"Gracie Jiu-Jitsu" is very often associated with MMA, the brutal and bloody combat sport of Mixed Martial Arts. In the last decade, jiu-jitsu has become intensely popular because every pro fighter in the UFC has to know it. Any fighter who competes in the MMA arena has no chance for survival without knowledge of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, regardless of what they call it. But competitive fighting is neither jiu-jitsu's purpose nor intent.
Helio Gracie developed his system purely as a means of self-defense. It was tested and refined first between students and brothers, later in matches between schools. Helio himself finally took to the ring in no-holds-barred matches to both test his system and prove its effectiveness.
"Once I believed the techniques worked well for someone weak and small like me, I was convinced that they would work for everybody," Helio explained. "This was the reason I went into the ring. I wanted my students to know that I was willing to put my neck on the line to prove that what I was teaching them really worked. Fighting was the only way to test my beliefs."
It was those competitive fights that first got everyone's attention, and what caused Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to grow in popularity. In 1993, Helio's son Rorion introduced Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the world through the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Royce Gracie, the smallest of the fighters, emerged from the "no rules, no time limits" event as the world champion. This shocking upset was the birth of modern MMA.
Today, the explosive popularity of MMA and tournament competition has resulted in a large number of martial arts schools offering "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu," often called "BJJ." The difference between "Brazilian" and "Gracie" Jiu-Jitsu is in the focus and priority, where the first is focused on competition while the latter is strictly self-defense.
An analogy can be found in the auto industry. Auto engineers build high-performance race cars to show off what their machines are capable of, but their real purpose of their creations is to provide a way for people to move safely around the world. Jiu-jitsu is exactly the same.
MMA is for sport. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is for self-defense. You train MMA to learn how to hurt people. You train Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to avoid ever getting hurt.
A natural consequence of the popularity of sport jiu-jitsu is the high proportion of schools focused on producing tournament champions. In an arena where everyone knows jiu-jitsu, the advantage shifts back to who is the biggest, strongest and toughest. This turns the original intent of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu on its head, and often disillusions many potential students.
"Jiu-jitsu is becoming more and more diluted, with priority being given to the sportive aspect," Helio protested. "Often, the average person is intimidated by that 'tough guy' atmosphere, and, as the people who would benefit the most from learning jiu-jitsu, they are being neglected."And it was the average person that Helio had designed his system for.
FOR EVERYONE
Helio Gracie was a tiny little guy. As a youth he was so weak that he would get faint just from climbing a flight of stairs. He knew he lacked the explosive strength and athleticism required to master the Japanese Jiu-Jitsu that his older brothers taught at their academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But instead of giving up, he deconstructed the Japanese art and reassembled something unique. He created a system that allowed a smaller, weaker person like himself to avoid injury and even defeat a bigger, stronger attacker.
"I did not invent jiu-jitsu, I just made it better," Helio explained. "It is as if I had an oversized kimono and tailored it to fit me perfectly. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is an improved version of the traditional concepts. I put more emphasis on leverage, technique, and economy of movement instead of power and speed."
Helio kept refining his version of jiu-jitsu based on three very specific guidelines. Every technique had to be (1) street applicable and work against a bigger attacker who was trying to punch you, (2) energy efficient to avoid becoming exhausted, and (3) based on natural body movements. The result was a complete system of self-defense that could be used by men and women of all ages and all sizes and shapes.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu uses physics instead of physique; it relies on structure, leverage and timing rather than size, strength and speed.
In the tournament world of BJJ, every competitive fighter likely knows all the same techniques. The advantage then comes from athleticism. In a self-defense situation on the street, your attacker likely knows nothing more about jiu-jitsu than what they've seen on TV. The advantage here comes from technique, not physique.
"The idea is to discourage you from relying on physical attributes such as strength, speed or coordination," Helio taught. "Please keep in mind that no matter how strong, fast or coordinated you are, there is always someone stronger, faster and more coordinated."
GET CLOSE, GET GROUNDED
The first time they see jiu-jitsu, most people say something like, "I don't want to roll around on the ground and have someone sit on top of me. It just looks wrong."
Your first impression is right, it IS wrong. Especially when it happens in the real world. Especially when it's not your trusted training partner on top of you, but some big, strong thug who wants to dominate and hurt you. It's your worst-case scenario, and it DOES happen. This is why we train.
You may initially be put off by the close physical contact between students, but this is what gives Gracie Jiu-Jitsu its power. By keeping close physical contact, you rob an attacker of the distance necessary to generate power to hurt you with a punch or kick. By knowing how to fight on the ground — where most fights end up anyway — you put your attacker at the disadvantage. Unless he is trained in wresting or jiu-jitsu, he will be completely lost on the ground while you will be in complete control.
MORE THAN GRAPPLING
"Some people are now claiming that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is limited to grappling only," Helio observed, "and it needs the complement of a striking art in order to become truly effective. Let's never forget that what made Gracie Jiu-Jitsu famous was its effectiveness in real combat. Our techniques include striking, throwing, choking, joint locking, pinning, etc."
