A Brief Early History of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is a descendent and derivative of modern Judo with influence from western wrestling, that has been shaped into a distinct and constantly evolving martial art since its initial introduction to Brazil in 1909.
Japanese Samurai Origins of BJJ:
Jujutsu is the general term applied to traditional Samurai fighting arts that existed prior to the Meiji Restoration in Japan and included techniques for striking, grappling, pinning, throwing, and systems of armed combat using a variety of weapons and armor with an emphasis upon swordsmanship. Judo was founded by Kano Jiguro as an amalgamation of two traditional Japanese Jujutsu schools that existed prior to 1876 when efforts of the Meiji Restoration effectively outlawed the Samurai class in Japan, most visibly, by forbidding the wear of a sword. Kano’s Judo also included techniques adapted from western wrestling such as kataguruma (“shoulder wheel”) which he learned from a wrestling book that described the fireman’s carry takedown. That said, it was Jujutsu that made up the bulk of Kano’s Judo, and the jujutsu schools that had the most influence on his art are Tenjin Shin’yo Ryu and Kito-Ryu.
Tenjin Shin’yo ryu (“Divine True Willow School”) is a traditional school (koryu) of Samurai martial arts created around 1800 by Iso Mataemon (1787-1863) and widely taught to Samurai in the Tokugawa Shogunate around the mid-1800s. The art included throwing techniques (nage-waza), pinning techniques (torae-waza) and choking techniques (shime-waza) whose fundamental components can still be seen today in many modern BJJ techniques. Tenjin Shin’yo ryu also included an emphasis on striking techniques directed against vital areas of the body (atemi waza) that is largely not present in most BJJ schools. Tenjin Shin’yo ryu itself, was a derivative of two older Samurai schools, Yoshin’ Ryu and Shin no Shinto-ryu, that Iso had studied before creating Tenjin Shin’yo ryu. Kano studied Tenjin Shin-yo ryu under Fukuda Hachinosuke from 1877 until Fukuada’s death in 1879 and then under Iso Matsatomo until his death in 1881.
Kito-Ryu is the second traditional Jujutsu koryu that makes up the basis of Kano’s Judo. Its style included instruction on striking techniques, throwing techniques, joint locking techniques, and choking techniques with an emphasis upon throws and sweeps. Kano studied Kito Ryu under Likubo Tsunetoshi until 1883.
In 1882 Kano founded a school called the Kodokan or “a place to study the way” that is still in existence today and controls all Judo instruction world-wide. The Kodokan produced two students who were most responsible for bringing Jiu Jitsu to Brazil, Mitsuyo Maeda and Geo Omori.
Why is it called Jiu Jitsu and not Judo?
It is important to note that at the time Jiu Jitsu was introduced in Brazil, it was still common to refer to Judo as Jujutsu, even in Japan. This became Jiu Jitsu in Brazil and throughout the west through romanization of the spelling when it was introduced.
“Some confusion has arisen over the employment of the term 'jiudo'. To make the matter clear I will state that jiudo is the term selected by Professor Kano as describing his system more accurately than jiu jitsu does. Professor Kano is one of the leading educators of Japan, and it is natural that he should cast about for the technical word that would most accurately describe his system. But the Japanese people generally still cling to the more popular nomenclature and call it jiu-jitsu.” Katsukuma Higashi – The complete Kano Jiu Jitsu.
How Kano’s Jiu Jitsu came to Brazil:
With the emergence of a middle class after the removal of the Brazilian monarchy, and now in possession of discretionary income, there was an opportunity for money to be made by providing entertainment. This included popular circus acts made up of curiosities, comedians, musical acts, theater shows, and featuring shows of athletic prowess and professional wrestling, referred to as Luta Romana, in addition to exhibitions of western boxing and Savate. Jiu Jitsu was another addition to the staple of entertainment options at circus theaters across Brazil.
1909 - Jiu Jitsu Accidentally Arrives in Brazil - Sada Miyako
While, Jiu Jitsu had been known to literate Brazilians prior to its arrival through reports of its introduction in the United States and across Europe, it officially got its start in Brazil in April of 1909, when Sada Miyako and his assistant M. Kakiara began to provide sometimes twice daily demonstrations of Jiu Jitsu at an entertainment venue named Pavilhão Internacional in Rio de Janeiro. The pair were among several Japanese fishermen that had been rescued from a shipwrecked craft by the Brazilian Navy and opted to stay in Brazil rather than immediately returning to Japan. Until Miyako’s arrival, the only source of Jiu Jitsu instruction were books that started to be available as early as 1906.
