Martial Arts Turf Wars

[GeneChing]

I haven't seen one of these make the news in some time. I hear about some on the down low - nothing I can share publicly. The SF Bay Area is impacted for martial arts schools and of course, there are rivalries.

I'm sure there's turf war posts scattered about this forum but I thought I'd launch a new one. I'll copy it to our For Brazilian Jujitsu Practitioners thread for posterity.

EXCLUSIVE: Martial arts turf war erupts as video shows savage moment Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master 'elbows rival in the face and kicks him in the head, leaving him with missing teeth and a concussion'
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE
Flavio Almeida and Ralph Gracie, two of the most senior figures in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, feature in an explosive video obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com
Almeida, 39, was elbowed square in the face by Gracie - knocking out his two front teeth and leaving him concussed from kicks to the head last December
The fight stems from Gracie not wanting Almeida to set up a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team Gracie Barra franchise 20 miles from his school in San Jose, California
Almeida claims Gracie first threatened him about setting up the franchise and then attacked him while they were both at a Jiu-Jitsu tournament
Later Gracie wrote on social media: 'Because one day somebody gonna try to take something from you and you gonna hafta choke that muthaf**ker'
Almeida has since filed a civil and criminal suit against Almeida after the vicious and allegedly unprovoked attack
By RYAN PARRY WEST COAST EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM AND JOSH BOSWELL FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:59 EST, 12 November 2019 | UPDATED: 17:10 EST, 12 November 2019

A martial arts turf war has erupted in violence in California, threatening a rift in a sport popular with millions of people around the world, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Two of America's most senior figures in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - a popular variant of the classic Japanese martial art - came to blows at a nasty incident on the side-lines at a Jiu-Jitsu tournament last December.

Flavio Almeida, a main director of the leading Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team, Gracie Barra, told DailyMail.com how he was brutally attacked by Jiu-Jitsu master Ralph 'The Pitbull' Gracie while coaching at the event.

The argument allegedly erupted over Almeida setting up a Gracie Barra franchise 20 miles from Ralph's own Jiu-Jitsu school in San Jose, California.

Almeida, 39, claims his 48-year-old rival first threatened him over the phone before the attack, which was caught on camera.

The video, obtained by DailyMail.com, shows the bone-crunching moment Almeida, 39, was elbowed square in the face by Ralph - knocking out his two front teeth and leaving him concussed from kicks to the head.


Flavio Almeida and Ralph Gracie, two of the most senior figures in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came to blows in an explosive video obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. The video shows the bone-crunching moment Almeida, 39, was elbowed square in the face by Ralph - knocking out his two front teeth and leaving him concussed from kicks to the head


The fight stems from Gracie (right) not wanting Almeida (left) to set up a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team Gracie Barra franchise so near to his own school in San Jose, California

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM THE TRADITIONAL FORM
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a derivation from the classical Japanese martial art form.

It departs by traditional Jiu-Jitsu by focusing on the element of grappling with emphasis on fighting on the ground, with no striking.

It's also seen as being more relaxed with less formality.

BJJ was founded on the idea that a smaller and weaker person could successfully defend themselves against someone bigger and stronger by focusing on technique, leverage and taking the fight to the ground.

Once the opponent is on the ground, the goal is to control the person before applying chokeholds or joint locks, to get the opponent to tap out.

Almeida, Gracie Barra's North America Executive Director, has launched a criminal claim against his alleged attacker and the case is due in court later this month.

Meanwhile Ralph is the grandson of legendary fighter Carlos Gracie, who founded Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with brother Helio in the early 1900s and whose son Carlos Jr. is credited with turning the sport into a global success story.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has become a multi-million dollar industry with founding team Gracie Barra turning the sport into a global phenomenon.

Gracie Barra has 823 schools across six continents and is one of the most dominant teams in the sport, earning senior members of the Gracie family tens of millions of dollars.

Now the shocking attack which was caught on camera, threatens to tarnish the Gracie Barra global brand.

Almeida - who is not a member of the Gracie family but the family members on his side - claims he was first threatened and then attacked by the Jiu-Jitsu master after setting up a Gracie Barra franchise 20 miles from Ralph's own Jiu-Jitsu school in San Jose, California.

Professional fighter Ralph - brother of MMA legend Renzo Gracie - fled to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil after the incident, missing his first court hearing, but returned and was forced to surrender his passport after a grand jury indicted him for felony assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Almeida has also filed a civil suit against his boss' nephew over the alleged beating, in which he claims that two weeks after the vicious and allegedly unprovoked attack, Gracie gloated on social media, writing: 'Because one day somebody gonna try to take something from you and you gonna hafta choke that muthaf**ker.'

