What is brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art and combat sport with a focus on ground fighting and grappling, joint locks and chokeholds are used to defeat the opponent.
BJJ is a sport anyone can benefit from, not only does it promote physical fitness and mental agility the skills learnt can be used in self-defence.
the history of bjj
The Gracie family were pioneers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which has roots in Judo and Japanese JuJutsu.
Carlson Gracie was passionate about coaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to the lower classes of Brazil, something that hadn't been done by the Gracie family before (his uncle Helio Gracie had also built a student following).
In 1973 Jiu-Jitsu was recognised as a legal sport in Brazil allowing for official, organised, events to take place. Once tournaments started taking place a competitive rivalry emerged between the Gracie family. Helio Gracie's students (Gracie Academy) would compete against Carlson Gracie's (Carlson Gracie Academy).
The competition between the family members led to the deterioration in their relationship which came to a head when Carlson Gracie's star pupil Sergio Iris defeated Helio Gracie's student and son Rorion Gracie. At the time Carlson's win celebration was viewed negatively by Helio, only adding to the frictions between them.
This alone wasn't the only reason for the differences between the family members. Helio Gracie very much focused on Jiu Jitsu as a form of self-defence whereas Carlson very much developed sport Jiu-Jitsu believing in a healthy competitive spirit and a more active style of attack.
Carlson Gracie trained many top competitors such as Ricardo De La Riva and Cassio Cardoso. Carlson Gracie died in 2006.
brazilian jiu-jitsu
