Last Updated on Friday, 9 September 2011 11:34 Written by relsongracieacademy Friday, 9 September 2011 11:28

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By Ron Goldstein, Denver MMA Examiner

There’s a feeling you get sometimes when you stand in the presence of greatness. It is not an awe-struck feeling, but more a feeling as if…you know you should pay attention to every word. Such is the feeling I had when I sat down with legendary Gracie family member Relson Gracie. Thanks to the white hot rise in the popularity of MMA, most fight fans know who Royce Gracie is. Many know that he introduced “Jiu Jitsu” to the world on that fateful November night in 1993…right here in Denver. He taught it to us through fighting & tearing through fighting tournaments of much bigger men than he. How did he do it & where did he learn that funky style?

He learned it from his father Helio Gracie. Helio taught the art to his sons…hence now, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. In that tight inner circle of the legendary Gracie family, is the second oldest son Relson. His education in the fighting art is directly from his father…Master Helio.

Today many instructors have added their own versions & adaptations to the original Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. They have incorporated such things as: “butterfly guards” & “spider guards” among other “guards”. These are forms of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu…but are NOT Gracie Jiu Jitsu….Gracie Jiu Jitsu is about 2 things to me….patience & finishing the fight.

Helio himself was a very small & frail man. He needed to be an expert in self defense and therefore he had to be patient enough to wait for his opportunity, and then….quickly execute to end fights. Helio realized that taking punishment from a big man on top of you when you weigh under 140 lbs is not sensible. So Helio became creative & very patient during matches with the propensity to attack & finish. Many big men came to his academy to test their skills against the diminutive Helio. Their big man bravado got them into the door & little Helio and his sons taught them a lesson in skill, patience and respect. In martial arts & especially Gracie Jiu Jitsu, if called upon…you do not instigate a fight…you finish it.

The lessons the Gracie boys learned from Helio would set into motion a change in sports as we know it today. Those sacred teachings have been changed & tweaked by many others….but not by Relson & his blackbelts. Giving belts away because you have been a member of a gym for a while is not where the lessons lie. The teachings in skills, defense, attitude, respect and character are what Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is all about. Those teachings are what Relson Gracie & one of his most respected Black belts in the US, local Littleton blackbelt, Steve Hordinski still teaches today.

As I watched Relson & Steve teach the students of the seminar, I saw the value of what they were teaching instantly. Egos were left at the door, Relson’s instruction and comedic personality took over & the learning was part of such an enjoyable atmosphere, that it was palpable…everything all made sense to me at that moment.

Once the seminar was done, I had the chance to sit down with both Relson & Steve to ask them both a few questions on what Gracie Jiu-Jitsu means to them. Here’s how it went.

Examiner: First off, Relson…what an honor to sit with you here today & talk especially with both of you together. Relson if you could…what does it mean to you to have Gracie Jiu-Jitsu represented through Steve Hordinski?

Relson: “Steve is a great example of the important stances of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by my dad Helio. Steve is very honest, he is always early or on-time for training, he keeps the same stance of self defense Jiu-Jitsu taught by my father Helio. He is not aggressive with people, he doesn’t scream at people in his classes, he cares about military & law enforcement. This is important to become a blackbelt under Gracie Jiu Jitsu because when I give a diploma to one of my students like Steve…it represents what my dad was teaching us when we were kids in Brazil. It is the highest honor that Gracie Jiu Jitsu can give, because it shows that my blackbelt passes a personal & teaching criteria for what my father taught us. Steve will grow Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Colorado & create a lot of champions here for sure.”

Examiner: So from a teaching perspective…it is clearly NOT only about Jiu-Jitsu?

Relson: “My father used to have 10 things that he needed to see to promote students to a blackbelt. Some of the things are: technique, honesty, loyalty, respect, devotion, creativity, motivation, you wash & respect your Gi, you are on time & patient with students. Each of these things has a passing level. He used to judge his students on a scale of 1-10 and one was for your personal code & one was for the way you approach your Jiu-Jitsu. So as an example…if you only had a 4 in honesty…but you need a 9 to pass…you cannot become a blackbelt until you showed that you have improved to my father’s level of satisfaction. Some other areas, maybe you only need a 5 to pass…so everything is different & has different meaning. I am not sure how it is in every school, but Gracie Jiu Jitsu schools we have a personal code that we all follow and we follow it very closely.”

