At
the heart of the Gracie Barra Family's extraordinary success
over the years is our strong philosophy and mission as
a group, a foundation which our masters laid many years
ago, but is constantly made stronger by all of the great
people involved in our community.
Jiu-Jitsu is a beautiful art, and we have a vision of
how it should be taught, as well as how our community
should work together for common, powerful, and positive
goals. To achieve this vision, we must remember to come
together as a family, always putting the team in frong
of oneself. For that, we will fight to the end for what
we believe is right.
(By Master Carlos Gracie Jr and Professor Marcio Feitosa)
The
History of Gracie Barra:
Professor
Carlos Gracie Jr. is the founder and head instructor of
the Gracie Barra Academy, the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
school in the world, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The son of Carlos Gracie, the pioneer of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,
Carlos Gracie Jr., has produced well over 200 black belts
in his tenure, which today includes numerous world class
instructors and athletes.
At the heart of the Gracie Barra mission statement is
the goal of training both the body and spirit, going beyond
the 'winning-losing' or 'contest' philosophy present in
other martial arts. Instead, Professor Carlos Gracie Jr.
emphasizes the fundamental principle of Jiu-Jitsu: "Minimum
effort for maximum efficiency," a method of utilizing
strength through gentleness, an expression exemplifying
both the mental and physical aspects of Jiu-Jitsu. In
Professor Carlos' mind, Jiu-Jitsu was in fact a method
of education, which could be used to foster one's personal
development. Professor Carlos considered the goals of
Jiu-Jitsu to revolve around three aspects: physical education,
personal achievement, and ethical growth. In other words,
through the practice of Jiu-Jitsu, one would complete
their personal development through the training of body
and mind, becoming a person better able to contribute
to society and the world. Recognizing the never-ending
quest for self-perfection, even today Professor Carlos
continues to study these techniques and principles with
his students. The constant development of techniques demonstrates
Professor Carlos' adherence to these principles, continuously
striving for further progress and knowledge.
In spreading the values of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Professor
Carlos is also the head of the IBJJF (International Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu Federation, www.cbjj.com.br) the largest international
organization for overseeing the growth of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
The IBJJF is the organizer of the largest competition
tournaments in the world including the World Championships
of Jiu-Jitsu ("Mundials"), held in Rio every
July, the Pan-American Championships held in Dominguez
Hills, California, the European Championships held in
Portugal, also held annually. This year also marks the
first Asian Championships to be held in Japan.