In an interview at the Gracie Barra headquarters in Irvine, California, Almeida told DailyMail.com that Ralph's threats began in 2017 when he discovered the company was seeking to open a new school in northern California.


The video, obtained by DailyMail.com, shows the bone-crunching moment Almeida, 39, was elbowed square in the face by Ralph - knocking out his two front teeth and leaving him concussed from kicks to the head. Pictured: Almeida missing his two front teeth


Almeida had to shell out more than $1,000 in dentist's fees for temporary replacements so his daughters wouldn't see the jagged gap the assault had left in his mouth.


'He sent threats through mutual friends that ''if you open a school here, bad things will happen'',' Almeida said.

'I decided to call Ralph Gracie out of respect, the conversation didn't go well. He interrupted me and said, ''If you guys come to Northern California, bad things will happen.'' I said ''What do you mean by bad?'', and he said ''You know exactly what I'm talking about.''

Almeida was undeterred, and by August 2018, he had found a franchise owner and arranged the opening of a new school in Morgan Hills, 20 miles from the nearest Ralph Gracie school in San Jose.

'Our franchisee, not knowing about Ralph's concerns, went to Ralph's academy to invite him to the grand opening,' Almeida said. 'Of course he received threats, and he got out of there really scared and concerned.'

Despite the alleged threats, the school opened without incident – until December 15 last year, when Almeida found himself standing next to Gracie on the sidelines of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation world championship at the Anaheim Convention Center.

'I went there as a coach, because I had five of my athletes competing,' said Almeida. 'While coaching one of them, I looked to my right and I saw Ralph just a couple of inches away from me. This athlete I was coaching happened to be a mutual friend of ours, so Ralph was giving him instructions as well.

'I shook his hand and said ''Master Ralph, how are you?'' I wanted to de-escalate. He turned to me and said ''We need to talk''. I said ''Well, I'm available to talk.'' He said, ''You opened a school in my area'' and I replied ''You need to talk about it with your uncle, Carlos Gracie Jr. This is above my pay grade.''

'Those were the last words I uttered. At that point he unleashed the first of three attacks,' Almeida told DailyMail.com. 'It was an elbow to my face, that knocked me out. Then as I was falling to the floor he grabbed behind my head with his left hand and with his right hand he threw two uppercuts to my face. I'm pretty sure those were the strikes that knocked my teeth out.'

continued next post

[GeneChing]

Meanwhile Ralph, 48, is the grandson of legendary fighter Carlos Gracie (pictured), who founded Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with brother Helio in the early 1900s and whose son Carlos Jr. is credited with turning the sport into a global success story


n an interview at the Gracie Barra headquarters in Irvine, California, Almeida told DailyMail.com that Ralph's threats began in 2017 when he discovered the company was seeking to open a new school in northern California. 'He sent threats through mutual friends that ''if you open a school here, bad things will happen'',' Almeida said. Pictured: Gracie with students at his martial art school

'People got in the middle trying to separate him and protect me. But one of his friends came around and took the opportunity to punch me while I was trying to get up, and said ''Don't mess with the Gracies''.

'While his friend was punching me, Ralph came back and kicked me in the head one more time.'

Two cameras in the room that were set up to record the competition fights caught the savage beating in the background, which Almeida says will now be used as evidence in both the civil and criminal cases against Gracie.

The footage shows Almeida shaking hands with Gracie - who has a 5th degree Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu - and patting him on the back.

The pair exchange a few words before Gracie appears to lash out, striking Almeida with his elbow in a blow that drops him to the ground instantly.

'As I was coming up, I realized what happened. I felt a mixture of anger and embarrassment. I noticed my two front teeth were missing, I could feel them in my mouth. I was so, so angry,' the Jiu-Jitsu coach said.

'But had I retaliated, I would have dragged the entire organization down with me. That event would have turned into a brawl because you would have people from my side fighting people from his side. It would be a huge mess, to the detriment to the sport of Jiu-Jitsu.'

Almeida says at first he wanted revenge, but in the months after the attack he resolved to pursue Gracie in court as a lesson for others in the sport.

'When you get hit like that, you get angry and you want revenge. This guy has to pay for it,' he said. 'But over time I tried to understand the big picture. Here is a guy who has been well known for being violent, who terrorizes people, using fear to get his way. And it's not only him, there's still people in Jiu-Jitsu who have that old-school, thug mentality.

'So I think my motivation here is just to set an example, that if you do something like that there are real consequences,' he said.


