Gracie Jiu Jitsu, what is it exactly and what are its origins?

The Mystery of Jiu Jitsu

When you ask almost anyone in the modern Jiu Jitsu community what the origins of Jiu Jitsu are, most will say that it was adapted in Brazil by firstly Carlos and Helio Gracie and then their brothers and eventually a large percentage of their offspring. And that Carlos had learned from Mitsuyo Maeda (Konde Koma), with whom he trained for two years whilst he was visiting Brazil in 1914 during his world tour promoting Judo outside of Japan. Some will even mention that Mitsuyo Maeda was a student in Japan of Jigoro Kano, a master of Ju-Jutsu and credited with creating Judo as we know it today… But few will delve further.

Tracing Ancient Influences

The reality is we don’t know the origins of Jiu Jitsu or Ju-Jutsu, we can only speculate beyond a certain point. Grappling arts themselves have been practiced in various forms for thousands of years, the most common being wrestling. Murals in a tomb in Egypt dating back over 4000 years depict athletes/warriors in a stand-up grappling contest reminiscent of Greco Roman wrestling. Later in Greece around 700BC wrestling was added to the Olympic Games as the first event that was not a footrace. Maybe Pancration would have been a closer fit to Jiu Jitsu in the ancient world, it was introduced into the Olympics 50 years after wrestling and it involved boxing, wrestling, kicking, joint locks and chokes.

The Emergence of Ju-Jutsu

Grappling arts flourished from this point on especially in the form of wrestling, spreading outward from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in all directions. But Ju-Jutsu itself didn’t seem to emerge until much later during the Muromachi Period between 1333 and 1573 and the first school (Ryu) in 1532 which was founded by Master Takenouchi Hisamori. It was during this period that Ju-Jutsu developed to become the aggressive hard style combat art the samurai required on the battlefield when disarmed to overcome an armoured opponent. A situation where striking would be rendered almost useless but joint locks, chokes and leverage would be far more effective in overcoming the protection of body armour.

The Fate of Ju-Jutsu and the Samurai

Ju-Jutsu remained the mainstay of unarmed combat in the hands of the Samurai and continued to develop on the battlefield through the constant civil wars between the Daimyo (Feudal Japanese rulers) and their warrior class (Samurai) right up until the beginning of the Edo in period 1603. The Edo period was known for it’s relative peace and harmony, a time of economic prosperity, population growth and a strong isolationist policy. The Edo period was a great time for both the Samurai and Ju-Jutsu, a golden age in which training took over from war. Martial arts schools (Ryu) multiplied and the fighting arts, especially Ju-Jutsu, developed in greater detail and in many differing expressions of the art across the Japanese islands.

Jigoro Kano: Judo Innovator

However, in the 1850’s with the arrival of the first American steam powered warships armed with cannon the days of the Samurai and Ju-Jutsu were numbered. Within 20 years of the arrival of the Americans power in Japan would shift from the Shogun to the Emperor, the Samurai would be outlawed and Ju-Jutsu would be forced underground. Masters would select a handful of apprentices to pass the art onto and it would remain heavily frowned upon into the early 20th Century.

In the late 19th Century Jigoro Kano, the slightly framed teenage schoolboy who was bullied daily by his much larger peers, discovered Ju-Jutsu through a friend who happened to be a member of the Shoguns guard in Tokyo. He instantly took a liking to the art and decided to pursue training despite warnings from friends and family that it was dangerous and out of date. He pursued the art nonetheless and eventually his father agreed to allow him when he noticed his son was no longer being bullied.

Jigoro Kano continued to train under various schools and professors. Seeing weaknesses in his own skillset and strengths in others he sought to fill in all the gaps in his own training with the strengths of other schools. This all eventually culminated in his creation of modern sport Judo and his founding of the Kodokan Judo Institute in 1882, which by 1910 had flourished to over 1000 ranked members.

Introduction of Jiu Jitsu to Brazil

Enter the soon to be famous Mitsuyo Maeda… Mitsuyo Maeda walked through the doors of the Kodokan in 1895 and within a few short years became one of the strongest students. Always a firm believer that the fastest way to rise was through combat with his own peers and fighters of other arts he formed part of a group sent from the Kodokan out into the world to promote Kano Judo.

Mitsuyo Maeda who was primarily a Judoka and successful prize fighter who came to be one of the very first documented mixed martial artists. Throughout his travels he fought challenge matches against fighters of every known style and art in the pursuit of seeing his fighting style and name gain prestige. His exploits were so renowned he came to be known as Konde Koma (Portuguese for Count Combat), a name bestowed on him not in Brazil or Portugal but in Spain around 1908.

Maeda finally arrived in Brazil in late 1914 and travelled throughout Brazil with his troupe of Judoka/Jiu Jiuteiro doing demonstrations and challenge matches. In 1917 they passed through the city of Belem to run a demonstration at the Da Paz Theatre and it was here that Carlos Gracie first met Maeda and with a friend Luiz Franca. Maeda accepted them both as students and taught them what he called Ju Jutsu primarily and Judo and some catch wrestling which he himself (Maeda) had learned in England.

The Creation of Gracie Jiu Jitsu

Carlos Gracie in turn taught to his brother Helio what he had learned from Maeda and together they created what we now today call Gracie Jiu Jitsu. The Gracie Jiu Jitsu they created which in some ways is being lost today was Gracie Jiu Jitsu for self-defence.

A.      A mix of ground fighting techniques (Jiu Jitsu or Newaza in Japanese) which entails controlling one’s opponent on the ground until the point of submission through joint locks, suffocation, strikes or shear weight and pressure.

B.      Standing techniques (Judo & Wrestling takedowns).

C.      Striking (punches, elbows, knees and kicks) and blocking techniques intertwined with the two. In essence what they set out to do was create as complete a fighting system as possible.

To Be continued in …. Gracie Jiu Jitsu the great split.