Why Train Gracie Jiu Jitsu

The growth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be explained by the sheer practicality and effectiveness of the art. Control concepts, positioning concepts and defense concepts are passed onto the student in early training. These concepts form the foundation for Jiu Jitsu from the beginner right up to the most elite level.

Unlike many traditional martial arts, Jiu Jitsu techniques are not drilled religiously nor do they form the basis of the training. Instead the uniqueness of Jiu Jitsu training lies in learning and understanding the concepts that underpin the overall art. Jiu Jitsu techniques can only be applied successfully with a solid understanding of leverage and positioning concepts. The concepts then will allow a student to find a finishing technique that can be applied. These concepts form the foundation for Jiu Jitsu from the beginner right up to the most elite level. Training in Gracie Jiu Jitsu will give you an underlying power, which is yours to keep for the rest of your life.

BJJ Beginners Course

Do you want to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from instructors that can give you the edge that others can't? Our instructors compete all round Australia in the biggest competitions and against the best in the country, and we get winning results. Our instructors are recognised across Australia as being and producing great BJJ competitors both technically and physically. 

 The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Beginners Course is designed for beginners to teach the new BJJ enthusiast the basic skills needed to understand this great Martial Art. There are 8-lessons in this beginners course that cover all the fundamental positions, moves & skills needed to get you rolling and enjoying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The Beginners Course is run over a 4-week period on a Monday & Wednesday night from 7-8pm at the Woolloongabba facility, located at 19 Holden Street. The course costs only $99.00 and is taught without a Gi / uniform, this keeps the starting costs to a minimum and the initial commitment short.

You can start training BJJ at SASSOM without completing this beginners course, however if you have never trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this course is highly recommended to get you started. Each course has a limited number of beginners so you get the attention you need from an experienced coach to learn what you have signed up for. Courses start on the first week of each new month except in January.

The next course starts on Wednesday the 1st of September 2010. So register now to secure your spot and take the first step to learning a fantastic Martial Art that has been proven to be effective for sport, fitness, self defence, and enjoyment. You are able to register on line untill the starting date of this course, if registrations have closed please contact SASSOM to discuss late entry into the current course. Click Here to Register Now!

The following course will start on Wednesday the 4th of October 2010 enrollments for this course will be open starting early September.

Training Times

• SASSOM Fitness 19 Holden Street Woolloongabba

• Gi / Kimono Tuesday & Thursday 7:00pm - 8:30pm
• No-Gi Monday & Wednesday 7:00pm - 8:00pm
• No-Gi Saturday 10:00am - 12:00pm
• Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00am - 10:00am (Open Mat & Gi or No-Gi Option)
• BJJ Beginners Course Monday & Wednesday 7:00pm - 8:00pm

• McDowall Bunya Scout Den Cabrilla St, Everton Hills
• Monday & Wednesday 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Training Costs

• First Training Session is Free
• BJJ Beginners Course $99.00 8-Lessions over 4-Weeks to get you started More Info
• Unlimited Sessions per week at either training academy
• $100.00 per month - Direct Debit on a 6-month contract
• $120.00 per month - Direct Debit No Contract

Casual Rates

• $17.00 per session casual

Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

The development of Gracie Jiu Jitsu owes its legacy to the unlikely relationship between Mitsuyo Maeda, the Japanese Jiu Jitsu champion and the Gracie family of Brazil. In the early 1900s Maeda immigrated to Brazil and Gastão Gracie, a politician of Scottish descent, assisted him. As a way of thanks Maeda taught Jiu Jitsu techniques to Gastão’s oldest son, Carlos Gracie. This was about 1918. Carlos in turn taught his brothers, including Helio, who would later have a major influence over the development of the art. The first Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy was opened in 1925.

Over the years the style of Gracie Jiu Jitsu has been modified to become a more efficient and complete art, and has developed through the emphasis on effective leverage and technique over brute strength. It is in essence a grappling style, which is highly effective due to its use of ground grappling submission techniques such as chokes and joint locks.

Since the 1950s the Gracie family has become known for the ongoing development of this unique style, which has become more widely known as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Through a series of deliberate challenges to other fighting arts, the style of Gracie Jiu Jitsu has continually proven itself to be very effective. It has grown substantially in popularity since the international exposure it received following the success of Royce Gracie in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, held in the United States in the early 1990s. In the past decade it has grown phenomenally and Gracie Jiu Jitsu is now practiced widely in Australia, the United States and Europe.

