In an appearance on the Buteco Podcast, boxing coach Bruno Jordão made some notable claims about the training methodology of the pioneering Gracie family that might surprise many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners.
“Another characteristic that nobody talks about—and maybe Jiu-Jitsu practitioners will be upset with me, but I’m going to say it anyway—is that in the Gracie era, they didn’t train exclusively in Jiu-Jitsu,”
Jordão stated during the podcast.
According to Jordão, the Gracie family’s approach was much more comprehensive than commonly portrayed in martial arts history.
Boxing coach claims Gracies only dominated because they also trained Taekwondo, Muay Thai and Boxing
“They trained boxing, they trained Taekwondo, Muay Thai to learn how to kick. They already had this mixed martial arts mindset before MMA even existed,”
he explained.
Jordão suggests this multidisciplinary approach was key to their historical dominance.
“When they created that historical narrative that ‘Jiu-Jitsu beats everyone,’ it wasn’t exactly like that. It was their version of Jiu-Jitsu—where the practitioner knows how to throw a punch, defend a punch, deliver a kick, defend a kick—techniques that aren’t typically trained in traditional Jiu-Jitsu.”
The boxing coach further emphasized that their combat effectiveness stemmed from this broader training philosophy, a characteristic he claims “isn’t widely publicized.”
Jordão also touched on the naming origins of the martial art.
“The correct name is actually ‘Jujutsu,’ not ‘Jiu-Jitsu,'”
he stated.
“It became ‘Jiu-Jitsu’ because of the mispronunciation that Brazilians love to make.”
He added that naming confusions within the family itself led to the art being recognized as “Jiu-Jitsu” in the United States.
