Helio Gracie. Photo by Luca Atalla
There is a big controversy regarding modern BJJ. Could the gentle are not be as gentle as they say? There are those who claim that, without strength, the athlete cannot win. There are also those who believe that technique can outdo power. But what did Helio Gracie think about all this?
A rabid champion of the philosophy of the lever, the grandmaster liked stressing his power disadvantage, and that properly used technique explained his wins. However, Helio didn’t completely neglect his muscles. The secret was in another detail: the right time for using them.
Forgetting about the use of strength in order to learn how to use the lever was Helio’s recipe. Power, he thought, was to be only used at the precise moment. He gave the example of his kids:
“If they need to fight one, two, ten hours, they will, because they don’t muscle. When he needs to, he uses power on top of the technique.”
See in the video the rare class with Helio Gracie to start your year on the right foot.
