GRACIE JIU JITSU

The history of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) goes back through the Gracie family to their original teacher, Mitsuyo Maeda (Conde Coma), and his training in the Kodokan, the home of Judo. Mitsuyo Maeda settled in Brazil and opened an academy of "Jiu Jitsu". One of his students was a young man named Carlos Gracie.After studying with Maeda for several years during the 1920's, Carlos opened his own academy in 1925. Carlos and his brothers established a solid reputation by issuing the now famous "Gracie Challenge". Several members of the Gracie family began to emigrate to the United States in the late 1980's. BJJ became world famous in the mid 1990's when Royce Gracie won a string of victories in the early (UFC) competitions.BJJ is divided into three broad categories, each mutually supportive of the others: self-defense (including striking techniques and unarmed techniques against armed opponents), free fighting competition (commonly referred to as "vale tudo" or "anything goes" events, now popularly called MMA), and sport grappling with and without the gi (matches that include a wide range of submission holds, but no striking). The overall fighting strategy of BJJ is designed to equip a physically smaller or weaker individual with an effective method of defending against a larger and stronger attacker.There are numerous health benefits you can expect from learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. These include improvements in your physical strength, endurance, flexibility, and speed. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a lot of fun and you will feel refreshed once you come out of each class. Aside from knowing how to defend yourself, you will also gain self-confidence, self-discipline, self-control and respect for others.