An Article on Jiu-Jitsu and the Gracies

I read a long article this weekend, "One Hundred

Years of Arm Bars: A family epic spanning the

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu dynasty's generations of combat

and betrayal, from the Amazon to Hollywood to the

UFC," by David Samuels.

 

I knew roughly how Jiu-Jitsu spred into the West

over the past century from listening to Mr. Steve

Maxwell on several podcasts. The article went

deeper, tracing the Gracie family history from

early 1800 when a Scot came to Rio. The article

gave exposure to a less-celebrated founder of the

art and led me to nearly ordering Reila Gracie's

547-page tome, "Carlos Gracie, Creator of a

Dynasty," were it not out of stock.

 

Sentences like the following have always intrigued

me: "Gracie jiu-jitsu can be understood as a

physically brutal form of psychoanalysis. Weaker

positions offer powerful leverage, dominant positions

are revealed to be traps, and the price of clinging

to one's illusions is relentlessly exposed." It's the Tao.

 

Rickson's self-centering philosophy in contrast to

Musashi's detachment was interesting. It reminded

me of a quote "The opposite of true is false; but

the opposite of a profound truth is another

profound truth." Light can be modeled as both

waves and particles. I think I've got it: I am the

center of the universe and, at the same time, the

center is everywhere.

 

Technology didn't hurt the Web article. When the

mouse was over a Gracie name, the family tree

was shown on the left pannel with the name

highlighted. After reading, I became quite good at

placing a name in the tree in my head.

 

I also read the interview of Reila Gracie about

the book. I have to study it if only for the diet.