after years of concentrated study with the rest of the world, and the United States was the perfect place to do so. While Rorion initially faced many problems in founding his Brazilian Jiu jitsu academy, he gained increasingly larger numbers of students mainly by issuing the Gracie challenge. This was a call to any fighter of any field to meet him in hand-to-hand combat so as to see whose field was more powerful.
World-wide recognition would come in the 90s. Gracie Jiu-jitsu was represented by Royce Gracie at a soon to be famous mixed martial arts tournament called the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Defeating opponents much larger and stronger than he was, Gracie made it to the top spot by forcing the other fighters to tap out after he used various submission techniques to subdue them. If this was not enough, he did it two more times, winning not only the championships but the hearts of those involved in the martial arts world.
As a result of these steps over the years, of hard work and a willingness to commit entirely to the martial art, Gracie Jiu-jitsu has earned the spot as the most famous and one of the most respected disciplines in the world. Who knew that when Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil to share his master's teachings in 1914 that he would be setting off a chain of events that would lead to jiu jitsu gracing the top of the martial arts world less than one hundred years later? - 30300
As he grew more adept, Helio introduced the world to the first phase of Gracie Jiu-jitsu in a series of high profile events. In spite of not necessarily claiming victory in these bouts, Helio gained acclamation for lasting significantly longer than anyone thought he would have the ability to against more powerful and more skilled foes. In 1951 he fought Masahiko Kimura, then seen as the best jiu jitsu fighter in the world. Kimura claimed that if the competition lasted more than three minutes, then Helio should be proclaimed the victor; Helio lasted for thirteen. In 1955, the longest fight in the world occurred when Helio fought off a combatant twenty years his junior and forty pounds heavier for three hours and forty minutes.
When Rorion Gracie, Helio's son, departed Brazil to bring Gracie Jiu-jitsu to the United States, he planned to continue his father's legacy. The Gracies intended to found jiu-jitsu institutes to share the martial art methods that they had adapted after years of concentrated study with the rest of the world, and the United States was the perfect place to do so. While Rorion initially faced many problems in founding his Brazilian Jiu jitsu academy, he gained increasingly larger numbers of students mainly by issuing the Gracie challenge. This was a call to any fighter of any field to meet him in hand-to-hand combat so as to see whose field was more powerful.
World-wide recognition would come in the 90s. Gracie Jiu-jitsu was represented by Royce Gracie at a soon to be famous mixed martial arts tournament called the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Defeating opponents much larger and stronger than he was, Gracie made it to the top spot by forcing the other fighters to tap out after he used various submission techniques to subdue them. If this was not enough, he did it two more times, winning not only the championships but the hearts of those involved in the martial arts world.
As a result of these steps over the years, of hard work and a willingness to commit entirely to the martial art, Gracie Jiu-jitsu has earned the spot as the most famous and one of the most respected disciplines in the world. Who knew that when Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil to share his master's teachings in 1914 that he would be setting off a chain of events that would lead to jiu jitsu gracing the top of the martial arts world less than one hundred years later? - 30300
About the Author:
For those who have watched UFC and want to learn more about martial arts, especially Brazilian jiu jitsu, there is a lot of information to be found on the internet. Jiu jitsu is becoming very popular because of MMA fighting. It uses a lot of holds and ground moves that make it idea for practically any person.
