Roger Gracie - The Evolution... of Fundamentals

Roger Gracie Gomes (more commonly, Roger Gracie) is the most accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor in history. He has beaten every man who has gotten on the mat with him and he has never been submitted in competition. Roger is a true living legend that many know little about outside BJJ circles. My plan is to right that wrong with this blog post.

Roger is a fascinating guy because he is the culmination of so much technique, yet he wins against the top competition in the world using the most basic techniques. The cross-collar choke from mount, the thumb-in variation, the ezekiel choke, the armbar from S-mount, the mata-leao/kill-lion more commonly known as the rear-naked choke. Roger is the best in the gi and the best no-gi. He sub'd every person he faced at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Grappling Championship in 2005 and is a twelve-time world champion. He has won the absolute (open weight) world championship six times, the only man to ever achieve this feat.

How does a man become so much better than everybody else? How does Roger Gracie happen?

Being the grandson of Carlos Gracie Sr, the founder of BJJ, on his maternal side, he was immersed in jiu-jitsu at a very young age in Brazil. Surrounded by top instructors and training partners he honed his fundamentals and defense to an unpenatrable level. As a member of the Gracie family and culture, there was an expectation of excellence. While others have had good fortune being born around great mentors, Roger had something more, maybe a few things more, going for him.

His dad, Maurcio Motta Gomes, is one of the "Famous Five", a prestigious group of black belts under the late Rolls Gracie. So on a typical day, Roger would go to the Gracie Barra Academy and be surrounded by the likes of his uncle Carlinos, perhaps Jean-Jacques Machado, Renzo Gracie, Eduardo de Lima, Maurcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz, and then come home to his Rolls Gracie black belt dad who could answer any questions and cement any knowledge that he needed to fine tune. This situation persisted for years until Maurcio and Roger were offered an opportunity to start a chain of schools in the UK. They took the opportunity and Roger was able to keep himself surrounded by the best black belts there, as well. A main partner was the great jiu-jitsu innovator Braulio Estima. He continued to grow, and though all these top black belts he was going through knew his bread-and-butter techniques that they needed to avoid, they couldn't. Having studied his jiu-jitsu ad nauseum, I discovered a theme to his system of attacks: Roger forces opponents to defend one technique, opening up another. His secret is a web of techniques that complement each other. The result is he's always attacking and opponents are futilly defending. His system is so honed and so sharp that if he isn't defending, he's advancing his position or submitting the opponent.

Additionally, Roger is tall, athletic, calm, detail-oriented and committed. It is a rare occasion that capacity meets opportunity in this way and produces an all-timer like Roger Gracie. He is the result of being the best guy in the best places at the best times. I try to mimic his style and demeanor in the way that a kid would wear a Michael Jordan jersey and stick his tongue out while taking a basketball to the rim. I'm a fan of humble greatness. There has been none greater than Roger Gracie Gomes.

Renzo - The Lion of the Gracie Family

"Who you are speaks so loudly that I can't hear what you're saying." -Emerson

There are many historical figures in the history of jiu-jitsu, especially in the Gracie family. So many great men, forged by an "iron sharpens iron" philosophy towards jiu-jitsu and life. A team of family members bringing out the best in one another, demonstrating how to build a tribe of competitors that are first teammates... brothers. Countless have followed this template first laid out in the Japanese Kodokan with Jigoro Kano and the likes of Mitsuyo Maeda. Maeda passed these traditions on to Renzo's Grandfather who passed them through the family down to Renzo. No one knows what he was blessed with more than the great, Renzo Gracie.

Renzo used these blessings to build himself into one of the most well-respected figures in jiu-jitsu, MMA and teachers of his art. He always credits his family and friends and shows thankfulness to those who preceeded him. He strives to be a worthy link in the chain of outstanding men whose family he was born to.

To me, Renzo is a brand, characterized by the fact that he is a normal, real guy on one hand, but an abnormally tenacious, fiery savage on the other. He is a pinch of Carlos, a dash of Helio and bit of Rolls carrying the torch with a sense of duty, to honor what his grandfather created. He has succeeded in this endeavor, but he is not done.

