History of Jiu-Jitsu Part 1 (Before the Gracies)
For years I had only heard about the history of Jiu-Jitsu from the Gracies. Rorion Gracie said that his father Helio was the driving force behind most of the evolution of Jiu-Jitsu from what they learned from Count Koma. In the Machado’s schools and in other circles, there is talk about the older brother Carlos’s influence on the art. I had heard that Rickson Gracie said Jiu-Jitsu originally came from India. And I have heard rumors from several reputable black belts that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wasn’t actually anything new- that it was derived from Kosen Judo.
This post will give a brief summary of the history of Jiu-Jitsu in Japan before it came to Brazil. It is based on a book that I highly recommend: “Mastering JuJitsu” by Renzo Gracie and John Danaher. The history section of this book is awesome.
I am going to start with the history of Jiu-Jitsu at the point that Jigoro Kano (the founder of Judo) came onto the scene, which was in the 1870’s.
Jigoro Kano: Created Judo from Jiu-Jitsu
Kano had studied Jiu-Jitsu with a few different teachers, and his last teacher’s school- Koryo Jiu-Jitsu, emphasized throwing technique (as opposed to ground work).
Even though Kano had only 4 years experience by the time he opened his school, he felt that there were some flaws in the way that Jiu-Jitsu was practiced and perceived.
The first was that Jiu-Jitsu was perceived as an art practiced by thieves and ruffians. So he created sanctioned competitions with rules and rituals. He forbade betting on matches.
He called his art Judo as opposed to Jiu-Jitsu. Do is derived from the Chineses word “Tao,” which means way, as in way of life. “Jitsu” means technique. He wanted everyone to see the practice as a way of life, and not just a collection of tricks that you can use to defeat an attacker.
Next he organized the techniques into a curriculum, and he added a ranking system. For example, he made sure that beginners learned how to fall. Up to this point, many students would get hurt because they weren’t prepared for falling.
One of the most important things Kano did was to make the practice principle based. Many treated Jiu-Jitsu as a collection of moves that you could do for victory, without any underlying strategies. The number one principle he emphasized was seiryoku zenyo, which means maximum efficiency, minimum effort. The way he applied that was to always practice off balancing (kuzushi) before throwing someone. If you keep someone off balance, they are unable to throw or strike you and you can throw them much easier with much less effort.
The change that he implemented that increased his fame and influence probably more than anything was his change of how the art was trained. Up to this point, practice was done in kata format, which was students executing moves without resistance. The eye pokes, groin grabs, fish hooks, striking techniques, and other dangerous techniques that were part of the art couldn’t be executed full force with resistance. Kano got rid of these more dangerous techniques and had students practice randori, or free sparring.
He actually did little as far as innovation of techniques. His syllabus of 1895 actually only had about 45 throws in it, and most of these were part of Koryo Jiu-Jitsu. What he did was to get students to become more effective at applying what they knew.
Kano opened his Judo school in 1882. He was only 22 years old. More and more people joined his school, and Koryo Jiu-Jitsu students would challenge his Kodokan Judo students, and the Judo students would win easily. He gained a lot of students who changed from Koryo to Judo.
In 1886, the Tokyo police were considering adopting a martial art to train their officers in. A tournament was held to see which system was the most effective. The Judo students won 13 of 15 matches, and the other 2 going to a draw. Most of the wins were by ippon, or a throw where the person lands flat on their back.
By 1887, Kano had over 1,500 students! As the fame of his system grew, traditional Jiu-Jitsu was pushed into the background. By 1911, Judo was part of public school education. He was made a member of the International Olympic committee and sought to make Judo an Olympic sport (which it is today).
Enter Mataemon Tanabe
Everything changed when Mataemon Tanabe entered the scene. He was a practitioner of Fusen Ryu Jiu-Jitsu, which had a lineage traced back to Takeda Motsuge, who was trained as a Buddhist monk and took the name Fusen.
Tanabe challenged the Kodokan Judo school, and a tournament was held. Instead of standing and engaging the Judokas standing, he would sit down. The Judokas knew very little ground work, as their focus was throwing, so Tanabe soundly defeated the Judokas. They were shocked as they had been the dominant force for several years, easily defeating all schools if Jiu-Jitsu up to this point.
Kano, seeing the effectiveness of the submissions on the ground, and Judo’s lack of ground technique, asked Tanabe to teach his curriculum to his Judo students. Fusen Ryu Jiu-Jitsu was incorporated into the Judo curriculum.
Sadly, little is known about Fusen Ryu and Mataemon Tanabe. As Kano absorbed the Fusen Ryu techniques into Judo, Fusen Ryu faded into obscurity. After Tanabe defeated the Judo students, especially up to 1925, there was a huge influence of ground technique (ne waza) to the point that many Judo matches were won and lost on the ground and not standing.
Mataemon Tanabe
In the book that I am summarizing here that I mentioned earlier, there is a section about Yukio Tani that is fascinating. Tani, a Fusen Ryu practitioner, tried to open a Jiu-Jitsu school in England, which soon failed, but then went into a partnership with a British wrestler and showman who arranged that Tani would do challenge matches for the public. Tani, who was only 5 feet tall and 125 pounds, averaged 40 or 50 challenge matches per week for years. He made people put on a gi, and then would throw them and submit them on the ground.
Yukio Tani
Tani, being smaller than most of the British challengers, would often end up on his back and use the guard. He was extremely successful, yet he remained even minded and modest throughout his life, claiming that he was of only average ability in Japan.
Tani was trained in Fusen Ryu by Torajiro Tanabe and/or Mataemon Tanabe. After years of constant fighting and challenge matches, he got tired of this lifestyle and opened a school. Jigor Kano came to England in an effort to expand Judo, and asked Tani if he would agree to call himself a Judoka and his school a Judo school. Judo was very organized and had a lot of prestige, so Tani agreed. Tani was made a 2nd dan black belt in Judo. His story gives an idea how Fusen Ryu faded into obscurity, swallowed up by the larger and more organized Judo.
Monday, February 28, 2011
BJ PENN DID SOMETHING NOBODY ELSE HAS DONE
…and that’s win 2 out of 3 rounds against Jon Fitch.
I sit here on my soapbox, not sad like after UFC 94 or disappointed like I was after UFC 112 and 118. Instead, I was able to leave last Saturday’s fight with a sense of pride because BJ Penn’s hard fight to a draw in the main event made me proud.
I am proud of BJ Penn for always testing himself, going above and beyond what most fighters will ever do and doing so without question or risk of consequence. It is a pleasure to be one of his many supporters and friends.
Jon Fitch, the consensus number 2 welterweight fighter in the world has been competing under the UFC banner since 2005. In this time period he has only lost once to champion Georges St. Pierre in their UFC 87 title match.
BJ Penn was able to silence all doubters and critics Saturday night when the natural lightweight did what no other lightweight fighter on the planet, nor welterweight fighter (outside of GSP) could ever do and that was beat Jon Fitch for two consecutive rounds.
With victory a mere formality, the sound of the 3rd round bell met Penn with a healthy dose of Jon Fitch’s “grinding” style of point fighting that he has cemented his dominance around since entering the UFC.
In the majority of contests the 3rd round would have been scored a 10-9 for Fitch, however, Saturday night two of the ringside officials gave it a 10-8 score. The 10-8 is a score not often seen, not because it is not deserved but because the common judge just doesn’t hand them out often.
When Gray Maynard fought Frankie Edgar for the title in January, that 1st round was a 10-8 round. When George Sotiropoulos got dropped 3 times by punches against Dennis Siver in the first round of their fight one could make the case that that was a 10-8 round as well.
When Jon Fitch sat in BJ Penn’s guard for 4 minutes in round 3 with no advancement in position or attempts to finish the fight, my personal opinion is that if that is a 10-8 round than the previously mentioned bouts were 10-7’s and Gray Maynard should hold the lightweight title.
I don’t want to argue against the score, water under the bridge at this point and I am not even trying to imply that I disagree with it. It is just not common to see and based on historical data an argument can be made against that score for sure.
I tend to look on the bright side in this scenario; BJ took two rounds away from the number 2 guy in the weight class above his natural fighting division. True, there was no victor in their match, and that is too bad, but what BJ proved was that he is top 5, depending on your opinion possibly top 2 or 3 in the world in not one but 2 weight classes.
Penn put it all on the line, and at every corner he puts his legacy in jeopardy to test himself, earn his place in combat history and please his fans.
Job done.
At this point in time, if you look at Penn’s career unbiased and intelligently. If you look at the facts and his record there is a strong case for Greatest Fighter Of All Time. Not because he almost beat Lyoto Machida in an open weight bout, went undefeated at middleweight, or was the most dominant fighter in lightweight history. Not because he is only one of two men to hold two divisional titles, or because he is the only man in the sport to face considerably larger opponents in their prime who not only carry a size advantage, but dominant records with high placement in rankings and high level skill sets. But because, he does it so well, and he never gives up.
BJ Penn, in my opinion, is the best fighter to ever live.
I never give my opinion and I certainly rarely ever write about BJ. I stay neutral on all topics and portray fact in relation to the news. I have on some very rare instances “Blogged” to our readers about circumstances involving BJ that I had inside knowledge of, but for the most part, I just write the news.
Forgetting for a moment that I work and write for BJPENN.COM as an unbiased news reported for our sport. If I worked for www.mma.co.uk dot whatever, I would still publish this story in the same fashion. Because my vision is not skewed with my association. What I say is an unbiased opinion which I tend to lean more on the side of being factual.
BJ Penn beat Jon Fitch for two rounds last Saturday in their three round fight. The world watched in awe as he out game planned the number 2 fighter in the world in route to a draw. The smaller man in the ring, with a more intelligent approach to the fight and a better technical skill set, Penn proved to the world once again why he is “The Prodigy”. And while the sport may have evolved far beyond BJ’s debut in2001 his skill set is still one of the best in the business.