Sada Miyako began to showcase Jiu Jitsu in Brazil with demonstrations, by offering prize money to local amateurs who could avoid being bested by Miyako, and by holding what were probably the first Vale Tudo (no rules) mixed styles matches involving Japanese martial arts on record in Brazil. Accounts of Miyako’s initial successes in newspapers portrayed him as having easily dispatched all comers and this thrust Jiu Jitsu into the local consciousness.
Unfortunately for Jiu Jitsu, in a match with overtones of Brazilian nationalist pride, the initial interest in the Japanese art was diminished after Sada Miyako definitively lost a challenge match to a Brazilian Capoeira practitioner named Cyriaco Fancisco da Silva. It is not clear if strikes were technically allowed in the fight, but Cyriaco as he was known, dispatched Miyako with characteristic capoeira kicks. Shortly into the fight a knock down forced Miyako to take a short break. He was then forced to concede altogether against the practitioner of the so-called “national school” after another devastating kick was delivered. The public largely viewed this as evidence that Jiu Jitsu was not nearly as efficacious as they had previously thought and interest in Jiu Jitsu temporarily waned.
Despite Miyako's loss, the Brazilian police and military remained interested in Jiu Jitsu due to Japanese successes in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/1905. Miyako was able to find work as a police instructor before departing back to Japan a few years later. Widespread Jiu Jitsu popularity would have to wait a few more years until 1914 when it was reintroduced by a world-famous Judoka (a term for a practitioner of Judo) named Mitsuyo Maeda.
First Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor - Mario Aleixo ?
A Brazilian fencer named Mario Aleixo claimed to have learned from Miyako, although there is no proof this occurred. Aleixo began teaching Jiu-Jitsu at the Centro do Sportivo do Engenho Velho in Rio De Janeiro in 1913 and moved his school to Club de Regatas Boqueirão do Passeio in 1914. He is arguably the first Brazilian to teach Jiu Jitsu in Brazil although his qualifications to teach Jiu Jitsu are unknown. He was largely forgotten after losing a fight against George Gracie in 1931.
1914 - The arrival of Mitsuyo Maeda
Mitsuyo Maeda is the Judoka most often credited with bringing Jiu Jitsu to Brazil and bringing it to widespread popularity. The man commonly called Conde Koma or “Count Combat” in Brazil, was a product of the Kodokan where he had joined in 1895. While at the Kodokan, he studied under the first Kodokan student Tsunjero Tomita until earning his own black belt. He was known at the Kodokan for his expertise at ne waza – techniques performed on the ground.
Maeda spread the art of Judo by traveling the world to provide demonstrations and participate in challenge matches. His first destination was the United States in 1904 and there he helped to open the first Judo club in New York City in 1905. During his time in the United States, Maeda also participated in challenge matches against multiple fighters with various fighting styles. In 1907, Maeda took Judo to Europe where he continued to perform demonstrations, participate in challenge matches, and helped found a Judo school in London. Next, he continued his tour through Cuba, Mexico, and Latin America. In 1914, he arrived in Brazil where the paper announced the arrival of a Jiu Jitsu master. In Brazil, he taught Jiu Jitsu in addition to participating in regular demonstrations and challenge matches at circus entertainment venues across the country. It was a demonstration given by Maeda that inspired a teenage Carlos Gracie Sr. to pursue Jiu Jitsu training.
1925 - The other Japanese Founder Arrives in Brazil- Geo Omori
Omori Jyoji (1898-1938) or Geo Omori, as he was known in Brazil, was born in Japan in 1898 and entered the Kodokan in 1907 as a boy. In 1925 he moved to Brazil where he taught Jiu Jitsu in Rio De Janeiro until founding the first Jiu Jitsu school in São Paulo in 1931. Additionally, he also fought and won multiple circus bouts, often juxtaposed against a backdrop of political instability, and while negotiating heightened anti-immigrant Brazilian nationalism. Bouts against Capoeira fighters, due to Brazilian origin of the art, were often hyped to the public by leveraging ethnic rivalries in a successful effort to increase turn-out. Omori’s opponents were often portrayed in advertising for matches as defending the honor of Brazil against a foreigner. Ironically, Omori’s victories were invaluable to establishing the effectiveness of Jiu Jitsu against arts considered to be more natively Brazilian in origin.
Despite briefly providing instruction for the Gracie family at Carlos Gracie’s first academy, Omori would have many fights against members of the famous Gracie family and become embroiled in a feud with the same. His emphasis on the use of leg locks to defeat opponents, which he handed down to his students, was highly effective against the Gracie family and their students in challenge matches. Until recently, someone using leg lock, even a lock allowed under the most restrictive rule sets, would result in the leg-locker being derisively labeled as a “sapateiro” or “cobbler”. Indeed, many consider Omori’s students’ success with leg locks to be the reason that leg locks are often extremely restricted in the rule sets of many popular Jiu Jitsu competition circuits today.
