Influence On The Creation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Gastão Gracie was a business partner of the American Circus in Belém. In 1916, Italian Argentine circus Queirolo Brothers staged shows there and presented Maeda. In 1917, Carlos Gracie—14 year old son of Gastão Gracie—watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Da Paz Theatre and decided to learn judo (also known at the time as 'Kano Jiu-Jitsu'). Maeda accepted Gracie as a student, and the youth went on to become a great exponent of the art and ultimately, with his younger brother Hélio Gracie, founded Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In 1921, Gastão Gracie and his family moved to Rio de Janeiro. Carlos, then 17 years old, passed Maeda's teachings on to his brothers Osvaldo, Gastão, and Jorge. Hélio was too young and sick at that time to learn the art, and due to medical imposition was prohibited from taking part in the training sessions, learning instead by watching his brothers. He eventually overcame his health problems and is now considered by many as the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (though others, such as Carlson Gracie, have pointed to Carlos as the founder).
Read more about this topic: Mitsuyo Maeda
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