During the period between the 8th and the 16th century, japanese history books teach us that civil wars were a common accurance in the lives of the citizens. this was the soul reason early forms of jiu jitsu were invented. The ongoing battles made it necessary for the samurai to be able to continue fighting their armoured opponents even if they had no blade available. One of the earliest mentions of the words jiu jitsu was in the year 1532, when a man called hisamori tenanuchi founded the first school in japan. The teachers had to keep the art a secret so not much is known about the techniques in these initial forms of the style.
the civil wars had become rare between the year 1603 and 1868, but the japanese continued to live their lives with one important phrase in mind : “Live in peace, but remember the war”. This is why it was considered that every citizen must have basic skills in self defense and so The martial art continued to spread and grow throughout japan.
as japan left it’s feodal system of government, the different styles of jiu jitsu, developed in that period of time were the main tool for a person to continue practicing self defense. during this period the well known martial arts master jigoro kano (1860-1938) created a new style of jiu jitsu, which was based on throwing techniques. This allowed the practitioners to traing without systematically injuring themselves and their training partners. initially this new style was called “kano jiu jitsu”. Later it was given the name “Judo”. Judo is a national sport in japan and has been the main martial art, used by law officers in the country for many decades.
In 1914 one of the best and most famous students of jigoro kano – mitsuyu maeda found himself in brazil. he had already mastered the art of judo but to make himself an even greater fighter, he practiced different forms of jiu jitsu. maeda was known throughout the world as one of the best martial artist that existed during that era. the japanese newcomer received settling-in support by a local brazilian businessman called gustavo gracie. Maeda wanted to repay gustavo’s family in some way and offered to teach his older son – carlos gracie the ways of the traditional japanese jiu jitsu.
Maeda used Jiu Jitsu for several years teaching the oldest son of Gustavo – Carlos and he managed to instill in him different important values and skills: self-control, discipline, respect, serenity. In 1925 Carlos moved to Rio de Janeiro where he founded an academy – Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Carlos started teaching Jiu Jitsu to his younger brothers – Osvaldo, Gustavo, Jorge and Helio and as an addition to the martial art he started developing a special diet called Cracie Diet. The Gracie family was growing gradually (Carlos Had 21 children) and the brothers started being challenged into fights by practitioners of other martial arts. they were dominating and showing the effectiveness of Jiu Jitsu.
The youngest son of Gustavo – Helio Gracie (1913 – 2009) is a key figure in the history of the so called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After his older brother – Carlos moves to Rio de Janeiro, Helio started helping his brother in his newly founded academy. Due to medical prohibition, Helio was not allowed to participate directly in the training, but he was always in the Dojo while his brothers train. One day Carlos was late for a training class and Helio took over the class knowing only what he saw during the years while observing the training. He did more than brilliantly and Carlos allowed Helio to become an instructor. Gradually he becomes the main star for the Gracie family after he starts competing actively in various fights without rules and proving the effectiveness of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) – “A smaller and weaker man to manage defending from and even defeating a bigger and stronger opponent”
In 2007, while Vladimir (Vladi) still studies in Germany and comes back home in Bulgaria for the Christmas Holidays, his younger brother – Borislav (Bobi) is his main training partner for his preparation for an upcomming grappling competition in Germany. They both exchange techniques in the corner of the Judo Dojo in the training complex “Deskrim”, when they meet Sensei Edi Geranov (the man, who started grappling trainings and tournaments in Bulgaria several years ago). The brothers show their interest to this martial art and Edi invites Bobi to start training in the club he founded. With the years passing, Bobi does not stop searching for a way to learn and develop and when the weekend training group disintegrate, with Vladi’s aid from distance, he starts training sessions in grappling and brazilian jiu jitsu by himself. An year later Vladi returns to Bulgaria permanently and they decide to found Twisted Jiu Jitsu Academy, so they can develop Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the way they have always believed it should be done:
“We created it because of our love to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and our desire this sport to develop in Bulgaria.”
Starting from scratch, we have managed to create one of the most successful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu clubs in Bulgaria and the Balkans, known not only with its exceptionally high technical skills and standards but also with a positive attitude towards everything in the sport and beyond. We strive to make Twisted Jiu Jitsu a cohesive community where everyone will feel welcome and as a part of the magic of BJJ. for those who like to compete – the club provides an opportunity to create a strong and battleworthy team to represent the academy and our country in various national and international competitions.
Тези от Вас, които следят нашата Академия знаят, че всяка година създаваме нова Програма, за да можем да запознаем колкото се може повече хора с това невероятно Бойно изкуство – Бразилското Джу Джицу.
След като вече втора година развиваме повече от успешно своята програма за Начинаещи, ето че дойде време за първи път в България да има класове само за представители на нежния пол.
Съвсем скоро в Twisted Jiu Jitsu ще се провеждат тренировки по бразилско джу джицу само за жени, които ще се водят от жени. Целта на тази програма е да даде възможност на всяка дама, която желае да тества това бойно изкуство и се притеснява от това, че първата и тренировка ще бъде заедно с мъжете, да го направи спокойно. Тези класове ще бъдат идеалната среда и за вече трениращите жени, за да доразвият своите умения като обменят опит помежду си.
Тренировките ще обхващат както различни техники за самозащита, така и техники късаещи изцяло спортната форма на джу джицуто, а програмата ще се води от Антония Петкова, лилав колан по Бразилско Джу Джицу, многократен шампион и истински фен на BJJ.