The roots of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu trace back to Jigoro Kano, the Kodokan training center, and the Japanese Ju Jitsu of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jigoro Kano founded the Kodokan in Tokyo in 1882 while spearheading a massive reformation of JuJitsu. The Kodokan was for Kano the culmination of a lifelong devotion to the jujutsu of the past – which he refined and reorganized, while taking great care to retain its classical traditions. The Gracie ‘lineage’ is traced back to Jigoro Kano and the Kodokan via Mitsuyo “Count Koma” Maeda (1871-1941).
The legendary Mitsuyo “Conde Koma” or “Count Combat” Maeda was a top Ju Jitsu fighter from the Kodokan. From the latter part of 19th century to the early part of the 20th century, ju jitsu masters would emigrate from Japan to other continents, teaching the martial arts, as well as competing in fights and competitions. Mitsuyo Maeda was one such master. In 1914 Maeda settled in Belem do Para, Brazil where he met an influential man of Scottish descent named Gastao Gracie.
Gastao’s eldest son Carlos became a student of the well-traveled Japanese master. Maeda taught Carlos the excellent training methods of Kodokan Judo, with its emphasis on live training (randori) and ground fighting skills, as well as other techniques that Maeda had incorporated into his repertoire.
For a naturally frail, fifteen-year old Carlos Gracie, jiu jitsu became a method not simply for fighting, but for personal improvement. Carlos Gracie saw in the art a way to become a man who was more tolerant, respectful, and self-confident.
Carlos passed Maeda’s teachings on to his brothers Osvaldo, Gastão, Jorge and Hélio. He also shared with them his philosophy of life and concepts about natural living and nutrition, which eventually transformed jiu jitsu into a term synonymous with health. In 1925, while still in his early 20’s, Carlos opened his first school known as the “Academia Gracie de Jiu Jitsu.”
The brothers became very proficient in jiu-jitsu, and went on to further refine and modify the art via many no-rules fighting competitions and challenge matches. It was from these challenge matches that they developed distinctive, sophisticated strategies and refined techniques – all based on hard empirical data. In particular Carlos and his brother Helio were great exponents of their self-defense system and ultimately developed what is now known as Gracie or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.The Gracies emphasized a tactical strategy of ground fighting based on positional dominance and submission holds. The great success they had in defeating larger, more athletically-gifted fighters proved the efficacy of their methods.
Carlos and Helio both had many children (Helio nine, Carlos twenty one). All the children, as well as their cousins, were born into a world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As the Gracie clan grew, a large network of family members became involved in expanding and refining their art. Many would eventually fight competitively, and have great success in MMA competition.
In the United States, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu earned its reputation as a very effective martial art when Royce Gracie won the first, second and fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships in the early 1990’s. By highlighting the importance of ground fighting, the Gracie’s began a grappling revolution that is still in motion today. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has since become an indispensable skill-set for all mixed martial arts competitors.
Carlos Gracie Jr, the teacher of Renzo Gracie, as well as many other champions and great teachers, created an official organization to oversee the administration of the sport. Competition rules, a belt-ranking system, were established and the era of sport Jiu-Jitsu competitions was started. Today, Jiu-Jitsu is a highly-organized sport, with an International Federation as well as a Brazilian National Confederation, both founded by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. Along with the exploding popularity of MMA competition, Sport BJJ tournaments continue to grow worldwide and have given rise to no-gi submission grappling tournaments, such as the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship. 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 IBJJF and CBJJ holds competitions in Brazil, the United States, Europe, and Asia, realizing Carlos’ original dream of spreading Jiu-Jitsu around the world.
