Gracie Jiu-Jitsu by Helio Gracie Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Book Review: The Essence of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're interested in the essence of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, which is reality fighting for potential street situations, then this is it!
There is a saying that, "God is in the details," and therein lies the difference between this book (in a sense, the father of all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu books) and the others. You get all the details and tips on how to properly execute each technique from the originator himself, Helio Gracie. And often times it's the tiniest detail that marks the difference between a black belt and a white belt knowledge of the sublime art.
Helio Gracie's system is called "jiu-jitsu" because it is based on the traditional Japanese jiu-jitsu which was practiced by Jigoro Kano until he decided to break away from the old school and organize the new system focusing on throws which was called judo (but came from jiu-jitsu).
While detractors like to point out that Helio merely used techniques taught by his brother's Japanese teacher, Maeda, they fail to recognize that no other student in Maeda's lineage has accomplished what Helio has. It's almost like saying that Einstein's first math teacher deserves credit for his accomplishments.
What made Helio stand out was his obsessive quest to test and refine the moves he was taught; first in the classroom then in vale tudo challenges, which he helped popularize throughout Brazil.
In addition to being informative, the hardcover format and full-color photography give this book an artistic coffee table display quality as well.
A note on the sportive side of jiu-jitsu: Helio Gracie founded, and was the president of, the first Federation of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, to promote sportive competition. After many years he stepped down when he found the sportive aspect of jiu-jitsu moving away from the original intention of promoting reality self-defense. This explains why some top competitors in sport jiu-jitsu don't fare as well in reality-based mma--while Royce remains a viable competitor late in his career.
More than just a mere self-defense book, this is the take-home version of the Gracie Academy, for less than the price of a month's training at most academies. You get the life story, the origins, the philosophy and the diet of the man himself. Helio believes that mastering self-defense helps one to become a better person, more tolerant of others, and confident enough to achieve all other goals in life. The Gracie diet, included in the book, gives one the good health that supplements all of these benefits and is embodied by Helio himself who, at 92-year-young, still practices and teaches jiu-jitsu on a daily basis.
Book Review: This is a great collector's item!
Summary: 5 Stars
Very good book! It's a great book for all of those Jiu-Jitsu or grappling enthusiasts and a great collector's item as well. The book emphasizes more on street self-defense rather than a full grappling instructional book as it was intended by Master Helio Gracie. So, again if you are looking to learn total grappling by the Gracies then this is not the book for you. I personally bought this book more as a collection, because I believe that Master Helio Gracie is a big part of the martial art history. I am an Aikido practitioner and I have a lot of respect to the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I realized that no matter what art you practice, it is still important to learn the proper way of ground self-defense and the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has it all.Book Review: This is a great collector's item!
Summary: 5 Stars
Very good book! It's a great book for all of those Jiu-Jitsu or grappling enthusiasts and a great collector's item as well. The book emphasizes more on street self-defense rather than a full grappling instructional book as it was intended by Master Helio Gracie. So, again if you are looking to learn total grappling by the Gracies then this is not the book for you. I personally bought this book more as a collection, because I believe that Master Helio Gracie is a big part of the martial art history. I am an Aikido practitioner and I have a lot of respect to the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I realized that no matter what art you practice, it is still important to learn the proper way of ground self-defense and the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has it all.