Relson, Helio, Margarida, Richard Bresler, and Rolls. Photo courtesy of Bresler.
For many, jiu-jitsu’s arrival in the United States can be traced back to 1993 when Royce Gracie demonstrated jiu-jitsu’s effectiveness at UFC 1. However the Gracie family had actually been working hard to spread the word long before. On Sunday our guest on the show will be Richard Bresler, a black belt in jiu-jitsu under Fabio Santos. Bresler was present in the earliest days of jiu-jitsu in the United States when Rorion arrived in Los Angeles to begin sharing his family’s art with the world. Bresler spent much of the 1980′s training under Rorion at a time when no one knew what “jiu-jitsu” meant.
Get ready for tales of the Gracie Challenge, training days with many Gracie brothers on the mats at once, and the beginnings of the UFC. You may have heard vague references to this time frame and maybe seen Gracie in Action, but Bresler will tell stories that surely have not been shared before!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome! I love BJJ history, so that sounds very exciting: really looking forward to this one!
The Fightworks Podcasts have been getting better and better lately! Great job, Caleb and Dan!!!
This sounds interesting, i got to remember this for Sunday. Any kind of history is cool BJJ history even better.
GREAT INTERVIEW ABOUT BJJ HISTORY, I had no idea that the Gracies arrived in the US so early, I’m sure most believed that 93 was the first time they were here, great stuff, G