In a time where Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, and Randy Couture where the top names in the sport, when Matt Hughes dominated the welterweight division, BJ Penn was shocking the world and cementing his place amongst that era’s top names as well. And even though those times are long gone, and the Liddell, Ortiz, Couture era is something of the past, BJ Penn is the last of the original greats in modern MMA, still competing and winning at the highest level in the sport in not just one, but two divisions and I am proud of that.
- Pedro Carrasco
I sit here on my soapbox, not sad like after UFC 94 or disappointed like I was after UFC 112 and 118. Instead, I was able to leave last Saturday’s fight with a sense of pride because BJ Penn’s hard fight to a draw in the main event made me proud.
I am proud of BJ Penn for always testing himself, going above and beyond what most fighters will ever do and doing so without question or risk of consequence. It is a pleasure to be one of his many supporters and friends.
Jon Fitch, the consensus number 2 welterweight fighter in the world has been competing under the UFC banner since 2005. In this time period he has only lost once to champion Georges St. Pierre in their UFC 87 title match.
BJ Penn was able to silence all doubters and critics Saturday night when the natural lightweight did what no other lightweight fighter on the planet, nor welterweight fighter (outside of GSP) could ever do and that was beat Jon Fitch for two consecutive rounds.
With victory a mere formality, the sound of the 3rd round bell met Penn with a healthy dose of Jon Fitch’s “grinding” style of point fighting that he has cemented his dominance around since entering the UFC.
In the majority of contests the 3rd round would have been scored a 10-9 for Fitch, however, Saturday night two of the ringside officials gave it a 10-8 score. The 10-8 is a score not often seen, not because it is not deserved but because the common judge just doesn’t hand them out often.
When Gray Maynard fought Frankie Edgar for the title in January, that 1st round was a 10-8 round. When George Sotiropoulos got dropped 3 times by punches against Dennis Siver in the first round of their fight one could make the case that that was a 10-8 round as well.
When Jon Fitch sat in BJ Penn’s guard for 4 minutes in round 3 with no advancement in position or attempts to finish the fight, my personal opinion is that if that is a 10-8 round than the previously mentioned bouts were 10-7’s and Gray Maynard should hold the lightweight title.
I don’t want to argue against the score, water under the bridge at this point and I am not even trying to imply that I disagree with it. It is just not common to see and based on historical data an argument can be made against that score for sure.
I tend to look on the bright side in this scenario; BJ took two rounds away from the number 2 guy in the weight class above his natural fighting division. True, there was no victor in their match, and that is too bad, but what BJ proved was that he is top 5, depending on your opinion possibly top 2 or 3 in the world in not one but 2 weight classes.
Penn put it all on the line, and at every corner he puts his legacy in jeopardy to test himself, earn his place in combat history and please his fans.
Job done.
At this point in time, if you look at Penn’s career unbiased and intelligently. If you look at the facts and his record there is a strong case for Greatest Fighter Of All Time. Not because he almost beat Lyoto Machida in an open weight bout, went undefeated at middleweight, or was the most dominant fighter in lightweight history. Not because he is only one of two men to hold two divisional titles, or because he is the only man in the sport to face considerably larger opponents in their prime who not only carry a size advantage, but dominant records with high placement in rankings and high level skill sets. But because, he does it so well, and he never gives up.
BJ Penn, in my opinion, is the best fighter to ever live.
I never give my opinion and I certainly rarely ever write about BJ. I stay neutral on all topics and portray fact in relation to the news. I have on some very rare instances “Blogged” to our readers about circumstances involving BJ that I had inside knowledge of, but for the most part, I just write the news.
Forgetting for a moment that I work and write for BJPENN.COM as an unbiased news reported for our sport. If I worked for www.mma.co.uk dot whatever, I would still publish this story in the same fashion. Because my vision is not skewed with my association. What I say is an unbiased opinion which I tend to lean more on the side of being factual.
BJ Penn beat Jon Fitch for two rounds last Saturday in their three round fight. The world watched in awe as he out game planned the number 2 fighter in the world in route to a draw. The smaller man in the ring, with a more intelligent approach to the fight and a better technical skill set, Penn proved to the world once again why he is “The Prodigy”. And while the sport may have evolved far beyond BJ’s debut in2001 his skill set is still one of the best in the business.
In a time where Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, and Randy Couture where the top names in the sport, when Matt Hughes dominated the welterweight division, BJ Penn was shocking the world and cementing his place amongst that era’s top names as well. And even though those times are long gone, and the Liddell, Ortiz, Couture era is something of the past, BJ Penn is the last of the original greats in modern MMA, still competing and winning at the highest level in the sport in not just one, but two divisions and I am proud of that.
- Pedro Carrasco
Dana White Speaks the Gospel
Thank you Mr. Dana White. Dana said judges where wrong in BJ Penn Vs. Jon Fitch fight. Dana agrees BJ won first two rounds and Fitch win last, but not 10-8. Fitch then cries that he wants respect from Dana because he fought to a draw. I think Dana said it perfect "you want respect for getting a draw from the judges when you got a draw that you really lost to a 155lb fighter." No Respect Given out by the Pres.
Criteria for Rank in BJJ(from the bjjway.com)
Criteria for Rank in BJJ(from the bjjway.com)
This is a really touchy subject. I have seen adults act like children when it comes to getting promoted in BJJ!
What creates some of this frustration is that most schools do not have a clear set of requirements for advancement. I understand why students can get frustrated.
It took my 11 years to achieve my black belt, and now as an instructor I can shed some light on what instructors are looking for.
You may wonder what your instructor is thinking. When in doubt, trust your instructor. You may ask them where they think you are at, and what you need to do to improve, but you don’t need to ask when you are getting your next belt. Your instructor may be right in assuming that you are over focused on the belt instead of getting better!
I have to mention that not all rank promotions are fair. We are dealing with human beings, and everybody makes mistakes. Occasionally I have seen some students promoted too soon, but more common is that students get held back. Every instructor has their own criteria, and I am not making a judgment about what I think is right and wrong. This article will just give you an idea what some of the criteria are.
Rolling Ability
This is the most important consideration of most instructors for promoting students. I heard one famous instructor say “My black belts don’t get tapped by brown belts, my brown belts don’t lose to my purples, my purples don’t lose to blue belts, and my blue belts don’t get tapped by the white belts.” I don’t believe this is always true. But it will be true most of the time.
At some point you have to try out new techniques and strategies, and whenever you work with something new, it probably won’t be done with perfect timing and technique. I have heard a world champion say that he sometimes gets caught by his brown belts. I have a lot of respect for him for that because that means that he keeps expanding his abilities.
But if your instructor wants to see your best, that is not the time to try out new techniques.
Most instructors will consider the age and size of the student they are considering for promotion compared to other students, but they want to see a blue belt consistently beating most of the blue belts and sometimes catching purples before they are promoted to purple, for example.
What sets BJJ apart from almost every martial art is that every match ends with one person tapping. In the stand up arts, if you are not hitting each other with full power, you don’t always know what would have happened. You may have landed a hook with the front arm to their jaw, they may have landed a kick to your kidneys, but you don’t really know what would have happened.
It is a good thing that each rank is able to control position and submit lower ranks. It keeps the ranks tied to the reality of who can execute vs. a resisting and trained partner. It makes this art difficult to be promoted in because you actually have to represent the rank. If a person wears a brown belt and regularly gets tapped by blue belts, it devalues the rank and the art.
One exception to this is the students who are black belts in one area or one technique of Jiu-Jitsu. I am thinking of Lloyd Irvin’s student, Ryan Hall. He was a purple belt and was regularly tapping black belts with the triangle choke. He was black belt in the triangle, but not necessarily in all other areas of Jiu-Jitsu. When you are a rank, almost all of your abilities should be that rank: a black belt has black mount escapes, black belt side escapes, black belt guard passing, etc…
Time Training (how many years)
Some students are less athletic, may be older, smaller, so their rolling may not be their strongest area. If they are a little weaker in their rolling ability, they will need to make up for it in other areas, like amount of time training, knowledge and teaching ability. However, Jiu-Jitsu is about leverage and technique.
Training Frequency (how often per week)
Someone that trains 6 days per week is going to grow much faster than a student who trains twice per week. But I have heard several instructors say that it takes years to really understand Jiu-Jitsu and training 6 days per week does not give you the depth of understanding that years of training gives you.
Knowledge and Teaching Ability
Some instructors place little emphasis on this and some more, but like I mentioned under total time training, if a student is not able to compete with other students physically, they need to make up for it in other areas.
Competition Record
Some school require competition to get ranked. They may tell their students to win the blue belt division at a major tournament, or several small tournaments, in order to get purple. This can help maintain the integrity of the rank in that you can be somewhat sure that whoever wins a major tournament can represent the rank above them.
Attitude, Service to the School or Organization, & the Loyalty Factor
This is not something that will get you promoted as much as if you violate the loyalty rule, you can be sure that you won’t be promoted. One of the best ways to not get promoted is to train at a lot of different schools! When instructors feel that you are disloyal, many will become very cold with you, and may even kick you out. Most instructors will tell some version of a common story, “I trained ________ for 3 years, put a lot of work into that guy, then he switched over to ________ and now he’s winning tournaments with that guy’s logo on his back, and they are getting all the credit, and I am getting none.”
There is even a term in Portuguese for students who jump from teacher: “creonte.”
The Bottom Line
Earning rank in BJJ is no easy task. Anything worth having is worth working for and a rank in BJJ is a perfect example.
This is a really touchy subject. I have seen adults act like children when it comes to getting promoted in BJJ!
What creates some of this frustration is that most schools do not have a clear set of requirements for advancement. I understand why students can get frustrated.
