Saturday, January 9, 2010

How Did Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Arise?

By Curtis Adams

Brazilian jiu-jitsu and its martial art techniques have their roots in Japanese judo. The beginning of their history can be found in a martial arts group called Kodokan. The decision of this group to send out their followers to the rest of the world to share their teachings would have a major impact on the future of mixed martial arts tournaments. In the beginning of the twentieth century, one of these followers reached Brazil and began spreading the knowledge that he had obtained through years of training. An important meeting between this man, Mitsuyo Maeda, and a Brazilian man would change the course of fighting history.

Among the individuals that Maeda was in contact with was a man with the last name Gracie. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is highly linked to the Gracie name and this is where it started. Carlos Gracie started learning from Maeda and then in 1921, transferred his lessons to his brothers, including the youngest, Helio. Helio tailored the teachings so that he, as a more compact man, could overpower much larger opponents. This became a main facet of jiu-jitsu and it would be demonstrated over and over in matches that size really doesn't matter in combat.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu got its name when the Gracies came to America. In 1978, Helio's son, Rorion Gracie, moved to California and began teaching jiu-jitsu out of his garage. Eventually, he was able to open a proper jiu-jitsu academy as word spread about his abilities and people learned more about the history of this fighting style. The Gracie Challenge was issued to any fighter in order to prove just how superior this fighting style was. Rorion and his fighters defeated many others from different fighting styles and the reputation of this form of jiu-jitsu continued to grow.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu took off throughout the world in the early 1990s, with the establishment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship events. These were mixed martial arts fights that were mostly no-holds-barred contests that paired fighters of diverse disciplines. Royce Gracie jumped to prominence and success by winning three of the first four events, primarily by defeating opponents considerably bigger than he and through submission holds on the ground. It became obvious that his martial art methods were far superior to those of other disciplines and Brazilian jiu jitsu academies arose throughout North America.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu still continues to be one of the most effective forms of fighting, with Gracie jiu jitsu being recognized in its own right as a separate discipline. From Japan to Brazil and then to America and finally the world, the Gracies have had tremendous success in proving the excellence of their abilities and of their chosen discipline. The future only looks bright as jiu-jitsu continues to be extremely popular for martial artists and for those who watch the fights.

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