@
@
What is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu?
@
Roberto
Pedreira
April
9, 2020
Updated
April 1, 2021
Rorion
Gracie went to the USA to be a movie star. He ended up asking for spare
change on the
streets [according to his 1989 Playboy interview with Pat
Jordan]. But
only temporarily. Unexpectedly, his family's "jiu-jitsu" turned
out to be very popular (thanks in no small part to Art Davie, Morishita
Naoto, and a few others). It didn't happen suddenly or without some random
luck.
One
of the main pieces of luck that aided jiu-jitsu's rise to global dominance
was tangsudo karateman/movie actor Chuck Norris's meeting with certain
members of the Gracie clan in Brazil. Chuck was an open-minded guy with
some judo background and was impressed with the Gracie's application of
Brazilian common-sense to certain martial arts puzzles, such as, how do
you win a fight, or avoid losing, to a large aggressive assailant who
wants to beat you down with rapier-quick, devastating punches or
back-alley Irish boot kicks? The Gracies had a solution. Chuck invited
Rorion and a bunch of his brothers and cousins to explain what it was.
It
happened at the UFAF Convention in
Las Vegas,
July 22, 1988. Chuck's student Denny Lane filmed it (here).
Chuck
introduced Rorion as Helio's Gracie's oldest son, which he was, and Rickson as the "champion of Brazil and
probably everywhere else", which he wasn't.
Rorion then
explained that:
gHe [Helio Gracie] learned from
a former world champion that went to Brazil about 70 years ago and he
learned the basics from the Japanesec..actually his older brother
Carlosc..and this Gracie jiu-jitsu has actually been developed by our
family from the last 60 years. So itfs not exactly the same kind of
jiu-jitsu that you find in Japan. We got the basics from the former world champion and
then we developed our own style, so thatfs what the Gracie jiu-jitsu is
called to differentiate this style from all other styles of jiu-jitsu that
you might have heard of. We, you know, we could have called it something
else but since we got the basics from jiu-jitsu, 60 percent of what we do
today has actually been developed by our family. So itfs not exactly the
same thing. Itfs kind of a variation of it.h
After
the first UFC the martial arts world in general began to take notice. Even
pacifistic, spiritually oriented aikidoists were intrigued by the apparent
effectiveness and efficiency of "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu." Rorion
enlightened them in an
interview with James Williams and Stanley
Pranin in
Aikido Journal Online, published August 27, 1994:
gMy father Helio is the one who
actually masterminded what we now call Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Initially he
taught the traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu that he learned by watching my
uncle [Carlos]. In time, through trial and error, he kept polishing the
art and made it more refinedc..The movements and chokes you
see in judo and other Jiu-Jitsu practitioners are basically the same ones
we do. The techniques that we have in jiu-jitsu were not invented by my
father. He never claimed to do that. What he did was make the art a little
more accessible to the weaker person.h
The
story evolved slightly over the six years. Helio became more central, the
"mastermind" in fact.
Emphasis was placed on how Helio had "polished and refined"
jiu-jitsu [or actually, what he erroneously believed was "traditional jiu-jitsu."]
There was surprisingly little BS, at least compared to what came later. Mitsuyo Maeda was not mentioned by name. Rorion
modestly claimed merely that Helio made judo and jiu-jitsu "a little
more accessible to the weaker person." The ludicrously exaggerated
claims that have proliferated since then were (it seems) the result of
intra-family rivalries (see here) and
competition over market-share, and internet speculation. (Initially,
most members of the family had little to say, usually, "that's what I
heard" or nothing at all. Ironically, the family member who had the
best story to tell didn't need to fabricate anything because his story was
true and verifiable. But he didn't speak English, he didn't have a law
degree, he didn't grasp the psychology of American martial arts fans, and he
wasn't megalomaniacal. Strangely, Rorion rarely, or never, mentioned him.)
