Breathe

May 24, 2021
Martial artist Gracie fails to make his life or the sport of Brazilian jujitsu worthy of interest in his uninspiring debut. Gracie was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1958 to a family that owned a jujitsu training academy. Inevitably, Gracie started his career there, earning a black belt by the time he was 21. After defeating a “massive and terrifying” adversary by the name of “King Zulu” in 1980, he embarked on a lucrative career teaching “Gracie jiu-jitsu” and married a model with whom he had four children (and he casually mentions several affairs). In 2000, their oldest son died at age 19 of an overdose, though Gracie asserts (with no evidence) that he was murdered. That tragedy led him to realize “there is no tomorrow, because life can change forever in the blink of an eye,” despite the death of his brother almost two decades earlier in a hang-gliding accident. Gracie’s comfort level with the extreme violence of his profession (“I choked him unconscious and left him sleeping... in a puddle of his own blood”) is likely to turn off many, as is his inflated ego. This is for devoted Gracie fans only. Agent: Frank Weimann, Folio Literary.

June 15, 2021
A jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts legend delivers a prideful account of his accomplishments inside and outside the ring. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1958, Gracie never met a fight he didn't like. A couple of generations back, his ancestors fell in with a Japanese immigrant who taught them jiu jitsu, a battlefield martial form, and judo, "created in the late 1880s...as a safer, more sporting, weaponless alternative." Gracie took up the family martial arts tradition, and though he tempered the fierce warrior attitudes of jiu jitsu with the laid-back ethos of a surfer, he was a fighter from elementary school on. Some of Gracie's life lessons are humdrum: "Meals were spaced five hours apart to allow the body to absorb the nutrients from the food." Others are more in the ascended-master vein: "When I put physical pressure on students, I see their true personalities because they immediately show me things that they are able to hide when they're not on the mat: their state of emotional balance, their ability to manage pressure, and many other things." One constant is self-regard, and Gracie airs numerous grudges. For example, in one match, he defeated Chuck Norris "in about a minute," though Norris went on to train with a rival branch of the family. The author also recounts his rocky relationship with his brother, who once had a "monopoly" on jiu jitsu training in the U.S. "When my brother lost control of me," he writes, "I became his greatest adversary, because I had the image, ability, and leadership skills that he lacked, and worst of all, everyone knew it." A little of this boasting goes a long way, and there's a lot of it, though peppered with interesting, hard-won insights on the psychology and philosophy of martial arts. Jocko Willink provides the foreword. Read between the braggadocio and clich�s to find some useful lessons.

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July 1, 2021

Gracie tells his story in this engaging book, co-written Maguire, a former student of Gracie's. The story begins with Gracie's father, Helio Gracie, who brought Japanese jiujitsu to Brazil and created his own martial art called Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (or Brazilian jiujitsu). Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Rickson learned jiujitsu from his father, uncles, brothers, and cousins. Throughout the book, he reiterates his philosophy that martial arts should not simply train the body; it should also train the mind by instilling both confidence and knowledge. Gracie's honesty comes through as he talks plainly about his training and injuries and gives blow-by-blow accounts of famous fights. His writing is especially poignant when recounting his son's death, after which Gracie had to overcome devastating loss to find a renewed purpose in life. The book concludes with a helpful glossary of martial arts terminology; readers will also appreciate beautiful photographs of Gracie and his family throughout. VERDICT Fans of Gracie's fights, practitioners or fans of martial arts, and those interested in the evolution of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu will find excellent insight here.--Jason L. Steagall, Arapahoe Libs., Centennial, CO

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