The Beginning of Grappling

  Grappling styles have existed for eons. Early Egyptian and Greek art show the

  grappling arts in tombs, on pottery, and in statuary. Grappling was known as far back

  as 2300 B.C.. Over the centuries, the grappling martial arts spread throughout the

  world eventually coming to Japan. Though the exact origin of Jiu-Jitsu is unknown, it

  is agreed that the Japanese Jiu-Jitsu techniques were a culmination of many ancient

  forms used by other oriental warriors.

  Fighting forms have existed for centuries in Japan, but few were recorded, thus

  precise dating is impossible. There were, however, orally passed traditions that

  mention early combative confrontations in ancient Japan. Their exact origins are   

  shrouded in mythology. The earliest mention of a sportive fight was a style called

  Chikura Kurabe. Another early tale is of Takemina Kata-no-Kami; a commoner, and

  Takemikazuchi-no-Kami; a divine champion. They are recorded in ancient tradition

  as having a combative wrestling match. Another tradition recorded in the NIHON-

  SHOKI refers to an early fighting style called Sumai (meaning "struggle"), and states

  that the style may have existed as early as 23 B.C.. Here, the story is of one Nomi-

  no-Sukune of Izumo who defeated Tajima-no-Kehaya on a beach in Shimane

  Prefecture by fracturing Kehaya's ribs with a side kick, throwing him to the ground,

  and then trampling him, crushing his pelvis and ultimately killing him. This was

  supposedly witnessed by the Emperor Suinin. Most of these early combative forms

  resembled modern Sumo and wrestling. Some of the ancient recorded styles were

  Tekoi, Sumai, and Kumi-Uchi. Kumi-Uchi was a battlefield type of Sumai. It was

  developed especially for battle against an opponent in lightweight armor. The art did

  not need gripping to make the techniques work. The techniques were based on strong

  hips and legs which were used to maintain contact with the enemy and throw him to

  the ground. Another ancient form of Jiu-Jitsu was centered around the manipulation of

  joints and the immobilization of the limbs. It was called Yawara. These combat arts

  existed with little change for over 600 years.

 The Minamoto Clan

  Around 700 A.D., the Japanese began to have more frequent contact with the people

  of China. Through these contacts, bits of Chinese culture, religion, and art became

  assimilated into the Japanese society. It is during this time, the Heian period, that Jiu-

  Jitsu took the form it has today. Though there were already established combat arts in

  Japan, this new style of fighting became the most popular. About 875-880 A.D., one

  of the sons of Emperor Siewa met a Chinese man who taught him a few fighting

  techniques. From these techniques and principles, Teijun Fujiwara (sometimes called

  Sadazumi or Sadagami) developed a fighting art he called Aiki-Jutsu. Teijun Fujiwara

  taught these techniques exclusively to the royal Minamoto family where it remained a

  secret style until the early 1100's. At that time, two sons of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (a

  5th generation descendent of Emperor Seiwa and ruler of the Chinjufu area of Oshu)

  began to thoroughly develop, organize and catalog Aikijujutsu techniques. Minamoto

  no Yoshimitsu (also known as Shinra Saburo or "Genji") (1036 - 1127 A.D.) and

  Minamoto no Yoshiie (Hachimantaro) (1041 - 1108 A.D.) were both Yamusame

  (archery) and To-Ho (swordsmanship) masters, brought up in the tradition of their

  forefathers. They both worked together to develop their families fighting techniques by

  dissecting cadavers and studying the working of the muscles and bones. Yoriyoshi's

  eldest son Yoshikiyo was also a famous warrior who fought against Abe no Sadatou

  in the Zen Ku Nen war (1051 - 1062) and was victorious against Abe at the battle of

  Koromogawa no Yakata. If Aikijujutsu would develop anywhere, it would be here in

  the most famous military family in Japan. It was Minamoto Yoshimitsu who named his

  family style Daito-Ryu AikiJujutsu after his estate called Daito. Minamoto no

  Yoshikiyo moved to the Kai region and became the head of that branch of the

  Minamoto family. He called that branch KaiGenjiTakeda. KAI was the region, GENJI

  the ancient family name and TAKEDA was the town from whence he chose the new

  family name. The Takeda family ran several martial arts schools in the area for over

  400 years. The only two surviving Yamusame schools Takeda-Ryu and Ogasawara-

  Ryu come from the schools of Takeda no Yoshikiyo.