**
Shortly after the
first and second Ultimate Championships, Japanese martial arts fans became
curious about the Gracie family's "jiu-jitsu." For one thing, they wanted to
know why the Brazilians were calling it "jiu-jitsu" when it was obviously
judo? At the same time, the Japanese were aware that all "styles"
and systems, including Kodokan Judo, began as extensions and blends of what
came before or what was practiced somewhere else, adapted to the
requirements of current circumstances. They were also interested in exactly
how these Brazilian
"Gracies" adapted judo for their own purposes. They were not
oblivious to the significant economic potential of this new group of
international rivals (see interview with Morishita
Naoto).
A group of Japanese
martial arts specialists decided to
explore these questions. Their source materials were: Videos of UFC 1
and UFC 2; Gracie marketing materials; and Gracie instructional tapes. As it
turned out, some Japanese martial arts researchers subsequently drew
conclusions based on this same dubious Gracie material, as well as the article to be
discussed below. The results
were predictably inaccurate (see here for some
examples). Despite these
limitations the article is worth reviewing. Here it is.
@
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu: The Reality of Jūjutsu
based on Experience of Real Fighting (ƒOƒŒƒCƒV[_p:
“¬‘ˆ‚ÌŽÀŒ±ê‚©‚çŠ_ŠÔŒ©‚¦‚é_p‚̳‘Ì).
July 1994, pp. 26-35, ”é“`ŒÃ—¬•pŒŽŠ§
(The Hidden Traditional Martial Skills Monthly).
By •Ê‹{ŽOŒh
(Betsumiya Sankei)**
Translated
by Roberto Pedreira
Note. Various Japanese expressions are
used. For the benefit of readers who do not train judo or don't understand
Japanese, a glossary is provided. Recent, some "jiu-jits" teachers
have become aware that what they are teaching is actually a form of Kodokan
judo and they have acknowledged this by attempting to use Japanese
expressions for positions (sometimes incorrectly, and usually mispronounced,
but their honorable motivation is recognized and encouraged.) A brief glossary
can be found at the end of the translation.
Notes by Roberto
are enclosed in brackets, e.g., [ ].
*
Introduction,
p. 26
In the Second
Ultimate Tournament, Gracie Jiu-jitsu left a strong impression on the
world by defeating every fighter who stepped up. It's roots are a Japanese
judoka named Maeda Mitsuyo [ ‘O“cŒõ¢].
So, why is it called "jiu-jitsu" ( ‚È‚º@[_p]
‚Ȃ̂©). In terms of actual
techniques, we search
for the relations between Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Japanese j‘O“cŒõ¢].
So, why is it called "jiu-jitsu" ( ‚È‚º@[_p]
‚Ȃ̂©). In terms of actual
techniques, we search
for the relations between Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Japanese j‘O“cŒõ¢].
So, why is it called "jiu-jitsu" ( ‚È‚º@[_p]
‚Ȃ̂©). In terms of actual
techniques, we search
for the relations between Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Japanese j‘O“cŒõ¢].
So, why is it called "jiu-jitsu" ( ‚È‚º@[_p]
‚Ȃ̂©). In terms of actual
techniques, we search
for the relations between Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Japanese j‘O“cŒõ¢].
So, why is it called "jiu-jitsu" ( ‚È‚º@[_p]
‚Ȃ̂©). In terms of actual
techniques, we search
for the relations between Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Japanese j‘O“cŒõ¢].
So, why is it called "jiu-jitsu" ( ‚È‚º@[_p]
‚Ȃ̂©). In terms of actual
techniques, we search
for the relations between Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Japanese jujutsu, and judo.