Omori’s Jiu Jitsu lineage lives on in modern BJJ affiliations including GF Team and Nova União. Famous students included Carlos Pereira and most notably Luiz França.
How Kano’s Jiu Jitsu became “Brazilian Jiu Jitsu” - The 10th Degree Red Belt Founders:
In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the 9th degree Red Belt is currently the highest belt that can be achieved. This requires someone to attain a Blackbelt and then train a minimum of an additional 48 years. To attain a Red belt, they must progress through six degrees of black belt, a red and black coral belt at the seventh degree, a red and white coral belt at the eighth degree, until finally they are awarded the 9th degree Red Belt. The 10th degree Red Belt is no longer awarded and has been reserved only for the following founders of BJJ. That said, some notable Jiu Jitsu masters including Hélio Gracie, have declined the wear of the red belt, and instead wear a dark blue belt as was sometimes worn by instructors before the invention of the modern belt system by the Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Guanabara in 1967.
The Gracie Family
Carlos Gracie Sr. (1902 – 1994) began to study under Maeda and Maeda’s assistant Jacyntho Ferro in 1917 at the age of 15. In 1921 the Gracie family moved from Belém to Rio De Janeiro where he studied under another Maeda pupil, Donato Pires dos Reis, who was also a police combatives instructor.
In 1929, Carlos challenged Geo Omori to a match and in 1930, after being initially refused due to his inexperience, he had two exhibition matches with Omori. The matches were ruled a draw, but some have questioned the legitimacy of this outcome. Omori was a very seasoned fighter and known to have accepted payments around this time to participate in fights with pre-arranged outcomes. Regardless as to questions about whether the fight was fixed, Carlos capitalized on the outcome and briefly opened a small school. Carlos also brought in Geo Omori to provide further instruction in Jiu Jitsu to both the Gracies and their students - which implies that Gracie BJJ likely has as much or more lineage from Omori as it does from Maeda, as is often proclaimed. The school was closed a few years later when Carlos, George, and Oswaldo were convicted of the assault of Manoel Rufino dos Santos.
After the school was closed, Carlos and his brothers Gastao, Oswaldo, and George (Jorge) next joined a newly opened school under Donato Pires. Pires was said to have been the only Brazilian man with an official instructor ranking from Maeda. Pires was a government official and often moved when he received a new government assignment. The new posting left Pires’ school in Carlos’ hands to run.
In 1931, Carlos was set to have a challenge match with a professional wrestler named Manoel Rufino dos Santos. Learning about the match, Donato Pires publicly questioned Carlos Gracie’s claims to have studied directly under Maeda, and declared Gracie as not fit to represent Jiu Jitsu in the challenge match. Allegedly, the Gracie brothers then assaulted Pires outside his hotel a day before the challenge match with Rufino dos Santos. Regardless as to if the assault happened, or if the allegations of lying about having studied under Maeda were true, the outcome of the conflict between the Gracies and Pires was that the Gracies ended up as the sole owners of Pires’ former school. Carlos’ brothers Gastao, Oswaldo, George, and now Hélio joined him at the school as assistant instructors.
Adding to the sordid affair there were questions about who won the challenge match with the wrestler Manoel Rufino dos Santos. At one point during the bout the referee called for a stop to the action near the edge of the ring. Carlos used the opportunity to apply a choke hold after Rufino had stopped fighting to comply with the referee’s order. By some accounts this rendered Rufino unconscious. When the referee tried to restart the fight, Carlos refused to continue, stating that he had already won. Rufino was then declared the winner because Carlos refused to continue the fight.
Newspapers portrayed Carlos negatively in reporting after the fight. Rufino dos Santos himself published a scathing open letter criticizing Carlos. This apparently enraged the Gracies and led Carlos, George, and Hélio to ambush Rufino dos Santos outside a sports club in a repeat performance of what they had allegedly done to Pires. Some accounts indicate that the fight started with Hélio Gracie hitting Rufino dos Santos in the head with a steel box … an allegation that had also been made in some accounts of the earlier alleged assault of Donato Pires.
Unlike the alleged assault of Pires, the Gracie brothers were arrested this time and convicted for the assault of Rufino dos Santos after a 3-year legal process during which they remained free. Once convicted, the brothers received a pardon almost immediately from the President of Brazil. The Gracie family claimed the pardon was given due to a lack of evidence while other accounts claim it was gained through their family political connections to sitting nationalist politicians. After being released from jail, Carlos moved to Fortaleza and spent the rest of his life teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as well as promoting a nutritional method he developed called the Gracie Diet.