 The Muromachi Period

  During the Muromachi period (1392-1537), there was another Jiu-Jitsu school that

  was greatly influential. Takenouchi-Ryu was founded by Takenouchi Hisamori (also

  called Takeuchi Toichiro) in 1532. Hisamori had spent time in the mountains with a

  Yamabushi (hermit mountain warrior) and had learned five arresting techniques and

  some principles of evasion. He combined these techniques with his knowledge of

  Kumi-Uchi to make a Jiu-Jitsu style he called Kogusoku. Later this style was renamed

  Takenouchi-Ryu Jujutsu. The second headmaster of Takenouchi-Ryu, Hisakatsu,

  added Shinken Shobu (deadly fighting). The third headmaster added Torite

  (restraining). One of its core teachings was that of Koshi No Mawari, or grappling in 

  the light armor of the day. It became one of the three core styles of Jiu-Jitsu.

  Another school of Jiu-Jitsu that became popular was founded during the same period

  by Akiyama Shirobi Yoshitoki, a doctor from Nagasaki. He studied striking and

  kicking techniques in China under Haku-Tei (also called Pao-Chuan), along with 3

  Yawara techniques and 28 different types of Kassei-Ho. Akiyama returned to Japan

  and began to teach these forms but found it hard to keep students with so few

  techniques. As a result, Akiyama retired to the temple of Temmangu at Tsukushi about

  1723 to study the techniques and attempt to expand on them. During his winter stay,

  he one day noticed snow piling up on the branches of the trees outside the temple. He

  saw that whereas the snow piled heavily on the branches of the great oak tree, is

  slipped harmlessly off the pliable branches of the willow tree. Eventually, the branches

  of the oak tree began to break under the weight of the snow, but the willow branches

  simply yielded and allowed the snow to fall off, thereby saving the tree. This brought a

  great enlightenment (satori) to Yoshitoki and he used the concept of JU (suppleness)

  to increase his techniques to 103. From his experience at the temple he decided to

  name his style Yoshin-Ryu (willow heart school). This ryu is also called Yanagi-Ryu

  and Miura-Ryu after two of its most famous teachers.

 Aizu

  Takeda Harunobu (Shingen) (1520 - 1573) was a descendent of Minamoto (Takeda)

  no Yoshikiyo and one of the great warriors of the Sengoku era. Besides being a

  sword, spear, and archery master, he was a great leader in battle. He warred against

  Uesugi Kenshin, the ruler of Echigo, in his most famous battle known as

  Kawanakajima in 1561. In those days a wealthy samurai had several retainers under

  him to take care of many tasks which ran from administration of troops, to running

  training camps. Shingen had several illustrious retainers, namely Sanada Yukitaka,

  Obata Toramori, and Yamamoto Kansuke (who wrote the famous HEIHO OKUGI

  SHO). During Haranobu's great military career, he came into conflict with the

  Tokugawa clan. In a decisive battle in 1572, Takeda Shingen beat Tokugawa Ieyasu.

  Even though this was a great victory for the Takeda clan, Shingen died from wounds

  sustained in his clash with the Tokugawas while on his way to Kyoto. In April of

  1573, Takeda Kunitsugu brought the last will and testament of Takeda Harunobu to

  the ruler of Aizu, Ashina Moriuji. Ashina was a long time ally of the Takedas and

  turned over his portion to Kunitsugu. Takeda Kunitsugu received a large estate and

  farm lands from Ashina and was persuaded to stay in Aizu as a sword master. From

  that day forward the Takeda family lived and taught Aikijujutsu in Aizu.