[Note:
In
this same magazine, the well-known experts Takaoka Hideo (‚‰ª‰p•v),
Kōno
Yoshinori,(b–ì ‘P‹I),
and Yoshida Nobumasa (‹g“cM³) of
the Budōyōseikan
(•“¹—{³ŠÙ)
will
give their opinions based on watching videos of the Ultimate Tournament and
a Gracie instructional video.** ]
Section 1, p. 27:
@Clinching with the opponent, taking him down,
submitting him with chokes or joint-techniques [‘ŠŽè‚É‘g‚Ý•t‚¢‚Ä“|‚µ,’÷‚ß‚âŠÖß‹Z‚ÅŽd—¯‚ß‚é]
First, two tactics of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu were put on display in the
Ultimate Tournament. It was good that almost no punches or kicks were
taken. Royce, that is, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, appeared to be unprepared to
fight with punches or kicks. But suddenly and quickly Royce
clinched and took the opponent to the ground. He used a "tackle"
which is a technique similar to the judo morote-gari, and threw the man down. That was his only objective. And then, when the
opponent was down, he took the mounted position. If it happens that he [Royce] is on
the bottom he will reverse the position and obtain
and maintain a superior mounted position. During that time he will try to minimize the possibilities for
counter-attack. He [Royce] will grab the sleeve of the dōgi
[the opponent's sleeve]. If an opportunity appears, he squeezes the man's
neck, or he holds the man's elbow so tightly making him "give
up." In most cases when that happens, the reason is that Royce, from
the mounted position, unleashes a hail-storm of rapid fire cannon
punches to the opponent, shattering his fighting spirit. While
administering such punishment to the mounted opponent, Royce waits for any
chance to finish the man with a choke or joint technique. That is
the basic tactic used by Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in the Ultimate Tournament.
Section 2, p. 27, Without punching or kicking, the man who
controls the striking will win [“Ë‚«‚âR‚è‚łȂA‘g‚ݑł¿‚ð§‚·‚éŽÒ‚ªŸ‚Â].
Next, let's closely analyze the
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu strategy in the Ultimate Tournament as a simulation of a
"real fight" [ ŽÀí].
Facing the antagonist in a combat-ready posture [‘ŠŽè‚Æ—§‚Á‚½‚Ü‚Ü\‚¦‚½ó‘Ô‚Å] the Gracie
representative throws fake kicks and punches with no real intention of
causing damage, while carefully watching for any
chance to clinch or "tackle" that will be 100% successful. Hardly
any real fights [ŽÀÛ‚Ìí‚¢]
are decided by punches or kicks. The Gracies think that whoever can control the
clinch [‘g‚ݑł¿]
will win the fight. Therefore in a contest they don't exchange genuine
punches or kicks. It isn't entirely clear to what extent their jiu-jitsu
system incorporates punches or kicks or methods for defending them [Žó‚¯‚Ì‹Zp].
It is said that their jiu-jitsu doesn't include punches or kicks but that
doesn't mean they don't practice them. It would be difficult to close the
distance on an opponent and take him to the ground, without being able to
deal with striking attacks. They don't use striking in their fights but
they know how to defend against strikes. How they do this is deeply
interesting. Roughly speaking, they don't have a great level of striking
abilities. It is unlikely that they would be successful if they attempted
to exchange strikes with expert strikers. Gracie jiu-jitsu
began as a method for avoiding the ferocious attacks of strikers by
getting very close to them.
In the phase of taking the opponent
to the ground while avoiding strikes, it is important to very quickly get
close to the opponent and take him completely to the ground. Based on
watching Gracie Jiu-Jitsu instructional videos, the techniques are not
complicated and there aren't many different types of them. Grabbing and holding the leg(s) is one
also known as "tackle."
While clinching the opponent face-to-face,
take him down.
From
that position [from the clinch] add a leg-entangling technique [ ‘«‚ð—‚Ü‚ê‚é,
a leg hook]. Then slightly slip around to the opponent's back while, as much as possible,
using your own leg [or foot] to immobilize the
opponent's leg [or legs, or foot, or feet;@‘« can
mean leg, legs, foot, or feet, unless specified] and then with a small
quick movement throw, take, or drag him down with ura-nage.
It could be possible to throw him with a general judo technique but the Gracie jujutsu
representatives do it without grabbing the sleeves or collar. From the tight clinch position, they
need only very little nage-waza to take the opponent down. They don't
rely on techniques that require sleeve or collar grips. Throws like
sukui-nage, koshi-nage, or kubi-nage
are the only useful techniques for
their purposes. They can be executed even if the opponent is naked from
the waist up.
