look at the history of grappling in North America, A bit dry at times, with a lot of plain facts without much nuances, but a good read for grapplers who want to learn more about the history of their sport.
It wasnt likely, without the benefit of hindsight, anyone in the crowd at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, thatth of Novemberhad a clue that they were witnessing history in the making.
The modest audience attending UFCwas certainly surprised as they left the venue, Partly the surprise had to do with the violence theyd just seen, real human combat, with no rules or limits, mutually agreed to by contestants caged into a fenced enclosure.
But that sense of surprise was also due to how easily the tournament winner dispatched his adversaries.
The time his three fights lasted in all: five minutes, less than two rounds of a professional boxing bout.
Theyd have been more surprised still had they known the champion wasnt even in the top tier of his arts practitioners back in his homeland.
With Royce Gracies victories at the subsequent events the community of martial arts scholars became acquainted with what is now known as Brazilian JiuJitsu but at the time wasnt yet called by that name.
Naturally, analysis of this phenomenon brought with it controversy, What ensued was an intense “battle for legitimacy” where experts in an array of martial arts sought, to no avail, to come to a consensus on just what Brazilian jiujitsu is, what the Gracies role in its development was, etc Truth is, it is a modern day expression of an ancient
philosophy of combat.
Its initial success was the consequence of a process that beganyears prior, when a group of Japanese martial artists brought judo to America and over the course of years unconsciously adapted their techniques to deal with the problem at hand when they were repeatedly challenged by American wrestlers who were almost invariably bigger and stronger.
The natural consequence of this was the development of a style of fighting that would respect the natural physiology of humans, and a peculiar combat philosophy.
The outcome of this philosophy of pursuing superiority led to the creation of valetudo ins Rio de Janeiro.
That was the starting point of the timeline in which Brazilian jiujitsu developed, quite unmethodically mixing combat in the gi, nogi and “valendo tudo,” or “anything goes.
” At several points the art came close to extinction or being absorbed by judo, escaping this fate mainly because of the obstinacy of Hélio Gracie.
From thes onwards Brazilian jiujitsu plotted a path of near total isolation, restricted to a small number of practitioners but preserving the original combat philosophy, a still frame of an era on its way to forgottenness.
Until it captured the worlds attention on November,, How this process unfolded, that is the aim of this book, .