While the Brazilian Federal Senate recently honored a century of jiu-jitsu in Brazil with a landmark ceremony attended by Rorion Gracie and other martial arts luminaries, Robert Drysdale has openly questioned the Gracie family’s claim that Brazilian jiu-jitsu began in 1925 when Mitsuyo Maeda arrived in Rio de Janeiro.
“The date 1925 by the way is incorrect.”
“People get mad at me when I say it, but I can prove it. I have pictures, documents.”
Drysdale points to statements from Hélio Gracie himself as evidence against the 1925 origin story. According to Drysdale, Hélio claimed he had never heard of jiu-jitsu until witnessing his brother Carlos Gracie compete in either 1929 or 1930. Drysdale told Alberto Crane:
“So his acquaintance with jiu-jitsu is something that took place in the 30s.”
Drysdale noted that the first Gracie Academy opened in 1931.
Drysdale’s research suggests that what the Gracies practiced through the mid-1970s bore little resemblance to modern Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He argues the art remained essentially a ground-oriented variation of judo until a pivotal rule change in 1975 transformed the sport entirely.
“The ground orientation was something that came up in 1975 because of the rule set.”
Before 1975, competitions awarded one point for takedowns and one for mount positions. The new system changed this to two points for takedowns and four for mount, fundamentally redirecting how the art evolved.
“That changes everything. That redirects the evolution of jiu-jitsu.”
Drysdale released his research in August of the previous year to mark what he considers the true 50th anniversary of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, dating from the 1975 rule set changes that created the IBJJF scoring system still used today.
“BJJ is something a lot younger than people realize.”
He acknowledges the Gracie family’s historical importance while maintaining that they were part of a broader judo community in Brazil’s early martial arts scene.
“There’s no denying that these guys came out of that gym, but they modified it much like the Gracie brothers did in the 1930s.”
According to Drysdale, even members of the Gracie family have acknowledged this evolution. He cited statements from members of the family indicating that their practice before 1975 was basically the same thing as what other ground-oriented judo schools were teaching at the time.
The timing of Drysdale’s historical analysis puts him at odds with Brazil’s official recognition of jiu-jitsu as national heritage. During the Senate ceremony, Senator Chico Rodrigues championed integrating jiu-jitsu into elementary education, while Rorion Gracie emotionally reflected on his family’s contributions and even suggested installing training mats in the Federal Senate building to foster legislative harmony through daily practice.
While Drysdale doesn’t dispute the Gracie family’s profound impact on martial arts, particularly Rorion’s role in co-creating the UFC in 1993 and Royce Gracie‘s demonstration of technique over strength, his research challenges the narrative that positions 1925 as the birth year of a distinctly Brazilian martial art.
“It has a prehistory. It has a genealogy. I’m not denying that.”
“Just like Judo was part of its genealogy, the original Gracie Academy is also part of its genealogy.”
But the sport celebrated worldwide today, he argues, emerged from specific rule changes that occurred five decades ago, not a full century.
