In a fascinating podcast interview, Helio Gracie black belt Francisco Mansor shared a profound perspective on the origins of Jiu-Jitsu, tracing its roots back to India and the Buddhist monks.
Mansor believes that Jiu-Jitsu originated in India, deeply influenced by Buddhist monks who developed a unique form of self-defense.
“Jiu-Jitsu is Indian… with the name of Jiu-Jitsu but with influences from Buddhist monks,”
he explains.
According to Mansor, the martial art’s evolution is a divine inspiration.
“Everything that is good comes from God… God inspired Buddha to create this thing to attack the stomach,”
he says. The martial art then spread through Asia, with Japan significantly enriching its techniques.
Interestingly, Mansor draws a parallel between Jiu-Jitsu and the Kamasutra, noting that many positions in the ancient Indian text are remarkably similar to Jiu-Jitsu techniques.
“So I will tell you, the book of Kama Sutra proved to me that Kama Sutra is the black belt in Jiu Jitsu. Do you know how? All the positions that Kama Sutra has in that horrible Indian book, there are in Jiu Jitsu, all the positions, what a s*it! It’s like the story that Jiu Jitsu was born in India, and that’s the fact, it was born in India, Jiu Jitsu is Indian, but with the name Jiu Jutsu.”
he remarks.
The martial art’s journey from a defensive technique used by Buddhist monks to a comprehensive fighting style was facilitated by the Japanese emperor, who recognized its potential. He gathered Jiu-Jitsu masters and sent them to mountains to develop and refine the art, integrating various weapon techniques while maintaining the monks’ non-violent principles.
Previously Relson Gracie made similar claims.
“Jiu-Jitsu was detected 10,000 years before Christ in India,” Gracie stated. “There were no knives or swords then – it was all stones, clubs, bamboo. Imagine a caravan of Buddhist monks traveling to teach their religion. Bandits would attack the caravan, killing everyone and stealing the food and women.”
Gracie claims the monks began developing grappling and leverage-based techniques to defend themselves empty-handed against armed assailants. “They started to develop Jiu-Jitsu. When the bandits came, instead of using weapons, they would take them down, get on their backs, and strangle them. They could kill much faster this way.”
This origin story stands in contrast to the commonly accepted history of Jiu-Jitsu developing in Japan in the 15th-17th centuries. Indian martial arts like Kalaripayattu, which emerged around the 3rd century BCE, may have influenced the development of East Asian systems. Buddhist monks, traveling between monasteries across Asia, served as conduits for this martial knowledge, most famously at China’s Shaolin Temple, established around 495 CE.
Mansor’s narrative emphasizes that Jiu-Jitsu was initially a form of personal defense, not a competitive sport.
“Helio was against Jiu-Jitsu competitions… because he thought Jiu-Jitsu was a personal defense,”
he recalls.
For Mansor, the essence of Jiu-Jitsu transcends physical techniques. It’s a transformative practice that can change an individual’s character, as it did in his own life.
“God put Jiu-Jitsu in my life,”
he reflects, highlighting the martial art’s potential for personal growth and spiritual development.
