Background

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) jujitsu or jujutsu goes back through the Gracie family to their original teacher, Mitsuyo Maeda, also known as Conde Coma. Mitsuyo Maeda trained at the Kodokan,the home of Judo, and was one of the greatest fighters in history. He was a Sumo fighter and a lifelong champion of Jiu-Jitsu’s self-defense techniques. Made was sent around the world by the Kodokan to spread Judo, and faced opponents across differing martial sports.

In July 1914  he landed in Brazil, and in 1917 settled in Belem and opened an academy of Jiu Jitsu. One of his students was Carlos Gracie. Other students were Luiz França and Oswaldo Fadda. Carlos Gracie with his brothers opens his first academy of jiujitsu and took Meada’s technique to real street fighting.

Issue the Gracie Challenge

All challengers were welcome to come and fight with the Gracies in no-holds-barred (NHB) matches. The Gracie fighters emerged victorious against fighters of all different backgrounds.
Hélio Gracie gradually further developed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a softer, pragmatic adaptation from judo that focused on ground fighting, as he was unable to perform many judo moves that require direct opposition to an opponent’s strength.

Carlos Gracie would go on to have 21 offspring, 13 of whom became black-belts.  Helio would have 10 children that all did jiujitsu. The Gracies are now in the 4th generation  of BJJ practitioners.

Strengthening the art and adding one more link to the chain

Although the Gracie family is typically synonymous with BJJ, another prominent lineage started from Maeda via another Brazilian disciple, Luiz França. This lineage had been represented particularly by Oswaldo Fadda.
Jiu-Jitsu came to international prominence in the martial arts community in the early 1990s, when Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Royce Gracie won the first, second and fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships, which at the time were single elimination martial arts tournaments.

About Jiu Jitsu

• grappling-based martial art
• central tenet  is the skill of controlling a resisting opponent in ways that force him to submit
• control is generally easier on the ground
• taking an opponent down to the ground
• wrestling for dominant control positions from where the opponent can be rendered harmless
• designed to equip a physically smaller or weaker individual with an effective method of defending against a larger and stronger attacker
• leverage is the secret to the amplification and most efficient use of force
• utilizing superior leverage, grip and position upon your opponent
• Students gain a deep understanding of the workings and limits of the human body
• used to subdue and control an opponent with whatever level of severity the student chooses

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is divided into three broad categories

• 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
• sport grappling with and without the gi matches that include a wide range of submission holds, but no striking 

Class Schedules (Judo / Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)