Conde Koma, also known as Mitsuyo Maeda, came to Brazil in 1914. The diplomat Gastao Gracie helped Conde Koma settle in from his trip from Japan to Brazil, and in return Conde Koma trained Gastao’s son Carlos in the arts of Jiu Jitsu – against the tradition of the Japanese to not expose the art to Westerners. Gastao agreed to only carry on the tradition through is family until he heard of Conde Koma’s death from poisoning in Japan. Carlos then went on to develop the art himself and pass it on to the sons through his family line. This began the chain of passing on and developing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu through the Gracie family. Carlos’ first students were his four younger brothers, and while they all teach, one of the most notable is Helio Gracie, father of Royce and Rickson Gracie.
Over the years, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has continually developed and has been incorporated as the core of what is known as mixed martial arts today in Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). The term mixed martial arts was coined to describe the assorted fighting styles that are incorporated into martial arts when fighting in the UFC. By using a combination of different styles, a fighter is able to best his opponent by mixing up his techniques. Mixed martial arts is a combination of both striking and kicking as well as ground work which was perfected in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
With the multitude of different combinations of throws, submissions, guards, and other techniques, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an art form that underlies many martial art techniques. Submission techniques have been perfected through Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, making this martial art the most complicated and thorough art available for unarmed fighting. It is impossible to compete in mixed martial arts without having knowledge of submission wrestling and grappling in order to defend you while on the ground. Once a fighter becomes thrown or otherwise put on the ground, the technique that goes into preventing a submission while at the same time trying to submit your opponent is incredible.
Without Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, mixed martial arts would only be a shadow of what it is today. Without the ability to control the fight on the ground, fighters put themselves at a disadvantage and lose fights. The better a fighter studies this style of submission wrestling, the better the fighter becomes at competing and winning fights. Learning the complexities of this art is more than worth it, even just from a historical standpoint, because as you watch modern fighting, you will understand how intricate the movements are and appreciate it as an art form.
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