Interesting thread on Sherdog - Choque, the book.

[Kurzy]

Actually, I just skpped to the last page. Very interesting stuff.

Yeah the last few pages where Marco started dropping the history is where the gold is. Very earth shaking stuff, for the Gracie cultists.

[Tim Elliott]

I just watched the Kron Gracie/Joe Rogan podcast. It seems no one told him its not 1972 any more and my mum has a leg kick like Sakurabas. Most of the claims around being the pinacle of martial arts etc, entirely depend on geography.

[John Mejia]

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/atta...3&d=1408466169

This is a direct download link to MarcoHugeAss's Dissertation. It's long but worth the read!

[Kurzy]

Link's not working John.

[John Mejia]

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/atta...3&d=1408466169

A PDF SHOULD DOWNLOAD IT'S ABOUT 855KB

[Tim Elliott]

The New Zealand MMA scene dates back to way before the guys in that thread are saying the Gracies created it. The two guys I trained under one in NZ and one in Queensland, had MMA experience that pre-dated the UFC. In reality, the factory I work in just celebrated its 100th anniversary, and for a good 70 of those 100 years there was a no holds barred, 30 min fight in the carpark every day. Claiming a monopoly on this sort of stuff is patently ridiculous. Silly honour codes and social rankings are as old as people.

People have been fighting hand to hand just about forever. Muay Thai is basically just the last of the military "Oh no I dropped my sword" CQB that before guns, every male on the planet would have trained in. South East Asia was late in giving that up. We are seeing the last gasps (thankfully saved by MMA) of hand to hand combat, not the invention of it.

[Mikael Chay]

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/atta...3&d=1408466169

A PDF SHOULD DOWNLOAD IT'S ABOUT 855KB

Thanks John for the PDF (great read so far!) and thanks Kurzy for unearthing this gem of a thread!

[Damian J]

John, thank you so much for posting this link. Awesome read. I have to admit, as someone that trains with one of the original GJJ professors in the states, that as much as I respect the Gracie family and what they've given to everyone here...I've always taken a lot of the history with a grain of salt. Anyone who has ever looked at a photo of Helio and Carlos back in their day can see that Helio was not smaller than Carlos. And, as someone that was very neutral and open minded, when I researched Eddie's system, I never could understand why anyone of the "older" generation thought he was trying to take credit for naming moves himself. Who cares? It's just naming things to flow in his system...or that's what it seems to me. I look forward to training in the 10th Planet system when 10th Planet San Diego drops in January. Much respect to all of you out there.

[Kurzy]

OK Guys, after pages and pages of battling trolls, I asked MarcoRugeAss to sum it all up in one sentence.
He replied in post#1008.
(Yes, that's right. Post number One Thousand, Eight)


My question and his answer:

After all this, can you say in one sentence, the people who are responsible for BJJ as we know it today?

Tenabe is responsible for passing on the initial idea of guard-fighting, Kano is responsible for spreading it far and wide, Kodokan Judoka are responsible for refining it, among them Maeda in particular is responsible for battle testing it and bringing it to Brazil, the Gracies are responsible for making it famous and refining it further, Rolls Gracie and J.A. Barretto are responsible for envisioning it as a sport and defining the rules, and every single one of you who ever stepped on the mat is responsible for making it exactly what it is today.