In the 19th century, masters of Japanese martial arts migrated from Japan to other continents, making a living from teaching these arts and the fights they performed.
Mitsuyo Maeda, known as “Count Koma”, was a great practitioner of Judo, being a student of Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo. In 1904, along with other Judo students, Maeda left on a trip around the world to spread Judo, passing through the United States, demonstrating at the West Point Academy, continuing on to Cuba, Mexico, and Central America, in his travels he also learned Catch Wrestling (predecessor of Olympic Wrestling and Pro Wrestling) and arrived in Brazil in 1915; A tour of Japanese wrestlers arrived in Manaus to begin the mission led by Maeda, to disseminate Judo in Brazil; one of the Japanese, Sanshiro “Barriga Preta” Satake, stayed in Manaus and opened the first Judo academy in Brazil, which was at the Atlético Rio Negro Clube. Maeda went to Belém do Pará, where he settled and where the Conde Koma Academy still exists today. One year later, he met Gastão Gracie. Gastão was the father of eight children, five of them men, became enthusiastic about Judo and took his son Carlos Gracie to learn the Japanese fight.
Maeda taught a group that included Luiz França, future teacher of master Oswaldo Fadda. Both started another branch of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil.
Small and frail by nature, Carlos found in Judo (at the time, still known as “Kano Jiu-Jitsu”) the means of personal fulfillment he lacked. At the age of nineteen, he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family, becoming a teacher of this martial art and a fighter. He travelled to other Brazilian states, giving classes and beating physically stronger opponents.
In 1925, when he returned to Rio de Janeiro and opened the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, he invited his brothers Osvaldo and Gastão to advise him and took over the upbringing of the younger boys George, aged fourteen, and Helio Gracie, aged twelve. From then on, Carlos transmitted his knowledge to his brothers, adapting and perfecting the technique to his family’s physical condition.
In order to prove the superiority of Jiu-Jitsu and establish a family tradition, Carlos Gracie challenged the great fighters of the time and managed his brothers’ careers. The Gracie family fought in all-out fights where there were no rules, fights ending in knockouts or finishes.
Fighting opponents twenty, thirty kilos heavier, the Gracie brothers soon achieved national fame and notoriety. Attracted by the new market that opened up around jiu-jitsu, their training emphasised specialisation: after the fall, they took the fight to the ground and used the finishing moves.
By modifying the international rules of Japanese judo and jiu-jitsu in the fights that he and his brothers used to fight, Carlos Gracie started the first case of style, or sport, recognized in the history of Brazilian modalities exported to the world. Years later, the martial art started to be called gracie jiu-jitsu and then came the Brazilian jiu-jitsu, being exported to the whole world, even to Japan.
Hélio Gracie became the great name and promoter of jiu-jitsu, forming many disciples, including Flavio Behring. George Gracie was a pioneer, he travelled all over Brazil, however he stimulated jiu-jitsu mainly in São Paulo, having as students names like Nahum Rabay, Candoca, Osvaldo Carnivalle, Romeu Bertho, Otávio de Almeida, and the great precursor in the state of Pernambuco Jurandir Moura and among others.
Royce Gracie and Rickson Gracie, Hélio Gracie’s sons, were pioneers to take Jiu-Jitsu to the United States and Japan, in the first MMA tournaments: the UFC, Vale Tudo Japan, Pancrase and Pride FC.
At the same time, Luiz França also settled in Rio de Janeiro where he taught the “soft art” in the northern zone of the city. In 1937, he began teaching the art to Oswaldo Fadda, who earned his black belt (obi) five years later. Fadda opened his academy in Bento Ribeiro in 1950. In 1954 he shredded the Gracie and fights were organized between the students of the two schools. Oswaldo Fadda’s students won most of these fights.
From this branch of Brazilian jiu-jitsu initiated by França and Fadda come, Grand Master Luiz Carlos Guedes red belt 9th degree, Masters Vasco Bento,8th degree and Wilson Mattos (from “Team Master Wilson”), Wendell Alexander (co-founder of Academia Nova União along with André Pederneiras), Master Gustavo Souza, Júlio Cesar Pereira, one of the founders of GFTeam (Grappling Fight Team). Cirval Justino (Condor Club). In their academies/teams, now present in several countries, these masters train outstanding athletes both in BJJ and MMA (such as: José Aldo, Leonardo Santos, BJ Penn, Ronaldo Souza, Renan Barão among others).
Today, Jiu-Jitsu is the fastest growing individual sport in the country: it has around 550 thousand practitioners, with 2,500 teaching establishments in the major capitals alone. On the education side, Jiu-Jitsu has become a university subject (University Gama Filho).
With the creation of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, the rules and the graduation system were systematized, but today, others were created by other members of the Gracie Family and by people who left, initiating the era of sports championships with the same rules. Today, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is more organized and has several Confederations and International Federations, but the reference one was founded by Carlos Gracie Jr. as President (of CBJJ and IBJJF) and José Henrique Leão Teixeira Filho as Vice-President of CBJJ. The national and international competitions that have been held confirm the superiority of Brazilian fighters, considered the best in the world, and have projected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as the fastest growing martial art in the world today.
Since 1996, the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships have always been held in Rio de Janeiro, except for 2007, when it took place in the United States of America. Jiu-Jitsu is also one of the main disciplines of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship, the largest competition that encompasses different forms of submission wrestling.