Almeida said: 'I saw Ralph just a couple of inches away from me. I shook his hand and said ''Master Ralph, how are you?'' I wanted to de-escalate.' Moments later, Almeida said 'he unleashed the first of three attacks. It was an elbow to my face, that knocked me out. Then as I was falling to the floor he grabbed behind my head with his left hand and with his right hand he threw two uppercuts to my face. I'm pretty sure those were the strikes that knocked my teeth out'


He continued: 'People got in the middle trying to separate him and protect me. But one of his friends came around and took the opportunity to punch me while I was trying to get up, and said ''Don't mess with the Gracies''. While his friend was punching me, Ralph came back and kicked me in the head one more time.' Pictured: Gracie (front, center in black) leaving after the explosive incident

'You have these thousands of highly trained martial artists. If they see they can use the power Jiu-Jitsu brings to them to get their way at the expense of other people, this is bad for the sport.'

Gracie has pled not guilty to the criminal charges against him, and his lawyer, James Cook, told Jiu-Jitsu site BJJ Heroes that his client 'would like to tell his side of the story about events leading up to the altercation' but that he had 'strongly advised him to say nothing'.

'I cannot disclose too many details about Ralph's side of the story given attorney-client considerations,' Cook told the site. 'However, I can say that the video does not capture the full spectrum of words and actions leading up to the incident. To view the video within the full context, it is easy to conclude that altercation should be characterized as mutual combat.

'It's worth noting that the incident took place at a combat sporting event. Emotions often run high and disputes materialize off the mats. Regardless, Flavio Almeida and Ralph Gracie are icons of our sport. Because of this, I believe that any further dispute can and should be resolved quickly and without court intervention.'

DailyMail.com reached out to Cook directly but he said he was no longer Gracie's lawyer and so was 'not authorized' to comment further.

DailyMail.com also reached out to Gracie directly for comment but did not receive a response.

Almeida said he was devastated and heartbroken to come home after the attack to his two young girls, bruised and with his two front teeth missing, and feared the impact it would have on them.

He said he was touched when his youngest daughter suggested he place his broken teeth under his pillow for the tooth fairy.


Almeida said he was devastated and heartbroken to come home after the attack to his two young girls, bruised and with his two front teeth missing, and feared the impact it would have on them. He said he was touched when his youngest daughter suggested he place his broken teeth under his pillow for the tooth fairy


Almeida (center) says at first he wanted revenge, but in the months after the attack he resolved to pursue Gracie in court as a lesson for others in the sport

But unlike his children who were used to getting money for their lost teeth, Almeida had to shell out more than $1,000 in dentist's fees for temporary replacements so his daughters wouldn't see the jagged gap the assault had left in his mouth.

The attack has caused an even greater gap in the Gracie family, Almeida said, which is split over how to deal with the situation.

'I know that the family is very divided,' he said. 'Some people think that Carlos Gracie Jr should ask me not to do anything and let Ralph get out of it without any sort of punishment, and there's a lot of people who support our position of holding him accountable.

'The split is between people who believe martial arts is a tool to improve people's lives and help the community, and the people who think they can use the power of martial arts for their own gain.

'In their minds, they are the real Gracies, and Gracie Barra has become this commercial enterprise that is selling out Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,' he said. 'We're moving the Gracie legacy forward, bringing the great benefits of Jiu-Jitsu to more and more people around the world. But they don't seem to see it that way.

'Carlos Gracie Jr is extremely disappointed. Ralph Gracie happens to be his nephew, the son of his brother. He disapproves of his behavior. His position is Ralph has to pay for the crime he committed.'

Carlos Gracie Jr's father was one of the founders of the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his native country after training with a Japanese immigrant martial arts expert.

The sport exploded in popularity when family member Royce Gracie won three of the first four Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tournaments using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The patriarch's son, Carlos Gracie Jr, founded the company Gracie Barra and helped grow the industry to become a multi-billion-dollar sport.

Celebrities practicing Jiu-jitsu include Keanu Reeves, Jason Statham, Guy Ritchie and Ashton Kutcher.

You know, I haven't seen any local coverage of this. Maybe I missed it. Ironic that I found it on Daily Mail, a UK news group.

[Jimbo]

None of my business, but some odd things in that article. First off, how does the incident threaten to tarnish the Gracie Barra brand? Wasn’t the Gracie Barra head guy (Almeida) the one who was sucker-punched and battered? How does that tarnish him or his brand? ANYBODY can be sucker punched if they’re not 100% ready for it.

Another odd thing is that Gracie wanted to protect what’s his, yet apparently committed an unprovoked felonious assault and battery, then had fled to Brazil. That’s weird reasoning, because there is some possibility (maybe slim but possible) that by doing that and showing such guilty behavior, he could end up losing everything he was trying to protect.

Now, maybe Almeida should have heeded the warnings and not opened a branch school so close to Gracie’s school, but you can’t just beat someone up for doing that. I don’t know how the law works in Brazil, but that won’t fly in the legal system here.