Examiner: If you could advise a new student looking to learn Jiu Jitsu….what would you suggest that they look for in an instructor?

Relson: “First you need to do some research. You should ask yourself: Who is the first to teach this? What teachers have the best results? Its like when you talk about following religions…you ask yourself, are these teachings the right teachings for me? Helio was the creator, he came up with the techniques, the rules, the codes of honor…so to follow his checklists for success in both personal and in Jiu-Jitsu is what makes sense to me. To me there really is only one teacher and the right stances, the teachings of Helio Gracie. The best technique, the best instructors, the best results, the best person…that is the lessons my father Helio taught us. When Helio Gracie dies…to me, you should look to train with his sons. When his sons die….you should learn from his nephews. I have brothers that have changed from my father’s teachings…but not me. I have not changed anything from the teachings of my father.”

Examiner: Because Colorado is such a training paradise and so many are now coming here to train…where do you see Colorado & Relson Gracie Jiu Jitsu in the next 10 years?

Relson: “Steve had a student in the beginning of last year that was a blue belt competing at the Worlds…he took home the gold medal. Steve taught him the Gracie Jiu Jitsu system and in his first year, he took home gold medal”

Examiner: Do you think that was because of the training in Colorado?

Relson: “No, that is because Steve is teaching him his techniques. Then we have 2 students from another academy…2 gold medals. We see this because of what me & my brothers learned when we were young…and in world championships, we have many gold medal results. You see because Brazilian championships are different…there you can stall, you can hold sleeves as long as you want to, you don’t have to try to pass the guard.

In my tournaments…you cannot stall, you can only hold sleeves for 10 seconds & then you have to let go, so you have to always keep moving.”

Examiner: Steve tell me how you felt the seminar went…and how you feel about Relson being here?
Steve: Well, I think this was our best seminar yet. When I first showed Relson this location, there was broken glass, dinged up walls and a real mess, but Relson said, “This is going to be a very nice academy.”

Having him here is more than just another seminar because yes…he is a legend, but I don’t look at him that way. He is my friend, my best friend. He comes here to support me & show me new techniques, but more importantly, he gave me a lifestyle to follow & something to continually learn from…Helio Gracie.

Relson: “Its more than that too, because I see Steve teaching here, teaching beautiful technique, creating World Champions and for me to support him is very important for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu too.”

Steve: “Plus I bring good people. Nobody here has an ego, nobody has an attitude & I believe this: Be nice to people and treat them with respect…but when the time comes….bring that big stick too. You have to be able to take care of business”

Examiner: My final question Relson is…With the game of MMA & Jiu Jitsu growing so fast & ever changing…is it important that Helio’s teachings change with the developments & times too?

Relson: “I don’t think that you can change too much about my dad’s lessons. I want to make sure we keep his techniques the same as he taught me. The best thing in Helio Gracie Jiu Jitsu seminars too is the repetition. A, B, C….less moves, simple defense and the results are amazing because he was so small & leverage was everything to him. So he won many of his victories in his matches were from the bottom because he was so small.”

Steve: You know Ron, another thing is many people come to learn this to be able to defend themselves. If nowadays you try to use a crazy guard in a bad situation…you will get your face punched in. There’s a better way to learn defense & I love to teach it the same way Helio taught Relson & the same way that Relson taught me.”

Like I said earlier….when you stand in the presence of greatness, its best to keep your mouth shut & pay close attention. My dad used to say, “that’s why God gave you 2 ears & 1 mouth.”

As wonderful as it was to sit with Relson, I cannot describe in words to see the bond, mutual respect & admiration they have for each other. A legend and one of his best students share the concepts that have changed the world. Concepts that make troubled souls find their way & flourish. That was a very humbling experience for someone like me to say the least. This academy is a must see & Steve is a one of a kind for sure.

Come by Relson Gracie Academy in Littleton…it is located at 6707 W. Ken Caryl Ave in Littleton, CO 80128.
Their phone number is: 303-932-1202….ya never know, it could change your life.