One final note of interest about Carlos is that he was a polygamist who fathered 21 Children, among whom there are several notable Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blackbelts including: Carlson, Robson, Carley, Rolls, and Carlson Jr. His family also remains connected to conservative politicians in Brazil. Carlos’ son Robson Gracie awarded an honorary Blackbelt to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2018.
Gastao, George and Oswaldo Gracie had studied briefly with Carlos under Jacyntho Ferro and after a break, restarted their training with Carlos under Donato Pires. They both also served as assistant instructors to Carlos at Pires’ former school and as full instructors as soon as the Gracie’s took over the school after the fallout with Pires.
Gastao Gracie Jr. (1906 – 2001) taught and studied with his older brother Carlos in the original Gracie Academy. After a few years he moved to São Paulo where he worked for the rest of his life as a personal martial arts trainer providing private lessons for elites in Brazilian society and government. He had no known professional fighting career.
Oswaldo Gracie (– 2001) was a smaller man who had noteworthy submission victories in the early 1930s over a Capoeira fighter named Manuel Tito Ferreira and the nearly 300-pound wrestler João Baldi. After marrying he parted ways with the original Gracie school and moved to Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, where he opened his own school and taught for the remainder of his life.
George Gracie: (1911 – 1991) In addition to practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, George Gracie was also an avid boxer and participated in many boxing matches, mixed arts matches, and Jiu Jitsu fights with mixed success. He was arguably among the earliest Vale Tudo (no rules free fighting) practitioners. Eventually he parted ways with the original Gracie school and rejoined Donato Pires in opening a new school in São Paulo where he taught until his death.
Jiu Jitsu's Fighting Frontman - Hélio Gracie
Hélio Gracie (1913 – 2009) is arguably the most influential of the Brazilian founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He contributed significantly to system development, philosophy and in having the art considered as a distinctly Brazilian martial art, rather than (more accurately) as a derivative of Judo.
Among Helio's philosophical contributions was his emphasis upon the idea that Jiu Jitsu is for smaller and weaker persons who can use leverage to survive and overcome a more powerful opponent. In service of this idea, he often portrayed himself as having been weak and infirmed in his childhood. Hélio attributed his weakness as a formative influence in developing a more effective Brazilian Jiu Jitsu based upon leverage and similar principles of efficiency. We now know that Hélio was a competitive swimmer and rower throughout his childhood and into early adulthood. Thus, the story he told about being an infirm child, was likely started as a bit of shrewd marketing. Hélio clearly had a talent for salesmanship and BJJ owes him a significant debt for his success in bringing BJJ to its current widespread popularity.
What is an uncontested and accurate story from Hélio’s childhood is that a student at Carlos’ first academy arrived for a private lesson, but Carlos was running late. A then 16 years old Hélio offered to teach the class for Carlos and the student accepted. When Carlos arrived mid-lesson, the student was not angry, and instead requested that he be allowed to continue training with Hélio in the future. From that point forward, Hélio had begun a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu teaching career that would span another 79 years. In addition to training in Jiu Jitsu he also took instruction in Catch Wrestling and Judo with some argument about what ranking he attained in Judo. Most accounts list Hélio as a 6th degree Black Belt in Judo as well.
Like several of his older brothers, Hélio was a fighter. He began fighting at the age of 18. Through the 1930s he fought many boxers, wrestlers, and other Jiu Jitsu practitioners and declared a retirement from fighting in 1937, only to later return for his most famous match. In 1951, Hélio issued a challenge to a famous Judoka named Masahiko Kimura. Kimura won the fight when he broke Hélio’s arm using a joint lock technique called Gyaku-ude-garami. In honor of the victory this lock was incorporated into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu where it is commonly called a “Kimura”, in honor the man who used it to break Hélio Gracie’s arm. Hélio would fight a few more times after the Kimura fight before truly retiring from fighting.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) - The True Gracie Legacy
After retirement, Hélio taught at the Gracie academy for the remainder of his life, but unlike several of his brothers, the end of his fighting days did not mark a retreat into quiet life. Most notably, Hélio and his son Rorion Gracie created the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993, with a goal of highlighting the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to the world. The tournament-style event matched eight fighters from various martial arts disciplines from around the world inside an octagonal steel cage with the only rules being no biting, no eye gouging, and since there was no time limit either, allowing for stoppage by tap out, corner stoppage (“throwing in the towel”), or referee stoppage due to the inability of a fighter to continue.
