BJJ Explained
Our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program creates a safe and inclusive learning environment for individuals from all backgrounds and skill levels to enjoy. Our program is designed to teach physical fitness, social awareness, confidence, discipline, and self-defense. We have a detailed program that prepares students for unavoidable violent confrontations in the streets. Our competition team program introduces and expands on creative grappling positions and techniques . We focus on conditioning, technique drilling, tournament specific techniques, and developing a competition mindset. Though we have selective training designed for competition minded students, it is a class that everyone can attend whether you aspire to compete or not. Our Jiu-Jitsu program is designed to cover all facets of your grappling needs.
Required gear: Gi
History Of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The Gracie family in Brazil was introduced to the art of Kodakan Judo, also known as Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, in 1914 by Esai Maeda, a student of Kano, the curator of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. Maeda became close with Gastao Gracie through business dealings and offered to teach his son, Carlos, Gracie Japanese Jiu-Jitsu as a show of gratitude for their business relationship. Carlos learned Japanese Jiu-Jitsu from Maeda and eventually began to teach several of his younger brothers. Helio Gracie, the youngest of the brothers, was not able to participate because of his frail health and inability to participate in strenuous physical activity. Helio would watch classes taught to his brothers but would not participate. Carlos eventually began to run his own academy and taught several students the martial art he had learned from Maeda.
One day, Carlos was late for a class he was instructing. Helio was present and all though he had not formally learned the art with the rest of his brothers on the mat, he was present and memorized many of the techniques from watching. He replaced Carlos as the instructor for the class, which was a great success, and lead to him becoming an instructor at the academy. Because of his lack of natural size and strength, Helio made adjustments to many techniques that called for practitioners to be strong and explosive. He opted for techniques that focused more on timing and leverage to allow him and others like him to be successful in defending themselves from a bigger, faster, and stronger opponent. His modifications to the art were the beginnings of the separation and creation of Gracie/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
To prove the effectiveness of his form of Jiu-Jitsu, Helio made open challenge to all other martial artists. He was successful in defending himself and defeating all that accepted the challenge to fight. He was so successful in Brazil that Japan also sent representatives from the Kodakan to challenge Helio. Kato, the #2 ranked Judoka at the time, was choked unconscious in six minutes by Helio. The victory qualified him to fight Kimura, Judoka World Champion, whom outweighed Helio by 80 pounds. Kimura defeated Helio by Kimura lock. He was so impressed that he asked Helio to come to Japan to teach the techniques he created; they had never seen these in Japan.
Helio remained in Brazil and continued to teach and spread the word of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with his sons and extended family. Many factions and academies were formed over the years, which lead to more Vale-Tudo (anything goes) challenge matches and point based Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions without striking. Helio’s sons and nephews continued to fight in the name of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu across the world. One of the more famous of his sons, Royce Gracie, was the winner of the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tournaments. Royce, like his father, fought representatives from different martial arts and defeated them all and displayed the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Though many have contributed to the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Helio Gracie and the Gracie family have been noted as the pioneers of the leveraged based unarmed Self-Defense system known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu today. Many across the world now practice, compete, and continue to innovate the art.
