by Christian F

Gracie Jiu Jitsu is a time tested self defense system that will allow a smaller and weaker

person to take down and have full control over their opponent. The history of this martial art

began in 1925 when Carlos Gracie established the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil. He was taught Japanese jiu-jitsu by Esai Maeda, a Japanese immigrant. Helio

Gracie, the youngest brother of Carlos was only able to observe lessons taught by his older

brothers due to his small and weak body. In 1928 Carlos is absent for a lesson and Helio who

had memorized all of the techniques offers to teach the class. Helio discovers that he is not

strong enough to successfully use the Japanese techniques against a larger and stronger

opponent. Paying attention to timing and leverage, Helio modified every technique to

accommodate his weaker body and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was created. In order to prove the strength

of his new form, Helio openly challenged all the reputable fighters in Brazil and defeated

eighteen opponents which included a heavyweight wrestling champion and the number two

world ranked Judoka, Kato, who was choked unconscious in six minutes. Helio’s defeat against

Kato qualified him to fight against Masahiko Kimura, Japans best-ever Jiu Jitsu fighter who was

also eighty pounds heavier than Helio. Even though Helio lost, Kimura was so impressed with

the effectiveness of Helio’s techniques that he asked him to teach them in Japan. In 1978,

Helio’s Eldest son, Rorion, moves to Southern California and starts teaching in his garage. Out

of frustration with America’s belief that flashy high flying kicks and brick breaking was the most

effective martial art, Rorion developed the Gracie Challenge. He invited anyone of any size or

discipline to fight him to prove the superiority of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. With martial artists of all

forms and styles accepting Rorion’s challenge, they were astounded when they found that the

swift and efficient take down techniques of Gracie Jiu Jitsu reigned superior to all others. As if

this wasn’t enough to prove the effectiveness of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, with the airing of the first

Ultimate Fighting Championship, Royce shocked the world by winning the eight man single

elimination tournament as the smallest and most unassuming fighter. Now proven as the most

effective combat system, the US Army and hundreds of military and law enforcement agencies

around the world have adopted Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

The reason for the success in Gracie Jiu Jitsu does not come from the specific techniques

but from the principles and foundations that unite them and makes it a way of life. Grand

Masters Carlos and Helio Gracie understood that the principals of efficiency, patience, and

control lead to triumph in all aspects of life. Efficiency or getting the most output with the least

amount of input is seen in leverage based techniques and natural body direction. It is this

principle that allows someone to defeat a larger and stronger opponent by simply exhausting

them. Practicing efficiency in normal everyday life such as the workplace is extremely useful.

By getting the most amount of work done using the least amount of energy will result in a higher

energy level, work promotions, and a greater sense of overall achievement. Patience or

maintaining steady perseverance involves a perfectly timed execution of a technique so that you

can apply your energy the most efficiently. In everyday life, patience is imperative in dealing

with problems one might encounter. Many things in life we simply do not have control over. By

maintaining a calm attitude will result in a more efficient solving of problems without any

unwanted or unneeded frustration. In a fight, control is the final goal which leads to your

opponent surrendering. Without physically dominating your opponent you risk losing the fight.

The principle of control also applies to the fight within oneself. Without self control you risk

losing your own life. By controlling oneself from partaking in risky behavior and following a

healthy eating habit you are giving yourself the greatest potential for succeeding in all aspects of

life.

Lou has offered to stay late or come early, whichever is more convenient to me, to do drills or whatever my back can take, until I’m healed and ready to spar again. I know that Lou has a full time job away from Jiu-Jitsu, so I know that whatever time he offers comes at the expense of something else in his life. I truly believe this is the TRUE martial arts. No where else in my life do people offer their time at little to no gain to themselves simply because they want to help someone else achieve their goals. I hope you realize how lucky you are to have people like Lou in your network… It’s guys like Lou that make me want to heal so I can train again and continue on my path of bettering my Jiu-Jitsu and at the same time myself.

Thanks again for supporting Jiu-Jitsu in this area and bringing Royce Gracie into my life. Hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,
Chris Rekow

First off, keep the emails coming; they are informative, funny and enjoyable!

Secondly, thanks for all you’ve done thus far to get the New England schools running. Funny thing is, I first learned of mma, or whatever it was called back in the day, by watching Royce at UFC 3. Since way back then, I always admired bjj, for many reasons, but primarily because it allowed you to end a fight without necessarily getting hurt, or even doing much damage to your opponent.

Years and years later, I got into traditional wrestling in a club-type environment, and some of the guys were doing submission wrestling. After a few arm bars, I thought, enough of that! I googled bjj in CT, and lo and behold, found a school (Danbury) that was right on my commute. That it was an actual Royce school was divine providence, if you ask me.

