Jiu-Jitsu, Nationalism and War
My previous post about eating right (and not get swept in Jiu-Jitsu 
) generated some controversy. I knew it would, as people believe it’s right to eat turkey in the morning, have a steak in the lunch and dine chicken. We will disagree on that, but that’s okay, different opinions are entirely fair, and we kept the discussion within the subject.
Odd were two comments in Portuguese complaining I was sharing good knowledge with foreigners (“gringos!”) who were buying “our” Jiu-Jitsu, or, if you prefer, “our” BJJ.
Jiu-Jitsu is just a tool to better people’s lives.
Master Carlos Gracie's classical portrait. How many lives his Jiu-Jitsu changed for the better, despite of their nationality?
As so, we should spread good Jiu-Jitsu knowledge as much as we can, and improve as many lives as it’s possible. We shouldn’t get reined by any type of border, specially an artificial, geographical one. I don’t think any knowledge should be a property of a certain nation anyways, specially one like Jiu-Jitsu, with a huge potential of benefiting multiple human beings.
I love the country where I was born, but my connection with people is through goodwill and good principles, not necessarily nationality or language. Let’s be open minded and realize that we live in a globalized world. That kind of restrictive thinking, if exaggerated, is the cause of wars, after all–okay, I’m being naïve and there’s always the economic reason, so let me put it in different words: stupid nationalism is how the masses are pushed (by people with economical reasons) to fight wars.
And, when in doubt, get back to Master Carlos Gracie, and try to learn with his experience and/or history. That works for almost every subject. In this particular case, did Master Carlos Gracie drop any sign that we should keep Jiu-Jitsu knowledge among Brazilians? No, it’s quite the opposite, his history teaches. If Japanese Mitsuyo Maeda had thought that way, he wouldn’t had taught Jiu-Jitsu to the young Carlos, and the martial art would have died in Japan.
What do you think? Agreeing or not, I would appreciate if you leave your opinion in the comments section.
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Well said!! Jiu-jitsu should be shared with anyone willing to better themselves, regardless of nationality. Jiu-jitsu without borders!!!
Jiu Jitsu saved my life it should be a gift that everyone recieves, like medication what if one country developed the cure for cancer would you want it kept from you ???
Exactly.
Jiu Jitsu changed my life! It has healed me physically and mentally. I do all that I can to endorse our beloved art. Nothing should be forced but when given the opportunity I express my devotion to anyone interested, no matter what nationality, gender, etc.
Keep spreading the word, to all.
I will. Thanks, Tony. You too keep sharing it
Through jiu-jitsu I have a second family, brothers who I can rely on who are both brazilian and american. It has given me motivation to learn a new language, eat better, live a healthy lifestyle. It keeps me tempered and motivated all at the same time. It is the reason I have a full time job ad get to travel around the globe meeting people. Jiu-jitsu crosses borders, slices through cultural differences and unites people from all walks of life. Thanks for the post, God Bless.
My pleasure, Pete, appreciate your support.
Gostei muito da abordagem e vejo muito discernimento no enfoque universalista e principalmente antibelicista do seu discurso. No meu conceito essa visão depura os melhores ideais para a prática do Jiu-jitsu com intuito de melhorar a saúde mental e física. Parabéns!
Boa, grande Jayminho. Valeu a participação. Abração!
I wholeheartedly agree with you about sharing information that is useful for everyone as a whole, but I believe that there is still information about jiu jitsu’s Brazilian history, that has been left in the shadows, and will be lost… Namely the histories of Ivan Gomez, Takeo Yano, Oswaldo Fadda and even Waldemar Santana to name a few.
Caro Luca, boa noite! longe de mim achar que o Jiu-Jítsu deva ficar restrito ao solo brasileiro… muito pelo contrário. Nós queremos que nossa amada arte seja levada ao mundo e que todos saiba quem somos nós, os brasileiros. A queixa e a sujestão que fizemos seria de que, por seu site ser tão interessante, devesse ser dividido também com os brasileiros que não dominam o inglês ao invés de ficar restrito apenas para os americanos. Desde já grande abraço e desculpe se não nos expressamos bem em outra ocasião.
ps.: parabéns pela perda de peso e em outra ocasião, por favor fale sobre isso.
Dear Luca
I agree 100% when you say that Jiu Jitsu don’t need any borders I was very lucky to learn from the sources and I could never imagine in my longest dream that it would be what it is today I feel very blessed to be able to teach and help others with this wonderful art and I dedicate everyday of my life to try to help others to have a better life with Jiu Jitsu we will keep working on our mission to make a better world.
Concordo 100% contigo a nossa arte nao pode ter fronteira ou lingua o Jiu Jitsu e um bem que devemos deixar pra toda humanidade eu acordo todos os dias com o unico proposito de ajudar as pessoas a terem uma vida melhor atraves dessa arte maravilhosa.
Thank you Master Jacaré! It’s an honor having you as a guest here, and even supporting what it’s written. It makes me think I’m on the right path.
Obrigado, Mestre Jacaré! Uma honra a sua visita por aqui, e ainda por cima apoiando o que está escrito. Acho que estou no caminho certo então
“If Japanese Mitsuyo Maeda had thought that way, he wouldn’t had taught Jiu-Jitsu to the young Carlos, and the martial art would have died in Japan.” Well, that’s a bold statement indeed. Would Kodokan judo / Kano jiu-jitsu really die in Japan? Did even ryuha jujutsu ‘die’?
I guess it’s still a vestige of the 90s delusion insisting that what Maeda taught was a ‘secretive’ martial art called jiu-jitsu that had no links whatsoever with judo. In fact, what Maeda learned from 1895 to 1904 and taught later was merely Kodokan judo of the time. A very low possibility is that he blended some elements from his former sumo training and his much more recent catch wrestling experience to the mix but we’ll never know that.
Eunus, thanks for participating. With all due respect, I think you’re inside a technical box and we are talking about different subjects here. Even if Jiu-Jitsu and Judo carry the same moves and techniques with different names (which I disagree), fact is that the name “Jiu-Jitsu” survived only because of Mr. Maeda’s teaching in Brazil. Also, as much as I respect the art of Judo, Jiu-Jitsu carries its own characteristics: for instance, I have old pictures of Japanese Judo athletes in Brazil smoking cigarettes (even Master Kimura); it will be hard to find such pictures of Helio Gracie and its disciples. So, whilst you can argue that Kimura’s techniques were the same or even better than Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ones, you can’t argue the Jiu-Jitsu way of life is way different than the Judo way of life. By the way, my blog’s name is Jiu-Jitsu in a Broad Way, not Judo in a Broad Way, thanks also to Mr. Maeda teachings in Brazil.
BTW, I don’t understand why you are using the terminology “Kano Jiu-Jitsu” if Master Kano himself was categoric in changing his art name to Judo.
What was destined to die was the ground emphasis of grappling. There is no doubt without the link from Maeda to Carlos, what we know as ground fighting today would not exist.