So what is this blog all about, then?

Hélio Disgracie is about one chubby, not especially athletic, newly minted blue belt trying to not embarrass himself too badly while learning the greatest martial art of all, Brazilian jiu-jitsu. (My sincerest apologies to all my kickboxer and judoka friends, but you know it’s true. We’re just cooler than you.)

It is a blog about gear, training diaries and cool technique videos I find on the Internet. It’s also a blog about emotional honesty, vulnerability and collar chokes. Oh also, laundry. When you take up Brazilian jiu-jitsu, you take up laundry.

Also, it’s a blog that will force me to train more. Because man, I just never want to go to class. I’m always glad I did after, but I never want to go beforehand.

What’s up with the name?

Oh good, now you’ve gone and asked a BJJ person about BJJ history. I hope you’re sitting down.

Hélio Gracie is one of the co-founders of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, along with his brother Carlos, Luiz Franca, and Oswaldo Fadda.

(The Gracies and Franca were taught judo by Mitsuyo Maeda, who himself was a student of judo founder Jigoro Kano. If the Gracies, Fadda and Franca are The Beatles, Maeda is Brian Epstein. If they’re Public Enemy, Maeda is Bill Stephney.)

I’m kind of like Hélio, in as much as I sort of shouldn’t be able to do this, except he was amazing against the odds and I’m really, really bad at this. So Hélio Disgracie.

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