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HISTORY OF JIU JITSU

By Benjamin Strusnik, July 01, 2022

The art of Jiu Jitsu has become an exceedingly popular form of Martial Arts. The self defense aspect of BJJ has always held significance, and now with the international rise of the sporting side of BJJ, it is becoming possibly the most highly respected art form in the world.

What This Article Covers:

The bjj philosophy is outstanding as it has integral and humble qualities, which are rarely seen in the world of Martial Arts. BJJ practitioners are among some of the most audacious and gifted athletes to step into an international competition scene. The evolution of the art has seen a prolific rise since the humble beginnings, to the now highly intensive and complicated combative form.

Let Tom DeBlass help you understand one of the most under-utilized means of Guard Retention, The Art of Framing!

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THE ORIGINAL JIU JITSU

Before Helio Gracie developed his own style of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there was an even older form of Martial Arts that inspired it all. The history of jiu jitsu originated in Japan, with the Japanese educator and athlete, Kano Jigoro who became famous in the 19th century. In 1877 Kano Jigoro attended the Tokyo Imperial University, as he started searching for teachers of Jiu Jitsu. Kano knew that a doctor that had extensive experience with Martial Arts would have to be a better teacher than a regular instructor. During his search Kano found Yagi Teinosuke, who was predominantly a student of Emon Isomata in the Tenjin Shinyo Ryu school of Jujitsu. After a brief time at Emon's school, he was introduced to Fukuda Hachinosuke, another doctor who taught Tenjin Shinyo Ryu jiu jitsu principles in a small matted room.

Fukuda had a clinical training methodology, which consisted of break fall after break fall. This was important to Fukuda as he could not stress enough the importance of understanding the mechanics of how to correctly break fall. Fukuda's main philosophy was to allow his students to learn through randori which was a free form of training rather than traditional kata. Once a student had learnt a certain proficiency in his art form, only then would he teach details into the traditional kata. Fukuda's Academy was a difficult place to train at, because of the straw mats which were laid over the wooden floors, meaning this was exceptionally hard to execute break falls in a safe manner.

Kano Jigoro always had trouble competing against a senior student at his academy named Fukushima Kanekichi. As a result of Kano's failures he began trying out different Martial Art techniques on his rival. First he tried Sumo techniques

which had no effect on Fukushima, this forced Kano to keep on studying. Kano tried a wrestling technique called a fireman's carry which seem to work, he also executed a kata guruma which is a shoulder throw now apart of the Judo arsenal. Kano was now getting somewhere, as his understanding of technical application was improving at an exponential rate.

On the 5th of August in 1879, Kano took part in a demonstration of Jujitsu in front of the former United States president Ulysses S. Grant. This demonstration gave Kano some prominent notoriety as he continued his research. After his instructor passed away he began collaborating with Iso Masatomo, who was a close friend of Fukuda. Iso was known for his expertise in traditional kata and atemi, which was the striking of vital areas. Due to Kano's experience with randori he became one of Iso's most prolific instructors. In 1881, at only 21 years of age, Fukuda's widow passed on the deed of her late husband's school to Kano Jigoro.

Kano was impressed as he watched a demonstration of Yoshin Ryu Jujitsu by Totsuka Hikosuke. Kano wondered why is jiu jitsu so effective for Totsuka's students, so after the demonstration he took part in some randori to see how he would fare. Kano soon realised that simply training harder would not cut it against the calibre of Jiujitsu fighters. This was the first realisation that Kano needed to be smarter so he began combining components from different Martial Art styles. Kano began training in Kito Ryu with Likubo Tsunetoshi, who was extremely experienced at kata and throwing techniques. It was Likubo who awarded Kano his certification and rank in teaching Jiu Jitsu. Kano started improving at a fast pace as he began to overtake Likubo in skills, as a result of this Likubo shared all of his books and manuscripts of Kito Ryu Jujitsu.