  In one fateful event in February of 1582, the unbroken line of Takeda Aikijujutsu

  masters came to an end. It was during that month that the forces of Oda Nobunaga

  and Tokugawa Ieyasu took revenge for their loss in 1572 and attacked Takeda

  Katsuyori (the son of Takeda Harunobu) and was victorious over the Takeda clan. As

  any samurai who felt he had failed his family would do, Katsuyori committed ritual

  suicide (seppuku). Luckily, the art had been passed onto the retainers of the Takeda

  family who continued the tradition. The most famous were: Sanada Yukitaka, Sanada  

  Masayuki, Sanada Yukimura, Sanada Nobuyuki, Yamamoto Kansuke, Obata

  Toramori, and Obata Kanbei Kagenori.

  It must be understood that the teaching of the martial arts was restricted to extended

  family and retainers at that time. The headmastership was only passed on from father

  to son, unless there was no heir. In this case the headmaster was chosen from the head

  retainer or from a close male member of the extended family. The techniques that were

  taught as a matter of course to the foot soldiers (ashigaru or chugen) were simple,

  unrefined movements. Though they were combat effective, they depended on strong

  legs and hips and a powerful body rather than the skill of a true martial science. Many

  of the techniques that influenced the formation of Judo which came from the Kito-Ryu

  and the Tenshin Shin'Yo-Ryu were the techniques of the Chugen. The Goshinkiuchi or

  secret teachings (later called Otome-Ryu by the Daito-Ryu masters) were only taught

  to the top classes of samurai. Knowledge of these methods were not allowed to pass

  to the lower level retainers. Also, during this period families actually kept their

  knowledge a family secret. This allowed for superiority in battle against opposing  

  family clans.

  Because the Aizu retainers were now the headmasters of Takeda-Ryu Aikijujutsu

  (Daito Ryu), the development of this style remained untouched in that area for another

  250 years. This branch of the family came to be known as Aizu Takeda. They were

  renowned in Japan as great sword masters. There were 5 styles of TO-HO and two

  of Aikijujutsu (Mizu no Shinto-Ryu and Shinmyo-Ryu) practiced by the Aizu Takeda.

  Additionally, there were many private schools in Aizu including 22 for Kenjutsu, 14 for

  Battojutsu, 16 for Jujutsu, 7 for Yamusame, 16 for Gunnery, and 4 for Spear.

  Students in that area also studied Naginata, Bojutsu, Kusarijutsu, Kacchu Kumiuchi,

  and Jinchyu Ninjutsu. In all there were over 90 schools thriving in the Aizu.

  At one time, there were over 700 documented Jiu-Jitsu schools in Japan. Many called

  their art Jiu-Jitsu, while others used such names as Ju-Do, Aiki-Do, Taijutsu, Koshi-

  no-Mawari, Torite, Kenpo, Wajutsu, Hudaka, Hobaku, Shubaku, and Yawara. All

  these were Jiu-Jitsu.

 Origin of Jiu-Jitsu and Judo

  At the end of the 1800's, the Samurai were politically disbanded and many Jiu-Jitsu/

  Kenjutsu schools died out. A few survived, however. Jiu-Jitsu schools came in from

  the countryside to the city, and by doing so were exposed to other ryu. There were

  many contests between Jiu-Jitsu schools at the time, each trying to prove they were

  the best. Many Jiu-Jitsu styles were defeated and discredited, some unjustly.

  Nevertheless, they were forced out of existence, or the practitioners simply joined

  other ryu. It was also a time of bullying on the part of the Jujutsuka. Many of the

  younger students found enjoyment in trying the techniques out on unsuspecting city

  folk. Also, many bar brawls were started in order to practice their techniques. Jiu-Jitsu

  itself fell into ill repute and many of it's practitioners were seen as trouble makers.

  Because of this view, the practice of Jiu-Jitsu was restricted to a very few traditional

  schools.

  It was in 1882 that things began to change. It was in that year that Kano Jigoro

  founded a new type of Jiu-Jitsu that he called Judo. Kano was a Jiu-Jitsu master who

  had studied under sensei's Teinosuke Yagi and Hachinosuke Fukada of the Tenshin

  Shin'Yo-Ryu. Later, he also studied under the tutelage of Tsunetoshi Iikubu of the

  Kito-Ryu. He also studied a while with the Sekiguchi-Ryu.

