The Gracie Family is legendary both in the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and in the arena of mixed martial arts, not only as fighters, but also as instructors and developers of this special style of Brazilian martial arts. Without the Gracie's, MMA would arguably be a much different sport.
In 1917, Carlos Gracie was a young man in search of a purpose. His father was a difficult man, the co-owner of a circus. The circus hired Mitsuyo Maeda to present the unique martial art of Kodokan Judo to its audience. After watching Maeda perform, Carlos asked to become one of his students. Maeda agreed, trained Carlos and Carlos in turn taught these skills to his brothers. He then opened a martial arts school with himself and his brothers as instructors, thus securing an income and protecting his family from their abusive father.
With the exception of the sickly youngest brother, Helio, all of Carlos' brothers became instructors at the school. Carlos felt that Helio was simply too weak to train and participate, but Helio was a keen observer and learned much from simply watching the lessons. In fact, he learned enough to take over a class one day when Carlos was running late to the school. The student was impressed by Helio's instruction and asked to continue taking lessons, thus beginning Helio's career as a teacher.
Helio's physical weakness made many of Carlos's techniques difficult, so Helio decided to adapt each technique and modify the skills so that a weaker fighter could successfully beat a stronger and larger opponent. This became the basis for modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and much of its popularity stems from providing a smaller fighter with an advantage in the arena.
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 was a man with vision. Not only did he open the first BJJ school in the United States, he was also responsible for promoting and developing the Ultimate Fighting Championship along with John Milius and Art Davie. The first UFC 1 was a huge success, and mixed martial arts has grown exponentially since that first live broadcast.
Rorion's brother Royce Gracie had his own part in promoting mixed martial arts. Royce was the first UFC champ, defeating three strong opponents during UFC 1 in 1993. Royce defeated Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock and Gerard Gordeau to win the title. Both Shamrock and Gordeau were larger and heavier opponents, but Royce defeated each in 57 seconds and 1:44, respectively.
In 1917, Carlos Gracie was a young man in search of a purpose. His father was a difficult man, the co-owner of a circus. The circus hired Mitsuyo Maeda to present the unique martial art of Kodokan Judo to its audience. After watching Maeda perform, Carlos asked to become one of his students. Maeda agreed, trained Carlos and Carlos in turn taught these skills to his brothers. He then opened a martial arts school with himself and his brothers as instructors, thus securing an income and protecting his family from their abusive father.
With the exception of the sickly youngest brother, Helio, all of Carlos' brothers became instructors at the school. Carlos felt that Helio was simply too weak to train and participate, but Helio was a keen observer and learned much from simply watching the lessons. In fact, he learned enough to take over a class one day when Carlos was running late to the school. The student was impressed by Helio's instruction and asked to continue taking lessons, thus beginning Helio's career as a teacher.
Helio's physical weakness made many of Carlos's techniques difficult, so Helio decided to adapt each technique and modify the skills so that a weaker fighter could successfully beat a stronger and larger opponent. This became the basis for modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and much of its popularity stems from providing a smaller fighter with an advantage in the arena.
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 was a man with vision. Not only did he open the first BJJ school in the United States, he was also responsible for promoting and developing the Ultimate Fighting Championship along with John Milius and Art Davie. The first UFC 1 was a huge success, and mixed martial arts has grown exponentially since that first live broadcast.
Rorion's brother Royce Gracie had his own part in promoting mixed martial arts. Royce was the first UFC champ, defeating three strong opponents during UFC 1 in 1993. Royce defeated Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock and Gerard Gordeau to win the title. Both Shamrock and Gordeau were larger and heavier opponents, but Royce defeated each in 57 seconds and 1:44, respectively.
About the Author:
Rod Bourgoine likes blogging about mixed martial arts benefits. For more information about martial arts in San Diego or to find boxing gyms in San Diego, please check out The Arena MMA website now.
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