Kano had now successfully combined the throwing elements from Kito Ryu, and the submission principles from Shinyo Ryu. Kano also added his own discoveries and founded the first remeninse of Kodokan Judo. Kano's system of Judo was then introduced into Japanese public schools in 1906, where many students began to flourish. Kano taught many students including one of his prized pupils, Mitsuyo Maeda who ended up travelling to Brazil in an attempt to spread Kano Jigoro's Martial Art.

HOW DID BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU EVOLVE FROM JAPANESE JIU JITSU

The evolution of BJJ began with Mitsuyo Maeda, who was one the elite experts in Kodokan Judo and one of Kano Jigoro's top students. Mitsuyo had first trained in the art of Sumo as a young man, and after hearing the stories about the success of Kodokan Judo at local competitions, he decided to join Kano Jigoro's ranks. In 1904 Kano Jigoro sent Mitsuyo Maeda to a number of different countries to help spread the art of Judo. Mitsuyo would take on many challenges throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, including boxing, savate, pro wrestling and hybrid versions of grappling which incorporated strikes.

In 1914 Mitsuyo settled in Brazil, and by 1916 he was offered a job by a prominent businessman named Gastao Gracie. In the city of Belem Gastao was a business partner of the American Circus, as they presented Mitsuyo Maeda and his Judo demonstration. Gastao's eldest son Carlos Gracie was at the Da Paz Theatre in Rio de Janeiro, where he watched Mitsuyo demonstrate his Martial Arts. After a meeting set up by Gastao, Mitsuyo agreed to accept Carlos as his student. For the next five years Carlos was one of Mitsuyo's top students as he discovered a passion for Martial Arts. Eventually Carlos would teach his knowledge to his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George and Helio who would all become future famous bjj black belts.

The turning point for the evolution of Jiu Jitsu was after Helio began struggling with many of the Judo techniques. Helio was a smaller and lighter framed man compared to his brothers, so he began developing his own adapted system of ground fighting. Helio's version of Martial Arts was built around the concept of weak versus strong, as the techniques he mastered worked against larger and stronger opponents. Helio had effectively designed a system of adapted takedowns, positional control, fast paced transitions and a series of leverage based joint locks and savage choke holds. Helio's brothers joined in and further developed the art that they now called Gracie jiu jitsu.

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THE RISE OF BJJ AND THE FEUD WITH LUTA LIVRE

As the Gracie brothers began to develop their Martial Art over the 1930’s and 40's, they would soon discover a fierce rival. A man by the name of Euclydes “Tatu” Hatem would wonder why is bjj so popular, as he thought his style of Martial Arts was better. Euclydes was already a professional catch wrestler and was also recognised as the master of Luta Livre. The art of Luta Livre was a No Gi style of Vale Tudo that had a no holds barred ruleset attached. Euclydes was trying to put Luta Livre on the map as the number one Martial Art in Brazil, and at the same time so was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. BJJ or at the time was known as Gracie Jiu Jitsu, was emerging as the number one combat sport in South America. The Gracie clan led by Carlos Gracie were challenging anyone and everyone from all styles of Martial Arts. As the two Martial Arts battled to become the number one, it was one fight that sealed the fate and kicked off a heated rivalry between Luta Livre and Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

A fierce match between Euclydes Hatem and George Gracie happened in 1940. Although the records are hazy, the source shows that Euclydes defeated George with an Americana submission. As the Gracie clan were known for their formidable style of winning, Luta Livre stole the bragging rights. As a result of this fight a fierce rivalry kicked off between both camps, as subsequent fights over the next 50 years sparked animosity between both styles of fighting. A grudge match emerged after Rolls Gracie retalliated from an incident which saw a Gracie minor copping a beating, Rolls went on to beat up the head instructor of the Naja academy. All this achieved was more animosity, as Marco Ruas a representative of Luta Livre challenged Fernando Pinduka a Gracie clan member. The fight was an intense battle that ended in a draw, but one of Ruas' students did end up defeating a Gracie, as this just deepened the blood feud between the camps.

