While mixed martial arts includes many forms of fighting and not just Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, one can hardly ignore the impact of this South American fighting style and the family that started it all - The Gracie Family.
The first Gracie to enter the world of martial arts was Carlos Gracie, the oldest son of circus owner Gastao Gracie. The circus presented a series of Kodokan Judo demonstrations by Master Mitsuyo Maeda, and after Carlos saw Maeda's performance, he asked to become a student of this form of Judo. Maeda, one of the world's greatest fighters of all time with more than 2,000 fights in his career, agreed and taught his skill set to his eager young student. Carlos then opened a martial arts school, first teaching his brothers and then enlisting them as instructors. For Carlos, martial arts served as a way of life, as well as a way to protect his brothers from a tyrannical father.
The youngest boy in the family was Helio, and he was just fourteen when he came to live with his brothers. However, Carlos felt he was far too weak to train and instruct at the school, so Helio merely watched his brothers and students in action. He learned enough from observing that he was able to act as an instructor one day when Carlos was late to class. When Carlos arrived, he found to his surprise that Helio had taken over the class, and was even more surprised when the student asked to continue taking lessons from Helio. Carlos agreed, and Helio became an official instructor.
Because of his limited physical strength, Helio was unable to use many of Carlos' techniques. So he modified each technique to provide an advantage for a smaller or weaker fighter. Between Carlos influence on the art and Helio's adaptation, the Gracie method of Jiu-Jitsu was developed.
Helio Gracie's son Rorion is another important member of the clan. Rorion cut his teeth on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before he even had all of his teeth, and was doing demonstrations of the art form before he turned 2. He decided to immigrate to the United States in the late 1970s and start teaching Americans the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. At first, his garage served as his school and soon his brother Royce came to the U.S. and joined him as a teacher. Eventually they had acquired 120 students and the garage was hardly a suitable spot anymore, so they moved into a larger facility, officially opening the first school of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1989.
Rorion is also one of the key developers of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which he formed in 1993 along with businessman Art Davie and movie producer John Milius. All three men saw the huge potential of broadcasting the young sport of mixed martial arts live on television. The result was UFC 1, which was broadcast via pay-per-view.
Of course it was yet another Gracie that won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship. Royce Gracie, who had helped his brother start the first American Gracie-BJJ studio, was the victor during this earliest UFC event. He defeated Art Jimmerson in 2:18, Ken Shamrock in less than one minute and Gerard Gordeau in 1:44, all by submission. Overall, Royce holds a pro MMA record of 12-2-3.
The first Gracie to enter the world of martial arts was Carlos Gracie, the oldest son of circus owner Gastao Gracie. The circus presented a series of Kodokan Judo demonstrations by Master Mitsuyo Maeda, and after Carlos saw Maeda's performance, he asked to become a student of this form of Judo. Maeda, one of the world's greatest fighters of all time with more than 2,000 fights in his career, agreed and taught his skill set to his eager young student. Carlos then opened a martial arts school, first teaching his brothers and then enlisting them as instructors. For Carlos, martial arts served as a way of life, as well as a way to protect his brothers from a tyrannical father.
The youngest boy in the family was Helio, and he was just fourteen when he came to live with his brothers. However, Carlos felt he was far too weak to train and instruct at the school, so Helio merely watched his brothers and students in action. He learned enough from observing that he was able to act as an instructor one day when Carlos was late to class. When Carlos arrived, he found to his surprise that Helio had taken over the class, and was even more surprised when the student asked to continue taking lessons from Helio. Carlos agreed, and Helio became an official instructor.
Because of his limited physical strength, Helio was unable to use many of Carlos' techniques. So he modified each technique to provide an advantage for a smaller or weaker fighter. Between Carlos influence on the art and Helio's adaptation, the Gracie method of Jiu-Jitsu was developed.
Helio Gracie's son Rorion is another important member of the clan. Rorion cut his teeth on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before he even had all of his teeth, and was doing demonstrations of the art form before he turned 2. He decided to immigrate to the United States in the late 1970s and start teaching Americans the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. At first, his garage served as his school and soon his brother Royce came to the U.S. and joined him as a teacher. Eventually they had acquired 120 students and the garage was hardly a suitable spot anymore, so they moved into a larger facility, officially opening the first school of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1989.
Rorion is also one of the key developers of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which he formed in 1993 along with businessman Art Davie and movie producer John Milius. All three men saw the huge potential of broadcasting the young sport of mixed martial arts live on television. The result was UFC 1, which was broadcast via pay-per-view.
Of course it was yet another Gracie that won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship. Royce Gracie, who had helped his brother start the first American Gracie-BJJ studio, was the victor during this earliest UFC event. He defeated Art Jimmerson in 2:18, Ken Shamrock in less than one minute and Gerard Gordeau in 1:44, all by submission. Overall, Royce holds a pro MMA record of 12-2-3.
About the Author:
Rod Bourgoine likes writing about mixed martial arts benefits. To get additional information about martial arts in San Diego or to find boxing gyms in San Diego, please check out The Arena MMA site now.
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