At KTK, we offer the best quality in teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Learning this ground combat system favors the development of techniques that allow an attacker to defeat a much stronger opponent than themselves.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Mitsuyo Maeda
In the last days of the 19th century, some Jiu-Jitsu masters emigrated from Japan to other continents, teaching the martial arts as well as taking part in fights and competitions. Mitsuyo Maeda was one such master. Maeda arrived in Brazil in 1915, and settled in Belem do Para, where the tradition of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu began and continues through the Gracie family.
Jiu-Jitsu became a method not simply for fighting, but for personal improvement. Jiu Jitsu promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using leverage and proper technique.
Grand Master Carlos Gracie
Grand Master Carlos Gracie & Helio Gracie
Carlos Gracie was possibly the single most important figure in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu history. Carlos began his training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Master Maeda at the age of 15. A few year later, Carlos was invited to train in the Special Police, and this is where Carlos started truly testing his Jiu-Jitsu skills in No Holds Barred fights performed in closed quarters.
Soon he managed to save enough money to launch his dream: his own Jiu-Jitsu academy. This very modest place was set in “Rua Marques de Abrantes” number 106 in the year of 1925. For this amazing challenge ahead, he asked brothers George and Helio to join him. In the time of the academy he taught diligently his brothers. He also promoted fights between his academy and other styles of fighting common in Rio de Janeiro such as Capoeira, Boxing and Wrestling in order to promote his academy. His team would consist of himself and his brothers.
Renzo Gracie
Renzo was born on March 11, 1967, in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil. He is the grandson of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu founder Carlos Gracie and son of 9th Dan BJJ black belt Robson Gracie. Like most men in the Gracie family, Renzo started training Jiu-Jitsu as an infant.
Renzo pursued his fighting career moving to the US to compete where the sport was gaining recognition after the early UFC’s, he also opened his own academy in New York, a gym that rapidly became a reference in America and the world for high quality Jiu-Jitsu. From this same academy Renzo Gracie forged fighters such as Matt Serra, John Danaher, Ricardo Cachorão, Shawn Williams, Jerry Rinaldi and many, many others.
Even though Renzo had spent most of his later years as a coach in his academy in New York, he never retired officially from competition, and in 2010 he signed a contract with the UFC at the age of 43, fighting Matt Hughes one of the most dominant UFC champions of all time on his first fight for the organization.