After the opponent is on the
ground, what in judo is known as ne-waza begins. For Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu, there are many opportunities to take the
advantageous mounted position immediately after the
take-down. They aim at getting this top position when they execute the
take-downs, or leg-trips, or tackles. When
executing an ura-nage, they might briefly land face up or on their
back rather than in the mounted position, they use their near shoulder as a fulcrum, and rotate one time, and
expertly arrive at the mounted position. Also
if they are in a kesa-gatame position or a shihō-gatame
position, they grab the sleeve and use the elbow or
knee well to very effectively avoid the opponent to make any
counter-attacks. It seems that they have researched and practiced this
well. Sometimes it happens
that the Gracie representative ends up on the bottom being mounted. In such
cases, they have an important technique. The lift the lower body and tilt
the mounting person forward. When he is unstable, they reverse the body
positions. In addition to that, the way they deal with being on the bottom
and fend off chokes and so on, is very interesting. It is unpleasant being
mounted because the opponent's weight is pressing you down. However, you are
stable on bottom while the man on top is unstable against lateral force. So,
when the man on top has both hands on the mounted man's throat, he can be
pushed off from the side and then by twisting the body, he will be turned
over. The final phase is to
control both of the opponent's arms. His lower
body will be "killed" and he will not be able to attack
effectively. Punches and elbows from the top will undermine his fighting
spirit [ íˆÓ].
From that position, it will be possible to apply ude-garami, or one of the
ude-hishigi type techniques such as jūji-gatame,
or ude-gatame, or waki-gatame, or even
hadaka-jime, or okuri-eri-jime,
or sankaku-jime. @In
this way, the Gracie Jiu-jitsu techniques used in real fights are extremely
limited, and are all judo techniques. The number of techniques used in real
fights is small. Ordinary judo methods of both men holding each others'
collar and sleeve are not used; punches and kicks are allowed, and striking
counter-attacks are permitted while trying to apply throws. The special
rules of the Ultimate Tournament are a large reason [for the modifications
and adaptations of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu]. In
the process of trying to throw an opponent with a carrying-throw [katsugi-waza]
when collar and sleeves are gripped, both hands are "dead," which is
dangerous. Wrestlers and so on are naked so the collar and sleeves can't be
depended on which means that the variety of throws that can be used is
limited. However, it happened that the man known as "Demon" [ ‹S],
namely Masahiko Kimura [–Ø‘º•F],defeated
Helio Gracie with ude-garami.
In that contest, both men held the other's collar and sleeves. Throws
happened. They fought a creditable, ordinary judo match.Apparently, these days ordinary training focuses on ippon by "give
up" and also winning by points. If the opponent's knee touches the mat
for two seconds as the result of a throw [ “Š‚°]or
take-down [“|‚µ]
then two points are scored. In case of "body control," three points
are scored. In case of mount or "back position with both legs in,"
four points are scored. Contests are divided into four categories depending
on the ability of the fighters, ranging from 6 minutes to 20 minutes.Tournaments
are held in Brazil one time every year. Striking is excluding. Throwing,
choking, and joint-locks are permitted. They seem to be somewhat different
from the Ultimate Tournament. Here is where we get a glimpse of real Gracie
Jiu-jitsu. Before judo was established as a sport, jiu-jitsu had a variety
of techniques, that were excluded. In modern judo competitions some
techniques are prohibited, such as jumping arm-bar [tobi-tsuki ude jūji
gatame], and choking the head or neck directly
and other such "rough techniques" [r‹Z]
are also naturally among the prohibited techniques.
Gracie Jiu-jitsu seems to be more similar to original jiu-jitsu than the
judo that is practiced today. We should be able to see that in Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu.
End Part 1
Part 2
Section 3 pp. 31-32: Mitsuyo Maeda's judo style
for real fighting [‘O“cŒõ¢‚ÌŽÀí_“¹ƒXƒ^ƒCƒ‹‚»‚Ì‚à‚Ì]
There are undoubtedly many people who
have the feeling that current juujutsu and judo are rather different. So,
where did that style come from? The roots of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu are said to
be heavily influenced by Conde Koma, or Mitsuyo Maeda. Mitsuyo Maeda's
accomplishments were introduced in various sources
including ¢ŠE‰¡s_“¹•ŽÒCs.
and ¢ŠE‰¡s‘æ“ñV_“¹•ŽÒCs and
others (‚È‚Ç ).