  Kano was born in a small costal town outside of Kobe, Japan in 1860. His main

  martial theories were developed by his study of the "secret" books HONTAI and

  SEIKO which discuss the fundamentals of Nage (throwing) through the principle of

  KI-TO (to raise up - to strike down). This, combined with his grappling knowledge

  from the Tenshin Shin'Yo-Ryu, led Kano to retire to the solitude of the Eishoji temple

  and develop his Judo. 

  What made Kano's Jiu-Jitsu different was his approach to training. Because he sought

  to preserve the Jiu-Jitsu techniques, but realized that Jiu-Jitsu had a bad reputation, he

  changed the entire philosophy surrounding his art. Kano emphasized the physical

  fitness aspects of the art and altered the techniques to make them appealing to the

  general public. The sporting aspect of the art was also suggested. Kano arranged

  KATA, (prearranged forms) for the self defense techniques in order to ensure safety

  and enjoyment in learning, but retained SHIAI (contest) to test timing and technique in 

  semi-combat situation. Kano also invented the ranking system that consisted of KYU

  ranks (trainees) and DAN ranks (graded). Before Kano, the ranking system was non-

  existent. Kano also targeted government and military officials as his primary student

  population. By doing this, the popularity of his Judo spread quickly.

  Of course, it must be realized that Kano's Judo achieved it's notoriety because of

  Aikijujutsu. It seems that Kano was an excellent Jujutsuka himself, but felt that in order

  to prove that his new form was "undefeatable" he would need to employ an

  "undefeatable" representative of his new art form. This man was Saigo Shida who

  changed his name to Saigo Shiro (1867 - 1922).

  Shiro was the adopted son of Aikijujutsu master Saigo Tanomo. Shiro was a master

  of Daito-Ryu at a young age and was trained for the headmastership of the Takeda

  tradition, but was recruited by Kano to be his "showman" for the Kodokan system.

  This is basically why Takeda Sokaku became Daito-Ryu's headmaster. Shiro was

  known for his great ability and strength at a young age. In fact, he was a Godan (5th

  degree) by the age of 21. In the contests set up between the Kodokan and the area

  Jiu-Jitsu schools, Saigo easily defeated all opponents, mostly with his favorite

  technique YAMA ARASHI. Kodokan was "proving" its worth by using Aikijujutsu,

  although most of the techniques Saigo used were never taught by Kano. As a matter

  of fact, whereas Aikijujutsu had over a thousand techniques, the Kodokan system

  boasted about 150. After many years Saigo Shiro, left the Kodokan and became a

  reporter and master of Kyudo (archery). Only when Saigo left the Kodokan did the

  style move into the realm of martial sport. Saigo Shiro, perhaps one of the world's

  greatest Jujutsuka died on 23 December 1922 at the age of 57.

  By the time Judo moved into the 20th century, many of the KORYU or "ancient

  schools" were gone or disappearing. Thus, it was the perfect time for Judo to come on

  strong. Kano made his Judo the standard physical education for the Japanese Police

  Force and Army. Judo was also popularized in the United States. In 1889, Kano had

  sent Yamashita Yoshiaki to the U.S. to live and instruct Judo at Harvard University

  and at the Annapolis Academy. This had greatly enhanced the popularity of Judo with

  the new American audience. Even though Kano had, in fact, used Aikijujutsu to make

  his art famous, he did do Jiu-Jitsu a great service. If it were not for the renewed

  interest in the grappling arts caused by Judo there is a distinct possibility that Jiu-Jitsu

  would have never survived as a martial art.

  After an illustrious career, Kano died while traveling at sea in 1938. Today Judo is

  practiced all over the world and is a sport in the Olympics.

