Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. The art was derived from the Japanese martial art of Kodokan judo in the early 20th century,[1][2] which was itself developed from a number of schools (or Ryu) of Japanese jujutsu in the 19th century.

It teaches that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using leverage and proper technique-most notably by applying joint-locks and chokeholds to defeat the other person. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be trained for sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition or self defense .[3] Sparring (commonly referred to as 'rolling') and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition, in relation to progress and ascension through grades/belts.

Born in 1952, Jacare' began his BJJ training at 11 years old. At the age of 16, he joined the famous Gracie School in Copacabana where he grew up. Jacare' and the Gracies lived in the same neighborhood, so, he got to met all of them. He was in the same BJJ class as Carlos Gracie Jr., Crolin Gracie, Fabio Santos, Mauricio Gomes, the Machados, Rickson Gracie, and many others.