Inquiring about the story of Maeda's fights everywhere is very
interesting.@For
example, like this:@hWell,
a question was what were the rules of a fight with judo. The first
rule was the opponent had to wear a training uniform. And, there was rule
for how to surrender. Judo striking techniques and kicking were not used.
...... There were some foreign wrestlers who wrestled naked...... Maeda was not afraid of losing to naked wrestlers but it wasn't easy to win.
It was difficult to throw them because they were naked. So the only
options were naked strangle (hadakajime) or hugging neck strangle (daki
kubishime)
Actually,
it seems that there were a lot of matches against naked wrestlers. Maeda
almost never lost. With the techniques that could be effectively used,
Maeda was exclusively limited to joint techniques kansetsu-waza and chokes
to subdue opponents.
[At this point
the author begins quoting one of the unidentified "other"
sources [ ‚È‚Ç],
possibly the Gracie marketing materials mentioned in the
introduction.]
It was said that there were fights
between boxers and judoka in Tokyo. [here, supposedly quoting Maeda]
"Well, a punch scored 5 points and a choke scored 3 points. A total
score was tallied after five minutes. That was bullshit [or like a child's
game, Ž™‹Y].
It was very different from a boxing match or a judo match. For me a public
fight for money was not a child's game. It was a real fight to the finish".
Maeda also said [supposedly] "Wrestlers from the developed countries
came to defeat and finish Japan. To break their delusion that they would
defeat Japan, it was necessary to start over at the
beginning training striking and kicking.
After 3-4 years of training and we acquire basic competence, it is
necessary to train with equipment. Me, now, I use rubber gloves for
boxing with a small hole for my thumb to stick out of.....Then I practiced
punching and kicking. Then I could grab the sleeve of the hand that was
trying to grab me. I think that the training that I mentioned above should
be done by every judoka.1
Of course, judo was based on self-defense
and Maeda never forgot that.
Actually, the opponents who Maeda usually fought were
"wrestlers" [ƒŒƒXƒ‰[
], who at that time were known as Western sumo wrestlers [¼—l—ÍŽm].
They were usually naked so opportunities to throw them were limited.
Therefore the only available option was ground grappling [Q‹Z]
and Mr. Maeda focused on that. Fights excluded punching and kicking, so
choking and joint-breaking was used to make opponents "give up."
It is reasonable to assume that the rules for boxers were not very much
different. Maeda didn't punch or kick. Being naked, when punches
came, the main thing he did was crawl and roll around, and get into a
clinch. To be exact, it should be said that Maeda took the judo that he
had practiced and reverted it to jiu-jitsu.
Actually, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu today compared to old
jujutsu, it can't be said that the techniques don't have some
similarities, but in fact they are almost all judo. There certainly
were some jujutsu techniques for holding a downed opponent, but there were
very few techniques such as "lock" and chokes while rolling
around on the ground. It is better to think of judo "ne-waza" as
being developed after the custom of practicing on tatami mats was
introduced. Furthermore, Maeda polished these techniques during his real
battles with wrestlers and boxers. So the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that we see now
is the heir to what Maeda did.
Section 4, pp. 32-24: Is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu exclusively an
antidote to kicking and punching [R‚è‚â•t‚«‚¾‚¯‚ł͉aH‚É‚³‚ê‚邾‚¯]
In the Second Ultimate Tournament, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
representative Royce Gracie demonstrated his overwhelming strength, as
mentioned previously. In that Ultimate Tournament, let's verify Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu as a "sport." Surely, it was strongly impressive
that the invited karateka, boxers, kickboxers, with their dangerous
destructive power, and so on, were handled easily. However, no matter
how intensely strong and powerful they were when they were fighting with
their similar techniques against each other in the same competition area, it
wasn't a fair fight [because the styles and rules were not comparable, and
the rules favored Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.] Speaking of the Ultimate Tournament,
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was a totally unknown style of fighting in the competition
area. Royce Gracie demonstrated his strength in only 12 minutes of fighting.
On the other hand, what about the challengers? They punched and kicked each
other, but they were completely ignorant about Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
Punching and kicking attacks, that is, in other words offered Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu chance to clinch [•t‚¯“ü‚éƒ`ƒ„ƒ“ƒX].
