The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu revolution and the history of Royce Gracie

I like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ! Such a sophisticated martial art. Maybe the most sophisticated when we speak about ground fighting. 

Evrything began by the travel of a japanese practionner of Judo and "Ju Jutsu" (orginal name of the art, meaning "the art of suppleness") : Mitsuyo Maeda... He was the one who taught Ju Jutsu to Helio Gracie and Carlos Gracie. Years after, Helio changed the techniques and adapted it to his small and slender morphology. Using intelligence, technique and leverage, Helio became the first national hero in Brazil by challenging and beating several martial artists throughout the country. That's how he created : Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, also called Gracie Jiu Jitsu.  

 

The father of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu : HELIO GRACIE 

When Rorion came in the USA, he did as his father did : challenging everybody from several martial arts and beating them. And one day he decided to create a new kind of fighting sport competition where fighters from different style would fight in a cage with no rules, no rounds and  no time limit. It was the born of the ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP (UFC). It was in 1993 in Las Vegas.

There were 16 fighters from : 

 - Boxing

- Wrestling

- Kick-Boxing

- French Savate

- Kung Fu

- Karate

- Judo

- Sumo wrestling

- Korean Tae Kwon Do 

- Muay Thai 

- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

From the whole Gracie familly, it was Royce who was choosen to represent BJJ, espscially because he was looking "undangerous". Royce fought against 3 guys : Art Jimmerson (Boxing), Ken Shamrock (Wrestling) and Gerard Gordeau (French Savate). Royce beat them all in an incredible demonstration of confidence, calm, technique, and the warrior spirit. He looked like a gentleman martial artist who controlled evryting in each fight. He won the first UFC by using Brazilian Jiu Jitsu submission techniques. 

                                       ROYCE GRACIE, the first legend of the UFC

 

Here is a very good documentary who shows all the story of Royce Gracie and the UFC. 

It is just a part of it in youtube.

Click on this link to see the FULL DOCUMENTARY : https://vimeo.com/15607131

NAVY SEAL speaks about real martial arts

Hello fighters from all over the world !

I have recently discovered a very very very interesting man named John "Jocko" Willink on Youtube.
He is a former Navy Seal commander who served from 1990 to 2010, and participated in the well-know battle of Ramadi in Irak.
Now, thanks to his great experience in life, he is a leadership consultant and an MMA gym owner in the USA. He wrote a book called " Extreme Ownership ".

As a member of the elite american special forces, he has experienced martial arts, hand to hand combat systems and knows a lot about what works or not in a real self defense situation. This video is dedicated to the the true, effective, real martial arts. Have a good time !

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu breathing techniques

 These are some breathing techniques used in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to relax before a fight, control emotions such as fear or anger, and also to manage your breath during the fight. 

There are plenty videos where we Rickson Gracie doing this diaphragm repspiration. 

We found those techniques in several disciplines throughout the world such as :
 

- Yoga (it is called "Pranayama")

- Systema (a russian martial art; one of its great master is called Mikhail Ryabko)

Enjoy. Ossss !

Martial Arts Therapy

 

 

"Fight Masters" Mixed-Martial-Arts (National Geographic)

When mixed martial arts (MMA) are analysed by biomechanics
Find four MMA legends featured : BAS RUTTEN - RANDY COUTURE - DEAN LISTER - TITO ORTIZ.

Fedor Emelianenko training compilation

This video compilation shows the training of Fedor Emelianenko, certainly the best MMA fighter or all time.

As for most martial artisits, the physical preparation must be complete. That means you must work on explosivness, strenght, speed, agility, cardio and  flexibility.

You can notice that all his movement are functionnal and compound movements (that means each exercise use several muscles groupes, bones and joints at the same time). 

Even without having a gym membership you can train like an MMA fighter if you find Street Workout bars near your home, and most rarely an abandonned factory to find wheels and heavy charges. Enjoy !