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Jiu Jitsu Academy
 

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Mixed Martial Arts

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History of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
 

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is considered the most effective form of self-defense in the world.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Gracie Jiu Jitsu is a martial art indigenous to Brazil. It was founded and developed by the Gracie family. The art was derived from Kodokan Judo, western wrestling, and various combative disciplines.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu utilizes grappling techniques to control and subdue any opponent utilizing holds, arm locks, chokes, leg locks, and strikes. This strategy takes away the advantage of a larger, stronger opponent.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu favors simple techniques that were tested in numerous challenge matches by the Gracie family and their students. In Vale Tudo (which means "anything goes") tournaments in Brazil, Gracie family members and their students have fought in these no-holds barred fighting matches for over 65 years and have fared very well against a multitude of combative arts both western and asian. Many traditional martial arts have lost their combative rationale and ability. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has led the way in changing traditional martial arts and ‘self defense’ classes.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has proven itself, with real confrontations being won again and again, as the most effective form of self-defense in the world. It is now the basis of mixed martial arts or "Vale-Tudo" tournaments and has a large sport competition following. BJJ has something for everyone from the competitive athlete to the weekend warrior. Law enforcement and the military use BJJ as their main self-defense system for hand-to-hand combat.

The sportive aspect of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is embodied in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments. Competitors wear judo "jackets" and pants just like their Judo counterparts except the rules favor strategies and techniques that are oriented towards combat effectiveness.

Jiu Jitsu tournaments divide competitors by age, belt rank, and weight class. Time limits are generally five to ten minutes, depending on belt rank. Matches start with both competitiors standing, on a floor with a padded mat. A tap out from submission ends the match. If time runs out without a submission, points determine the winner.

Many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students are also interested in open submission grappling tournaments (different points rules, usually no gi), or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

In the mid-1800's in Japan, there were a large number of styles ("ryu") of jiu-jitsu (sometimes spelled "jujitsu"). Techniques varied between ryu, but generally included all manner of unarmed combat (strikes, throws, locks, chokes, wrestling, etc.) and occasionally some weapons training. One young but skilled master of a number of jiu-jitsu styles, Jigoro Kano, founded his own ryu and created the martial art Judo (aka Kano-ryu jiu-jitsu) in the 1880's. One of Kano's primary insights was to include full-power practice against resisting, competent opponents, rather than solely rely on the partner practice that was much more common at the time.

One of Kano's students was Mitsuo Maeda, who was also known as Count Koma ("Count of Combat"). Maeda emigrated to Brazil in 1914. 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). After Rolls' death in a hang-gliding accident, Rickson Gracie became the undisputed (and undefeated!) champion, a legend throughout Brazil and much of the world. He has been the exemplar of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique for the last two decades, since the early 1980's, in both jiu-jitsu competition and no-rules MMA competition.

Jiu-jitsu techniques have continued to evolve as the art is constantly tested in both arenas. For example, in the 1990's Roberto "Gordo" Correa, a BJJ black belt, injured one of his knees, and to protect his leg he spent a lot of practice time in the half-guard position. When he returned to high-level jiu-jitsu competition, he had the best half-guard technique in the world. A position that had been thought of as a temporary stopping point, or perhaps a defensive-only position, suddenly acquired a new complexity that rapidly spread throughout the art.

In the early 1990's, Rorion Gracie moved from Brazil to Los Angeles. He wished to show the world how well the Gracie art of jiu-jitsu worked. In Brazil, no-rules Mixed Martial Art (MMA) contests (known as "vale tudo") had been popular since Carlos Gracie first opened his academy in 1925, but in the world at large most martial arts competition was internal to a single style, using the specialized rules of that style's practice.

Rorion and Art Davie conceived of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This was a series of pay-per-view television events in the United States that began in 1993. They pitted experts of different martial arts styles against each other in an environment with very few rules, in an attempt to see what techniques "really worked" when put under pressure. Rorion also entered his brother Royce Gracie, an expert in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as one of the contestants.