But they had no other way to do than do what they normally did. Royce Gracie
could enter into a clinch at a time of his own choice. Some people said that
the strikers should throw a knee strike or punch, or elbow, when Royce went
for his clinch or tackle. However, Royce Gracie persisted [the danger of
knees, punches, and elbows did not prevent Royce from tackling or
clinching].
When the take-down or throw was completed, it was all
over for every opponent. Royce had an answer for almost anything their tried
to do. The handicap was too large. Royce's dominance of the clinch game was
impossible to overcome. Sooner or later, the opponent would give up to a
choke or lock. With bad luck, the defeated opponent might end up with a
blood-covered face resulting from a shower of punches.
Section 5, pp. 34-35: Are traditional Jūjutsu
and Aikido useful for fighting? [ŒÃ—¬_p‚⇋C“¹‚Í‘ÎR‚µ“¾‚é‚©].
Gracie
jiu-jitsu training is mostly ne-waza. Even when struggling, pushing and
pulling, and jostling, the ultimate objective is to apply techniques that
will absolutely achieve an advantageous position.
So,
how does it stack up against other combat styles [•p]?
Against systems that have only
punching and kicking, no matter how often they try to challenge, the aim
does not vary. Which is to wait for
a chance to close the gap and clinch, and then to do it.
What
about judoka? In the second tournament, a judoka from Holland fought with
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He tried to throw the jiu-jitsu representative but he was
unsuccessful. Gracie did not have the same intention of throwing his
opponent. That wasn't necessary for him. It was enough to get tangled up with
him and fall down together. That's what he thought. In their way of thinking,
being throw doesn't mean they are losing. Instead, they believe that they
are drawing the opponent into a ground fight. A judoka can pin, choke, and
lock joints, but under the conditions of no punches or elbows. Although the
systems are similar the gap between the
levels of their abilities is like the difference between a
child and an adult. However, their abilities and quantity of training
is not inferior. If they would be prepared to
train and have the mentality to resist merciless punching attacks, it seems
that they could also have the potential to become strong [in the Ultimate
style.] What
about various old Japanese jūjutsu
systems such as Daitōuryū
[‘哌—¬]
and others that are said to be the sources for Aikido? Regrettably,
no. Technically there is no connection. Most of the training of Daitōuryū
and the various old systems was kata practice and most of the techniques
were far removed from real fighting applications, and moreover the amount of
practice was inadequate. In the case of Aikido, although the training
quantity may be abundant, it is far from having serious opposition
[resisting opponent] and there are no techniques for grappling with an
opponent. So,
what about an opponent who punches and kicks, and ground grapples? It can be
said that the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu style that has been seen since the 1960's is
the highest form. Roughly, in recent years, the opponents who they have defeated
in budō
[•“¹]
and kakutōgi
[Ši“¬‹Z]
contests [ŽŽ‡]
probably have mercilessly deployed punches and elbows. If it is immune to such
violence, for example, it is possible for shooting [shooto], and others, to
fight equally [with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.]2 In reality, the feeling can't be denied that
against the strong athlete Delucia [Note. Jason] Delucia, who used similar tactics, Royce,
who was proud of his ability to defend himself against punches and kicks, had difficulties winning.3 After all, that must be the
key.4 However,
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu's special feature, which is clinch, take-down, and dominate
assumes a one-on-one fight. In case of multiple opponents, the strategy of
mount and submission and so on, would lead to a beat-down [of the jiu-jitsu
stylist.] In the Ultimate Tournament there is only one opponent at a time so
there's isn't that to worry about. But for self-defense against two or more opponents
it is interesting to consider what kind of training they do. The
objective of the Ultimate Tournament wasn't to continuously defeat other
systems, rather it was to boost the fame of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. The Ultimate
Tournament revealed the dominance of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. For a long time it
was thought that jiu-jitsu was a fearsome thing of chokes and joint
techniques and its accomplishments were substantial. Ten-thousand
people [a lot of people, –œl]
could verify the efficiency of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Before the tournament
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was a local type of budō,
but after the tournament it skyrocketed into "World Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu." Originally
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was marketed as a self-defense system and a martial art for
weak people. But a violent thing called "bari tudo" or
"anything is" [‰½‚Å‚à‚ ‚è],
excluding only biting [Šš‚݂‚«]
and eye-pokes [–ڂ‚Ԃµ]
was created. A commercial tournament was promoted featuring Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
annihilating representatives of other systems. I can't reconcile these two
aspects of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. After watching the second tournament, I wonder
if it isn't because of all of the blood.5 In
the coming years I expect to see, instead of individual fighters beating on
each other to prove the superiority of their own style, a movement in the
direction of all styles cooperating to perfect a "great energy."6
@End I
Comments
1. The writer (•Ê‹{ŽOŒh
) understood that jiu-jitsu
meant jūjutsu and
wrote it correctly as _p. 2.