 Background of Mitsuyo Maeda/Count Koma

  The Gracie style of Jiu-Jitsu was created in Brazil in the early part of this century by

  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pioneer Carlos Gracie, who studied traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu as

  a teenager under the great Japanese champion, Mitsuyo Maeda, known in Brazil as

  Conde Koma- the "Count of Combat."

  The founder of Judo is Jigoro Kano. One of his top students was Mitsuyo Maeda

  born in 1878. Maeda studied Tenshin Jiu-Jitsu as a boy and in 1896, approximately,

  he moved to Tokyo and began practicing Judo, shortly thereafter entering the

  Kodokan. Maeda was born in Aomori Prefecture in 1878. There he learned Tenshin

  (Tenshin Shin'Yo) Jiu-Jitsu. He moved to Tokyo when he was about 18. He began

  practicing Judo in 1897. Maeda was a small man, but very talented.

  In 1904, Koma and Sanshiro Satake, left Japan. Another top student of Kano's was

  Jojiro Tomita. Both Maeda and Tomita visited the United States in 1904 to perform in

  a judo demonstration as Judo ambassadors. In 1904, Maeda traveled to the U.S. with

  one of his instructors, Tsunejiro Tomita. The only place they demonstrated judo

  together was at the U.S. Army academy in West Point. There Maeda was challenged

  by a wrestling champion. Maeda accepted the challenge and put his opponent in a  

  joint lock forcing the wrestler to tap out. Maeda toured the US for a while longer and

  eventually traveled to Spain, where he took on the ring name "Conde Koma" in 1908.

  Maeda, unhappy with their performance in America, decided to stay behind in the

  U.S. to establish what he believed to be the superiority of Kodokan judo. Between

  1904 and 1915, Maeda was involved in many events and did remarkable things to

  accomplish his goal. He taught at Princeton University, taught in New York City,

  traveled to London, England, and participated in many fights throughout Latin

  America.

  The motivation for Maeda to stay behind in the U.S., as stated earlier, was the failed

  challenge during the 1904 judo demonstration. Until he opened his school in Belem,

  Brazil, Maeda accepted and offered many challenges to prove the value of Kodokan

  judo. He fought against wrestlers and boxers winning the vast majority of these

  challenges and during these fights Maeda began to develop his own unique style of

  fighting.

  Maeda and Tomita went to United States, Mexico, Cuba, Honduras, Costa Rica,

  Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru (where they met Laku, a Jiu-Jitsu master, who was

  teaching at the Peruvian police), Chile, where they contacted another fighter, (Okura),

  Argentina (they met Shimitsu) and Uruguay. With that group, joined in the South

  American countries, Koma exhibited his art for the first time in Brazil, in Porto Alegre.

  Then, they went to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Recife, São Luís, Belém (in

  October of 1915) and finally Manaus, in December 18th of the same year. Their

  passages by the Brazilian cities was marked by short presentations. For his elegance

  and good look, always sad, Mitsuyo Maeda won the nick name "Conde Koma" in

  México. The first presentation of the Japanese group in Manaus, intermediated by

  manager Otávio Pires Júnior, on December 20, 1915, was in the Politeama Theater.

  Torsion techniques were presented, grip defenses, articulation locks, demonstration

  with Japanese arms and challenge to the public. With the success of the shows, the

  challenges against the members of the team multiplied. Among the defiant ones there

  were boxers as Adolfo Corbiniano, from Barbados, and Greek-roman style fighters

  like Arab Nagib Asef and Severino Sales. At that time Manaus lived the Rubber

  Circle "boom" so the fights were stuffed of millionaire bets, done by the rubber

  plantation barons.

  From January 4th to 8th, 1916, the first Amazon Jiu-Jitsu was accomplished. The final

  champion was Satake. Count Koma did not fight that time and took the organization

  of the event in his hands. On the following day (Jan 9th 1916), Koma, beside Okura

  and Shimitsu, embarked to Liverpool, England, where they stayed up to 1917. While

  in the United Kingdom, Satake and Laku continued teaching the Japanese Jiu-Jitsu to

  the amazons at the Rio Negro Athletic Club. They kept on winning all the challenge

  combats. Then, in November 1916, an Italian fighter, Alfredi Leconti, managed by

  Gastão Gracie, associated to the Queirollo brothers in the American Circus, arrived to

  Manaus for a challenge. Satake, who was ill, gave his place to Laku, who was

  defeated by Leconti. Satake, in recovery, would be the Italian's next opponent, but

  due to the riot occurred during the combat between Laku and Leconti, police officer

  Bráulio Pinto prohibited further fights in the Amazon capital.

