In the mid-1800's in Japan, there
were a large number of styles ("ryu") of jujutsu. Techniques varied
between ryu, but generally included all manner of unarmed combat (strikes,
throws, locks, chokes, wrestling, etc.) and very sophisticated schools of weapons
training. One young but skilled master of a number of jujutsu styles, Jigoro
Kano, founded his own ryu and created the martial art Judo (aka Kano-ryu
jujutsu) in the 1880's.
One of Kano's students was Mitsuo Maeda, who was
also known as Count Koma ("Count of Combat"). Maeda emigrated to Brazil in 1914
due to having fallen out of favor with governmental officials. He was helped a
great deal by the Brazilian politician Gastão Gracie, whose father George
Gracie had emigrated to Brazil
himself from Scotland.
In gratitude for the assistance, Maeda taught jiu-jitsu to Gastao's son Carlos
Gracie. Carlos in turn taught his brothers Osvaldo, Gastão Jr., Jorge, and
Helio.
In 1925, Carlos and his
brothers opened their first jiu-jitsu academy, and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was born in
Brazil.
At this point, the base
of techniques in BJJ was similar to those in Kano's
Judo academy in Japan.
As the years progressed, however, the brothers (notably Carlos and Helio) and
their students refined their art via brutal no-rules fights, both in public
challenges and on the street. Particularly notable was their willingness to
fight outside of weight categories, permitting a skilled small fighter to
attempt to defeat a much larger opponent.
They began to concentrate
more and more on submission ground fighting, especially utilizing the guard
position. This allowed a weaker man to defend against a stronger one, bide his
time, and eventually emerge victorious.
In the 1970's, the
undisputed jiu-jitsu champion in Brazil was Rolls Gracie. He had
taken the techniques of jiu-jitsu to a new level. Although he was not a large
man, his ability to apply leverage using all of his limbs was unprecedented. At
this time the techniques of the open guard and its variants (spider guard,
butterfly guard) became a part of BJJ. Rolls also developed the first point
system for jiu-jitsu only competition. The competitions required wearing a gi,
awarded points (but not total victories) for throws and takedowns, and awarded
other points for achieving different ground positions (such as passing an
opponent's guard).
The MCFM BJJ program is
an official affiliate of 8th Degree Black Belt, Rigan Machado and gets regular visits from Rigan Machado black belt, Chris McCune.
For more information: MCFM
BJJ