Helio Gracie

The more I read about Helio Gracie, the more I come to admire him. A lot of people seem to be on a hateful campaign towards the Gracie family, but I personally think that everyone in the martial arts community should thank them for their innovation and perseverance. Without the Gracie family we would not have No Holds Barred/Mixed Martial Arts competitions here in America. Many people think of MMA as an exciting sport, and it is, but all Helio was trying to do when he competed in No Holds Barred matches was prove the effectiveness of Jiu-Jitsu.

The whole Gracie family, it seems, competes in the Mixed Martial Arts arena. They have fought on short or no notice. When Helio was 42 he fought one of his top students, who was 25, after the student made insulting remarks in the newspaper. They fought for 3 hours and 45 minutes, which is an amazing feat. After grappling for an hour I feel tired. Imagine a fight for almost 4 hours where someone is able to use all weapons. Watch any Ultimate Fighting Championship or Pride event and you can see after a few minutes the fighters are getting tired. When asked why he took the fight without any time to prepare, Helio responded, "When a man insults you in the street and you have to defend yourself, are you goung to say meet me back here in two months? I always tell my students that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was developed so that a smaller man could protect himself against a larget man. How could I teach my students one thing and then do another?" That statement alone blew me away. I have fought, and I would not get in the ring or cage without at least 6 weeks of preparation, besides my usual training. The statement above is truly from a man possessed with extreme integrity.

Helios opinion on the current state of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I have read, is not good. He has been quoted as saying that all you need for a black belt now is to win tournaments, which is good if you win, but unrealistic for self defense, which is why Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was developed. He states he doesn't train the tough guys, he likes training the average joe. He also states that too many top competitors do not know any self defense or are not teaching it. That the current trend is just tough guys teaching tough guys who then open their own schools and teach other tough guys to win tournaments, which leaves out the people who really need jiu-jitsu, the smaller, weaker people.

At American School of Martial Arts, we try our best to carry on the tradition of Helio Gracie through his son Royce, who stresses the self defense aspect of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. At the second annual Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu gathering in Miami, we trained the self defense part, no cartwheel guard passes or flying triangles. So at ASMA we teach the self defense part as wall as what applies toward MMA/NHB. If you are looking for a gi tournament school, we aren't for you. We refuse to teach the BJJ point system. If you want to learn self defense and do a little cage fighting, come on in, but 98% of the people who train at ASMA do it for fitness and self defense, never planning to step in the cage or compete in anything. If you want to test your Gracie Jiu-Jitsu by stepping into the cage, you will have that opportunity, there is no greater rush.

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