It took my 11 years to achieve my black belt, and now as an instructor I can shed some light on what instructors are looking for.
You may wonder what your instructor is thinking. When in doubt, trust your instructor. You may ask them where they think you are at, and what you need to do to improve, but you don’t need to ask when you are getting your next belt. Your instructor may be right in assuming that you are over focused on the belt instead of getting better!
I have to mention that not all rank promotions are fair. We are dealing with human beings, and everybody makes mistakes. Occasionally I have seen some students promoted too soon, but more common is that students get held back. Every instructor has their own criteria, and I am not making a judgment about what I think is right and wrong. This article will just give you an idea what some of the criteria are.
Rolling Ability
This is the most important consideration of most instructors for promoting students. I heard one famous instructor say “My black belts don’t get tapped by brown belts, my brown belts don’t lose to my purples, my purples don’t lose to blue belts, and my blue belts don’t get tapped by the white belts.” I don’t believe this is always true. But it will be true most of the time.
At some point you have to try out new techniques and strategies, and whenever you work with something new, it probably won’t be done with perfect timing and technique. I have heard a world champion say that he sometimes gets caught by his brown belts. I have a lot of respect for him for that because that means that he keeps expanding his abilities.
But if your instructor wants to see your best, that is not the time to try out new techniques.
Most instructors will consider the age and size of the student they are considering for promotion compared to other students, but they want to see a blue belt consistently beating most of the blue belts and sometimes catching purples before they are promoted to purple, for example.
What sets BJJ apart from almost every martial art is that every match ends with one person tapping. In the stand up arts, if you are not hitting each other with full power, you don’t always know what would have happened. You may have landed a hook with the front arm to their jaw, they may have landed a kick to your kidneys, but you don’t really know what would have happened.
It is a good thing that each rank is able to control position and submit lower ranks. It keeps the ranks tied to the reality of who can execute vs. a resisting and trained partner. It makes this art difficult to be promoted in because you actually have to represent the rank. If a person wears a brown belt and regularly gets tapped by blue belts, it devalues the rank and the art.
One exception to this is the students who are black belts in one area or one technique of Jiu-Jitsu. I am thinking of Lloyd Irvin’s student, Ryan Hall. He was a purple belt and was regularly tapping black belts with the triangle choke. He was black belt in the triangle, but not necessarily in all other areas of Jiu-Jitsu. When you are a rank, almost all of your abilities should be that rank: a black belt has black mount escapes, black belt side escapes, black belt guard passing, etc…
Time Training (how many years)
Some students are less athletic, may be older, smaller, so their rolling may not be their strongest area. If they are a little weaker in their rolling ability, they will need to make up for it in other areas, like amount of time training, knowledge and teaching ability. However, Jiu-Jitsu is about leverage and technique.
Training Frequency (how often per week)
Someone that trains 6 days per week is going to grow much faster than a student who trains twice per week. But I have heard several instructors say that it takes years to really understand Jiu-Jitsu and training 6 days per week does not give you the depth of understanding that years of training gives you.
Knowledge and Teaching Ability
Some instructors place little emphasis on this and some more, but like I mentioned under total time training, if a student is not able to compete with other students physically, they need to make up for it in other areas.
Competition Record
Some school require competition to get ranked. They may tell their students to win the blue belt division at a major tournament, or several small tournaments, in order to get purple. This can help maintain the integrity of the rank in that you can be somewhat sure that whoever wins a major tournament can represent the rank above them.
Attitude, Service to the School or Organization, & the Loyalty Factor
This is not something that will get you promoted as much as if you violate the loyalty rule, you can be sure that you won’t be promoted. One of the best ways to not get promoted is to train at a lot of different schools! When instructors feel that you are disloyal, many will become very cold with you, and may even kick you out. Most instructors will tell some version of a common story, “I trained ________ for 3 years, put a lot of work into that guy, then he switched over to ________ and now he’s winning tournaments with that guy’s logo on his back, and they are getting all the credit, and I am getting none.”
There is even a term in Portuguese for students who jump from teacher: “creonte.”
The Bottom Line
Earning rank in BJJ is no easy task. Anything worth having is worth working for and a rank in BJJ is a perfect example.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Dave Camarillo Bio
Coming from a family that had a rare dedication to the sport of judo, David Camarillo was practically raised on grappling mats. His father, Jim, was the founder and head of the Bakersfield, Calif.-based South Valley Judo Club, and for David and his older brother, Dan, training in judo was not a choice, but a way of life. Through South Valley Judo, Jim Camarillo trained many junior national and national champion judokas, and the demanding training regiment he set for his sons laid the foundation for their uniquely successful careers in both judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
David trained almost exclusively under his father until the age of 18 (1996), when he moved on to Fresno State Judo, where he would stay for two years. During that time, he made a total of seven trips to Japan, where he trained at (among other places) the prestigious Tsukuba University, with many Olympic and World champion judokas. While he was in Fresno, David suffered a knee injury that prevented his tachi waza training (standup fighting in judo) and limited him to strictly ne waza (mat training). During this time, no-holds-barred fighting competitions were starting to taking place in America and were being dominated by ground fighters, most notably the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which was won convincingly by Brazilian fighter Royce Gracie. In the early UFCs, Gracie utilized his family's original style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to submit boxers, shootfighters and karate fighters with relative ease. Upon seeing the performances by Gracie in the UFC, the Camarillo's assumed, as many other judokas did, that his fighting style was the same as the one they had been raised on.
Hampered with the knee injury that forced him to train on the ground only, it was the perfect time for David to investigate Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He found an academy in Pleasant Hill, Calif. that was run by Cesar and Ralph Gracie. From the first day he trained with the Gracie's, David began to notice major differences between judo and BJJ-most notably jiu-jitsu's emphasis on technique over strength, something that has become a defining theme in his own teaching today. For someone that prefers to let free weights collect dust while he spends countless hours on the mat, it was a perfect fit. In fact, David progressed at a rate that few ever have in BJJ, earning his blue belt after just ten practices. After a year of making the three-hour treks to the Bay Area to train jiu-jitsu, David moved there permanently, taking a teaching position at the Gracie Academy and joining the judo team at San Jose State University, the most dominant club in collegiate judo history.
Combining his newfound ground skills with almost 20 years of judo training, David was soon dominating high caliber competitions in both sports. He was quickly earning a reputation in judo circles for his show-no-mercy, submission-style of fighting. Never having been satisfied with simply pinning opponents for a victory in judo, David's jiu-jitsu skills were enabling him to armbar and choke out his foes in ways many judokas had never seen. His cross-training reputation followed him to the jiu-jitsu circuit, where his judo skills quickly gained notice. In a commentary on David's abilities as an overall grappler, OntheMat.com once said, "It's funny that everybody in Judo is scared of David's ne waza and everybody in Jiu-Jitsu is scared of his stand up. (We) guess people in general are just scared of him." They weren't the only people taking notice of David's extraordinary grappling game-after he dominated the lightweight and open weight classes at the 1998 Rickson Gracie American Jiu-Jitsu Association tournament, the legendary Rickson Gracie himself bestowed the honor of Most Technical American Jiu-Jitsu Fighter upon David. The recognition was well deserved, as it would take him just six years to receive his black belt in BJJ, four of which were spent as a brown belt.
His accomplishments as a competitor have continued to mount over the years (David also tried his hand at No Holds Barred fighting, winning the 1998 Folsom Free Fighting Challenge), but he has also established himself as a top-notch teacher and coach. He brings a rare blend of world class takedown and ground fighting skills to his classes, as well as an easy going, amiable personality that enables him to connect with anyone that sits in on a class. David has amassed a large following of students not only at the main Ralph Gracie academy in Mountain View, Calif., but several Ralph Gracie affiliates that he has opened in Northern California. In September of 2003, he branched out even further, taking over the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., where his wealth of grappling knowledge has become a valued resource among the gym's NHB fighters. His students continue to show that his tremendous ability as a competitor carries over to his instruction, in both grappling and mixed-martial arts events. David has trained and prepared many notable fighters, including WEC/IFC World Bantamweight champion Cole Escovedo, Pride/ UFC veteran Sean Sherk and top-ranked 155-pound fighter Josh Thomson. In addition, David's services are sought throughout the United States and internationally for seminars and private instruction.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Royce Gracie Bio
Royce Gracie Bio (@bjjheroes)
Royce Gracie is a legendary Jiu Jitsu and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter. Being the son Helio Gracie – one of the fathers of BJJ – Royce held the Gracie family torch high while helping to built the sport of MMA and bringing awareness to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu through his famous victories in the early UFC’s. In 2003 Royce Gracie was also inducted in UFC hall of fame.
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Royce Gracie’s Details
Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Royce Gracie
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Main Titles:
3x UFC Champion (UFC I – 1993, UFC II – 1994, UFC IV – 1994)
Team/Association: Gracie Jiu Jitsu
Royce Gracie Biography
Royce Gracie was born on the 12th of December in 1966 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Being a son of the famous Grand Master Helio Gracie, his introduction to Jiu Jitsu came when he was still a toddler, learning from his father and his older brothers: Rorion, Relson, Rickson and Royler (all important BJJ figures of their own merit).
He had his first competition when he was 8 years old, and started giving classes when he was 14. Because of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s federation rules, Royce was only awarded his blue belt when he was 16, and a few months before reaching the minimum age requirements to receive the black belt (18) his father decided to bend the regulations a little and awarded Royce his black belt in a ceremony co-hosted by his brother Rickson Gracie. Not long after, Royce joined his older brother Rorion in the United States where he helped teach the new born Gracie Academy there.
