“With Endurance, Persistence & Technique , We Conquer!”
What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a non-striking, performance based martial
art, specifically designed to control and subdue an opponent of greater size and strength by using principles of leverage and technique.
What makes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu unique?
Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has emerged above all others as the
single most effective means of self-defense, offering technique
on the ground, which is where most real altercations end up.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will give you the necessary tools to protect
yourself in the most common type of assaults and street
confrontations.
Practitioners in this physical game of chess, develop a “Jiu-Jitsu Mindset”, one that focuses sequentially on (1) Safety (2) Position and (3) Submission.
The focus of Jiu-Jitsu is very simple:
To enable a person to defeat an opponent regardless of their
size and without the need to use excessive force and brutality.
About the Charles Gracie Academy in Truckee/Tahoe:
Instruction at the Charles Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy of Truckee/Tahoe is open to men, women, and children, regardless of physical condition, age or past experience. The training we provide at our academy will surely help practitioners improve their physical condition and ground fighting skills. The Truckee/Tahoe Academy teaches children discipline, self-confidence, consideration for others and self-respect. Kids will learn how to effectively defend themselves, should the need arise. We also teach kids to use their skills responsibly. At the Academy, we seek to help our students develop on and off the mat.
Our Mission:
Our Mission is to empower people. This has been the Gracie
Family mission for over 80 Years and is our reason for teaching others. We will provide each and everyone on our team, the training, support, experience and commitment, necessary to perform at the highest level. We want to earn the trust and loyalty of all our students and improve the community and world that we live in.
Jiu-Jitsu for Strength, Confidence and Safety!
The History of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:
Some historians of Jiu-Jitsu say that the origins of “the gentle art” can be traced back to India, where it was practiced by Buddhist Monks. Concerned with self-defense, these monks created techniques based upon principles of balance and leverage, and a system of manipulating the body in a manner where one could avoid relying upon strength or weapons. With the expansion of Buddhism, Jiu-Jitsu spread from Southeast Asia to China, finally arriving in Japan where it developed and gained further popularity.
In the last days of the 19th century, some Jiu-Jitsu masters emigrated from Japan to other continents, teaching the martial arts as well as taking part in fights and competitions.
Esai Maeda Koma, also known as “Conde Koma,” was one such master. After traveling with a troupe which fought in various countries in Europe and the Americas, Koma arrived in Brazil in 1915, and settled in Belem do Para the next year, where he met a Brazilian scholar and politician of Scottish decent named Gastao Gracie.
The father of eight children, among them five boys and three girls, Gastao became a Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast and brought his oldest son, Carlos, to learn from the Japanese master.
For a naturally frail fifteen-year old Carlos Gracie, Jiu-Jitsu became a method not simply for fighting, but for personal improvement. At nineteen, he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family and began teaching and fighting. In his travels, Carlos would teach classes, and also proved the efficiency of the art by beating opponents who were physically stronger. In 1925, he returned to Rio and opened the first school, known as the “Academia Gracie de Jiu-Jitsu.”
Carlos Gracie: Carlos and his brothers, particularly Helio, changed the original art, adding new techniques and discarding older, less efficient ones. At that point, Jiu-Jitsu became Gracie/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Carlos also taught them his philosophies of life and his concepts of natural nutrition. Eventually, Carlos became a pioneer in creating a special diet for athletes, “the Gracie diet,” which transformed Jiu-Jitsu into a term synonymous with health.
Attracted to the new market which was opened around Jiu-Jitsu, many Japanese practitioners came to Rio, but none were able to establish schools as successful as the Gracie’s. This was due to the fact that the Japanese stylists were more focused on take downs and throws, and the Jiu-Jitsu the Gracie’s practiced had more sophisticated ground fighting and submission techniques. Carlos and his brothers changed and adapted the techniques in such a way that it completely altered the complexion of the international Jiu-Jitsu principles. These techniques were so distinctive to Carlos and his brothers that the sport became attached to a national identity, and is now commonly known as “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” practiced by martial artists all over the world, including Japan.
With the creation of an official governing body to oversee the administration of the sport, including competition rules and the grading system, the era of sport Jiu-Jitsu competitions was started. Today, Jiu-Jitsu is a highly-organized sport, with an International Federation as well as a Brazilian National Confederation, both founded by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. Through his work with the Confederation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Carlos Gracie Jr. contributed to the growth of the sport by holding some of the first organized competitions. Currently, the IBJJF and CBJJ holds competitions in Brazil, the United States, Europe, and Asia, realizing Carlos’ original dream of spreading Jiu-Jitsu around the world.
Charles Gracie:
Charles started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at age 5. He was instructed by his uncles Rolls, Carlos Jr. and Reylson Gracie. He received his black belt at 20. In 1986 he relocated to Salvador Bahia to promote and teach the Gracie style of Jiu-Jitsu. He established the Bahia Jiu-Jitsu Federation in 1993, of which he is currently president. Since 1986 he has trained 5 students who have attained their black belts and have gone on to establish their own academies. Charles was promoted to 5th degree black belt in May 1999.
Charles won the first “Extremo Combate” (Extreme Combat) vale tudo contest in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil on July 7, 1997. In front of an audience of 6000 people, he defeated a kick boxer weighing 220 lbs in the finals, by knockout in 2:30 min.
Welcome to the next generation of Gracie tradition!