That was over a year ago, and all I can say is that Gracie jiu-jitsu has been perhaps the single most important influence on my life thus far. It’s not that I am looking to fight anyone (outside of class …), but having that confidence has affected every other aspect of my life for the positive. I know that if I should ever get into a fight, my automatic responses, drilled into me through hours of training, will pretty much get me through most anything.

The recent Royce seminar in Danbury was my first-ever with the man himself. And it was even better than I’d imagined. Royce was pretty intimidating, but not in a bad way — more in a “I have even more respect for him” sorta way. That Royce himself awarded me my blue belt was an experience I’ll never forget. I plan to study Gracie jiu-jitsu for the rest of my life, God willing.

Again, thanks for all you do, and Lou at the Danbury school does a tremendous job as well!

Sincerely,

Frank Masi

But Jiu-Jitsu, Jim, and Royce really did save my life. No lie.

I was a freshman in college with a 4.0 GPA. And I was bored out of my mind. A friend convinced me to try Vietnamese kickboxing. Not for wimps, right? I worked my way up in rank for a little less than a year until the instructor returned to Vietnam. I moved on to Japanese Jujutsu, as it was available in the same place on the same nights (A recommended way to choose a club? Maybe not.). I diligently memorized Japanese words, repeated the same moves over and over against ever-agreeable empty air, performed a great number of pushups for sub-standard throws, and generally wondered where I was going.

I met some guys in the jujutsu club interested in “submission grappling” and started working out “on the side” on body positioning, submissions, and doing lots and lots of bodyweight squats just in case those guys from the Lion’s Den ever traveled around Connecticut looking for talent. At some point, I was asked to leave the Japanese Jujutsu club. Apparently, submission grappling and jujutsu are not compatible.

My fellow grapplers and I heard that Royce Gracie was going to put on a seminar in Hartford CT. Somehow, between the four of us, we reserved three spaces. Somehow, I wasn’t the odd one out and found myself in the tiniest second-story mat room I had ever seen. I had dreamed for nights about the way Royce would levitate into the room, deliver an oration on his ass-kicking ways, choke out the big guys, scrutinize my attempts, and float away back to the octagon.

Then a skinny guy in a mismatched gi strolled in and said, “Hey, guys, look at this.” About an hour later, he threatened to kill me, and gave me a blue belt after I laughed at him.

I drove 45 minutes from UConn to Hartford three days a week. Then, Dustin and I (with significant help from Jim and Royce) reinvented our “Mixed Martial Arts Club” at UConn as Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I was doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 5 days a week. I had bruises all over my body all the time. But that body looked awesome. I had such a huge supply of endorphins cruising through my blood that I consistently felt great. I had direction, purpose and a connection to something real.

This connection was that thing that was missing for the first two years of my college career. I was living in my life. I wasn’t connected with it. I hadn’t made it all a part of me. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the real-ness of it, the practice, the method, the live-ness allowed me to have a connection with myself – my brain, my body, my being. Jiu-jitsu also allowed me to foster connections with the people around me – sweaty, gi-wearing brothers who fight you daily, but would go significantly out of their way to help you out.

Royce Gracie Brzailian Jiu-jitsu is the most real thing I have ever done in my life. I live in Texas now, and do Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu there, and it is still real. Jim and Royce’s club is the real deal. The people are real, genuine, and honest, with real jobs and real lives. The act of jiu-jitsu is real. No anxiety of memorizing numbers in a foreign language: Just positions building a solid base on which to secure movements towards submissions; real movement for real situations. Movement built on the anatomy of the human body to be used against the anatomy of someone else’s human body. And not in theory. In practice every day, you try it out, movement after movement connected to a real, live, sweaty person who is trying out his moves against your real, live, sweaty body.

You might remember that I mentioned that jiu-jitsu saved my life.

I thought I had it, and from all outward appearances I had it: the successful college career on a scholarship, friends, a job. But somehow I felt like I was missing something.

Jiu-jitsu didn’t connect me only with jiu-jitsu. It connected me with the people around me, with my school work, with my own thoughts. It increased my concentration, moved my blood –made me think. It made me feel real. Watch out: feeling real is an addiction. It followed me home from college, and then all the way to Texas. The connection to Jim and Royce in Hartford is so strong it may bring me back to that very club despite my ridiculous case of wanderlust. Not just any martial art, not just any jiu-jitsu, not just any Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school: Royce and Jim have the market cornered on Real. Go get connected.

Did I mention that I’m a 130 pound girl?

Don’t let that scare you off. Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu can do this for you. It was that “it” I had been looking for all my life. Don’t go through the motions for another minute. Go get connected.

-Katie Boiteau

-Mike Zolla