In 1992 Royce took part in the event that would change the face of combat sports forever and make Royce Gracie one of the most recognizable faces in the fighting world. The Event was called the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a challenge where martial artists would gather to decide which was the most dominant style in a no-holds-barred style of event, similar to the “Vale-Tudo” fights that made his uncles (Carlos, Oswaldo and George), father (Helio), Cousin (Carlson) and brother (Rickson) famous before him. The event was planned out by Royce Gracie’s brother, Rorion Gracie with the help of John Milius and Art Davie. Royce won the tournament being the lightest fighter in the competition. This was one of the first official No-Holds-Barred events in America, though Royce had already been a part of a few closed door NHB encounters in his native Brazil.
Royce would fight again in the second, third and fourth event, winning the second and the fourth while failing to win the final of the third due to an injury that happened in the semi-final match.
In 1998 Royce accepted a Jiu Jitsu challenge, something not common for him. The opponent was Wallid Ismail, a student of his uncle Carlson Gracie, who had been challenging him for years. He (Wallid) believed the Carlson school of thought was stronger then Helio’s (to which Royce was a star pupil) and wanted a chance to prove it. Wallid had already defeated Renzo Gracie and Ralph in previous events, as the feud grew between the Amazonian and Royce. The fight was taken with special rules and many believed Royce to be untouchable at the time, but the fight proved that Royce’s long absence from grappling tournaments had taken its tow as Wallid finished Royce quickly with a Clock Choke (Relógio).
The battle of words between Royce and Wallid didn’t stop after the event, but the two never met again in competition. Royce went back to MMA, where he had a successful career fighting in most important shows available, Pride FC, K1 Dynamite and a quick return to the UFC. His career ended only blemished by the positive testing for anabolic steroids (nandrolone) after his win against Kazushi Sakuraba in 2007. Royce refuted the California State Athletic Commission, but the stain on his resume was never removed.
After the death of Grand Master Helio Gracie, Royce Gracie decided to go back to the “old days” in honour of his master and father. He hanged his coral belt (Royce is a 7 Grau BJJ representative, thus black and red belt) and started wearing a navy blue belt, just like the Gracie Jiu Jitsu representatives used to wear prior to the creation of the Jiu Jitsu federation in 1969. During those early days, Jiu Jitsu had two colours, white (for students) and blue (for instructors).
Royce Gracie is a legendary Jiu Jitsu and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter. Being the son Helio Gracie – one of the fathers of BJJ – Royce held the Gracie family torch high while helping to built the sport of MMA and bringing awareness to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu through his famous victories in the early UFC’s. In 2003 Royce Gracie was also inducted in UFC hall of fame.
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Royce Gracie’s Details
Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Royce Gracie
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Main Titles:
3x UFC Champion (UFC I – 1993, UFC II – 1994, UFC IV – 1994)
Team/Association: Gracie Jiu Jitsu
Royce Gracie Biography
Royce Gracie was born on the 12th of December in 1966 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Being a son of the famous Grand Master Helio Gracie, his introduction to Jiu Jitsu came when he was still a toddler, learning from his father and his older brothers: Rorion, Relson, Rickson and Royler (all important BJJ figures of their own merit).
He had his first competition when he was 8 years old, and started giving classes when he was 14. Because of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s federation rules, Royce was only awarded his blue belt when he was 16, and a few months before reaching the minimum age requirements to receive the black belt (18) his father decided to bend the regulations a little and awarded Royce his black belt in a ceremony co-hosted by his brother Rickson Gracie. Not long after, Royce joined his older brother Rorion in the United States where he helped teach the new born Gracie Academy there.
In 1992 Royce took part in the event that would change the face of combat sports forever and make Royce Gracie one of the most recognizable faces in the fighting world. The Event was called the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a challenge where martial artists would gather to decide which was the most dominant style in a no-holds-barred style of event, similar to the “Vale-Tudo” fights that made his uncles (Carlos, Oswaldo and George), father (Helio), Cousin (Carlson) and brother (Rickson) famous before him. The event was planned out by Royce Gracie’s brother, Rorion Gracie with the help of John Milius and Art Davie. Royce won the tournament being the lightest fighter in the competition. This was one of the first official No-Holds-Barred events in America, though Royce had already been a part of a few closed door NHB encounters in his native Brazil.
Royce would fight again in the second, third and fourth event, winning the second and the fourth while failing to win the final of the third due to an injury that happened in the semi-final match.
In 1998 Royce accepted a Jiu Jitsu challenge, something not common for him. The opponent was Wallid Ismail, a student of his uncle Carlson Gracie, who had been challenging him for years. He (Wallid) believed the Carlson school of thought was stronger then Helio’s (to which Royce was a star pupil) and wanted a chance to prove it. Wallid had already defeated Renzo Gracie and Ralph in previous events, as the feud grew between the Amazonian and Royce. The fight was taken with special rules and many believed Royce to be untouchable at the time, but the fight proved that Royce’s long absence from grappling tournaments had taken its tow as Wallid finished Royce quickly with a Clock Choke (Relógio).
The battle of words between Royce and Wallid didn’t stop after the event, but the two never met again in competition. Royce went back to MMA, where he had a successful career fighting in most important shows available, Pride FC, K1 Dynamite and a quick return to the UFC. His career ended only blemished by the positive testing for anabolic steroids (nandrolone) after his win against Kazushi Sakuraba in 2007. Royce refuted the California State Athletic Commission, but the stain on his resume was never removed.
After the death of Grand Master Helio Gracie, Royce Gracie decided to go back to the “old days” in honour of his master and father. He hanged his coral belt (Royce is a 7 Grau BJJ representative, thus black and red belt) and started wearing a navy blue belt, just like the Gracie Jiu Jitsu representatives used to wear prior to the creation of the Jiu Jitsu federation in 1969. During those early days, Jiu Jitsu had two colours, white (for students) and blue (for instructors).
Eduardo Telles Bio (@bjjheroes.com)
Eduardo Telles
Eduardo Telles is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Fabio Gurgel and one of the most criative grapplers in the World. Famed for being a fan of the “Esquijitsu” (weird Jiu Jitsu) he created several atacks from the turtle guard, revolutionizing what once was defensive position. He also created several trademark setups from a position that became famous as the “Octupus Guard”.
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Eduardo Telles in Detail
Full Name: Eduardo Telles Moreira
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Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Eduardo Telles
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Mains Achievements (BJJ):
Pan American Champion (2007);
Brazilian National Champion – CBJJE (2008);
World Silver Medallist (1999 – Purple Belt);
3x World Bronze Medallist (2000 – Brown Belt, 2008 and 2010 Black Belt);
2x Pan American Silver Medallist (2005, 2006);
3x Brazilian National Silver Medallist (2001, 2005, 2006);
3x Pan American Bronze Medallist (2002 – Pesado and Absolute, 2004 Pesado)
Favourite Position: Turtle Guard, Octopus Guard.
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Weight Category: Pesado, Super Pesado and Pesadissimo
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Team/Association: Nine Nine.
Eduardo Telles Biography
Eduardo Telles Moreira was born in 1976 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Telles entered the martial arts world through Karate when he was a teenager, Jiu Jitsu already existed in Sao Paulo at the time, but the academies were scarse and the only contact Telles had with Jiu Jitsu was when he spent time in Rio de Janeiro, his father’s home town. Telles’s family held a house there, in famous surfing and BJJ spot of Tijuca where Eduardo would hear about Jiu Jitsu for the first time.
After the UFC premiered and Royce Gracie won the first championship, Jiu Jitsu boomed in Sao Paulo and Telles’s Karate gym opened a schedule for BJJ. That was when Telles met his first instructor, Fernando Yamasaki, with whom he stayed until he received his blue belt. At this time Eduardo had to stop his tuition under Yamasaki as he moved to the United States (San Diego) to learn English, in the process he met Carlos Valente and trained with him for the duration of his term in the US.
Telles received his purple belt from Mr Valente and then moved back to Sao Paulo to train under Fabio Gurgel. At Gurgel’s academy he met Fernando Augusto “Tereré” with whom he became good friends, as well as Demian Maia and other Jiu Jitsu personalities who were all training under Mr Gurgel. At the Alliance Head Quarters gym, Telles technique grew heaps and bounds and the close contact with Augusto (who was already rapidly turning into a legend of the sport) was one of the reasons for this surge. The Alliance gym also served as a laboratory for Eduardo Telles’s experiments with Jiu Jitsu technique that he would develop to adapt to his “scrambly” grappling style.
He went on to get a Silver Medal in 1999 at the Mundial (World Championship) as a purple belt and a Bronze Medal the following year as a brown belt, and so it came as no surprise when he received his Black Belt the following year. By then Eduardo Telles’s style of fighting started standing out, and many in the BJJ community started branding it “Esquijitsu”, which means something along the lines of “Weird Jiu Jitsu”. This was due to the award positions in which Telles would put himself.
In 2002 the Alliance Team split and Eduardo Telles followed the path of the dissidents and helped open the Master Team and later the Brasa Team. The Brasa Team also had complications and so joining forces with his friend Fernando Augusto (whom Eduardo also considered his master) Telles opened the TT team (TT standing for Telles and “Terere”).
TT was successful from the start with some students showing that the team had tremendous potential, unfortunately by the end of 2004 Fernando Augusto entered his personal struggle with drug dependance and depression, and so the team was terminated. Telles decided to open another academy, this time presided by himself which he called Nine Nine, the meaning behind that name was that 99 is a reference in proximity to the number 100 which means perfection, the goal of Telles.
After setting up his academy Telles started his Mixed Martial Arts career (MMA) a quick submission of Rubens Xavier eaned him another call to the rings, this time against the experienced and heavy favourite, Gracie Barra’s Rafael “Sapo”. Telles won again in the first round by massive head kick. His first defeat would come from the hands of another fellow jiu jitsu practitioner, the experienced Landro Silva “Batata” from Nova Uniao, this defeat made Telles understand the necessity of joining a professional MMA team, and so he joined the famous X-Gym in Rio de Janeiro, headquarters to the Black House MMA team were some of the best UFC fighters train, people like Anderson Silva, Machida the Nogueira Brothers and many others.
