Gracie Jiujitsu has been developed by the Gracie family, in particular through the work of Hélio Gracie, over the past eighty years. Though several of the family members have since trademarked their different styles of this martial art, they all share a common history. Rorion Gracie, the son of Hélio, had trademarked the style with the Gracie philosophy, which is probably the most well known of all the Gracie disciplines.

The first principle of Gracie Jiujitsu is about control. In a fight, this involves being the one who will dictate what happens during the fight. Part of this is in physically controlling your opponent and restricting his movements to what you want him to do; the other part is the self-control that you need to impose upon yourself so that you can make the best choices to win the fight. This is personal training at its best, and it is part of a healthy lifestyle. It is expected that you are able to exercise enough control to eat properly and take care of your health.

Patience is the second principle of Gracie Jiujitsu. Rushing the delivery of perfectly executed martial art techniques at the wrong time has no place in a fight. Success largely depends on waiting out your opponent so that he or she gets tired, giving you the time to find the holes in their defense and exploiting them. The same is said for how we conduct ourselves in our regular lives. Running around making impulsive decisions is more likely than not to result in failure, so patience is encouraged.

The final of Gracie Jiujitsu principles is efficiency. This is particularly important for a fight, since the foundation of this discipline is built on the assumption that you will be fighting someone stronger and bigger than yourself. Jiu jitsu schools will often promote the idea that you drain your opponent of his or her energy while conserving your own strength in order to finish the fight. This applies to daily living as well, with the idea that you are able to maximize your results through an efficient application of effort, whether it is in business or social situations.

Jiu jitsu schools that teach Gracie jiujitsu tend to be full of serious students and serious instructors. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have fun while they train; it just means that they usually fully embrace the Gracie philosophy and training and fighting occupies a large part of their lives. If you are able to do the same, and are truly interested in performing to the best of your abilities, then you may be a candidate for this form of jiu jitsu.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed anxiety or panic attacks as well as tips on the various panic disorder medications available at anxietydisordercure.com.

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