*Jacyntho Ferro, Drysdale (center), Maeda
According to Robert Drysdale‘s historical research, the Gracie family—widely credited as the founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—may have deliberately misrepresented their martial arts lineage to establish their brand and legacy.
The text from historian Robert Drysdale‘s book “The Rise and Evolution of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu” presents compelling evidence that Carlos Gracie Sr. likely never trained directly under Mitsuyo Maeda as commonly claimed in BJJ origin stories. Instead, Drysdale’s research indicates Carlos actually learned from a Brazilian named Jacyntho Ferro, who had trained under Maeda.
“According to the evidence available, his real teacher was a famed sportsman of the Brazilian Amazon called Jacyntho Ferro,” states the text, noting this crucial figure has been systematically omitted from the official Gracie narrative and virtually every BJJ lineage chart in existence.
This revelation challenges the foundational story told by generations of Gracie family members about their direct connection to Maeda, the Japanese judoka credited with bringing the art to Brazil. The omission appears deliberate, as it allowed Carlos Gracie to claim a more prestigious direct lineage to Japanese martial arts.
The historical record suggests this wasn’t the only misrepresentation. According to Drysdale‘s research, Carlos and Helio Gracie faced significant challenges establishing credibility in their early careers, with Carlos lacking “sufficient credibility in either vale-tudo or judo/jiu-jitsu to grow his brand the way he wanted to.”
Furthermore, the text reveals that what the Gracies branded as “Brazilian jiu-jitsu” was essentially a modified form of judo. Drysdale writes that their style “should more accurately be referred to as ‘Brazilian judo,’ because there was no jū-jutsu in it other than the two styles (tenjinshnyo-ryu and kito-ryu) that had already been absorbed into Kano’s judo anyway.”
Other historical figures also contradicted the Gracie origin story, including Donato Pires dos Reis who “claimed in the press that Carlos had never even met Mitsuyo Maeda, the man whom Carlos claimed to have learned judo/jiu-jitsu from.”
Rickson Gracie‘s book doubled down on the claim in recent years. Rickson Gracie’s book Breathe claims that the American Circus brought international fighters to Belém, Brazil, where one of the most influential arrivals was Japanese judoka Hideyo Maeda. A seasoned martial artist trained in both traditional Jiu Jitsu and Judo, Maeda had already made a name for himself as “Count Combat,” winning hundreds of bouts across the globe. After settling in Brazil, Maeda modified his techniques for real fights, participating in vale tudo—no-rules matches that demanded strategy over brute strength. In 1917, Maeda’s performance inspired fifteen-year-old Carlos Gracie, Rickson’s uncle, to study martial arts. Maeda later taught Carlos and his brothers a refined form of Jiu Jitsu, planting the seeds of the Gracie legacy. When the family moved to Rio after financial hardship, the Gracies began issuing open challenges to prove their art’s superiority.
Despite these questionable ethical practices, the Gracies‘ marketing acumen ultimately proved successful. Through strategic promotion, family expansion (Carlos having 21 children and Helio having 9, mostly males), and a warrior ethos that often manifested in aggressive competition against rival martial arts schools, they established what Drysdale calls “the largest martial arts dynasty (if not the largest sports dynasty) the world had ever seen.”