Like Carlos, Hélio was a polygamist and fathered seven male children who became influential BJJ Blackbelts including Rickson, Rorion, Relson, Royler, Rolker, Royce, and Robin. He also coached his son Royce Gracie to a victory for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in UFC 1, UFC 2, and UFC 4 and thus captured the attention of the martial arts world by proving the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu against other more well-known martial arts styles. This is the single most important contribution that has led to the current popularity of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and in creating what has evolved into Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) today. Hélio’s son Rickson Gracie is widely considered to be, as of the time of this writing, the most accomplished and knowledgeable living Brazilian Jiu Jitu practitioner in the world, having attained the 9th Degree Red Belt after a lifetime of fighting and teaching. Helio's grandchildren Rener and Ryron are very influential BJJ Blackbelts and successful pioneers of providing BJJ instruction, somewhat controversially, over the internet. Rener and Ryron also established a network of “Gracie Garages” run by volunteer students around the world using distance training materials at their respective homes.
How it Jiu Jitsu became Brazilian - the Brazilian Integralist Movement:
Finally, there is one other aspect of Hélio’s life that must be mentioned because it is among the reasons that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu stopped simply being called Jiu Jitsu, and instead became Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Hélio, like his brother Carlos, was an active member of the Brazilian Integralist movement. Among the movements many tenants, is an emphasis upon national identity and Brazilian nationalism. In the context of Jiu Jitsu, this meant that there was a desire to separate the martial art being practiced in Brazil from its Japanese roots. When combined with a desire to dissociate from anything Japanese after WWII, many Jiu Jitsu practitioners began to add the world “Brazilian” to “Jiu Jitsu” when describing their art to others. Many Japanese immigrants adopted a Brazilian first name around this time as well. For Hélio, the art that he practiced was distinctly Brazilian and its ties to Brazilian national identity were a source of nationalist pride.
Non-Gracie Founders:
Luiz França Filho (1910–1982): began studying in Brazil under Soshihiro Satake – known in Brazil as Antonio Satake. Satake, originally a sumo wrestler, was a Kodokan graduate who had traveled across Central and South American with Maeda before settling in Manaus, Brazil and opening a school. In 1917 França moved to Belém where he began studying Jujitsu under Maeda. He then moved again to São Paulo where continued his training under Geo Omori. Eventually he moved to Rio de Janeiro where he opened his own school. In contrast to the Gracies, whose students were typically from the middle or upper class, França taught mostly police officers, military servicemen, and the poor in the slums (favelas).
Oswaldo Baptista Fadda (1920 – 2005), the Brazilian-born son of Italian immigrants, was a student of Luiz França who continued the tradition of teaching the poor in the favelas. In the 1940s Fadda began teaching under-privileged Brazilians for free in public spaces without any equipment or mats. By the 1950s he was able to open his own school in Rio De Janeiro.
Fadda's Legacy - Leg Locks ?
Shortly after opening his own academy, Fadda famously challenged Hélio Gracie to an academy duel. The results were printed in newspapers the next day and indicated mixed results with about even victories indicated for each academy. Other accounts of the challenge match claim the newspapers misreported the actual results and that Fadda’s academy won all but a single match, with most victories coming through the application of foot lock submissions.
While it cannot be proven, it is often suggested that the effectiveness of foot locks against Gracie students during the Fadda challenge matches, is the reason that the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), with heavy influence from the Gracie family, has a rule set that strictly limits the use of foot locks. Regardless as to if the rumors about the origin of foot lock restrictions are true, the resulting influence of the IBJJF rule set was such that many schools, whose focus was to train for competition under IBJJF rules sets, often minimalized or even outright excluded instruction on leg locks. Even today there exists an argument about the safety and legitimacy of leg locks within Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Many schools continue to deemphasize their use or skip instruction on leg locks altogether. This prohibition is ironically probably also a reason that many competitors to the IBJJF have been able to gain popularity and why it Non-IBJJF events dominate modern televised (and monetized) events.
Sources:
Thomas A. Green, Joseph R. Svinth Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation 2010.
Roberto Pedreira Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil 1856-1949 (Volume 1).
Roberto Pedreira Choque: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil Volume 2, 1950-1960
Roberto Pedreira CHOQUE: The Untold Story of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil Volume 3, 1856-1999 Book
Roberto Pedreira Craze 1: The Life and Times of Jiu-Jitsu, 1854-1904.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship: The Beginning. November 12, 1993. Video available on YouTube.
H. Irving Hancock, Katsukuma Higashi The Complete Kano Jiu Jitsu (Judo) Simon BJJ Website https://simonbjj.com/
Rickson Gracie: Breathe: A life in Flow. August 10, 2021.
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