Mitsuyo Maeda, known as “Count Koma”, was a great practitioner of Judo, being a student of Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo. In 1904, along with other Judo students, Maeda left on a trip around the world to spread Judo, passing through the United States, demonstrating at the West Point Academy, continuing on to Cuba, Mexico, and Central America, in his travels he also learned Catch Wrestling (predecessor of Olympic Wrestling and Pro Wrestling) and arrived in Brazil in 1915; A tour of Japanese wrestlers arrived in Manaus to begin the mission led by Maeda, to disseminate Judo in Brazil; one of the Japanese, Sanshiro “Barriga Preta” Satake, stayed in Manaus and opened the first Judo academy in Brazil, which was at the Atlético Rio Negro Clube. Maeda went to Belém do Pará, where he settled and where the Conde Koma Academy still exists today. One year later, he met Gastão Gracie. Gastão was the father of eight children, five of them men, became enthusiastic about Judo and took his son Carlos Gracie to learn the Japanese fight.
Maeda taught a group that included Luiz França, future teacher of master Oswaldo Fadda. Both started another branch of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil.
Small and frail by nature, Carlos found in Judo (at the time, still known as “Kano Jiu-Jitsu”) the means of personal fulfillment he lacked. At the age of nineteen, he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family, becoming a teacher of this martial art and a fighter. He travelled to other Brazilian states, giving classes and beating physically stronger opponents.
In 1925, when he returned to Rio de Janeiro and opened the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, he invited his brothers Osvaldo and Gastão to advise him and took over the upbringing of the younger boys George, aged fourteen, and Helio Gracie, aged twelve. From then on, Carlos transmitted his knowledge to his brothers, adapting and perfecting the technique to his family’s physical condition.
In order to prove the superiority of Jiu-Jitsu and establish a family tradition, Carlos Gracie challenged the great fighters of the time and managed his brothers’ careers. The Gracie family fought in all-out fights where there were no rules, fights ending in knockouts or finishes.
Fighting opponents twenty, thirty kilos heavier, the Gracie brothers soon achieved national fame and notoriety. Attracted by the new market that opened up around jiu-jitsu, their training emphasised specialisation: after the fall, they took the fight to the ground and used the finishing moves.
By modifying the international rules of Japanese judo and jiu-jitsu in the fights that he and his brothers used to fight, Carlos Gracie started the first case of style, or sport, recognized in the history of Brazilian modalities exported to the world. Years later, the martial art started to be called gracie jiu-jitsu and then came the Brazilian jiu-jitsu, being exported to the whole world, even to Japan.
Hélio Gracie became the great name and promoter of jiu-jitsu, forming many disciples, including Flavio Behring. George Gracie was a pioneer, he travelled all over Brazil, however he stimulated jiu-jitsu mainly in São Paulo, having as students names like Nahum Rabay, Candoca, Osvaldo Carnivalle, Romeu Bertho, Otávio de Almeida, and the great precursor in the state of Pernambuco Jurandir Moura and among others.
Royce Gracie and Rickson Gracie, Hélio Gracie’s sons, were pioneers to take Jiu-Jitsu to the United States and Japan, in the first MMA tournaments: the UFC, Vale Tudo Japan, Pancrase and Pride FC.
At the same time, Luiz França also settled in Rio de Janeiro where he taught the “soft art” in the northern zone of the city. In 1937, he began teaching the art to Oswaldo Fadda, who earned his black belt (obi) five years later. Fadda opened his academy in Bento Ribeiro in 1950. In 1954 he shredded the Gracie and fights were organized between the students of the two schools. Oswaldo Fadda’s students won most of these fights.
From this branch of Brazilian jiu-jitsu initiated by França and Fadda come, Grand Master Luiz Carlos Guedes red belt 9th degree, Masters Vasco Bento,8th degree and Wilson Mattos (from “Team Master Wilson”), Wendell Alexander (co-founder of Academia Nova União along with André Pederneiras), Master Gustavo Souza, Júlio Cesar Pereira, one of the founders of GFTeam (Grappling Fight Team). Cirval Justino (Condor Club). In their academies/teams, now present in several countries, these masters train outstanding athletes both in BJJ and MMA (such as: José Aldo, Leonardo Santos, BJ Penn, Ronaldo Souza, Renan Barão among others).
Today, Jiu-Jitsu is the fastest growing individual sport in the country: it has around 550 thousand practitioners, with 2,500 teaching establishments in the major capitals alone. On the education side, Jiu-Jitsu has become a university subject (University Gama Filho).
With the creation of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, the rules and the graduation system were systematized, but today, others were created by other members of the Gracie Family and by people who left, initiating the era of sports championships with the same rules. Today, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is more organized and has several Confederations and International Federations, but the reference one was founded by Carlos Gracie Jr. as President (of CBJJ and IBJJF) and José Henrique Leão Teixeira Filho as Vice-President of CBJJ. The national and international competitions that have been held confirm the superiority of Brazilian fighters, considered the best in the world, and have projected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as the fastest growing martial art in the world today.
Since 1996, the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships have always been held in Rio de Janeiro, except for 2007, when it took place in the United States of America. Jiu-Jitsu is also one of the main disciplines of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship, the largest competition that encompasses different forms of submission wrestling.