 Koma returns to Brazil

  In 1917, back to Brazil, more specifically to Belém, with his English wife, May Íris

  Maeda, Count Koma enters the American Circus and finally knew Gastão Gracie. In

  November of 1919, Koma goes back to Manaus, now in the condition of defiant of

  his friend Satake. Then the only defeat in his all career happened. He, then went back

  to Belém and in 1920, during the rubber crisis, the American Circus was ended. With

  that, Mitsuyo Maeda embarked back to England. In 1922, returned as an immigration

  agent, working for the Amazon Industrial Company and started teaching judo in Vila

  Bolonha. In the same year, his old fellow Satake embarked to Europe and nothing

  was known about him after that. Count Koma stayed in Belém, dying in July of 1941.

  Carlos and Hélio Gracie, sons of Gastão followed acting in the Jiu-Jitsu modality that

  they learned from Koma in their father's circus after that martial art had been

  definitively developed and implanted in Manaus by the members of the Koma's group,

  mainly by Sanshiro "Black Belly" Satake.

  Continuing his travels, in 1915, he ended up in Brazil. He engaged in challenge  

  matches and became famous throughout the region. Maeda was to continue his role as

  a judo and Jiu-Jitsu sensei and taught police, army cadets, and Brazilian citizens.

  In 1915, Maeda began to assist the Japanese immigrating to Brazil. At the time, there

  were anti-Japanese sentiments in the US, so Maeda felt Brazil with its more open

  policy towards immigration was the ideal environment for Japanese settlers. Maeda

  became a very prominent member of his community. He was given executive positions

  in many companies and even received land from the government.

 Maeda's Jiu-Jitsu

  Maeda thought the old style of judo was the ultimate form of self-defense. To him

  boxing and wrestling were only sports. Maeda's strategy was to strike his opponent,

  go for a throw and then finish his opponent off on the ground with a choke or joint

  lock. Maeda stated in his autobiography that he took Kodokan judo techniques and

  also took elements from Taryu Shiai Judo - those judo techniques specifically used for

  matches against other schools.

  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a style that believes fights often end up on the ground. Maeda,

  who brought Jiu-Jitsu to Brazil, compared judo to wrestling and boxing and felt judo

  was a superior form of self-defense. Maeda liked to use elbows, low kicks, and

  throws to take his opponent to the ground and then used joint locks or chokes to finish

  the fight. After studying boxing and wrestling, Maeda discovered the weaknesses of

  these styles and adjusted and simplified the Kodokan judo techniques to effectively

  outsmart and conquer his opponents. As a result of experiencing many different styles

  of fighting, Maeda's own unique style of judo emerged.

  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is predominantly a ground-fighting art. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsuka's

  strategy is to avoid punches and kicks while attempting to clinch his opponent, take

  the fight to the ground, and use Jiu-Jitsu techniques to defeat him there, where the

  attacker's strikes are weak. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques are based on leverage,

  making it possible for the practitioner to beat stronger and heavier opponents. The key

  is keeping your base and using leverage against the opponent.

 Introduction of Judo/Jiu-Jitsu to Carlos Gracie and the background of Carlos

 Gracie

  In 1915, having settled in Belem, Brazil, Maeda continued teaching judo. Among the

  variety of his students, San Paulo policemen, army college cadets, was a teenage boy

  named Carlos Gracie, third generation descendent of an immigrant from Scotland.