Eduardo Telles is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Fabio Gurgel and one of the most criative grapplers in the World. Famed for being a fan of the “Esquijitsu” (weird Jiu Jitsu) he created several atacks from the turtle guard, revolutionizing what once was defensive position. He also created several trademark setups from a position that became famous as the “Octupus Guard”.
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Eduardo Telles in Detail
Full Name: Eduardo Telles Moreira
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Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Eduardo Telles
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Mains Achievements (BJJ):
Pan American Champion (2007);
Brazilian National Champion – CBJJE (2008);
World Silver Medallist (1999 – Purple Belt);
3x World Bronze Medallist (2000 – Brown Belt, 2008 and 2010 Black Belt);
2x Pan American Silver Medallist (2005, 2006);
3x Brazilian National Silver Medallist (2001, 2005, 2006);
3x Pan American Bronze Medallist (2002 – Pesado and Absolute, 2004 Pesado)
Favourite Position: Turtle Guard, Octopus Guard.
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Weight Category: Pesado, Super Pesado and Pesadissimo
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Team/Association: Nine Nine.
Eduardo Telles Biography
Eduardo Telles Moreira was born in 1976 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Telles entered the martial arts world through Karate when he was a teenager, Jiu Jitsu already existed in Sao Paulo at the time, but the academies were scarse and the only contact Telles had with Jiu Jitsu was when he spent time in Rio de Janeiro, his father’s home town. Telles’s family held a house there, in famous surfing and BJJ spot of Tijuca where Eduardo would hear about Jiu Jitsu for the first time.
After the UFC premiered and Royce Gracie won the first championship, Jiu Jitsu boomed in Sao Paulo and Telles’s Karate gym opened a schedule for BJJ. That was when Telles met his first instructor, Fernando Yamasaki, with whom he stayed until he received his blue belt. At this time Eduardo had to stop his tuition under Yamasaki as he moved to the United States (San Diego) to learn English, in the process he met Carlos Valente and trained with him for the duration of his term in the US.
Telles received his purple belt from Mr Valente and then moved back to Sao Paulo to train under Fabio Gurgel. At Gurgel’s academy he met Fernando Augusto “Tereré” with whom he became good friends, as well as Demian Maia and other Jiu Jitsu personalities who were all training under Mr Gurgel. At the Alliance Head Quarters gym, Telles technique grew heaps and bounds and the close contact with Augusto (who was already rapidly turning into a legend of the sport) was one of the reasons for this surge. The Alliance gym also served as a laboratory for Eduardo Telles’s experiments with Jiu Jitsu technique that he would develop to adapt to his “scrambly” grappling style.
He went on to get a Silver Medal in 1999 at the Mundial (World Championship) as a purple belt and a Bronze Medal the following year as a brown belt, and so it came as no surprise when he received his Black Belt the following year. By then Eduardo Telles’s style of fighting started standing out, and many in the BJJ community started branding it “Esquijitsu”, which means something along the lines of “Weird Jiu Jitsu”. This was due to the award positions in which Telles would put himself.
In 2002 the Alliance Team split and Eduardo Telles followed the path of the dissidents and helped open the Master Team and later the Brasa Team. The Brasa Team also had complications and so joining forces with his friend Fernando Augusto (whom Eduardo also considered his master) Telles opened the TT team (TT standing for Telles and “Terere”).
TT was successful from the start with some students showing that the team had tremendous potential, unfortunately by the end of 2004 Fernando Augusto entered his personal struggle with drug dependance and depression, and so the team was terminated. Telles decided to open another academy, this time presided by himself which he called Nine Nine, the meaning behind that name was that 99 is a reference in proximity to the number 100 which means perfection, the goal of Telles.
After setting up his academy Telles started his Mixed Martial Arts career (MMA) a quick submission of Rubens Xavier eaned him another call to the rings, this time against the experienced and heavy favourite, Gracie Barra’s Rafael “Sapo”. Telles won again in the first round by massive head kick. His first defeat would come from the hands of another fellow jiu jitsu practitioner, the experienced Landro Silva “Batata” from Nova Uniao, this defeat made Telles understand the necessity of joining a professional MMA team, and so he joined the famous X-Gym in Rio de Janeiro, headquarters to the Black House MMA team were some of the best UFC fighters train, people like Anderson Silva, Machida the Nogueira Brothers and many others.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
suprise visitors
Hello all, well the UFC made a visit tonight and I thought it proper to take a field trip for my guys. Mike "Quick" Swick, and Kyle Kingsbury made the journey to Iraq along with two UFC ring girls. Joe Louzon was supposed to be here as well but he busted up his ankel trying to help his brother who got stabbed or something crazy like that, which was a shame because I would have liked to roll with him. Yea they actually rolled with the soldiers. Enclosed is a pic of one of my soldiers who trains with me with Mike, Kyle, and the girls. Enjoy. As a side note I have a pic of the bunker that we use to run sprints. It is now dubbed "The Temple of Doom."
BJJ HEROES.COM BEST BJJ FIGHTERS IN MMA
TOP BJJ FIGHTERS IN MMA (from bjj HEROES.com)
1. Roger Gracie (MMA Record 3-0-0): Probably the easiest pick ever made, Roger’s Jiu Jitsu’s resume is second to none and he is widely considered the best submission grappler on the planet.
2. Marcio Cruz (MMA Record 7-2-0): Marcio Cruz’s career hasn’t been without it’s bumps and bruises, his characteristic slow pace style of fighting has had a hard time adapting to the quick game of MMA, but his BJJ credentials speak for themselves, he is a 2x Open Weight World Champion and there is still a long road ahead of this heavyweight.
3. Xande Ribeiro (2-0-0): Another fantastic fighter from a very good generation of BJJ’ers, he is the brother of one of the all time best fighters in Jiu Jitsu, but he didn’t rest on his brother’s laurels. His career has been plagued with injuries and he is still inexperienced in MMA, but the sky is the limit for this 6x World Champion
4. Ronaldo Souza (MMA Record 12-2-0): Possibly the Jiu Jitsu fighter with the brightest future ahead of him, Jacare’s wild fight style fits perfectly with the MMA game and he has kept busy, unlike most of his counterparts. Jacare should be holding a title in an MMA organization sooner rather then later.
5. Vitor Ribeiro (MMA Record 20-4-0): A long time competitor in MMA, he is today one of the best lightweights in the World, using a very entertaining style always very focussed on submissions.
6. Fabricio Werdum (MMA Record 14-4-1): The 2x World BJJ and 2x ADCC champion has become an overnight sensation for most MMA enthusiasts, but for the die hard “Vai Cavalo” has been around the block for a long time. He has cemented his name in the MMA picture with this win and hopefully he will go on to wear a belt in a major organization one day.
7. Andre Galvao (MMA Record 4-1-0): A 2x World Champion with a bright future ahead of him, like most of his BJJ colleagues here on display he is still new to the game, but already has a few important wins on his resume. He is recently fighting for Strikeforce.
8. Demian Maia (MMA Record 12-2-0): Another former ADCC Champion, Demian has had plenty of success fighting for the World’s premier organization (the UFC) winning several “Submission of the night” bonusses and having fought once for the Middleweight Title (maybe prematurely) losing to the best MMA Pound 4 Pound fighter, Anderson Silva, by decision.
9. Leonardo Santos (MMA Record 7-3-0): Once considered one of the best BJJ lightweights in the World, Leonardo Santos has left Jiu Jitsu for good and picked up a career in MMA. He currently fights for Sengoku
10. Bibiano Fernandes (MMA record 8-2-0): Bibiano has had a rising start in his MMA career, just like in his BJJ career. He is a 3x Black Belt Jiu Jitsu World Champion and holder of two belts in the Dream MMA organization in Japan.
1. Roger Gracie (MMA Record 3-0-0): Probably the easiest pick ever made, Roger’s Jiu Jitsu’s resume is second to none and he is widely considered the best submission grappler on the planet.
2. Marcio Cruz (MMA Record 7-2-0): Marcio Cruz’s career hasn’t been without it’s bumps and bruises, his characteristic slow pace style of fighting has had a hard time adapting to the quick game of MMA, but his BJJ credentials speak for themselves, he is a 2x Open Weight World Champion and there is still a long road ahead of this heavyweight.
3. Xande Ribeiro (2-0-0): Another fantastic fighter from a very good generation of BJJ’ers, he is the brother of one of the all time best fighters in Jiu Jitsu, but he didn’t rest on his brother’s laurels. His career has been plagued with injuries and he is still inexperienced in MMA, but the sky is the limit for this 6x World Champion
4. Ronaldo Souza (MMA Record 12-2-0): Possibly the Jiu Jitsu fighter with the brightest future ahead of him, Jacare’s wild fight style fits perfectly with the MMA game and he has kept busy, unlike most of his counterparts. Jacare should be holding a title in an MMA organization sooner rather then later.
5. Vitor Ribeiro (MMA Record 20-4-0): A long time competitor in MMA, he is today one of the best lightweights in the World, using a very entertaining style always very focussed on submissions.
6. Fabricio Werdum (MMA Record 14-4-1): The 2x World BJJ and 2x ADCC champion has become an overnight sensation for most MMA enthusiasts, but for the die hard “Vai Cavalo” has been around the block for a long time. He has cemented his name in the MMA picture with this win and hopefully he will go on to wear a belt in a major organization one day.
7. Andre Galvao (MMA Record 4-1-0): A 2x World Champion with a bright future ahead of him, like most of his BJJ colleagues here on display he is still new to the game, but already has a few important wins on his resume. He is recently fighting for Strikeforce.
