From UFC 1 in Denver to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Lakewood

Royce Gracie winning an early UFC fight

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is now one of the most popular martial arts in the world, but its rise in the United States had a very local connection to Colorado. Long before most people in Lakewood had heard the terms “BJJ,” “guard,” “mount,” or “rear naked choke,” Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was introduced to the American public just a few miles away in Denver.

On November 12, 1993, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship took place at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. The event was designed to answer a question martial artists had argued about for generations: which fighting style actually worked when different systems were tested against each other? The answer surprised much of the martial arts world. Royce Gracie, a smaller and less physically imposing fighter than many of the other competitors, used Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to control, exhaust, and submit larger opponents- without injuring them.

For people watching in 1993, the lesson was dramatic. Many traditional martial arts had focused heavily on striking, kicking, forms, athletic movement, or demonstrations of power. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu showed something different. It showed that leverage, timing, positional control, and calm problem-solving could allow a smaller person to survive and defeat a larger attacker. That idea was not new inside the Gracie family, but UFC 1 put it in front of the world.

The Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense Tradition

Jim Medley training in self-defense with Royce Gracie

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu developed from the idea that a smaller, weaker, or less athletic person should be able to defend themselves against a larger and stronger opponent. The original art was not built around trophies, point advantages, or tournament strategy. It was built around survival, distance management, clinching, takedown defense, ground control, escapes, submissions, and the ability to stay calm under real pressure.

That is why Gracie Jiu-Jitsu became so important in the early days of mixed martial arts. Royce Gracie’s early UFC victories did not look like movie fighting. They were not flashy. They were methodical. He closed the distance, avoided damage, established control, and finished the fight when the opportunity appeared.

For many people, that changed the way they understood self-defense. A real physical confrontation might not stay at kicking or punching range. It might involve grabbing, clinching, falling, scrambling, pinning, and struggling for control. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu gave ordinary people a practical way to understand that reality.

From Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to Modern BJJ

As jiu-jitsu spread, the name “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” or “BJJ,” became more common. That growth was positive in many ways. It brought jiu-jitsu to more cities, more families, more children, more athletes, more police officers, and more everyday people looking for confidence and self-defense.

Over time, however, jiu-jitsu also developed into a major competitive sport. Sport Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has produced extraordinary athletes and highly technical grapplers. Competition has helped the art grow, evolve, and reach people who might never have discovered it otherwise.

But sport development also changed the emphasis in many schools. In a tournament, students may train for points, advantages, time limits, referee decisions, rule-specific positions, or strategies that make sense under competition rules. Those skills can be impressive and valuable, but they are not always the same as training for practical self-defense.

The original Gracie Jiu-Jitsu question was different: What should a person do if they are attacked by someone bigger, stronger, and more aggressive who is possibly striking them? That question still matters for adults, children, parents, law enforcement officers, criminal justice students, and anyone who wants martial arts training that remains connected to real-world self-defense.

Why This History Still Matters in Lakewood

Lakewood is part of the same Colorado landscape where the American public first saw Gracie Jiu-Jitsu tested on a national stage. Today, people searching for jiu-jitsu in Lakewood, CO can find many versions of grappling, martial arts, fitness, and combat sports. That variety is good for the community. Different students have different goals.

Some people want competition. Some want MMA. Some want intense athletic training. Some want a family activity. Some want confidence. Some want practical self-defense. Some want their children to learn discipline and boundary-setting without learning to become aggressive.

That is where the distinction between sport BJJ and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu still has value. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is not simply about winning a match. It is about learning how to protect yourself, control distance, survive bad positions, use leverage instead of panic, and make intelligent decisions under pressure.

Gracie Combatives and the U.S. Army

Rorion Gracie teaching U.S. soldiers

The influence of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu did not stop with the early UFC. After Royce Gracie’s first UFC victories, the U.S. Army also began looking seriously at the practical value of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for close-range combat. In the mid-1990s, Army Rangers studied the Gracie approach and helped develop what became the Modern Army Combatives Program, using Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as an important foundation while adapting it for military needs. That same self-defense-centered logic continues today through Gracie University’s structured curriculum, including Gracie Combatives, the beginner program built around the core techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Lakewood Jiu-Jitsu Academy is proud to be the only Certified Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Training Center in Lakewood, Colorado, teaching Gracie Combatives as part of a practical self-defense program rather than a sport-only approach to grappling.

Lakewood Jiu-Jitsu Academy and the Original Self-Defense Mission

Lakewood Jiu-Jitsu Academy is one of the few local schools still centered on the original Gracie Jiu-Jitsu self-defense mission. Our focus is not competitive sport grappling. Our focus is practical Gracie Jiu-Jitsu for adults, children, beginners, families, and professionals who want useful skills in a safe, structured training environment.

For adults, that means learning real-world self-defense, positional control, escapes, submissions, and calm movement under pressure. For children, it means confidence, discipline, verbal boundary-setting, and age-appropriate self-defense through the Gracie Bullyproof program. For criminal justice students and law enforcement professionals, it means understanding control, restraint, and the value of leverage-based skill instead of relying only on strength or force.

The art that became famous in Denver in 1993 is still relevant in Lakewood today. The original lesson remains simple: jiu-jitsu gives ordinary people a practical way to become safer, calmer, and more capable.

If you are searching for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Lakewood, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu near Denver, kids jiu-jitsu in Lakewood, or practical self-defense training in the west Denver area, Lakewood Jiu-Jitsu Academy offers a structured path back to the roots of the art.