LOS ANGELES, CA – FUEL TV airs the half-hour original UFC FROM ALL ANGLES: RENER & RYRON GRACIE on Monday, June 3 (11:00 PM ET). The two brothers chat about the birth of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, their family legacy, the launch of the UFC and their overall goals as Jiu-Jitsu educators.
The show opens with a look at the history of the Gracie family and the evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They explain how their grandfather Helio took the traditional Japanese style of Jiu-Jitsu and modified it. “Rather than adopting the philosophy that you have to beat up your opponents in a fight, my grandfather said this: ‘If I fight a giant, they have to beat me up. And as long as I can avoid that, I win,’” says Rener. “Everywhere that required strength or power, he included, modified or swapped it out for leverage, better timing and patience. His opponents would attack him and they would defeat themselves. And then he would come in for the kill and choke someone out. These adaptations are what gave birth to Gracie, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.”
They then explain how their father, Rorion, moved to the United States and started teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his garage in Hermosa Beach, California. He began challenging his student’s other martial arts teachers to matches to prove his style was the best self-defense technique. Eventually, he created the UFC to show the world the dominance of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. “My dad created the UFC only to show that if you’re the smaller or weaker person, and you’re fighting against a giant, there is no second option,” says Rener. “He chose Royce, his smaller brother, to fight in the first tournament so when people saw the smaller person defeating those giants, there would be no denying what it would be attributed to.”
Rener talks about his role in the history of the family: “By no means do I consider myself a fighter,” he explains. “I’m a Jiu-Jitsu teacher who fights to prove his craft. Success is measured by the amount of success and fulfillment that you create for other people. I’m an educator.”
While Ryron explains that their goal in teaching Jiu-Jitsu isn’t necessarily to teach people to be the best fighters in competition: “There aren’t many people who teach Jiu-Jitsu in the empowering manner that we do. We don’t teach Jiu-Jitsu for a competitor to win a medal, but Jiu-Jitsu to help you in everyday life and that you can apply to your school or your work.” For more info on their programs, contact: www.Gracieuniversity.com.
This is the fifth UFC FROM ALL ANGLES special produced by FUEL TV. The first featured Mark Munoz and Jake Ellenberger, while the second focused on Michael Bisping, the third on Rashad Evans, and the most recent highlighted Anderson Silva.
For a complete listing of FUEL TV shows, go to: http://www.fuel.tv/schedule/. For more information, go to www.fuel.tv/ufc and on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/fueltv Follow @FUELTV @RenerGracie and @RyronGracie on Twitter for all things #FromAllAngles
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