The first signs of jiu-jitsu appeared in India, even before the birth of Jesus Christ. At that time, Indian monks were forbidden (according to their religion) from using weapons, but during their long walks, they were constantly attacked by bandits from the Mongol tribes of northern Asia.

Since they could not defend themselves with weapons, the monks created a method of body defense. Since they knew the vital points of the body very well, they developed a type of defense based on these points. Their technique was based on the body's articulation system and the principles of balance.

After India, Japan was the first country to have jiu-jitsu practitioners. This was due to the expansion of Buddhism, causing many monks to migrate to Japan. And it was there, in Japan, that jiu-jitsu became known as the “gentle art” and became popular, being practiced not only by monks, but even by nobles.

Many people also specialized in this martial art and became masters. At the end of the 19th century, some jiu-jitsu masters left Japan for other places and began to make a living from teaching the martial art and the fights they performed.

And that was how jiu-jitsu arrived in Brazil. Esai Moeda Koma, better known as Count Koma, was one of these masters who left Japan behind and set out to spread the art to the four corners of the world.

After traveling and fighting in several countries in Europe and America, Koma arrived in Brazil in 1915, in Belém do Pará. The following year he met Gastão Gracie, who was the father of eight children, five boys and three girls. The two soon became good friends and Count Koma began teaching jiu-jitsu to Gastão's oldest son, Carlos Gracie.

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Carlos was a skinny boy and jiu-jitsu radically changed his life. At the age of 19, he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family and became a professional fighter and jiu-jitsu teacher. For a few years, Carlos traveled to São Paulo and Belo Horizonte, teaching courses and competing in fights.

In 1925, he returned to Rio de Janeiro and opened the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Along with his brothers Oswaldo and Gastão, Carlos took on the responsibility of raising the youngest children, George and Hélio, who were 14 and 12 years old at the time, respectively.

From then on, Carlos began to teach his brothers all the teachings of jiu-jitsu. And the classes were not limited to the martial art. Carlos made a point of teaching his philosophy of life, which included a very healthy diet for the standards of the time. Carlos even created the “Gracie Diet”, whose basic principle was to reduce excess acidity in the diet. Together they improved and developed new jiu-jitsu techniques that made fighting possible for anyone's body type - even for the "skinny" Gracies.

By facing and defeating opponents 20 and even 30 kilos heavier, the Gracies became famous throughout Brazil. The fighting practiced by the Gracies was different. The Japanese practiced and emphasized takedowns, while the Gracies' jiu-jitsu sought ground fighting and submission moves.

Thus, the "Gracie jiu-jitsu" was born, which later became "Brazilian jiu-jitsu", a fighting and martial art revered throughout the world. Practitioners say that Brazilian jiu-jitsu is the best in the world, because the fight includes a lot of swinging and hip movement, something that few people, besides Brazilians, have.

And it was Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in turn, that gave rise to MMA - Mixed Martial Arts. To prove the effectiveness of jiu-jitsu, Hélio Gracie fought against opponents much stronger and heavier than him in fights without any rules (the so-called “vale-tudo”). The fights almost always ended on the ground, with Hélio winning, without the fighter having applied any traumatic blow, such as a kick or a kick, the fights were finished (the opponent gave up).

Hélio was very successful in his strategy of promoting jiu-jitsu. Soon all the Vale-Tudo fighters began training jiu-jitsu and perfected their ground fighting. Nowadays, nothing goes in Vale-Tudo and the sport is known worldwide as MMA – Mixed Martial Arts, where the winner is almost always the one who masters, and very well, the jiu-jitsu techniques of the Gracie family.