|
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is legendary. At a very young age, Helio Gracie learned traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu techniques from his older brother, Carlos. In the late 1920's, he began to modify these techniques to accommodate his frail physique, with the objective of developing a system that would enable him to defend himself against larger opponents. After years of refinement, he proved his art’s effectiveness by routinely defeating larger and stronger opponents, some of whom outweighed him by as much as 100 pounds.
As a result, Helio’s techniques quickly became the new expression of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil and set the stage for a worldwide revolution in martial arts.
I have been lucky enough to train with Royce Gracie who had UFC fame, and I can tell you his throws and locks in Jiu-Jitsu are second to none. Using your opponents body weight to your advantage is a very important component in Maarlisk. Having also trained with Master Robert Sheehan, World sports Ju Jitsu champion, they have helped me realise that ground work is also important.
We do not start on ground fighting with students, but as you move up the grades it is a nautral progresion and a fun element to our style. We work alot on dynamic punching and kicking, and when we added Jiu-Jitsu in to Maarlisk we have a style that is not only practical in a standing scenario, but will work great on the ground.
|