8. Demian Maia (MMA Record 12-2-0): Another former ADCC Champion, Demian has had plenty of success fighting for the World’s premier organization (the UFC) winning several “Submission of the night” bonusses and having fought once for the Middleweight Title (maybe prematurely) losing to the best MMA Pound 4 Pound fighter, Anderson Silva, by decision.
9. Leonardo Santos (MMA Record 7-3-0): Once considered one of the best BJJ lightweights in the World, Leonardo Santos has left Jiu Jitsu for good and picked up a career in MMA. He currently fights for Sengoku
10. Bibiano Fernandes (MMA record 8-2-0): Bibiano has had a rising start in his MMA career, just like in his BJJ career. He is a 3x Black Belt Jiu Jitsu World Champion and holder of two belts in the Dream MMA organization in Japan.
BJJ HEROES TOP TEN BJJ FIGHTERS OF ALL TIME
Greatest BJJ Fighters of All Time
Roger Gracie
1. Roger Gracie, Team Gracie Barra-London
Major Titles: 14x World Champion; ADCC Champion; European BJJ Champion; Pan American Champion; Brazilian National Champion
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Like stated above, the selection is based not only on results but also on the manner in which these fighters obtained their glory. Roger is a rare case of someone that wins pretty much everything he competes in, and does it in incredible fashion. He has won 3 Absolute (open weight) World titles – something never accomplished before him, he has also won more World Championships then anyone and he hasn’t been tapped in competition since he was a blue belt (so I am told). On top of this he has submitted everyone he met in the last few years in both the Gi and NoGi competitions (the only man to survive his onslaught was Ricardo Abreu in 2010). He is not the fastest man in Jiu Jitsu or the most explosive one, or even the strongest one, but what he lacks in any of these fields, he excels in composure and technique… Best Jiu Jitsu practitioner ever, without a shadow of a doubt.
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2. Robson Moura, Team Nova Uniao
Major Titles: 6x World Champion; Pan American Champion
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The most dominant Super featherweight in history is another case of someone who won, and won impressively. He went from winning the Purple Belt World Championship in 1997 to winning the same event – this time as a black belt – only one year later. He reigned that division until 2002 when internal disputes between his team (Nova Uniao) and the federation took him away from CBJJ related tournaments. He then left Brazil to the USA to establish his academy there, only to return in 2007 and win again his division. The gap between his prime days and his successful return to competition at an international event made his accomplishment all the more impressive, and that is why he is placed as number 2.
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3. Pe de Pano, Team Gracie Barra-Rio de Janeiro
Main Titles: 6x BJJ World Champion; 5x BJJ Brazilian National Champion; 8x BJJ Pan American Champion; European Champion; ADCC Champion
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Marcio Cruz was arguably the most hated Jiu Jitsu fighter of his generation, always a trouble maker and hot head, he was also a brilliant fighter with a list of accomplishments longer then his arm. His guard game was second to none and he was probably the brightest star of a camp teeming with talent in what was one of the best Gracie Barra teams to have ever competed. Mr. Cruz is also one of a very small elite group of men that can say they have beat Roger Gracie in competition (2003).
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4. Xande Ribeiro, Team Gracie Humaitá:
Main Titles: 6x World Jiu Jitsu Champion; 4x Pan American Champion; ADCC Champion
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Alexandre might not have been at the top of his game in the World Championships (Mundials) 2010, MMA training and a series of injuries that plagued most of his career hindered his run to another gold medal, but still he made it to the finals. This was a testament of how much of a “gamer” this fighter is, 2 World Titles in the open weight division and 4 more in his weight class are the cement that holds this fighter 4th place of this list.
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5. Roberto Magalhaes “Roleta”, Team Gracie Barra-Rio de Janeiro
Main Titles: 4x World Champion; 4x Pan American Champion
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More recognised in the Jiu Jitsu World as “Roleta” (Roulette), Magalhaes had a legendary guard, with which he defeated most great fighters of his generation. His trademark moves (many created by the man himself) are still used today and his inverted guard is a reference in current Jiu Jitsu evolving as time goes by through the hands of current players. But if not for his amazing technical legacy, he was also a 5x World Champion and a definite stud in the late 1990’s (early 2000’s) Today he is a successful BJJ instructor (one of the many that migrated to the US in the first decade of the XXI’st Century.
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6. Saulo Ribeiro, Team Gracie Humaitá
Main Titles: 5x World Champion; 2x Pan American Champion; World NoGi Champion; 2x ADCC Champion
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His top game was serious business, this Judo and BJJ Black Belt used his superior throws and balance to dominate Jiu Jitsu for many years, winning major tournaments in both BJJ and Submission Wrestling. A peculiarity of Saulo was always his fluctuations in weight categories, going up and down, winning several different divisions.
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7. Royler Gracie Team Gracie Humaitá
Main Titles: 4x World Champion; 2x Pan American Champion; 3x ADCC Champion
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The Gracie-Humaitá head instructor was the first king of the featherweight division in the late 1990’s with wins over all the big names of his time. Though he was only a featherweight, Royler competed often in open weight divisions, spending many years without being submitted and winning against many of his larger opponents, reaching the semi finals of the World Championship’s open weight division in 1997
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8. Fernando Augusto, Team Alliance, Brasa and TT
Main Titles: 6x World Champion; 4x World Cup Champion; Pan American Champion;
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The most charismatic fighter of all time had to be on this list, though his recent history has been less then memorable, he was one of the most loved fighters of his generation. He turned BJJ into more than a martial art or a competitive sport when he competed; he turned it into a true spectacle which helped bring the sport forward. He was also an important card in the open weight divisions reaching it’s finals on several occasions.
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9. Marcelo Garcia, Team Alliance
Main Titles: 3x ADCC champion; 4x World champion at black belt; Pan-Am Champion; 3x Brazilian National Champion
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Marcelinho is another rare case of someone who wins and wins impressively, always looking for the finish, he has been running through the Middleweight division at a World stage for some years (the toughest division in BJJ) and not only does he seem to have an easy time with the Gi (kimono) he also translates his submission based game amazingly well to NoGi competitions. He is today the best Middleweight in the World and definitely one of the best ever.
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10. Rubens Charles, Team Alliance
Main Titles: 5x BJJ World Champion; 4x Pan American Champion
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Hard not to put the former “Terere” student in a top 10 list, he has been at the top of his division for the past 6 years winning 5 of those on a row and finishing 2nd in 2010 at the Mundials (World Championships).
Roger Gracie
1. Roger Gracie, Team Gracie Barra-London
Major Titles: 14x World Champion; ADCC Champion; European BJJ Champion; Pan American Champion; Brazilian National Champion
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Like stated above, the selection is based not only on results but also on the manner in which these fighters obtained their glory. Roger is a rare case of someone that wins pretty much everything he competes in, and does it in incredible fashion. He has won 3 Absolute (open weight) World titles – something never accomplished before him, he has also won more World Championships then anyone and he hasn’t been tapped in competition since he was a blue belt (so I am told). On top of this he has submitted everyone he met in the last few years in both the Gi and NoGi competitions (the only man to survive his onslaught was Ricardo Abreu in 2010). He is not the fastest man in Jiu Jitsu or the most explosive one, or even the strongest one, but what he lacks in any of these fields, he excels in composure and technique… Best Jiu Jitsu practitioner ever, without a shadow of a doubt.
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2. Robson Moura, Team Nova Uniao
Major Titles: 6x World Champion; Pan American Champion
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The most dominant Super featherweight in history is another case of someone who won, and won impressively. He went from winning the Purple Belt World Championship in 1997 to winning the same event – this time as a black belt – only one year later. He reigned that division until 2002 when internal disputes between his team (Nova Uniao) and the federation took him away from CBJJ related tournaments. He then left Brazil to the USA to establish his academy there, only to return in 2007 and win again his division. The gap between his prime days and his successful return to competition at an international event made his accomplishment all the more impressive, and that is why he is placed as number 2.
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3. Pe de Pano, Team Gracie Barra-Rio de Janeiro
Main Titles: 6x BJJ World Champion; 5x BJJ Brazilian National Champion; 8x BJJ Pan American Champion; European Champion; ADCC Champion
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Marcio Cruz was arguably the most hated Jiu Jitsu fighter of his generation, always a trouble maker and hot head, he was also a brilliant fighter with a list of accomplishments longer then his arm. His guard game was second to none and he was probably the brightest star of a camp teeming with talent in what was one of the best Gracie Barra teams to have ever competed. Mr. Cruz is also one of a very small elite group of men that can say they have beat Roger Gracie in competition (2003).
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4. Xande Ribeiro, Team Gracie Humaitá:
Main Titles: 6x World Jiu Jitsu Champion; 4x Pan American Champion; ADCC Champion
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Alexandre might not have been at the top of his game in the World Championships (Mundials) 2010, MMA training and a series of injuries that plagued most of his career hindered his run to another gold medal, but still he made it to the finals. This was a testament of how much of a “gamer” this fighter is, 2 World Titles in the open weight division and 4 more in his weight class are the cement that holds this fighter 4th place of this list.
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5. Roberto Magalhaes “Roleta”, Team Gracie Barra-Rio de Janeiro
Main Titles: 4x World Champion; 4x Pan American Champion
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More recognised in the Jiu Jitsu World as “Roleta” (Roulette), Magalhaes had a legendary guard, with which he defeated most great fighters of his generation. His trademark moves (many created by the man himself) are still used today and his inverted guard is a reference in current Jiu Jitsu evolving as time goes by through the hands of current players. But if not for his amazing technical legacy, he was also a 5x World Champion and a definite stud in the late 1990’s (early 2000’s) Today he is a successful BJJ instructor (one of the many that migrated to the US in the first decade of the XXI’st Century.
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6. Saulo Ribeiro, Team Gracie Humaitá
Main Titles: 5x World Champion; 2x Pan American Champion; World NoGi Champion; 2x ADCC Champion
.
