296 - A People's History of BJJ, with Robert Drysdale

Multiple time world champion Robert Drysdale comes onto the podcast to share his discoveries about the history of BJJ. Here's just some of what we talked about... 00:52 - Opening Closed Guard, the Book 06:16 - The first japanese martial artists in Brazil 16:51 - Who was Mitsyuo Maeda? 19:27 - The role of the circus in the development of BJJ 23:20 - Early lineages of jiu-jitsu in Brazil 31:02 - The development and role of Vale Tudo fighting 33:08 - Why jiu-jitsu became so ground oriented 43:41 - George Gracie 45:47 - Helio's early fights 47:58 - The period of decline in jiu-jitsu 52:36 - BJJ andmarks between the 1950's and 1990's 1:02:26 - The role of jiu-jitsu federations 1:09:07 - Effects of legalizing heel hooks 1:15:16 - BJJ in the Olympics