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History of Brazillian Jiu JitsuSome historians of Jiu-Jitsu say that the origins of "the gentle art" can be traced back to India and was practiced by Buddhist Monks. Concerned with self-defense, these monks created techniques based upon principles of balance and leverage, and created a system of manipulating the body in such a manner that one could avoid relying upon strength or weapons. With the expansion of Buddhism, Jiu-Jitsu spread from Southwest Asia to China, finally arriving in Japan where it developed and gained further popularity. In the last days of the 19th century, some Jiu-Jitsu masters emigrated from Japan to other continents. They not only taught martial arts, but also competed in fights and other competitions. Esai Maeda Koma, also known as "Conde Koma," was one such master. After traveling with a troupe which fought in various countries in Europe and the Americas, Koma arrived in Brazil in 1915 and settled in Belem do Para the next year where he met a man named Gastao Gracie. The father of eight children, among them five boys and three girls, Gastao became a Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast and brought his oldest son, Carlos, to the Japanese master in order for the son to learn how to fight. For naturally frail fifteen-year old Carlos Gracie, Jiu-Jitsu became a method not simply for fighting, but for personal improvement. At nineteen, he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family and began teaching and competing in martial arts. In his travels, Carlos would teach classes, and also proved the efficiency of the art by beating adversaries in competitions that were physically stronger than he was. In 1925, he returned to Rio and opened the first school, known as the "Academia Gracie de Jiu-Jitsu." Afterwards, Carlos started to share his knowledge to his brothers, adapting and refining the techniques to the naturally weaker characteristics of his family. Carlos also taught them his philosophies of life as well as his concepts of natural nutrition. Eventually, Carlos became a pioneer in creating a special diet for athletes known as the "the Gracie Diet" which transformed Jiu-Jitsu into a term synonymous with health. (The "Gracie Diet" involves common sense eating and the proper combination of foods. IE: don't eat wheat, rice, and potato together; settle for just one of the three.) Having created an efficient self-defense system, Carlos Gracie saw in the art a way to become a man who was more tolerant, respectful, and self-confident. With a goal of proving Jiu-Jitsu's superiority as well as to build a family tradition, Carlos challenged the greatest fighters of his time and managed the fighting careers of his brothers. The Gracies quickly gained recognition and prestige by fighting opponents fifty or sixty pounds heavier. Attracted to the new market, which was opened around Jiu-Jitsu, many Japanese practitioners came to Rio but none were able to establish schools as successful as the Gracies. This was due to the fact that the Japanese stylists were more focused on takedowns and throws, whereas the Jiu-Jitsu the Gracies practiced had more sophisticated ground fighting and submission techniques. Carlos and his brothers changed the techniques in such a way that it completely altered the face of the international Jiu-Jitsu principles. These techniques were so distinctive to Carlos and his brothers that the sport became attached to a national identity and is now commonly known as "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu". It is now practiced by martial artists all over the world, including fighters in Japan. With the creation of an official body overseeing the administration of the sport, the rules and the ranking system started the era of Jiu-Jitsu sport competitions. Today, Jiu-Jitsu is much more organized with an International and National Federation founded by Carlos Gracie Jr. Through his work with the Confederation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Carlos Gracie Jr. contributed to the growth of the sport by holding some of the first organized competitions. Currently, the Confederation holds competitions in Brazil, the United States, Europe, and Asia which aids Carlos' original dream to spread Jiu-Jitsu around the world. - By Steve "Sakuriba" Kim Gracie Jiu-Jitsu PhilosophyThe application of traditional Gracie Jiu-Jitsu transcends the practice of chokes, joint locks immobilizations, throws and strikes. A true Gracie philosophy prepares men, women and children for life, showing them paths to a healthier lifestyle and the most effective use of physical, mental and spiritual strength. Eating well, taking care of your body, saying no to cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs, as well as maintaining a close bond with friends and relatives is Jiu-Jitsu. This philosophy, which can be called a "way of life", has been propagated by Grand Masters Carlos and Helio Gracie for almost a century. History of Carlos Gracie Sr.
This and many stories were salvaged by daughter Reyla Gracie. These stories will, for the first time ever, appear in the book where she tells the story of Carlos Gracie. He is also the first family member to make contact with the martial art that would be forever bound to the name Gracie. Jiu-Jitsu was Carlos's life (and vice versa) ever since his father, Gastao, tried to channel the energy of the boy who seemed limitless and made him learn a new fight style with a Japanese friend of his, Mitsuyo Maeda, a.k.a. Count Koma. At 14, Carlos began a saga that would pervade academies and ring across the planet. "Out of all pupils Koma taught, and they weren't few, as he used to travel the world teaching, only one fully understood the grandeur of that knowledge, adopting Jiu-Jitsu as a profession. I believe my father had, since the very beginning, a good idea of the thing he was learning. No wonder he created a school that's been lasting 80 years," says Reyla, who has been working on the book since 1999 gathering interviews, press clippings, books and documents on the subject.