He also understood that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu wasn't anything like jūjutsu
[_p].
It was judo ne-waza [Q‹Æ aka
Q‹Z] adapted
for applications under the conditions of the first two UFCs. He also
understood that while Kanō's
judo started as mostly Kitō-ryū
in 1882, possibly mixed with some Tenjinshinyō-ryū,
by the time it had become explicitly labeled as Kodokan Judo in 1889, the jūjutsu
elements had been consigned to the kata(s), reference techniques, and
prohibited techniques (see Craze 1 for details.)
But none of these were or are present in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. 3.
The author used available sources for the history section. But the available
sources in 1994 were few and highly unreliable. Maeda was not a vale
tudo fighter, did not fight boxers, and did not design or train with UFC
gloves. He also did not teach Carlos Gracie or any other Gracie
the style of fighting that Royce used in UFC 1 and UFC 2. (In fact he didn't
teach Carlos Gracie or his brothers at all.) See Myths
about Mitsuyo Maeda. 4.
The author partly understood why the Ultimate Tournament took place. That
is, from Rorion Gracie's point of view. At least that's what Rorion said.
It's less certain that the masterminds behind the UFC were motivated
primarily to promote the Gracie Family. 5.
The author's prediction about what would happen turned out to be correct.
The relatively no rules, no time-limits, no weight-classes,
style-versus-style format quickly degenerated into a conventional commercial
format (kickboxing + wrestling + submissions, with lots of rules
and gimmicks to attract viewers.) @Translation Notes
Note. A macron
over a vowel indicates a long vowel, for example
ō
is twice as long as o, and
words are distinguished by such differences in length.
Most words in Japanese can be
written in various combinations of kanji and the two kana systems, depending
on what the writer believes will be most comprehensible to readers, or for
other reasons.
"Jiu-jitsu" is written throughout as
_p, pronounced
jū-jutsu
("jiu-jitsu" does not refer to a martial arts style in Japanese).
"Mount" and "mounted position"
are
written ”næ‚èó‘Ô,
pronounced uma-nori
jōtai.
The
words are variously written in noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial forms as they occurred in
the article (most words can be written in various ways). @
Notes
**See Top Misconceptions about Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu (forthcoming).
1. No source
is cited for these statements supposedly by Maeda. Maeda said no such things
in the two books that were mentioned, which are discussed extensively in Craze
1 and Craze 2)
2.
By immune to violence the
writer means, without unlimited striking.
3.
Jason Delucia (who later fought in Pancrase).
4. The author
seems to mean fighting
fire with fire, resisting jiu-jitsu with jiu-jitsu, or at least a somewhat
similar ground grappling style.
5. By "self-defense"
[Γgp] and
"martial art for weak people" [Žã‚¢‚à‚̂̕p]
the writer seems to have something like Aikido in mind.
6.
By "great energy, ‘å‚«‚ȃGƒlƒ‹ƒM[,
the writer means a hybrid style in which all participants are basically
playing by the same rules with the same resources.