  Carlos Gracie was born in 1901 to Gastão Gracie, a Brazilian scholar and politician,

  and became an accomplished scholar and politician in his own right. He is considered

  to be the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Carlos Gracie was one of five brothers, the

  smallest and thinnest, yet his brothers never defeated him. His brothers were Osvaldo,

  Gastão, Jorge, and Helio. He was raised in a wealthy family, and he became a student

  of  Maeda when he was 19. Maeda arrived at the State of Pará in the northeast of

  Brazil. In Pará, Maeda met a business-oriented friend of an influential man, Gastão

  Gracie, that helped the Japanese establish a settlement in Brazil. To demonstrate his

  gratitude, Maeda, also known as Conde Koma, taught the traditional art of the

  Japanese Jiu-Jitsu to the son oldest of Gastão, Carlos. Carlos' father, Gastão,

  introduced Carlos to Maeda, and eventually, Carlos taught his brothers Jiu-Jitsu.

  Carlos and his brothers made a name for the family by fighting in demonstrations and

  street fights using Jiu-Jitsu. Carlos only took one year of lessons from Maeda.

  However, Carlos continued studies with other students of Maeda as he developed his

  own style based on his real fighting experiences.

  Carlos Gracie was very interested in street fighting and boxing and quickly modified

  many of the classical techniques he learned from Count Koma to meet the demands of

  "no-rules" fighting in the streets of Brazil. The young Carlos Gracie started testing and

  refining his system through constant matches, open to all comers, continually working

  to make it more effective and lethal. At one point, he even began advertising in

  newspapers and on street corners for new opponents upon whom to practice and

  further refine his art. Carlos Gracie fought anyone and everyone who was willing,

  regardless of size, weight or fighting style. Although he was a mere 135 pounds, his

  style was so effective that Carlos Gracie was never defeated and became legendary in

  Brazil. His most famous fight was against a Japanese man named "Giomori." Carlos

  tied with his larger opponent according to Carley Gracie. Reylson Gracie, in an

  interview, said that Carlos and "Giomori" fought twice, "once by the rules, the second

  time no holds barred. Both times they tied." As Maeda challenged other schools,

  Gracie Jiu-Jitsu players also challenged other schools. Carlos spent all of his time

  establishing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and let his brothers do the fighting with other schools to

  improve their technique.
 

  Because non-Japanese were never taught Jiu-Jitsu, Koma asked that Carlos never

  teach it to the public, only to family members. Carlos did this for years until he learned

  of Koma's death in Japan. He made inquiries and found that Koma had died under

  mysterious circumstances. His food had been poisoned. My father then decided that

  he should share the gift that Koma had given him so that Jiu-Jitsu would never die out

  in Brazil. Carlos Gracie then opened up the first Jiu-Jitsu school in Belem, Brazil in

  1925. Carlos Gracie taught his style of Jiu-Jitsu to his four younger brothers

  (Oswaldo, Gastão, Jorge, and Helio) and to his older sons (including Carlson and

  Carley), and they in turn taught their brothers, sons, nephews and cousins.

  After Carlos retired from the ring, he managed the fight careers of his brothers and

  sons, continuing to challenge fighters of all styles throughout the world. This tradition of

  open challenge has been continued by his sons, grandsons, brothers, nephews, and

  students who have consistently demonstrated the superiority of the Gracie style in real

  fights and no-rules matches in rings throughout the world. Along with managing his

  family members, he is also the creator of the famous Gracie diet, which is based on

  eating only certain foods together in order to aid digestion, give maximum energy, and

  keep people in great health.

  Carlos Gracie had twenty-one children, one hundred six grandchildren, and one

  hundred twenty-eight great-grandchildren. Of his twenty-one children, all ten of his

  sons became black belts. Combined with their ancestors in Scotland and Ireland, the

  Gracie family could be the largest family in the whole world. Carlos Gracie died in

  1994 at the age of 92.

 Luiz Franca: The Other Originator of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

  Maeda also taught Luiz Franca Jiu-Jitsu, and he also continued the tradition in Brazil.