Gracie," one of them read) in order search for opponents. "He didn't look like a fighter, but like a chess player. He'd go to training in police academies. As they thought nothing of him, he had to demonstrate the efficiency of the art he believed in, that Jiu-Jitsu could do miracles and that he himself was a good fighter", says Rilion. Sister Reyla adds, "Carlos was always against associating Jiu-Jitsu with violence. Of course, in the beginning Carlos would place the ads and challenge those huge stevedores because, in the 1930s, there was the need of establishing an identity. That was when such comments began: 'The Gracies are invincible.' 'The Gracies settle businesses with their bare hands'", she says amongst laughs. "But each historical moment is different. When, in the seventies, Jiu-Jitsu became a sport, there was no more need to prove anything. It's like today, when fighting or not fighting MMA starts being a personal choice; there is no longer the need there was in the times of my father and Helio, when they had to prove Jiu-Jitsu's efficiency in the ring", she concludes. The influence Carlos had over his children and siblings was much greater than fans could imagine nowadays. The old Gracie was a teacher, a strategist, a promoter, an idealizer and the clan's creator; which Reyla shows in her book. "There is the man and the work. My father's work was Jiu-Jitsu, family and nutrition, intertwined by his life story. The family is also a legacy he idealized, a product of his mind. Simply because the very project of making Jiu-Jitsu what it is today depended on the family, so that it would be possible to perpetuate the art", says Reyla. To Rilion Gracie, the ten years without Carlos indeed left a few gaps and many heritages. One of the greatest heritages he left was the power of discipline and will. "I never saw my father go by a day without exercising, and once he spent six months going every day to see the sunrise at Cristo Redentor [the gigantic statue of Christ atop a hill in Rio de Janeiro], where he'd meditate. Every day, never missed it", the son recalls. "He was the family's reference point, the nucleus, and in the 80s, at the end of each tournament, everyone gathered to evaluate each person's performance, the rights and wrongs. I felt when he died that changed a little. And he never hit a child, nor said 'Go, motherf..., kick his ass', in front of opponents. He only let good things through. That's priceless", he says. Nothing, however, deserved more of the family's gratitude than the nutrition method, based on studies and thousands of experiments, created by Carlos Gracie. After making his children, nephews and grandchildren listen to their bodies and eat exclusively what is beneficial to the organism, it's no exaggeration today to say that the last five years meant 50 years of success for the Gracie Diet. The basic principle of the diet is to avoid the excessive acidity in nutrition, which to Carlos was the main cause of the deterioration and consequent malfunction of organs. The diet strives to keep the meals' PH as neutral as possible and seeks a balance by using the right combination of foods. However, reducing Carlos' science to this would be disregarding much of his work - one of the things Reyla most worries about in writing her father's story. "He anticipated many of the much-divulged discoveries of today, like carotene's beneficial role, a substance found in the papaya and the carrot, the concept of free radicals and orthomolecular medicine, not mentioning his pioneering role regarding the habit of consuming acai, watermelon juice, coconut water, vitamins", she stresses, "and, when nobody spoke of nutrition, he noticed how useful it was to cut off red meat before Helio's fights, since meat gives you explosion power, but not long term resistance. The proof of the efficient didn't take long to ensue: didn't uncle Helio fight a much younger Valdemar Santana for 3h40m in 1955?" The interest for life and nutrition, like everything else, was not random. Together with growing suspicion toward traditional medicine, Carlos Gracie noticed the need to look after the main work tool: the body, which he did by balancing the foods ingested. Carlos Gracie made four or five famous fights, the last of which against Rufino in 1931,whose picture Reyla keeps with her, and another one: pure vale tudo (or 'no rules,' if you will) in Rio de Janeiro against capoeira practitioner Samuel. "At one point Samuel saw himself with no choice but to grab dad's testicles", Rilion recollects. The most famous one, however, was another Japan vs. Brazil classic held in Sao Paulo in 1924. This fight was against Geo Omori who was a self-proclaimed Japanese Jiu-Jitsu representative. Carlos made this his most memorable fight. Nearing the end of the third three-minute round, Gracie gave the foe's arm an inexorable lock and looked at the referee who encouraged him to go on, which resulted in Carlos breaking the opponent's arm. The opponent paid no mind to his injury, and took an unfocused Carlos down before the end of the fight. The fight ended with a draw and mutual respect by the contenders in a time when fighters only lost bouts by tapping or passing out. Legend has it, however, that the most unforgettable scene was played by rooters from Sao Paulo who threw their hats into the ring as soon as the Brazilian broke the foe's limb. "He excelled at the armbar", says a proud Rilion. "For one thing is to apply it when the other guy is unfocused, but Carlos would warn beforehand, 'I'm going to beat you by armbar,' and the opponent would shrink their arm. Then he developed a technique of getting to the arm when the adversary knew they were gonna be armbarred. The way I see it, that was the beginning of the perfecting of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, characterized by leading the foe to erring, where the weaker can defeat the stronger." History of Carlos Gracie Jr.