Glossary
Waza (can
be written
‹Z or
‹Æ)
technique, trick
Uma-nori
jōtai
”næ‚èó‘Ô
- horse riding position (the judo
name is tate-shihō-gatame,
gatame,
—§‚ÄŽl•ûŒÅ‚ß)
Katsugi-waza
Katsugi-waza
(katsugu
’S‚®
= carry on shoulder)
nage-waza,
“Š‚°‹Z
-throwing technique
shime-waza @’÷‚ß‹Z-choke
kansetsu-waza ŠÖß‹Z-joint-lock
ura-nage — “Š‚°-back-throw
kesa-gatame ŒU¾ŒÅ‚ß -scarf
hold
shihō-gatame Žl•ûŒÅ‚ß
-four
corner hold
ude-garami ˜r‚ª‚ç‚Ý,
also written ˜r—‚Ýarm-entanglement,
and in some older books as ãgand
ãn.
ude-hishigi ˜rf‚¬-arm-destruction
jūji-gatame \ŽšŒÅ‚ß
-figure
10 hold
ude-gatame ˜rŒÅ‚ß
-arm
hold
moro-te-gari ‚à‚ë‚ÄŠ ‚è
-two
hand reap (moro ‘o,
which can also be pronounced sō, and more-te can be written ‘oŽè.
In this article it is written ‚à‚ë‚Ä.
waki-gatame ˜eŒÅ‚ß
-separated
arm hold
hadaka-jime —‡’÷‚ß
-naked
choke
okuri-eri-jime ‘—‚è‹Ý’÷‚ß
-pulling-collar-choke
kumi-uchi ‘g‚ݑł¿
-clinch, grappling, tie-up
sankaku-jime ŽOŠp’÷‚ß
-triangle
choke @
sukui-nage ‹d‚¢“Š‚°-scooping
throw
koshi-nage ˜“Š‚°-hip
throw
kubi-nage Žñ“Š‚°-neck
throw (hip throw with the neck as a handle)
Ashi wo kakae-komu ‘«‚ð•ø‚¦ž‚Þ
-tackle, also written phonetically as ƒ^ƒbƒNƒ‹
(pronounced takkuru)
Kahanshin wa korosare ashi de ‰º”¼g‚ÍŽE‚³‚ê‘«‚Å@-
killing (neutralizing) the lower body with
the legs
Karada wo hasami-komu ‘Ì‚ð‹²‚Ýž‚Þ
-straddling
Tobi-tsuki-jūji-gatame @”ò‚т‚«˜r\ŽšŒÅ‚ß
-jumping (or flying) arm-lock
Ashi wo karamareru ‘«‚ð—‚Ü‚ê‚é@-holding,
entangling, hooking the
legs (garami is the noun form of karamu and karamaru, karamareru
is the causative form). See ude-garami above.
Kumi-tsuku ‘g‚Ý•t‚@-grapple, clinch@kumi-tsuki
‘g‚Ý•t‚«is the noun form
Taosu “|‚·
-knock down, take down, put down,
defeat, etc
Taoshi
“|‚µ@-noun form of taosu
Ara-waza @r‹Æ
-rough techniques
Jissen
ŽÀí
-real fight (what 'real' means is
context dependent)
Sen'i
íˆÓ
-fighting spirit (Japanese had lots of
words for 'fighting spirit')
Ashi
‘«
-one of several words that can mean
leg, legs, foot, or feet (Japanese doesn't have obligatory number-marking,
so unless it is specified, the interpretation depends on context, or is
simply left vague). There are also words for particular part of legs and
feet.
Dōgi “¹’…,
also “¹ˆß -training clothes ("gi" is not an independent word)
Senpō
í–@@-tactics
Tsuki ya Keri “Ë‚«‚âR‚è
-punching and/or kicking
hizakeri •GR‚è@-
knee strike (knee kick)
Keri ya Tsuki R‚è‚â“Ë‚«
-kick and/or punch
Panchi ƒpƒ“ƒ`
-punch
Ate ya Keri “–‚Ä‚âR‚è
-strike and/or kick
gibuappu ƒMƒuƒAƒbƒv@-Give
up, tap out
@
As
always, thanks to ‹ß“¡—mŽq for
clarifying various subtle points.
(c) 2020 Roberto Pedreira. All rights reserved.
Updated September 9, 2021 (minor typos corrected)
More judo and jiu-jitsu articles on GTR here.
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