His top game was serious business, this Judo and BJJ Black Belt used his superior throws and balance to dominate Jiu Jitsu for many years, winning major tournaments in both BJJ and Submission Wrestling. A peculiarity of Saulo was always his fluctuations in weight categories, going up and down, winning several different divisions.
.
7. Royler Gracie Team Gracie Humaitá
Main Titles: 4x World Champion; 2x Pan American Champion; 3x ADCC Champion
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The Gracie-Humaitá head instructor was the first king of the featherweight division in the late 1990’s with wins over all the big names of his time. Though he was only a featherweight, Royler competed often in open weight divisions, spending many years without being submitted and winning against many of his larger opponents, reaching the semi finals of the World Championship’s open weight division in 1997
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8. Fernando Augusto, Team Alliance, Brasa and TT
Main Titles: 6x World Champion; 4x World Cup Champion; Pan American Champion;
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The most charismatic fighter of all time had to be on this list, though his recent history has been less then memorable, he was one of the most loved fighters of his generation. He turned BJJ into more than a martial art or a competitive sport when he competed; he turned it into a true spectacle which helped bring the sport forward. He was also an important card in the open weight divisions reaching it’s finals on several occasions.
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9. Marcelo Garcia, Team Alliance
Main Titles: 3x ADCC champion; 4x World champion at black belt; Pan-Am Champion; 3x Brazilian National Champion
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Marcelinho is another rare case of someone who wins and wins impressively, always looking for the finish, he has been running through the Middleweight division at a World stage for some years (the toughest division in BJJ) and not only does he seem to have an easy time with the Gi (kimono) he also translates his submission based game amazingly well to NoGi competitions. He is today the best Middleweight in the World and definitely one of the best ever.
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10. Rubens Charles, Team Alliance
Main Titles: 5x BJJ World Champion; 4x Pan American Champion
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Hard not to put the former “Terere” student in a top 10 list, he has been at the top of his division for the past 6 years winning 5 of those on a row and finishing 2nd in 2010 at the Mundials (World Championships).
Grandmaster Helio
Helio Gracie is arguably the most important figure in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. One of the first Gracie Jiu Jitsu representative in the 1930′s and 1940′s he is also the father and master of many fighters who carried the name of BJJ to Martial Arts main stream in the early 1990′s, such as Royler, Rickson and Royce Gracie. His lineage and legacy is one of the strongest in Jiu Jitsu and he is seen as one of the fathers of the Brazilian grappling art.
Helio Gracie in Detail
Favorite Technique: Cross Choke.
Weight Category: There were no weight categories at the time he competed, but Helio walked around at around 65kg (139lbs)
Main Competitive Achievements: He was Brazil’s number 1 ranked fighter in Vale-Tudo (no-holds-barred) for most of his competitive career, and the number 1 Gracie fighter with just two fight losses on his resume.
Team/Affiliation: Gracie Jiu Jitsu.
Helio Gracie Biography
Born in October 1st 1913, Helio was the youngest son of Gastao Gracie, a third generation Scotsman. There were 9 brothers and sisters, and Helio stood out since the beginning due to his body type; tall and lanky he was the complete opposite of his brothers who were shorter, and stockier.
Helio’s childhood was a troubled one, his family went bankrupted when he was young and in 1921 they had to move from Belem do Para (his native town) to the big city, Rio de Janeiro. All these changes in his early life didn’t go without effect and he started suffering from chronic dizziness and his health was precarious, mostly due to his psychological instability.
In the last years of the Gracies stay in Belem do Para, his older brother Carlos got to meet Misuyio Esai Maeda (aka Count Coma ), who was a Jiu Jitsu and Kodokan Judo black belt who had come to Brazil with the intent of divulging the Japanese Martial Arts. His brother started training regularly with Maeda and rapidly became one of his top students. All Carlos learn in the Jiu Jitsu classes he would then try and pass on to his brothers. They would spar regularly, however, Helio wasn’t allowed to be a part of the actual fighting as he was to fragile, instead he would stand aside and try to understand the mechanics of the Jiu Jitsu game.
A few years after the Gracies moved to Rio de Janeiro, in 1925, Carlos Gracie – the eldest managed to fulfil his dream of creating the first Jiu Jitsu Academy. To help him in this new challenge he invited his brothers Helio and George, to come and join him (both because he needed help in the academy and because he wanted to take his brother off their abusive father’s hands).
Helio started rolling (Sparring in Jiu Jitsu) with his brothers, hiding the fact from Carlos who was over protective of his younger brother and feared for his health. When he found out Helio was already advanced in his techniques and was a good spar for his brothers, Carlos allowed his training to continue and accepted him in their normal classes.
George Gracie was an excellent fighter, but lived a wild lifestyle and Helio soon became Carlos star pupil, so much that in 1932 Carlos gave him his first no-holds-barred (old school Mixed Martial Arts bouts were almost no rules were involved), He was 18 years old. the fight was against a boxer by the name of Antonio Portugal and the fight lasted less then a minute as Helio choked his opponent out.
Helio fought several times throughout the next 6 years trying to promote the Gracie academy together with his brothers. At one point George broke with the academy as he wanted to fight Helio to prove who was the best fighter in Rio de Janeiro and Carlos opposed to this.
In 1938 Helio’s career came to a hold as he left the rings and the mats to move to a different town for personal reasons. He came back 12 years later at the age of 38 after a challenge was made to him personally. His opponent was Landufo Caribé, the Bahia Jiu Jitsu Champion who had a different lineage from the Gracies, and to prove his point, Helio finished Caribé quickly.
A year later came the opportunity to fight the mighty Masahiro Kimura, the Jigoro Kano Judoka champion of Japan. The opportunity came after he challenged Mr Kimura a few months earlier, challenge which was refused as Kimura didn’t feel Helio worthy of the match. Helio was made to fight Kato (Japan’s number 2) in order to get to Kimura. Helio fough him and defeated Kato by means of Cross Choke from the closed guard. Only then did Kimura accept the challenge. In Reila Gracie’s book about the Gracie family, it is stated that Kimura was 35Kg heavier (77 pounds), however we were unable to confirm this 100%. Kimura was so convinced of his superiority that he stated to the press that if the fight lasted more than 3 minutes he would consider it a loss.
Masahiro Kimura defeated Helio Gracie by “Kimura Lock” (the submission was named after Masahiro after this match) in 13 minutes (far after the 3 minute mark) which impressed mr Kimura who ended the fight congratulating Helio on his toughness. This was a tough blow on the Gracies, and Jiu Jitsu which had earned a good amount of relevance in Rio de Janeiro. With this decrease in popularity, fights were scarce and Helio turned himself to teaching again.
Carlos Gracie had left the Rio de Janeiro gym, and moved to Fortaleza, Brazil to take care of businesses, he left his sons Carlson Gracie, Rolls and Carlos Junior (Carlinhos) to be taught by Helio.
Helio returned to the mats 5 years later after another challenge was raised by a former student, Waldemar Santana was his name and their fight would go to the record books as the longest no holds barred fight ever recorded (3hours 42minutes), Helio lost due to a soccer kick in the head which left him unconscious.
After this it took another 12 years for him to fight again, in the mean time he dedicated himself into teaching his sons and Carlos Gracie’s sons. Legends in BJJ like Rickson, Royce, Carlson, Rolls, Carlinhos, Relson, Rorion, amongst many others. He dedicated himself to the Gracie legacy, Jiu Jitsu. Along the years many came out against him and his hard nose ideas about BJJ, some of them were close family members like Carlson Gracie. But even with all this turmoil there is no questioning that without him, BJJ would have definitely gone a different way and he will always be remembered as Grandmaster Helio Gracie, 10th Dan in Jiu Jitsu and founder of this amazing martial art that so many around the world practice and love.
Helio Gracie in Detail
Favorite Technique: Cross Choke.
Weight Category: There were no weight categories at the time he competed, but Helio walked around at around 65kg (139lbs)
Main Competitive Achievements: He was Brazil’s number 1 ranked fighter in Vale-Tudo (no-holds-barred) for most of his competitive career, and the number 1 Gracie fighter with just two fight losses on his resume.
Team/Affiliation: Gracie Jiu Jitsu.
Helio Gracie Biography
Born in October 1st 1913, Helio was the youngest son of Gastao Gracie, a third generation Scotsman. There were 9 brothers and sisters, and Helio stood out since the beginning due to his body type; tall and lanky he was the complete opposite of his brothers who were shorter, and stockier.
Helio’s childhood was a troubled one, his family went bankrupted when he was young and in 1921 they had to move from Belem do Para (his native town) to the big city, Rio de Janeiro. All these changes in his early life didn’t go without effect and he started suffering from chronic dizziness and his health was precarious, mostly due to his psychological instability.
In the last years of the Gracies stay in Belem do Para, his older brother Carlos got to meet Misuyio Esai Maeda (aka Count Coma ), who was a Jiu Jitsu and Kodokan Judo black belt who had come to Brazil with the intent of divulging the Japanese Martial Arts. His brother started training regularly with Maeda and rapidly became one of his top students. All Carlos learn in the Jiu Jitsu classes he would then try and pass on to his brothers. They would spar regularly, however, Helio wasn’t allowed to be a part of the actual fighting as he was to fragile, instead he would stand aside and try to understand the mechanics of the Jiu Jitsu game.
A few years after the Gracies moved to Rio de Janeiro, in 1925, Carlos Gracie – the eldest managed to fulfil his dream of creating the first Jiu Jitsu Academy. To help him in this new challenge he invited his brothers Helio and George, to come and join him (both because he needed help in the academy and because he wanted to take his brother off their abusive father’s hands).