The principal goal of my family of athletes and fighters, led by my father Carlos Gracie, has always been to spread Jiu-Jitsu, and to share the art which brings enormous benefits to one's life. My father was a naturalist and a very spiritual person who had a great desire to pass on his knowledge to others so that they could receive the benefits of Jiu-Jitsu as well. Growing up in this environment, I learned that the art of Jiu-Jitsu is actually a method through which one strives for self-perfection. My father's original academy was in the center of Rio de Janeiro, led by my uncle Helio Gracie. It was there that I began my studies in Jiu-Jitsu, becoming an instructor there, and finally a professor. During this time, I worked alongside my brother Rolls and my cousin Rorion Gracie, who were also professors there. Eventually, Rorion decided to live in the United States, and Rolls established a school in Copacabana together with my other older brother, Carlson Gracie. Thus, I was called upon to assume the responsibilities of running the academy together with my cousin Rickson. I was there for approximately two years, but during this time I went to study nutrition at a University and was living in Copacabana. During this time, I decided to work with Rolls. In the meantime, Carlson and Rolls had separated their schools but were still located in the same building, with the students training with either teacher on alternating days. After working together for seven years, Rolls passed away in a hang-gliding accident. All of the students reunited, and together with Rolls' wife, they asked me to assume the responsibility of continuing the path that my brother Rolls began. We stayed in Copacabana for another four years, after which I decided to move to Barra da Tijuca, a promising newer neighborhood in the western part of the city which was growing. It was here that we became known as the "Gracies of Barra," and eventually, as we are called, simply, "Gracie Barra." The first seeds of Gracie Barra were planted inside a small house almost twenty years ago. The first school had approximately 20 students, and grew to almost 200 hundred after just one year. We then moved the school to larger space inside of a gym, where we are still located today. Since establishing the school, we have consistently produced Jiu-Jitsu instructors with high qualifications, as well as distinguishing ourselves in international competitions in Brazil and around the world. Today, Gracie Barra has the biggest Jiu-Jitsu team in the world. Still, I feel very proud that my life's work has been to create an institution which is not focused just on building athletes or professors, but instead, in helping to build one's character. Repeating the words which my father told me: ". . . each person who puts on the kimono and believes in Jiu-Jitsu that myself and my family teaches is the realization of my life's work." - Carlos Gracie (1902-1994) History of Vinicius Draculino
Draculino took classes from both Carlos Gracie Junior and Jean Jacques Machado until he earned his purple belt. Shortly after, Jean Jacques moved to the United States and it was then that Carlos opted to be his "full-time" master. Carlos taught Draculino knowledge and techniques that later became essential to the victories achieved during his career. Renzo Gracie also influenced his Jiu-Jitsu and the countless private classes and mat time spent with Renzo were a blessing for Draculino. Draculino has an impressive and extensive curriculum, knowledge as not only a fighter and competitor but also as an instructor, and knowledge in competitions and events all over the world. As a fighter and competitor, Draculino has an impressive and extensive curriculum, in competitions and events all over the world. He has over 20 years of teaching experience and holds many titles including: 4-time Pan American Champion, 1 time no gi pan American champion- 2008, 2 Times Brazilian national champion, 2 times Silver medalist at the world BJJ championships, MMA lightweight champion and Abu-Dhabi veteran. The following website provides more examples of just some of his accomplishments. http://www.draculinoteam.com.br/lutadores/gracie-fusion/. His experience as an instructor began in the Gracie Barra Academy where he was supervised by Carlos and taught basic techniques for beginners. With the help of his teammate Roberto "Gordo" Correa, Draculino began to teach a group of 60 students at Marina Barra Club in Rio. He also worked as an assistant instructor at Gracie Ipanema Academy, which was run by Renzo Gracie until 1995. In March of 1995, Draculino received his black belt and then in June, he received an O.A.B. Lawyer Certificate from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. By October, he was beginning to teach at one of the first Gracie schools outside of Rio: the Gracie Barra- Belo Horizonte, located in Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte was the chosen city for a number of reasons. Primarily, it is the hometown of Draculino's wife Monica, and both she and her family gave him a lot of support. Secondly, the city had a lot of market potential. Lastly, it was the third largest city in Brazil and was rated second as far as quality of life is concerned. Draculino decided it would be better for not only his Jiu-Jitsu market, but that it would also be a better place to raise his children Jade and Igor. Now, the Gracie Barra BH/Draculino Team (GBBH Competition records) is one of the main power houses of the sport. The