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Have you noticed that ever since Bruce Lee, each time someone learns a martial art it becomes THEIR style? It’s really quite funny becuase now you have so many styles based on primary arts; Stephen Hayes Ninjitsu, Joe Lewis Karate, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Machado Jiu Jitsu, Jim Brown Karate, Benny “the Jet” Ukidon Karate, Chuck Norris Karate, the list goes on, and on...
Everyone seems to think that just because they personalized, or tweaked an element of a martial art to their preference, that they’ve created a new brand of martial art. It’s like “no duh”, martial arts are always going to reflect individualism.
The most infamous case ofcourse is Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Now, according to many BJJ sources, it was Maeda who surmised that taking someone to the ground would benefit a grappler. In fact, Maedo was not a traditional Jiu Jitsu man. He was well travelled and added many techniques in his repetoire including boxing, judo, catch wrestling, etc... In Renzo Gracie’s book, it is written that Maeda taught an unorthodox grappling system using submission holds not found in judo or jiu jitsu. He actually came up with the ground fighting principles and basic techniques found in Gracie Jiu Jitsu. What Helio did was personalize it for himself, which is nothing new these days. So maybe it should have been called Maeda Jiu Jitsu?
Whatever the case, it’s all based on ego... Yes, everyone wants to be the founder, the source, the creator. That’s how you can effectively market yourself, by promoting your own brand of martial arts... “Look here folks, my Style is the ultimate martial art, I’ve won various NHB events... It’s called Robert Shanks Jiu Jitsu, again it’s Shanks Jiu Jitsu..”
Everyone seems to think that just because they personalized, or tweaked an element of a martial art to their preference, that they’ve created a new brand of martial art. It’s like “no duh”, martial arts are always going to reflect individualism.
The most infamous case ofcourse is Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Now, according to many BJJ sources, it was Maeda who surmised that taking someone to the ground would benefit a grappler. In fact, Maedo was not a traditional Jiu Jitsu man. He was well travelled and added many techniques in his repetoire including boxing, judo, catch wrestling, etc... In Renzo Gracie’s book, it is written that Maeda taught an unorthodox grappling system using submission holds not found in judo or jiu jitsu. He actually came up with the ground fighting principles and basic techniques found in Gracie Jiu Jitsu. What Helio did was personalize it for himself, which is nothing new these days. So maybe it should have been called Maeda Jiu Jitsu?
Whatever the case, it’s all based on ego... Yes, everyone wants to be the founder, the source, the creator. That’s how you can effectively market yourself, by promoting your own brand of martial arts... “Look here folks, my Style is the ultimate martial art, I’ve won various NHB events... It’s called Robert Shanks Jiu Jitsu, again it’s Shanks Jiu Jitsu..”
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