Gracie Jiu-jitsu is known world wide as one of the most effective forms of hand-to-hand combat. The Gracie family took the teachings of a Japanese man and adapted them to make them more effective, especially when dealing with a fight on the ground. Helio Gracie was probably the most instrumental in making this form of jiu jitsu into something unique. Helio's main contribution was to adapt the martial art techniques so that they would be effective in defeating bigger and stronger opponents.
As he grew more skilled, Helio launched the initial stages of Gracie Jiu-jitsu in a series of high profile bouts. Despite not always being triumphant in these bouts, Helio received acclaim for lasting much longer than anyone thought he would be able to against more powerful and more experienced foes. In 1951 he took on Masahiko Kimura, then considered to be the best jiu jitsu fighter in the world. Kimura claimed that if the match lasted more than three minutes, then Helio would be considered the victor; Helio lasted for thirteen. In 1955, the longest match in the world occurred when Helio held off a combatant twenty years his junior and forty pounds heavier for three hours and forty minutes.
When Rorion Gracie, Helio's son, departed Brazil to bring Gracie Jiu-jitsu to America, he planned to continue his father's legacy. The Gracies wanted to establish jiu-jitsu schools to share the martial art techniques that they had modified after years of intense study with the rest of the planet, and America was the ideal place to do so. Although Rorion at first struggled in founding his Brazilian Jiu jitsu institution, he gained increasingly larger numbers of students primarily by issuing the Gracie challenge. This was a call to any fighter of any field to meet him in hand-to-hand combat in order to see whose branch was stronger.
Gracie Jiu-jitsu truly arrived in the 1990s. Mixed martial arts tournaments were becoming an exciting new event, and in 1993 the Ultimate Fighting Championship was held. This tournament pitted fighters of different disciplines against each other in order to determine not only which fighter would be the ultimate victor, but which fighting style would prove to be the most effective. Royce Gracie took the Gracie name and made it immortal by winning the first UFC, and a total of three of the first four events. Everyone in the sporting world soon knew the Gracie name, and it became synonymous with victories against larger and stronger opponents.
As a result of these steps over the years, of hard work and a willingness to commit entirely to the martial art, Gracie Jiu-jitsu has earned the spot as the most famous and one of the most respected disciplines in the world. Who knew that when Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil to share his master's teachings in 1914 that he would be setting off a chain of events that would lead to jiu jitsu gracing the top of the martial arts world less than one hundred years later? - 31497
As he grew more skilled, Helio launched the initial stages of Gracie Jiu-jitsu in a series of high profile bouts. Despite not always being triumphant in these bouts, Helio received acclaim for lasting much longer than anyone thought he would be able to against more powerful and more experienced foes. In 1951 he took on Masahiko Kimura, then considered to be the best jiu jitsu fighter in the world. Kimura claimed that if the match lasted more than three minutes, then Helio would be considered the victor; Helio lasted for thirteen. In 1955, the longest match in the world occurred when Helio held off a combatant twenty years his junior and forty pounds heavier for three hours and forty minutes.
When Rorion Gracie, Helio's son, departed Brazil to bring Gracie Jiu-jitsu to America, he planned to continue his father's legacy. The Gracies wanted to establish jiu-jitsu schools to share the martial art techniques that they had modified after years of intense study with the rest of the planet, and America was the ideal place to do so. Although Rorion at first struggled in founding his Brazilian Jiu jitsu institution, he gained increasingly larger numbers of students primarily by issuing the Gracie challenge. This was a call to any fighter of any field to meet him in hand-to-hand combat in order to see whose branch was stronger.
Gracie Jiu-jitsu truly arrived in the 1990s. Mixed martial arts tournaments were becoming an exciting new event, and in 1993 the Ultimate Fighting Championship was held. This tournament pitted fighters of different disciplines against each other in order to determine not only which fighter would be the ultimate victor, but which fighting style would prove to be the most effective. Royce Gracie took the Gracie name and made it immortal by winning the first UFC, and a total of three of the first four events. Everyone in the sporting world soon knew the Gracie name, and it became synonymous with victories against larger and stronger opponents.
As a result of these steps over the years, of hard work and a willingness to commit entirely to the martial art, Gracie Jiu-jitsu has earned the spot as the most famous and one of the most respected disciplines in the world. Who knew that when Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil to share his master's teachings in 1914 that he would be setting off a chain of events that would lead to jiu jitsu gracing the top of the martial arts world less than one hundred years later? - 31497
About the Author:
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is gaining in popularity these days. With its ground tactics as well as its holds, it is a favorite martial art of many of the UFC fighters.
