Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art indigenous to Brazil. It was founded and developed by the Gracie family. Carlos Gracie learned jiu-jitsu from a Japanese judoka named Maeda who emigrated to Brazil. The art’s roots are derived from pre-war Kodokan Judo, western wrestling, and Maeda’s own insights into combat.


Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu favors pragmatic techniques that were tested in numerous challenge matches by the Gracie clan and their students. In Vale Tudo (which means “anything goes”) tournaments in Brazil, Gracie family members and their students have fought in these no-holds barred fighting matches for over 65 years and have fared very well against a multitude of combative arts both western and asian. Many martial arts have lost their combative rationale. In Japan, for example, the arts of war (bujutsu) were corrupted into budo which means “martial way.” With peace and the modernization of Japan, dangerous and pragmatic techniques gave way to martial arts that emphasized art over practicality as well as emphasizing self-improvement or socialization and eventually sportive competition. Those familiar with pre-war Kodokan Judo understand the rapid transition of Judo towards sport and less on purely combative effectiveness as Kodokan Judo itself veered away from the “old” schools of jiu-jitsu and their often “dangerous” techniques as deemed by Judo’s own founder Jigoro Kano.

The sportive aspect of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is embodied in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. Competitors wear judo “jackets” and pants just like their Judo counterparts except the rules favor strategies and techniques that are oriented towards combat effectiveness.The closest equivalent of Brazilian or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is Ko-sen Judo. The Ko-sen tradition refers to the network of the oldest high schools and universities in Japan which include Tokyo and Kyoto Universities. They hold their own competitions, and their tournaments favor “groundwork” or newaza (in Japanese) just like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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