History
Hélio Gracie: The Frail Brother Who Rebuilt Jiu-Jitsu
The life of Hélio Gracie (1913–2009): the sickly boy from Belém who reworked judo around leverage, fought Kimura and Santana, and lived to see UFC 1.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
Tag
11 posts
History
The life of Hélio Gracie (1913–2009): the sickly boy from Belém who reworked judo around leverage, fought Kimura and Santana, and lived to see UFC 1.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
The life of Rickson Gracie: Hélio's son, the vale tudo fights with Rei Zulu, the Japan tournaments and PRIDE, the 400–0 legend and the record behind it.
9 min read · 21 Sept 2026
Training
No single art wins a street fight. An honest ranking of ten martial arts for self-defence by what actually matters: pressure-testing, speed and range.
9 min read · 21 Sept 2026
Training
Usually eight to twelve years. The IBJJF minimums per belt, the children's colours, what speeds the road up or slows it down, and why nobody good is counting.
7 min read · 21 Sept 2026
Comparison
Eight limbs standing or a fight on the floor? BJJ and Muay Thai compared on training, fitness, injuries, self-defence, time to competence, cost and MMA.
8 min read · 21 Sept 2026
Comparison
Rolling on the floor every night or lines, kata and point sparring? BJJ and karate compared on belts, kids, fitness, injuries, self-defence, cost and culture.
7 min read · 21 Sept 2026
Training
Strength over position, tapping late, collecting techniques, only rolling with weaker partners: eight habits that stretch the white belt year, and the fix.
8 min read · 20 Sept 2026
Comparison
Soviet throws and leg locks versus Brazilian guard and chokes: rules, technique, culture, access and MMA transfer compared, and which one to train.
6 min read · 20 Sept 2026
Comparison
Judo throws, BJJ finishes on the ground. What each trains, how they differ in rules, cost, injuries and time to competence, and which to pick for your goals.
9 min read · 20 Sept 2026
Glossary
Ne-waza: the ground-fighting part of judo, the three groups of techniques it covers and how it relates to BJJ.
1 min read · 18 Sept 2026
History
How Maeda Mitsuyo brought judo to Brazil, how the Gracies rebuilt it around leverage, and how UFC 1 in 1993 made it the grappling base of MMA.
9 min read · 17 Sept 2026