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Home : Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Training
The Benefits of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Total Jiu-Jitsu offers a mix of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with and without the gi (submission grappling). Our curriculum places an emphasis on ground fighting, but we also cover takedowns and clinch work. Training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a great way to have fun and get in shape. Your strength, stamina and flexibility will greatly improve while you are learning a very valuable skill--how to protect yourself
For beginners we emphasize the required fundamentals of the martial art. This allows you to become proficient with basic techniques and principles that will be the foundation of the system.
For advanced students we offer training with the most successful competition team in the area. Our students have won numerous local, regional, and national bjj competitions. Contact us now to see what training with Total Jiu-Jitsu can offer you!
For more info on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique, check out Jason's blog.
History of Brazlian Jiu-Jitsu
Jiu-Jitsu, the oldest form of martial arts, originated in India more than 2,000 years before Christ. It spread through China and eventually settled in Japan.
In 1914, Japanese jiu-jitsu champions Esai Maeda and Inomata arrived in Brazil to help establish a Japanese immigration colony in that developing country. He was aided by Gastao Gracie, a Brazilian scholar and politician of Scottish decent. To show his gratitude, the oriental master taught the basic secrets of that ancient fighting style to Gastao's son, Carlos Gracie.
Carlos taught Maeda's techniques to his brothers: Oswaldo, Gastao, Jorge and Helio and in 1925 they opened the first jiu-jitsu Academy in Botafogo, a district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Helio, the youngest brother, who due to his frail health was forbidden from doing any kind of physical activity, got involved in this martial art at the age of 16 when he began substitute teaching for his brother Carlos. In spite of his small frame and weight of only 140 pounds, he became the mastermind behind the development of the style, creating an art that depended entirely upon technique, rather than strength and speed.
Helio went a step further than his teachers by introducing techniques that required less strength than the Japanese style. Led by him, the brothers were driven by a constant determination to find effective ways to deal with the very possible aspect of a real fight. Daring to break away from the traditional Japanese style, they began experimenting, modifying and perfecting simple techniques that would be effective regardless of stature. That is how the Gracie family developed this style of Jiu-Jitsu. Though this martial art descended from the ancient Japanese style, the differences are quite apparent. Many of the Japanese facets of the art which depended on physical prowess and stiff motion were tossed aside, leaving only pure technique.