WELCOME
Welcome to Zenyo Online! We’re excited to have you as part of our team.
Zenyo is focused on learning Jiu Jitsu, but it is much more than that. We build a pathway to become skilled in anything you pursue.
Our revolutionary approach centers on your unique path to strength and confidence. You’ll learn to see and act in the world differently. You’ll fight for real; find your way; play more; create a difference; and become unbreakable.
“A black belt is a white belt who never quit.”
A Higher Purpose
Generations of martial artists have crafted the guidelines we use at Zenyo. Through them, we aim for a higher purpose in training. We strive to be strong, gentle and helpful.
Gentle
Ju-No-Ri means “gentleness” or “flowing with things.” The main idea of Ju-No-Ri is that you should not fight against your opponent’s strength but use that to your advantage. Gentleness also teaches us how to apply techniques safely.
Strong
Seiryoku Zenyo means “maximum efficiency, minimal effort,” or “best use of physical and mental energy.” When you apply the goal of being gentle with the goal of being strong, you will learn to use the right amount of force – not too much, not too little.
Helpful
Jita Kyoei means “mutual welfare and benefit.” This means that everyone should benefit from training and learn something in the process. The way to accomplish this is to work to help not just yourself but also your teammates.
“Be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both physically and mentally.”
Keiko Fukuda, 10th dan Judo
History Of Jiu Jitsu
Jiu Jitsu means “the gentle art.” It starts in Japan around 1460. The first Jiu Jitsu school opens in 1532. During the 17th century, Jiu Jitsu booms in popularity, with more than 2000 Jiu Jitsu schools in Japan. During this time, Jiu Jitsu schools compete in challenge matches. Randori, or free training, is created to practice without risk of breaking Japanese law, which prevents fighting.
Jiu Jitsu And Judo
One of the most important historical practicioners of Jiu Jitsu is Jigoro Kano. Kano earned three different black belts in Jiu Jitsu. In 1882, Kano takes what he learns in Jiu Jitsu and develops his own style of Jiu Jitsu, called Judo. Judo means the gentle way. Kano calls his school the Kodokan – “a place to study the way.” Twenty years later, Kano helps to spread Jiu Jitsu and Judo from Japan to the world.
Jiu Jitsu Leaves Japan
1895- 1898 An English engineer named E.W. Barton Wright studies Jiu Jitsu and Kodokan Judo in Tokyo. In 1900 Barton Wright returns to England and opens an academy. He brings Yukio Tani, Tani’s brother Kaneo and Seizo Yamamoto to London to teach. Barton Wright is reported to have asked Kano for instructors and Kano recommended the jujitsukas.
Kano’s student Mitsuyo Maeda travels to the West in the early 1900’s to compete in exhibition matches and prize fights. Maeda visits the United States in 1905. Later, he teams up with the Jiu Jitsu fighters in London. Maeda travels to Brazil in 1914, where he sets up an academy to teach martial arts.
Jiu Jitsu In Brazil
Carlos Gracie is reported to take classes at Maeda’s academy. (The historical record is not clear.) Gracie and his brothers – especially Helio – start their own style of jiu jitsu. They open the Gracie Academy in 1925 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Jiu Jitsu In America
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu comes to attention in America when Helio Gracie’s son, Rorion, starts the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. Rorion’s brother, Royce, becomes the first UFC champion, winning his fights by chokes from the back.
Jiu Jitsu In Baltimore
Zenyo Jiu Jitsu opens in Baltimore in 2015.
Our lineage can be listed as: Jigoro Kano > Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos/Helio Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Andre Pederneiras > Marcelo Pereira/Scott Oates > John David Emmett > You