How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Gained Its Fame?

Schools teaching Brazilian jiu jitsu may trace their origins back to the early 1920s, when members of the Gracie family started studying the art with a Japanese jiu jitsu master who was in Brazil at the time. The training that Helio Gracie and his brothers received resulted in the development of a fighting style known as Gracie Jiu-jitsu. This style allows a smaller, weaker opponent to be defeated by a larger, stronger opponent.

Helio persisted in modifying the methods of the martial arts so that they became even more effective, and he quickly earned the respect of people who were in his immediate environment as a result.

Helio showed the world the beginnings of Gracie Jiu-jitsu in a series of high-profile contests as he improved his skills and became more proficient. Helio did not necessarily emerge victorious in these competitions; nevertheless, he did get praise for outlasting almost everyone’s expectations on how long he would be able to compete against opponents who were more skilled and had more experience.

In 1951 he took on Masahiko Kimura, then considered to be the best jiu jitsu fighter in the world. Kimura claimed that if the competition continued more 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 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 the United States, he intended to continue his father’s legacy. The Gracies intended to create jiu-jitsu academies to share the martial art methods that they had modified after decades of concentrated study with the rest of the planet, and the United States was the ideal place to do so.

Although Rorion initially faced many problems in establishing his Brazilian Jiu jitsu institution, he gained progressively larger numbers of students mostly by issuing the Gracie challenge. This was a call to any fighter of any branch to meet him in hand-to-hand combat so as to see whose field was stronger.

Gracie Jiu-jitsu

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.

Of all the martial art disciplines out there, Gracie Jiu-jitsu is probably the most well known. It was a long hard road, going from Japan to Brazil, then to California and finally the rest of America and the world.

One of the best forms of martial arts to study if you are interested in MMA fighting is Brazilian jiu jitsu. With its grappling holds and close combat style, the jiu-jitsu technique is a favorite among UFC contenders.