Quotessence
Home / Books / Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone, 1997-2008

Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone, 1997-2008

Book by Roberto Pedreira · 5 quotes · Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Rorion Gracie, Gracie Jiu Jitsu

Filter quotes by topic

AllBrazilian Jiu JitsuRorion GracieGracie Jiu JitsuJudoRollingTapping

Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone, 1997-2008 Quotes

“If you are called to roll with a jiu-jitsu instructor, rolling means rolling. He may toy with you. He may decline to tap you. But he expects you to do your best to defend yourself and to attack him. When an instructor’s body can no longer do what his mind tells it to, then he does not roll with students in this way, but provides wisdom and leadership appropriate to his rank and age. Students also adjust their intensity level appropriately to the training context. It is not inconceivable that a strong young blue belt could tap Helio Gracie out in 1999. He would pay a high and painful price for the glory of doing it however. There is a reason for age, weight, belt, and gender categories in competitions.”

RollingBrazilian Jiu Jitsu
Book:Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone, 1997-2008
Create image

“Rorion did for a generation of Brazilians what 30 years previously Brian Epstein did for a generation of English pop musicians, stimulating seemingly limitless demand for a product where none had existed before (Gould, 2007). But Rorion did it to an even greater degree, conceding that his system was basically judo. Helio felt the same way. In one of his last interviews, with Ana Missa on Sensei SporTV in 2009 (February 14), he explained that because he wasn’t physically suited for judo, he “modified jiu-jitsu so that a weak citizen like himself could fight” [pelo meu porte físico eu não podia ser judoka, então eu adaptei o jiu-jitsu para que até um cidadão fraco como eu pudesse lutar]. So there we have it. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is pre-Olympic judo, taught by Helio’s method, whatever that is, and modified so that weak citizens can fight (apparently Helio felt that judo required too much strength, which is odd, because many of his promotional pictures and demonstrations involved judo throws). That doesn’t mean Gracie products and services aren’t worth what they cost. If judo people were teaching this material, people wouldn’t be paying Brazilians to do it. Rorion didn’t invent anything. What he did was to make it valuable.”

Brazilian Jiu JitsuRorion GracieGracie Jiu Jitsu
Book:Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone, 1997-2008
Create image

“Twenty million Brazilians have crawled up out from poverty since Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva became president in 2003. Rorion did not save 20 million Brazilians, but his achievement should not be underestimated. There are a lot of Brazilians making a living from jiu-jitsu who would still be doing construction work (if any work at all), if it hadn’t been for Rorion. And this book wouldn’t have been written.”

Rorion Gracie
Book:Jiu-Jitsu in the South Zone, 1997-2008
Create image