While mixed martial arts includes many forms of fighting and not just Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, one can hardly ignore the impact of this South American fighting style and the family that started it all - The Gracie Family.
In 1917, Carlos Gracie was a young man in search of a purpose. His father was a difficult man, the co-owner of a circus. The circus hired Mitsuyo Maeda to present the unique martial art of Kodokan Judo to its audience. After watching Maeda perform, Carlos asked to become one of his students. Maeda agreed, trained Carlos and Carlos in turn taught these skills to his brothers. He then opened a martial arts school with himself and his brothers as instructors, thus securing an income and protecting his family from their abusive father.
His youngest brother, Helio, was the only one who did not take part in the training, as he was too sickly and Carlos was protective of his youngest brother. However, he spent many hours watching Carlos and his brothers train students and memorized all of their techniques. One day when Carlos was late to meet a student at the gym, Helio took over and the student was so happy with his instruction that he asked to take more classes from Helio.
Because he was weaker than his brothers, Helio found that many of the Judo-style techniques his brothers taught did not work for him. So he did what any innovative person would do, he developed his own style of fighting that would allow a smaller fighter to more easily combat a larger opponent. This is how Gracie-style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was born.
Helio's oldest son Rorion is yet another notable Gracie family member. In 1978, with little money but a dream of opening a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school, Rorion came to the United States. He first taught classes out of his garage, not even charging his first students for lessons. A few years later, his younger brother, Royce Gracie, came to the states and joined his brother. They upgraded from the garage to a full-scale facility in 1989, creating the world headquarters for Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu.
Rorion was a man with vision. Not only did he open the first BJJ school in the United States, he was also responsible for promoting and developing the Ultimate Fighting Championship along with John Milius and Art Davie. The first UFC 1 was a huge success, and mixed martial arts has grown exponentially since that first live broadcast.
Royce Gracie not only helped Rorion develop his school of Jiu-Jitsu, he also was the very first UFC victor. He defeated three opponents in less than five minutes to win UFC 1. Royce also went on to win two more UFC titles and holds a mixed martial arts record of 12 wins, two losses and three draws. Like Helio, Royce was smaller physically than many of his opponents, but his superior Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills helped him overcome larger rivals, such as Ken Shamrock who outweighed him substantially.
In 1917, Carlos Gracie was a young man in search of a purpose. His father was a difficult man, the co-owner of a circus. The circus hired Mitsuyo Maeda to present the unique martial art of Kodokan Judo to its audience. After watching Maeda perform, Carlos asked to become one of his students. Maeda agreed, trained Carlos and Carlos in turn taught these skills to his brothers. He then opened a martial arts school with himself and his brothers as instructors, thus securing an income and protecting his family from their abusive father.
His youngest brother, Helio, was the only one who did not take part in the training, as he was too sickly and Carlos was protective of his youngest brother. However, he spent many hours watching Carlos and his brothers train students and memorized all of their techniques. One day when Carlos was late to meet a student at the gym, Helio took over and the student was so happy with his instruction that he asked to take more classes from Helio.
Because he was weaker than his brothers, Helio found that many of the Judo-style techniques his brothers taught did not work for him. So he did what any innovative person would do, he developed his own style of fighting that would allow a smaller fighter to more easily combat a larger opponent. This is how Gracie-style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was born.
Helio's oldest son Rorion is yet another notable Gracie family member. In 1978, with little money but a dream of opening a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school, Rorion came to the United States. He first taught classes out of his garage, not even charging his first students for lessons. A few years later, his younger brother, Royce Gracie, came to the states and joined his brother. They upgraded from the garage to a full-scale facility in 1989, creating the world headquarters for Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu.
Rorion was a man with vision. Not only did he open the first BJJ school in the United States, he was also responsible for promoting and developing the Ultimate Fighting Championship along with John Milius and Art Davie. The first UFC 1 was a huge success, and mixed martial arts has grown exponentially since that first live broadcast.
Royce Gracie not only helped Rorion develop his school of Jiu-Jitsu, he also was the very first UFC victor. He defeated three opponents in less than five minutes to win UFC 1. Royce also went on to win two more UFC titles and holds a mixed martial arts record of 12 wins, two losses and three draws. Like Helio, Royce was smaller physically than many of his opponents, but his superior Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills helped him overcome larger rivals, such as Ken Shamrock who outweighed him substantially.
About the Author:
Rod Bourgoine enjoys blogging about mixed martial arts benefits. To get additional information about martial arts in San Diego or to find boxing gyms in San Diego, please check out The Arena MMA website now.
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