After Marco Ruas' impressive fight against Fernando Pinduka, many Brazilians rumoured that Ruas would be the man to defeat the undefeated Jiu Jitsu champion, Rickson Gracie. During the 80’s it was a turbulent time, as the Gracie's and Luta Livre fighters alike would dojo storm and look to inflict damage on each other's students. Rickson Gracie went to Ruas’ gym to challenge him, but Ruas would decline the offer to fight straight away, as he asked for more time to prepare. Rickson was furious as he wanted to fight then and there, as the two argued one of Ruas' students stepped in and accepted Rickson's challenge, saying he would fight the Gracie's anytime. Hugo Duarte would face Rickson Gracie on Pepe Beach, as the word spread of the fight a crowd gathered to watch the spectacle. With cameras rolling Rickson Gracie monstered Hugo Duarte and forced him to give up with vicious ground and pound from the mount position.

After the defeat, Hugo Duarte was frustrated with his loss so he decided to gather up a bunch of about 50 Fighters in an attempt to invade the Gracie Academy. In this brutal attack there were weapons including firearms, as the Luta Livre fighters took the feud too far. As Hugo's crew arrived at the Gracie Academy, they were met by an elderly Helio Gracie, who organised the rabble into a fair fight. Helio convinced Eugenio Tadeu to fight Royler Gracie and Hugo Duarte to fight against Rickson Gracie for a second time. Rickson repeated the dose by once again securing another ground and pound win from the mount. Before Eugenio and Royler could fight the police showed up and broke up the fights.

In 1991 Walid Ismail gave an interview to a local news paper, where he went on to say that Luta Livre was just a bad copy of BJJ. Of course this did not sit well with the Luta Livre fighters so they staged another daunting invasion. Robson Gracie was the facilitator for the Nastra Cup which was a local BJJ tournament. During the competition a gang of Luta Livre fighters infiltrated the event, but as they tried to engage Carlson Gracie intervened and settled everything down. Carlson had resolved the situation by scheduling a Luta Livre vs BJJ public challenge fight. This challenge would end up becoming one of the craziest combat events in the history of the sport. The Luta Livre Vs BJJ showdown even got TV time, which was largely due to the Gracie clan's influence. This event was a no holds barred contest that saw Brazilian Jiu Jitsu become the clear winners of the night. Walid Ismail, Fabio Gurgel, and Murilo Bustamante all won their fights against Eugenio Tadeu, Denilson Maia, and Marcelo Mendes, giving the ultimate bragging rights to the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Just when the Gracie's had triumphed over Luta Livre another rivalry heated up again, this time it was Renzo Gracie vs Eugenio Tadeu under the Pentagon Combat banner. As the fight began, many Luta Livre supporters lashed out and sparked riots. There was chaos everywhere as weapons including firearms were used, causing dozens of injuries. As a result of this chaotic event, Vale Tudo received a nationwide ban, which resulted in Luta Livre never really recovering.

THE BIRTH OF BJJ IN AMERICA

As a result of the chaos between Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Luta Livre, Helio decided to take his art to the United States of America. Rorion Gracie was the Gracie clan manager due to his proficiencies in speaking English. Rorion would spread the art throughout Hollywood, as he choreographed fight scenes for movies like Lethal Weapon. The Gracie's opened an Academy where they taught Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to many Americans.

Let Tom DeBlass help you understand one of the most under-utilized means of Guard Retention, The Art of Framing!

In the early 90's Rorion had a significant interest in a brand new televised event called the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In this contest they would pit all styles of fighting against each other to see which Martial Art was the best. Rorion would choose his younger brother Royce to take the centre of the octagon. Royce was the most inexperienced of the Gracie brothers, but he still managed to put the Gracie name on the map by winning the event. After the publicity attached with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu went through the roof as many people worldwide lined up to learn this exciting new style of Martial Arts.

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