Although a traditional style, Gracie Jiu Jitsu continues to evolve and refine its techniques. It is both a method of self-defense and an ever increasingly popular sport. Because of its focus on technique over strength Gracie Jiu Jitsu is suitable to most people regardless of their gender, age or physical ability.

The Barra Gracie Academy

The famous Barra Gracie Academy is located in the suburb of Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The story of Gracie Barra is directly related to the story of its head instructor: Master Carlos Gracie Jr.

Carlos Gracie Jr. was born into a family of fighters that had as its leader his father, Carlos Gracie Senior, the original founder of the fighting style now known word-wide as Gracie Jiu Jitsu. In his father’s academy in downtown Rio, Carlos Jnr. (Carlinos) started his training in Gracie Jiu Jitsu with his uncle, Hélio Gracie. Soon Carlos Jnr. started as an instructor, and finally as a teacher. At that point the main teachers at the academy were his brother Rolls and his cousin Rorion. When Rorion decided to move to the United States and Rolls set up a new Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy in Copacabana with his older brother Carlson Gracie, ‘Carlinos’ was called upon to take over the academy with his cousin Rickson. He stayed there for approximately two years, and after that went to college to study nutrition. Since he was living in Copacabana while he studied, Carlos decided to assist his brother Rolls at the Copacabana Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy.

In 1982 Rolls Gracie (the family champion) tragically died in a paragliding accident. After a period of mourning Carlos Jnr. accepted an invitation to take over the Copacabana academy. He taught there for four more years before deciding to move the Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy to Barra da Tijuca. That is where the name Gracie Barra Academy came from - it was an academy started to promote the “Gracies of Barra.” As well as being the head coach of Barra Gracie Academy, Carlos Gracie Jnr. is also the founder and President of the International Federation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (CBJJ). He oversees the Mundial (World Championship) and the Pan American titles.

The main instructor at Gracie Barra now is multiple World Champion and Pan American Champion: Marcio Feitosa. The Barra academy has produced many outstanding Gracie Jiu Jitsu athletes and is considered to be the most successful Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy in competition. It is also the home academy of Australia’s Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt instructor Peter de Been.

Peter De Been - A Brief History

Whilst it was the unforgettable images of Royce Gracie easily dispatching his much larger opponents in the original version of the Ultimate Fighting Championships in 1993, that sent many traditional martial artists on a sudden quest to learn and incorporate the “new” Brazilian style of Gracie Jiu Jitsu ground-fighting into their training; Peter de Been’s discovery of the practical and realistic art had well and truly pre-dated this event. In fact it was while Peter was on a training trip with fellow Australian martial artist, John Will, between late 1990 and early ‘91, that he was first exposed to the ‘unpolished gem’ that is Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Pete recognized immediately that in Gracie Jiu Jitsu he had finally found his true calling as a martial artist.

Australia’s First Gracie Jiu Jitsu Black Belt

It was after an eventful Pan Am’s in Florida in 1999, that Pete reached an important goal when he was awarded his Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt by coach and mentor Carlos. This made him the first, and to date, only Australian ever to train and be graded to the coveted rank of black belt in Brazil. In fact for a long time Pete was the only ‘gringo’ (non-Brazilian) training Gracie Jiu Jitsu regularly at Barra, until around 1994-95 when some Americans began to make the pilgrimage to Brazil to learn the art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

Gracie Jiu Jitsu In Australia

With Carlos Gracie’s approval Pete was able to open the first Gracie Barra academy in Australia. He established a small club in his hometown of Torquay, which at that time made it only the 14th Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy in the world - a rare honor. As the popularity for Gracie Jiu Jitsu training grew, the need for a Melbourne based club became apparent. Peter started a second Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy in Highett, but in 1996 moved the club to 179 Barkly Street in the fashionable inner Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda Beach, where it is presently located.

With his loyalty and connections to the Gracie Barra family firmly established, Pete became an active member of the Barra competition team in 1995. He has since competed in seven Pan American and six World Championship events to date. His competition record is impressive and includes: a Pan American silver medal in 1996, Pan American Masters gold and a World Championship 5th place in 1997. In 1998 and again in 1999 he won bronze at the Pan Americans. At the 2000 World Masters Championship he received silver, and in 2001 another Pan American bronze medal. In 2003 he finished with a 5th place in the World Championships after retiring with illness, and in 2004 he became an International Super Fight Champion after winning a professional challenge match in Sao Paulo, Brazil.