Royce dominated the first years of the UFC against all comers, amassing eleven victories with no fighting losses. At one event he defeated four different fighters in one night. This, from a fighter that was smaller than most of the others (at 170 lbs, in an event with no weight classes), looked thin and scrawny, and used techniques that most observers, even experienced martial artists, didn't understand.

In hindsight, much of Royce's success was due to the fact that he understood very well (and had trained to defend against) the techniques that his opponents would use, whereas they often had no idea what he was doing to them. In addition, the ground fighting strategy and techniques of BJJ are among the most sophisticated in the world. Besides the immediate impact of an explosion of interest in BJJ across the world (particularly in the US and Japan), the lasting impact of Royce's early UFC dominance is that almost every successful MMA fighter now includes BJJ as a significant portion of their training.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ, also known as Gracie Jiu Jitsu) is now offered in Texarkana, TX (on Stateline Ave, across the street from Arkanasas (AR)).

Submission Grappling (aka Submission Wrestling) is derived from BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), Freestyle Wrestling, Greco Roman Wrestling, Judo, Sambo, and other Grappling Arts. Submission Grappling (aka Submission Wrestling) is offered at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu located in Texarkana, TX (on Stateline Ave, across the street from Arkanasas).

Classes also in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA, a combination of Muay Thai Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; with elements of karate, tae kwon do (TKD), Jeet Kun Do (JKD), Judo, Sambo, and other martial arts) which have become extremely popular with the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and its reality show, the Ultimate Fighter (TUF). These MMA classes are now offered in Texarkana, Texas.

Kettlebell classes are now offered in Texarkana, TX (on Stateline Ave, across the street from Arkanasas (AR)). Kettlebells are a workout tool that can provide strong cardio benefits, improve muscle tone, reduce body fat, improve health, and strengthen the core. Kettlebells have been used for years in Russia for developing athletic power, endurance, strength, and core stability that is so important for sports and your daily life. They can help reduce the likelihood of injury while improving cardio dramatically.

Dr. Marc Hagebusch is a Brazilan Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt and the only Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt in East Texas.

We also offer local (Texarkana on the TX side, but literally across the street from Arkansas (AR)) kids classes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) that replace the traditional martial arts classes like karate and tae kwon do (TKD) that have been popular in the past.

You should know that the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is more commonly referred to as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Muay Thai is often referred to as Thai Boxing or kickboxing. Mixed Martial Arts (made popular by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (aka UFC) is more often referred to as MMA.

BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and MMA ((Mixed Martial Arts) composed of Muay Thai Kickboxing, Submission Grappling (made popular by Abu Dhabi, ADCC), Boxing, BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), Karate, TKD (tae kwon do), Judo, Sambo, Wrestling, and other Martial Arts) is now offered in Texarkana, TX (on Stateline Ave, across the street from Arkanasas (AR)).

These classes provide a cardio workout that is more effective than cardio kickboxing classes, circuit training, karate classes, and tae kwon do classes. The martial arts classes offered at Texarkana Jiu Jitsu (Texarkana, TX (on Stateline Ave, across the street from Arkanasas (AR)) in MMA and BJJ provide an exceptional cardio workout that literally blows away traditional cardio kickboxing classes – you will lose body fat, get in shape, reduce stress, develop better focus, improve attention (ADD), improve discipline, and have fun. Cardio kickboxing classes are more limited in the scope of exercises and do not develop the postural or core strength and stability of our BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Gracie Jiu Jitsu), MMA (Mixed Martial Arts – popularized by the UFC), or kettlebell classes.

Our martial arts classes provide a better workout than cardio kickboxing and provide you with real self defense skills that could save your life one day. The classes will cause you to reduce fat, lose weight, gain strength and endurance, improve cardio, improve self defense, improve self confidence and discipline, and reduce stress.

We have students that are successful amateur and professional MMA (Mixed Martial Arts – made popular by the UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighters. Fighters that have competed and won in kickboxing / muay thai kickboxing, submission grappling / submission wrestling, and BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu aka Gracie Jiu Jitsu).