Enter
the Gracie Family
Carlos Gracie was the son of Gastao and Cesalina Gracie. Gastao's
father, George Gracie, had immigrated from Scotland years
earlier. Gastao had asked Conde Koma, or Mitsuyo Maeda, to
teach his son, Carlos Gracie, his art of Judo. Maeda agreed
and began his lessons. Carlos actually only studied about
a year with Maeda himself before he had to leave again. Carlos
continued his training with the Brazilian assistant instructors
that Maeda had put in place to teach the students in his absence.
Carlos would then teach the techniques to his brothers.
Carlos opened his own school in 1925 under the name of the
Gracie Jiujitsu Academy. The name of Judo had been changed
back to Jiujitsu to reflect its combat attitude. The Gracie's
Jiujitsu was not focused on points, it was focused on simply
making the opponent give up with a submission technique or
to carry the technique to its completion, much as the older
style of Judo once was and still existed in the Kosen style.
The new name was to separate it from its sport counterpart
of Judo. This was not about sport, this was about fighting.
Carlos had four younger brothers: Oswaldo, Gastao Jr., Jorge
and Helio. Helio was often on the sidelines watching his brothers
practice because of his poor physical condition, but he was
learning much as he watched. One day, a student showed up
for his private lesson with Carlos, but Carlos was late. Helio
decided that he would teach the lesson since he had watched
his brothers for years and was sure that he could teach as
well as he needed to. In fact, as the lesson ended and Carlos
burst in apologizing for his being late, the student said,
"That's alright, your brother gave me a good lesson,
and if you don't mind, I'd like him to teach me from now on."
This began Helio's career in Jiujitsu.
The
Gracies Take on the World
Helio
Gracie vs. Kado |
Just
as Maeda challenged other schools and fighters, so too
the Gracie brothers began challenging anyone and everyone.
Boxers, wrestlers, Karate men and champions of all styles
were fought and beaten by Gracie Jiujitsu. Helio first
stepped in the ring at the age of 17 and soon became
the strongest fighter in the Gracie Family.
Eventually,
Helio sent a challenge to the current Judo Champion
and one of the greatest Judoka of all time, Masahiko
Kimura, in 1952. Kimura accepted the challenge, but
took two assistants with him. If Helio could not defeat
his assistants then he would not even bother with him.
Helio's first match was with Kado, a 5th degree black
belt. Helio choked Kado into submission from the guard
6 minutes into the fight. Kimura accepted the match. |
Weeks
later, the match was scheduled in front of 20,000 spectators
and it was given the largest possible media coverage.
The Gracie's brought in a coffin for Kimura as a symbol
as to how they thought the fight would end.
During
the fight, Kimura threw Helio many times with very powerful
throws. The Gracie's, however, had brought in very thick
mats for the fight so that Helio would not sustain too
much damage from the throws. In pictures, you can see
their bodies sinking into the mat as they grapple. After
12 minutes of punishing throws and submission techniques,
Kimura caught Helio in an armlock and had to break his
arm in order to get Helio's corner to throw in the towel.
Helio would still not tap, even with a broken arm. |
Helio
Gracie vs. Kimura |
Kimura
would later comment on Helio's fighting spirit, and the armlock
that broke Helio's arm is still called the Kimura by BJJ stylists
to this day. Kimura also later noted that Helio's Jiujitsu
reminded him of the old pre-WWII style Judo, which is obvious
considering they were taught by Maeda himself.
Santana
in Helio Gracie's Guard |
In
1957, Helio would suffer his second major loss against
a former student named Valdemar Santana. They had what
is believed to be the longest match in Jiujitsu history
with 3 hours and 45 minutes of punching, kicking, elbowing,
knees and headbutts along with vigorous grappling looking
for submissions of all types. It was not until regaining
their feet that Santana was able to connect with a kick
to Helio's head as he was standing. Helio went down
and the match was finally over. Helio was 45 years old
at the time, this would be his last fight.
With
Helio's loss to Santana, Carlson Gracie, the son of
Carlos, would enter the ring at the age of 17 to avenge
the family name. He defeated Santana and earned the
title of "king". They would fight again for
a total of 6 times with Carlson winning four and drawing
for two. |
Gracie
Jiujitsu Goes to America
Helio
Gracie eventually had sons of his own who followed in the
tradition of the Gracie family style of martial arts. The
family continued to challenge all takers and were undefeated
since Helio was beaten by Kimura. Eventually, one of Helio's
sons, Rorian, decided that it was time to take Gracie Jiu-jitsu
out to the world, and headed off to America.
Rorian had made a trip to America in the late 1970's and started
teaching in the early 1980's. He was surprised to find that
Americans virtually had no idea of how to fight on the ground.
It was something that most schools didn't even attempt to
address. To further his point, he offered $10,000.00 to anyone
that could beat their style in a no-rules competition.
In 1993, Rorian's brother, Royce, took Gracie Jiu-jitsu to
the world by entering the first Ultimate Fighting Championship
and easily winning the entire event against fighters that
were two and three times his size. He did it again in UFC
2 and UFC 4. This opened the door for many Brazilians to come
to America to fight against fighters from all over the world.
Gracie Jiu-jitsu suddenly gained a huge surge in popularity.
As people realized that this was one of the most effective
styles to come along in years they scrambled to learn as much
as they could.
In the later 1990s, other equally talented Brazilian fighters
also started to gain popularity. This was the result of multiple
fights shows and grappling events. Today, there are now many
Brazilian fighters that boast records and reputations that
even exceed the original Gracie’s. Overall, Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu has now taken its place world-wide as one of the
most effective martial arts that can be practiced.
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