How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Gained Its Fame
Of all the martial arts in the world, Gracie Jiu-jitsu is probably the most well known and is considered to be one of the most effective forms of fighting. This wasn’t always the case, especially in the beginning. Helio Gracie is the one usually credited for making Brazilian jiu jitsu what it is today, and when it all began in 1921 he was actually on the sidelines, too sick to participate in training, and only able to watch. Once he was well enough to train, he surprised everyone by having a strong awareness of the discipline simply from observation, and he soon matched his knowledge with skills.
As he grew more experienced, Helio launched the first phase of Gracie Jiu-jitsu in a string of high profile events. In spite of not always winning these competitions, Helio received acclaim for lasting a good deal longer than anyone thought he would be able to against stronger and more skilled opponents. In 1951 he took on Masahiko Kimura, then seen as the best jiu jitsu fighter in the world. Kimura claimed that if the match continued longer than three minutes, then Helio should be proclaimed the champion; Helio lasted for thirteen. In 1955, the longest fight in the world happened when Helio held off a fighter twenty years younger than him and forty pounds heavier for three hours and forty minutes.
When Rorion Gracie, Helio’s son, left Brazil to bring Gracie Jiu-jitsu to America, he intended to continue his father’s legacy. The Gracies wanted to found 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. While Rorion at first faced many problems in founding his Brazilian Jiu jitsu school, he gained ever larger numbers of students largely by issuing the Gracie challenge. This was a call to any fighter of any discipline to meet him in hand-to-hand combat in order to see whose branch was more powerful.
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?
For those who have watched UFC and want to learn more about martial arts, especially Brazilian jiu jitsu, there is a lot of information to be found on the internet. Jiu jitsu is becoming very popular because of MMA fighting. It uses a lot of holds and ground moves that make it idea for practically any person.
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