Over four centuries ago in northern India, Buddhist monks were busy going about the dangerous work of trying to

spread the word of ‘Buddha’ in a world that wasn’t always kind to roaming peoples. In order to defend themselves from attacks that happened along the way, they developed a form of grappling that allowed them to subdue opponents without killing them. Eventually this style of fighting made its way to Japan where it was improved upon and called jujutsu or jiu- jitsu. Judo is a derivative of jiu- jitsu.

The Japanese sought to hide jujutsu and its derivatives from the western world, but nothing lasts forever. In 1914, Kodokan Judo master Mitsuyo Maeda (1878-1941) came to stay at the household of Brazil’s Gastao Gracie. Gracie helped Maeda with business in the area and in appreciation of this, Maeda taught Gastao’s eldest son, Carlos, the art of judo. In turn, Carlos taught the other children in the family what he knew, including the smallest and youngest of his brothers, Helio.

Helio often felt at a disadvantage when practicing with his brothers because many of the moves in judo favored the stronger and larger fighter. Thus, he developed an offshoot of Maeda’s teachings that favored leverage over brute strength and refined the formula for fighting from one’s back on the ground. Today the art that Helio refined is called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Characteristics of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art based in ground fighting. Along with this, it teaches takedowns, takedown defense, ground control, and especially submissions. Submissions refer to holds that either cut off an opponent’s air supply (chokes) or look to take advantage of a joint (such as armbars).

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters tend to feel very comfortable fighting from a position called the guard, if need be. The guard position-- in essence, wrapping one's legs around an opponent to limit their movement-- is what allows them to fight from their backs so effectively, and is also something that separates their art from most other grappling styles.

Basic Goals of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters look to take their opponents to the ground. When on top they generally hope to escape their opponents’ guard and move to either side control (positioned across an opponents’ chest) or the mount position (sitting over their ribs or chest). From there, depending on the situation, they may choose to continually strike their opponent or set up a submission hold.

When on their backs, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters are very dangerous. From the guard various submission holds can be employed. They may also seek to turn their opponent over in an attempt to reverse their fortunes.

Royce Gracie Proves Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s Worth

On November 12, 1993, Helio's son Royce showed the world what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu could do by taking home the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) trophy in an open weight, barely-any-rules tournament. Even more impressive was the fact that at only 170-pounds he went on to win three of the first four UFC Championship Tournaments.