team received the prestigious overall title of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 National Teams Championships and is considered one of the best schools in the world by the fighting media. Also, the amount of world class Jiu-Jitsu athletes, Grapplers and MMA fighters (Gracie Fusion MMA Team BH) produced by that school is gigantic! People from all over have come to train and learn with some of the best fighters and instructors in the world. Professor Draculino and his long-time friends and teammates Professor Ryan Gracie (1974-2007) and Professor "Gordo" Correa founded the Gracie Fusion Team in 2007. The team is a combination of the best fighters from each of the Professors previously listed. These fighters include: Joaquim Mamute Ferreira, Rafael dos Anjos, Marcio Pe-de-Pano Cruz, Marcelo Uirapuru Azevedo, Gustavo Coelho, Mauricio Faccao Jr., Delson Pe De Chumbo and many more. They have represented the team from 2007-2010. In 2008, Draculino moved to Texas to expand the work he had accomplished in Brazil to the United States. He had changed the lives of so many people in Brazil for the better, and now he wanted to do the same in the States. These lives include not only those of his students and teammates, but also his own and his family's. The first Gracie Barra Texas school was founded in March 2008. The results of the school are amazing! The Gracie Barra Texas Team has been winning the biggest local and state tournaments by a large margin of points and the number of students attending is rapidly increasing. The fact that the school is ever-growing not only further proves how successful and skilled Draculino is at teaching, but it also means his dream of bettering more and more people's lives is being realized. The school now features a brand new world class facility and also offers a great team of instructors and activities. Students can now have access to the total package for Martial Arts Training. |
This is the story of grandmaster Carlos Gracie, the first Gracie to ever learn Jiu-Jitsu.The Gracies' first archenemy was not Japanese, but instead one tough native. In the early 1900s, little Carlos, grandson of a Scottish immigrant who had set up his home in Para, Belem' s capital, didn't think twice before challenging a wide-eyed, sharp-nailed opponent. One would often see the kid playing catch with an alligator that lived in the river nearby. Carlos Gracie was a risk taker who was overtly curious and possessed a keen sense of observation. Carlos had noticed the reptile couldn't see under water, only swam in a straight line, and had to stick its head out in order to make turns so by simply getting out of the direction of the animal's teeth, he would always win.
Indeed, when Carlos became acquainted with Count Koma's techniques in 1916, the young Gracie was still a developing personality that was much like Belem, which worked as an entrance to Brazil with influence of European and Japanese cultures, and on the other hand was nearly wild, with Indians, woods and rivers where the fearless would play. "Jiu-Jitsu gave my life a direction", Carlos used to say. Dedicated to the trainings and interested in the techniques, it didn't take long for Carlos to stand out among the students. "Once, Count Koma needed a volunteer to demonstrate a type of choke, and Carlos offered himself. The professor declined and asked for another pupil. Afterwards, black-belt Rilion, who was one of the 21 children of the patriarch, said to Carlos, 'you are going to be a champion, and are not here to be choked.'" Despite Koma's constant travels, Carlos kept his training rhythm stable by beginning to practice with another one of the Count's students who was local entrepreneur Jacinto Ferro. "The astonishing thing is that neither Ferro nor Loma set up an academy there, no pupil kept it up, and Jiu-Jitsu had pretty much vanished from the state of Para. The person who took it back there, decades later, was someone who had [studied] at the Gracies' school in South-Eastern Brazil," Reyla recalls. With the family's increasingly hard economic situation, the father took Carlos, along with younger brothers Osvaldo, Gastao, Jorge and Helio (the latter, 11 years younger than Carlos), to try and make a living in Rio de Janeiro, then Sao Paulo and later Belo Horizonte. At age 22, Carlos Gracie started to make a living out of Jiu-Jitsu. Challenges were published in newspapers ("Want a broken rib? Look for Carlos
I am Carlos Gracie Jr., the founder of the Gracie Barra academy located in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I want to share a few words about the early days of the school and how it was created. The history of Gracie Barra is directly related to my life, and as a result, the story of the school is also the story of my life, both past, present, and future.
Vinicius Bittencourt Almeida Magalhaes, or "Draculino" as he became known as in the Jiu-Jitsu scene, was born in Rio de Janeiro on July 30, 1971. As a child, he spent most of his time going to school and surfing in the Barra Tijuca district, which is located on the south side of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Renzo, Ralph, Ryan Gracie and Totila Jordan (who were neighbors and friends of Draculino) took him to the Gracie Barra Academy to take classes while he was still young. Competitions in the juvenile blue belt division began early and it wasn't long before the school saw good results. By 1985, the Gracie school was run by Carlos Gracie Junior and the Machado Brothers.