Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-8-2025
Publication Title
Martial Arts Studies
Issue
17
Pages
60-75
Publisher Name
Cardiff University Press
Abstract
This research article examines why the racialization of Brazilian jiu-jitsu has so often been invisible to non-Brazilians. It argues that Brazilian jiu-jitsu emerged in a highly racially stratified context and looks in particular at challenge matches that the Gracie family engaged in with fighters who practiced capoeira or judo. It argues that through these competitions, not only was Brazilian jiu-jitsu located within Brazil’s racial hierarchy, but it was often positioned as ‘white,’ though usually in an unspoken manner. The ‘invisibility’ of Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s racialization is connected to Brazil’s hegemonic racial system where race is both of central social importance, yet is often not spoken about, and a context where whiteness is both privileged, yet also variable and not directly identified.
Recommended Citation
Penglase, Benjamin. The Invisibility of Race in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: the Gracies versus Capoeira and Judo. Martial Arts Studies, , 17: 60-75, 2025. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works, http://dx.doi.org/10.18573/mas.281
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2025 by the Author.