Helio started rolling (Sparring in Jiu Jitsu) with his brothers, hiding the fact from Carlos who was over protective of his younger brother and feared for his health. When he found out Helio was already advanced in his techniques and was a good spar for his brothers, Carlos allowed his training to continue and accepted him in their normal classes.
George Gracie was an excellent fighter, but lived a wild lifestyle and Helio soon became Carlos star pupil, so much that in 1932 Carlos gave him his first no-holds-barred (old school Mixed Martial Arts bouts were almost no rules were involved), He was 18 years old. the fight was against a boxer by the name of Antonio Portugal and the fight lasted less then a minute as Helio choked his opponent out.
Helio fought several times throughout the next 6 years trying to promote the Gracie academy together with his brothers. At one point George broke with the academy as he wanted to fight Helio to prove who was the best fighter in Rio de Janeiro and Carlos opposed to this.
In 1938 Helio’s career came to a hold as he left the rings and the mats to move to a different town for personal reasons. He came back 12 years later at the age of 38 after a challenge was made to him personally. His opponent was Landufo Caribé, the Bahia Jiu Jitsu Champion who had a different lineage from the Gracies, and to prove his point, Helio finished Caribé quickly.
A year later came the opportunity to fight the mighty Masahiro Kimura, the Jigoro Kano Judoka champion of Japan. The opportunity came after he challenged Mr Kimura a few months earlier, challenge which was refused as Kimura didn’t feel Helio worthy of the match. Helio was made to fight Kato (Japan’s number 2) in order to get to Kimura. Helio fough him and defeated Kato by means of Cross Choke from the closed guard. Only then did Kimura accept the challenge. In Reila Gracie’s book about the Gracie family, it is stated that Kimura was 35Kg heavier (77 pounds), however we were unable to confirm this 100%. Kimura was so convinced of his superiority that he stated to the press that if the fight lasted more than 3 minutes he would consider it a loss.
Masahiro Kimura defeated Helio Gracie by “Kimura Lock” (the submission was named after Masahiro after this match) in 13 minutes (far after the 3 minute mark) which impressed mr Kimura who ended the fight congratulating Helio on his toughness. This was a tough blow on the Gracies, and Jiu Jitsu which had earned a good amount of relevance in Rio de Janeiro. With this decrease in popularity, fights were scarce and Helio turned himself to teaching again.
Carlos Gracie had left the Rio de Janeiro gym, and moved to Fortaleza, Brazil to take care of businesses, he left his sons Carlson Gracie, Rolls and Carlos Junior (Carlinhos) to be taught by Helio.
Helio returned to the mats 5 years later after another challenge was raised by a former student, Waldemar Santana was his name and their fight would go to the record books as the longest no holds barred fight ever recorded (3hours 42minutes), Helio lost due to a soccer kick in the head which left him unconscious.
After this it took another 12 years for him to fight again, in the mean time he dedicated himself into teaching his sons and Carlos Gracie’s sons. Legends in BJJ like Rickson, Royce, Carlson, Rolls, Carlinhos, Relson, Rorion, amongst many others. He dedicated himself to the Gracie legacy, Jiu Jitsu. Along the years many came out against him and his hard nose ideas about BJJ, some of them were close family members like Carlson Gracie. But even with all this turmoil there is no questioning that without him, BJJ would have definitely gone a different way and he will always be remembered as Grandmaster Helio Gracie, 10th Dan in Jiu Jitsu and founder of this amazing martial art that so many around the world practice and love.
BJJ HYGIENE
Personal Care
Personal Care
Hygiene: Attention to personal hygiene is a must. Students should be clean and free of foul orders. In order for the class to maintain the highest standards of hygiene the following rules must me followed:
Finger and toenails must be trimmed short.
Hair if long must be pulled back and secured.
A daily bath and use of under arm deodorant is required
No lubricants, analgesic cream, and or skin creams may be worn that may place an inconvenience to the opponent or allow an unfair advantage to the wearer of such products.
The kimono and or training attire shall be washed and thoroughly clean prior to every use.
The uniform shall be in good condition and have no foul orders including tobacco smoke
The Jiu-Jitsu belt shall not be washed
Earrings and all others body piercing, wrist and ankle bracelets and rings with exceptions to wedding bands are prohibited. Wedding bands can be worn as long as they are covered with athletic tape
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
@danawhite what's up Dana. Look you don't know me, but a buddy of mine that I train BJJ and MMA with was recently deployed over seas. He's a purple belt and is training some of the guys he is stationed with over there. I know you and the UFC do a lot for our troops but was wondering if maybe you could donate some equipment to them for their training. The address is SSG Spellman, Eric. N, D-CO 1/185TH CAB, COB Spiecher, APO AE 09393. Thanks for any help you can give.
nighthawks
Here are some training pics from tonight. We had a killer cardio workout using a bunker behind the gym, we did sprints up the bunker then 10 burpees at the top. We did this ten times. Then we went inside and killed our abs, which we do every night, then went into some technique. I went over three mount escapes. Everyone is really enjoying the workouts and learning BJJ.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Well we made it back to jack town after a long tournament day @ The Gulf Coast Open. It was a long day on the mats for the team. All the guys and girls competed hard but sad to say we did not come out on top today. Troy had one gi match and one no gi match he came out on short end in both, he had to compete in the ultra heavy division against guys that out weighed him by 40-50lbs. Mike L. Lost his Gi match after his opponent escaped a triangle. Perry H. Lost his no gi match due to a Kimora as time ran out. The match was tied 2-2. Alisha M. Lost her gi match to a collar choke. They put all women in same division no matter weight or skill. Danny W. Also lost his gi match to kimora. The kids did well and represented the school well. Jarrett B. Only coached today due to his opponent pulling out due to injury. Jarrett coached his heart out for us and I feel bad that we couldn't come out on top for him. But this one is over and now we move on to the next one. We will start training Monday for the COPA in Atlanta Ga on March 5th. Thanks for your support.
ROLLED TONIGHT
Hi everyone. I got to roll tonight and had a class of 6 people, with more to come. The mats we have here are pretty bad, really old and dusty. I'm in the process of ordering us some new ones, Dollomur Flexi roll home mats. I'm getting 4, 10x10's. We started out with some circuit training and rolls, then we went over an armbar from the guard. The guys got a lot out of it and had fun. It feels really good getting back on the mats. Looking back on it, its been like 4 months since I have rolled. Far too long! I wanted to congratulate everyone on a awsome job at NAGA, and can't wait to hear about the Gulf Coast Classic!
Good Training!
"The Desert Scorpion"
Good Training!
"The Desert Scorpion"
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
2 Days Before NAGA US NATIONALS
The foundation has been laid. All the hard work has been put in. All the bull****, has been put up with. The injuries are starting to heal. The team has come together. All the dealing with everyday life struggles and stress has been overcome. We have done all we can do to prepare. We have already won. We are just going to collect our swords. We will not be judged by the final outcome because we won by not giving up on the journey. And ours is a journey that never ends. The day the journey ends is the day we end. It is what it is. It ain't what it ain't.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Good night of training. Did matches with Jarrett, Troy, & Alisha. Have regained some of my strength & endurance. Was able to move again tonight. I had been pushed to my mental breaking point last Friday night. Came back Saturday and had a couple of light rolls with Jarrett & Todd Merchant. Feel like I'm starting to recover. Need weight to be down to 175 by thursday. Was at 179 when I got home tonight. 177 this morning.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
"TIGER"
Wow, I have been watching my brothers and sisters train on www.reapercrew4life.com and I am telling you what, it awakens my inner tiger! For those of you who wonder, "where is that spellman guy"? I am currently serving my country in a foriegn land. Now, this is not my first deployment and saying that, i have to say that if you have ever loved something, or anything in your life and had to willingly give it up for a period of time then you will know where I am coming from. Jiu-Jitsu is a way of life for me! I have watched close friends in our community (Jiu-Jitsu community) have to do without training because of injury or sickness, and it burns them up not being able to train and compete, but this is a different type of hunger I'm talking about, to be sound in mind and body, but to not have the resources and time is painfull to say the least. I have read my buddies blogs, Marshall Thompson on, www.theunkownwarrior.com about these same type of pains and how he overcame them. There is a mental aspect of our game that goes beyond that of any other sport I have been a part of, and what it has helped me learn is this, that no matter what posistion I may find myself in, there is always an open door, always a little wiggle room, basically there is always hope. The "gental art" is a glorious thing to be a part of. It provides help to those in the "Flavelas" of Brasil to overcome viloence, it helps the intraverted child break free from his or her shell, and it helps me, talking, watching video, reading, writing and trying to be a part of "it" when the actuall movement cannot be attained. Just some food for thought, as you can tell, I am real ready to train, I almost laugh at this when I read it but I am sure some will understand where all of this is coming from. I can run all day, lift weights and do plyometrics but I am not satisfied with a singular non -combatant type of exersice. So my tiger style is paitently waiting to unleash itself on some poor sole here real soon. Good training.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Marshall Thompson
If you need to get motivated today go check out Marshall Thompson at http://www.theunknownwarrior.com Trust me you won't be dissatisfied.
Dr. Rhadi
If you want to do a great workout that requires no weights or equipment go check out Dr. Rhadi Ferguson's, body weight workout at http://www.thebodyweightworkout.com
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The desert scorpion
Well here I am guys, I have been invited to post so I will contribute what I can from "over here". I wish I could say I'm training my arse off but I have not had to the chance to. I miss hitting the mats with all of you and can't wait to get back to it. I will be ordering mats and teaching as much as I can here shortly, I already have about 20 troops who want to train, so that will be good. I will post video. There is alot of sand and crazy desert weather here, so my reaper code name will be the desert scorpion until I get back. Good training to all who are competeing at NAGA, train hard and listen to the dictates of Travis and Jerrett. Know that I wish I could be sharing blood, sweat and tears with all of you.
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