BJJ theory and technique - Renzo Gracie and Royler Gracie

esimene lehekülg raamatust...

It’s a midsummer night on Manhattan’s West Side. In a crowded martial arts school the students are going about their training. Most of the students are lean and muscular – their bodies a reflection of the arduous training they are pushing themselves through. The majority of them are professional martial artists, black belts in other, more traditional martial arts. The remainder are mostly security professionals, bouncers, policemen – people involved in the business of combat. Others are white-collar businessmen, doctors, and lawyers. Their faces share a mask of hardness as they train. In here, all people are measured by on standard – their skill in grappling. Reputation, appearance, and vocation are all irrelevant once you step on the mat. Something has brought them here to this unkempt school. The students separate into pairs and engage in grappling bouts, alternating bursts of great speed and strength with periods of heavy breathing and rest. Each strives to attain a dominant position, or, if possible, a lock or choke that will force the other to signal submission by slapping the mats upon which they wrestle. As they struggle with each other some students begin to stand out as more skilled than others. The exhausting nature of their exercise quickly drenches them in sweat. Off to the side of the mats a man periodically shouts out advice or encouragement. His voice exudes a Portuguese accent, yet his features are South American. He is Brazilian. When he talks, the students listen. Those that follow his advice as they grapple almost invariably overcome their opponents or at least escape whatever danger they were in.
„Renzo!” A student calls out to the man, using his first name in the same fashion you might speak to an old friend. In most martial arts schools this is unheard of. The teacher is always referred to in honorific or deferential terms such as „Sensei” or „Sifu”. Renzo (pronounced Hen-zo) walks over, a boyish smile set on a good-natured, handsome face. „What’s wrong, my man?”
Their talk is remarkably informal. There is no sense of hierarchy in their dialogue, no deference to idols. Despite this there is a strange sense of genuine respect on the part of the student. The man he is talking to has fought the battles, carried the Gracie flag aloft, and has the scars and videotape to prove it. There is no need for empty rituals of respect. No need for bowing and salutations. The respect is there-unspoken. It has more genuine element to it than the tired clichés of respect in the martial arts. The student asks for advice on a technical aspect of grappling. The reply is given quickly. The advice is clear and direct with none of the vague metaphor that pervades so much of the martial arts world. When put into effect you can clearly see the way in which it is a rational response to the problem at hand. For a moment there is a look of „eureka” upon the face of the student. He looks up at Renzo with the same kind of joy and respect with which you might expect a student of mathematics to exude when a perplexing problem is explained to him by a brilliant professor.
Eventually Renzo makes his way over to one of the students who has been demonstrating great prowess on the mat, easily dominating the other students he has faced. Renzo strips down to his gi pants and kneels down in front of him. Though he is not a big man, his body is powerful looking, with thick neck and back muscles. These muscles are for fighting, not show. As you look more closely you see a collection of scars. Renzo wears them well, like a soldier wearing medals. They speak of past adventures and glory. For now, however, Renzo is absorbed entirely in the present. He shakes hands with the student and the two begin to wrestle. The student initiates with powerful, well-calculated movements while Renzo, still warming up, is surprisingly passive. Suddenly there is a flurry. It is so rapid that it is difficult to follow. Were an observer totally uninitiated in the ways of grappling, he still could not fail to be in awe of the speed and decisiveness of the movements. Quickly Renzo attains a dominant position and works to finish his opponent, who is defending gamely, but who is clearly outclassed. Each time Renzo finishes the student in a lock or choke they resume. As they grapple the rest of the students slowly stop their training and come over to watch. They are watching in awe the ideal toward which they strive. Renzo wrestles with a sense of élan, tactical brilliance, and abandonment that is far beyond these students – they can only stare in wonder. Soon the entire class has stopped and formed an impromptu ring around the combatants. It is strange to see the student, previously so dominant, now struggling to survive the onslaught. After a while the exhibition comes to a close. Renzo and student good-naturedly embrace and compliment each other. The crowd drifts away and the training resumes.