Renzo has wins over some all-time greats, both on the mat and in the cage, but these wins have told me less about his character than nights he may not have fond memories of. Some of his losses are legendary. It feels counterintuitive to write that, but the heart he showed in his fight with Kazushi Sakuraba as he watched his shoulder separate from his body... not tapping... never quitting.  Fighting Matt Hughes, a former UFC champion (for seven years), at forty-three years old. Who did he think he was? He's Renzo. His Metamoris (re)match with Sakuraba which was a draw but Renzo controlled the action and, like always, represented himself well. What if he had lost where he was most at home on the mats? Renzo doesn't seem to look at it that way. He's like, "Let's do it!"

Renzo is a man that has figured out that the journey is more important than the destination. How you do it is as important as what you do. Renzo has demonstrated a warrior spirit that is his legacy. All balls. A Tasmanian devil with the precision of a lion going for the throat. We will never have another Carlos Gracie Sr. We will never have another Rolls Gracie. And we will never have another Renzo.

                                                              -Gracie Lemon

Non-Gracie Lineage - The Franca-Fadda Line

"If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know he is part of a tree." -Crichton

In jiu jitsu circles, it is common knowledge that Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil, taught jiu jitsu to Carlos Gracie Sr, and Carlos taught his brothers, creating the jiu jitsu boom we are in now, nearly a century later. I illustrated this in my last blog post, as you may have read. What I left out was the fact that there was at least one other student of Maeda in Brazil, and nobody knows, or will say if he preceded Grandmaster Carlos. His name was Luis Franca.

Little is known (or spoken) about Luis Franca. He probably learned jiu jitsu before some, or possibly all of the original five sons of Gastao Gracie Sr, because he was a direct student of Maeda. He was the professor of Grandmaster Oswaldo Fadda, also a red belt. One may ask, is this non-Gracie line legitimate? I would ask multiple Mundial world champions, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza or Rodolfo Viera. They are from that line and, yes, they are legitimate.

The Franca-Fadda line is said to have accepted The Gracie Challenge and had success in the mid-20th century in Brazil with their emphasis on leg lock techniques. The Gracies at the time considered leg locks "low-class" and didn't train them much, or at all. Now, the best in the world are experts in chokes, armbars, shoulder locks and, yes, leg locks. In jiu jitsu, you don't have to do all the moves but you must know how to defend them all, which means you must train all positions and all techniques.

If anybody knows more about Luis Franca, Brazilian student of Mitsuyo Maeda; please pass the information and source so history can credit this pioneer. What the Gracies have done is done. Nobody can quantify what they have meant to martial arts. To credit another forefather will take nothing away from their contributions. The metaphor I used in my last post was that Carlos Sr. was George Washington and Helio Gracie was Thomas Jefferson. Should we omit John Adams from the story? I don't believe so.

                                                                                                   -Gracie Lemon

The Gracie Family History

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.” -Cicero

Most fight fans are aware of the accomplishments of one member of the Gracie family from his successes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). If the title of this blog has led you here, then you already know about Royce Gracie, son of Helio Gracie. If you don't, he is the 180 pound man who successfully beat three-to-four martial artist/fighters in a single night during no holds barred matches in the early 1990's... on three different occasions. He is the most well-known Gracie for these achievements, but he is not the most significant.

In the early 20th century, a Japanese martial artist named Mitsuyo Maeda came to Brazil and changed the world of martial arts forever. Maeda or Conde Koma, as he became known for knocking out or putting to sleep opponents around the world in challenge matches, met a man named Gastao Gracie. Gracie had five sons, the oldest of which was a troubled youth. His name was Carlos. Gastao introduced Carlos to Maeda in hopes of helping his son get his life on track and keep him out of trouble. Carlos Gracie became the first Brazilian, and the first Gracie to learn jiu jitsu from the Japanese Maeda.