While "ground fighting" is what Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is best known for, the system includes standing techniques, escape and evasion strategies, and weapon defenses. You learn how to avoid getting taken to the ground. And you learn how to hit your attacker with the biggest thing you have at hand, which will usually be the Earth.
Instead of emphasizing punches and kicks, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu focuses on joint locks and chokes to defeat an attacker. These techniques can also be applied with any degree of force, from simple restraint or pain compliance to breaking a joint or choking an opponent into unconsciousness if necessary. The amazing degree of control also allows students to practice the techniques at full force and full speed — exactly the same way they would use it in a real assault — without any risk of injuring themselves or their partners.
SAFE DEFENSE
This is why we use the term "SAFE" defense. Training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has three core components:
1: SAFELY DEFEND to avoid injury when assaulted by a bigger, stronger or more aggressive person. Rather than try to out-punch or out-kick a bigger or stronger attacker, the SAFE approach is to focus on avoiding being injured. Most likely, a bigger attacker will try to punch or kick you, or overpower you, pin you to the ground, choke you or crush you in a headlock. Using the defensive mindset, your first priority should be to survive such an attack without becoming injured or exhausted.
2: SAFELY RESPOND with appropriate force that is legally, morally and ethically justified. Almost every self-defense law requires you to use the minimum amount of force necessary in order to safely end the assault. You should be able to respond with your choice of force that is appropriate to the situation, and not do any more damage to another human being than is absolutely necessary.
3: SAFELY TRAIN to realistically practice techniques without risk of injury to yourself or your training partner. Self-defense systems that are based on striking, kicking or dirty tactics require you to practice pulling your punches, missing with your kicks, and not following through with the eye gouge or groin smash. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu allows you to train EXACTLY how you would defend yourself on the street.
"I did not spend my life trying to improve a system that would make me look good at sport competition, full of fancy spins and colorful turns. Instead, I have developed a self-defense method that is complete, easy, and effective." — Helio Gracie
GET FIT.
The benefits of training Gracie Jiu-Jitsu extend far beyond simply being able to defend yourself in a criminal assault or street fight. Hopefully you will never face that situation. But your training is more than insurance against that unlikely event, it impacts your entire life.
Jiu-jitsu is a great way to get in better shape and improve your overall fitness. The training is a perfect blend of bodyweight movement and flow, giving you increased strength, flexibility and endurance. Helio himself developed radiant health and was able to continue teaching and training into his 90s. His brother Carlos developed nutritional guidelines called the "Gracie Diet." Between the bodyweight exercise and the healthy eating, students find themselves in the greatest shape of their lives.
GET FOCUSED.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is also highly technical, and the exact methodology for training is very unique. Learning a technique is more than simply imitating the instructor. The teaching is exacting, and you learn not only the movements but the principles behind them. The training develops body-awareness, sensitivity, discipline, concentration, dedication, tolerance, cooperation and courage. Put simply, you learn to focus.
Focus is what allows you to concentrate all of your energy and all of your effort into the task at hand. Focus allows you to tune out distractions and get into that timeless zone where creativity flows and work seems effortless. It allows you to concentrate all of your power and effort into what’s most important in the moment, and therefore create real results.
BE FEARLESS.
Participation in most any sport or athletic activity can increase your fitness level and challenge you to develop increased focus. But there is one unique benefit to learning Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that no other activity can provide: empowerment.
Imagine you're a kid in school dealing with almost daily abuse from a bigger, stronger bully. Your parents and other kids say, "Stand up for yourself." While you'd like nothing better, you know standing up would result in getting beat down. Self-preservation kicks in and results in fear-based strategies that turn you into a very good victim.
The lessons taught by fear can turn the world into a prison. If you are afraid of getting hurt you invent reasons or excuses to not try. That mental turning point of backing down to the bully can repeat itself everywhere; defeatism and risk avoidance work their way into sports, careers, relationships… into your entire life.
But what if you knew — with absolute certainty — that you would not get hurt? That you could stand up to the bully and all of his size, strength and aggression were useless? If you had the confidence to know that whatever happened in life, you could deal with it, and never back down?
When you have trained to conquer the worst-case scenario of the bigger, stronger person dominating and defeating you, everything else in life is — by comparison — easy. When you gain absolute confidence in your reflexes, when you know someone else cannot hurt you, you become a very bad victim.
You become fearless.
GET STARTED
If Gracie Jiu-Jitsu sounds like something that you would like to try, you have a lot of options. The best option is regular training at a Certified Training Center. You can find a full directory of schools that offer the complete Gracie Jiu-Jitsu curriculum at GracieSchools.com.
Be sure to reference this list when visiting a local school. Unless the school is listed here, they are not certified to teach the Gracie curriculum. Regardless of what they may claim, if the school is not listed here there is a high probability that their training is going to be MMA or competition focused.
If you don't have a Certified Training Center near you, the complete curriculum is also available online and on DVD. You can access every lesson via the Internet at GracieUniversity.com, or order the DVDs at GracieAcademy.com. You can train with a friend, train solo if you must, or find a local practice group — what we call a "Gracie Garage" — where you can work with other dedicated students.
Train hard, have fun, learn amazing things.
Brought to you by
SAFE DEFENSE Gracie Garage
in Birmingham, AL, USA.
