Maeda taught Helio Gracie the art of Jujutsu and eventually taught four of the Gracie brothers.
In 1925 Carlos and his brothers opened the first Jujutsu dojo in Brazil.
Helio stood out the most of the brothers and developed the original techniques into what is now called Gracie Jujutsu.
Helio got involved in this martial art at the age of 16 when he began substitute teaching for his brother Carlos.
Helio went a step further than his teachers by introducing techniques that required less strength than the
Japanese style. Led by him, the brothers were driven by a constant determination to find effective ways to deal with the very possible aspect of a real fight.
Daring to break away from the traditional Japanese style, they began experimenting, modifying and perfecting simple techniques that would be effective regardless of stature.
That is how the Gracie family developed this style of Jiu-Jitsu.
The Gracie organization is now headquartered in California, and has worldwide schools.
Importantly, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (which was actually spread by more families than the Gracies) has influenced Mixed Martial Arts.
Mixed Martial Arts are combinations of several styles.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu provides the basis for most of the ground fighting in MMA.
There are competitions all over the world now in grappling.
Because of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we have seen an actual evolution of the self defense arts in our lifetime.