  Luiz Franca and the brothers, Carlos and Hélio Gracie, had transferred residence to

  the one River-of January and there they had started to transmit the teachings learned

  with great Esai Maeda. Luiz Franca dedicated himself to teach Jiu-Jitsu as form of

  self-defense for the Armed Forces and to the devoid population of the zone north of

  Rio de Janeiro and the Gracie brothers had firmed residence in the south zone of the

  River and had opened the first academy of Jiu-Jitsu. The great master, 9th Degree

  Oswaldo Fadda, disciple of France Luiz, former-pupil of the Conde Koma, who was

  the introducer of the Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, established the Fadda Academy of Jiu-Jitsu in

  Rio De Janeiro on the 27th of January of 1950. Fadda, a pioneer in the field of the

  infantile paralysis and recovery of deficient physicists, used the Jiu-Jitsu as aid to

  medical treatment; he undertook special work of social reintegration through the Jiu-

  Jitsu. He was a member of the Brazilian Confederation of Jiu-Jitsu and edited the

  book, "Jiu-Jitsu and the Complex in addition." Currently, no more lessons of Jiu-Jitsu

  are regularly performed in his academies; it is only dedicated to lecture courses of

  evaluation and perfecting Jiu-Jitsu, besides performing lectures on the education of Jiu-

  Jitsu and its daily applications. The course of evaluation and perfecting finished its 3rd

  edition in Brazil. He has stated that "It is the Jiu-Jitsu, the best [technique] to provide   

  to a weak person in a dispute, a positive advantage that counter balances the weight

  and the physical force of the adversary. It must always be held in mind that all the

  structure of the Jiu-Jitsu is based on the use of the strategy, agility, and the rapidity of

  movement and not in the pure and simple force." Jiu-Jitsu is the art of the self-defense

  particularly adjusted for women and, only after its knowledge is acquired, it is that it

  can be evaluated (Text elaborated for the Master 7º Deoclécio Degree Pablo, Deo,

  Master of Jiu-Jitsu in Brasilia.).

 Helio Gracie: The Master Mind of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

  The youngest son of the eight children of Gastão and Cesalina Gracie, Helio, always

  was a very sickly youth that was very physically weak. He could faint after the effort

  of going up stairs. Nobody tried to understand the reason of so great fragility.

  Therefore, when finishing the second primary series, his mother was convinced that he

  was not healthy enough to go the school. When the family had financial problems

  during their move to Rio de Janeiro, some brothers had been sent to live with relatives.

  Helio was to live with his aunts and through these contacts, he found work as driver of

  competition rowing boats.

  After some years, when he was 14 years old, Helio started to live with his older

  brothers, who lived in Botafogo, a quarter of Rio De Janeiro, and there they gave Jiu-

  Jitsu lessons. He would limit himself during the next years to observe his brothers in the

  lessons, especially the lessons of Carlos, since Helio would have been dissuaded by

  doctors to perform any type of physical effort. One day, when Helio was 16 years

  old, a pupil appeared for a lesson, which Carlos was late for. Helio, having memorized

  all the movements and words of his older brother, offered to give the lesson that day.

  Helio, from the endless hours of watching his brother and with minimal physical

  execution of the moves himself, gave the student a memorable class. At the end of the

  lesson, Carlos arrived apologizing for his delay. However, the student told Carlos that

  it was no problem. The student adored the lesson of Helio and asked if Carlos was

  not bothered, he would like to continue having lessons with Helio. Carlos agreed and

  from there Helio became an instructor. This marked the official start of Helio's Jiu-Jitsu

  career.

  Helio is credited for his development of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Because of his small frame,

  inferior strength, and frail health, Helio modified the techniques Carlos taught him to

  rely more on leverage than on strength. Thus, Helio was able to get out of certain

  positions he was previously unable to using the techniques originally shown by his

  brother Carlos. Led by Helio, the brothers were driven by a constant determination to

  find effective ways to deal with the very possible aspect of a real fight. Daring to break

  away from the traditional Japanese style, they began experimenting, modifying, and

  perfecting simple techniques that would be effective regardless of stature. These

  modifications to the classic techniques that the Gracie family developed is now known

  as Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

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