His four brothers also learned from their big brother. Gastao Jr, Osvaldo, George and Helio (in order, oldest to youngest) became adept at their craft like Carlos. George, who was known as the Red Cat, was the first Gracie family champion. He did challenge matches that later became known as The Gracie Challenge. Basically, anybody could challenge one of the Gracies to test their art against Gracie Brazilian Jiu jitsu. The Gracies were very successful and the Red Cat was the first. He died young and the torch was passed to his feeble-statured little brother, Helio Gracie... Royce’s dad.

Helio may have left the biggest footprint of all the Gracies. Many in martial arts circles consider him the founder of Brazilian jiu jitsu, but I do not. I consider him more of a forefather... a Jefferson to Carlos's Washington. While Helio didn't found the art, his legacy is undeniable. He faced Masahiko Kimura (the namesake of the shoulder lock which was used to defeat Gracie) in front of a crowd of 20,000-plus at Maracanã Stadium after the tiny Helio was stacking Japanese champions like cord wood. Japan sent their best and Kimura was 80-100 pounds heavier with equal skill and heart. Helio's fighting exploits were undeniable during the middle part of the century but his true legacy may be what he left behind. He and Carlos's offspring have continued the tradition their fathers' had begun.

Carlson Gracie Sr. became the family champion after his uncle Helio aged out of the role. His legacy was adding wrestling and other effective skills to the grappling playbook. This “going out of the Gracie Clan” was frowned upon by his traditionalist uncle and others in the family. But his branch of the tree produced legendary fighters such as Vitor Belfort et al.

Carlos Gracie Jr, also a son of the founder, has led more people to jiu jitsu than any other single person through the world’s largest chain of Brazilian jiu jitsu schools, Gracie Barra (pronounced Baja). There are schools all over Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The author of this blog is a student of one of them and I consider him my master.

Rorion, the oldest son of Helio, trademarked the name Gracie Jiu jitsu and established the Gracie Jiu jitsu Academy in Torrance, California. He was also a cofounder of the UFC where his little brother dominated in the early years.

Rickson, the second son of Helio, is widely considered the greatest Gracie. He competed in many fights and was never defeated. You are hard-pressed to find anybody who claims to have even beaten him during sparring. In fact, to the contrary: many current and former champions who have had the opportunity to train with him have said that they were unable to submit him, even at 50-plus years of age. He had the technique, smarts, warrior spirit, and unwavering commitment to his craft… a true living legend.

Rickson’s older cousin Rolls is the one that some would say was the greatest, besides Rickson. Rolls Gracie died young in a hang-gliding accident but promoted six to black belt before he died. These are very prestigious people in the world of BJJ. One of these is Romero Cavalcanti (more commonly known as Jacare) who is the founder of Alliance BJJ, the second-largest chain of schools behind Gracie Barra, and producers of the likes of Fabio Gurgel and the great Marcelo Garcia. Another is Maurcio Motta Gomes who married Reila Gracie Carlos’s Sr’s (the founder) daughter and produced who I think is the greatest, most skilled champion, Roger Gracie Gomes (more commonly known as Roger Gracie).

Roger has never been submitted in competition. He has beaten every man he has ever faced in a BJJ competition.  The few losses he has were by points to the best out there such as Pe de Pano, Ronaldo Souza and Alexander Ribiero. He has beaten them all multiple times.

As you can see, the Gracie family story doesn’t begin and end with Royce and the UFC, though his contributions were significant. He showed Americans the effectiveness of the greatest martial art and the rest is history.

The Helio branch led by Rorion tries to push Helio as the founder of BJJ, and many buy into the spin. What Helio has done is history and he is a legend and a forefather, but he learned BJJ from his big brother, Carlos Sr. That is an indisputable fact. Helio was the last to die of the five original brothers so he was the Grandmaster for a decade and a half after Carlos died. This enabled Rorion and the Helio branch of the Gracie family tree to push the “founder” narrative. All BJJ students and practitioners should know that Helio was a great champion and promoter, but Carlos Gracie Sr. was the founder of Brazilian Jiu jitsu. Know your history!

                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                -Gracie Lemon