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The BJJ Story

Sources & Methodology

How published material is documented

The BJJ Story uses immigration records, newspaper archives, tournament results and academic research from multiple countries. Source coverage varies by page and field. Published source links identify the evidence currently recorded; their presence and scope vary with the material. Gaps remain part of the research status.

Our methodology

We treat BJJ history as an open, living field of research — not a finished narrative. When new scholarship uncovers people, connections, or events that were previously unknown, we integrate them into our database with clear source attribution.

In the lineage tree, a solid line marks a connection recorded as verified; the linked source shows the evidence currently published. A dashed line marks a connection recorded as unverified or based on limited documentation.

Where competing narratives exist — for example, about who taught Carlos Gracie — we present both versions side by side, with source citations, and let the reader evaluate.

Source tiers

  • Primary sources

    Contemporary documents: newspaper articles, immigration records, tournament results, period photographs.

  • Academic research

    Published research and in-depth investigations by dedicated historians such as Josh Simon (simonbjj.com), Roberto Pedreira, and others.

  • Reference works

    Wikipedia, BJJ Heroes and Sherdog remain reference works in the research record. A comparison on 12 August 2026 identified biography text that followed those sources too closely. Affected biography text was withdrawn. Profiles without a published biography remain in research status until new text passes review; any visible facts have their own recorded source links.

  • Tradition & oral sources

    Family stories, academy traditions, interviews. Valuable but may be colored by personal interests — marked as unverified in the database.

Key research contributions

Josh Simon — simonbjj.com

Much of the extended research in our database is based on the extensive archival work of Josh Simon. Through years of research in Brazilian newspaper archives, immigration records, and primary sources, Simon has uncovered people and connections previously unknown or underreported in BJJ history — including Jacyntho Ferro, Donato Pires dos Reis, Sada Miyako, and documentation about Japanese pioneers in Brazil.

Visit simonbjj.com

Verified vs. unverified

Solid line

Recorded as verified — open the linked source to inspect the published evidence.

Dashed line

Unverified connection — based on tradition, oral sources, or limited documentation.

Image credits

Published portraits come from Wikimedia Commons and other free archives. Each displayed portrait shows the creator credit recorded on the linked source page, together with the recorded licence and any modification notice. The list below repeats the current portrait attributions by person.

Licensing

Text. Most of what you read here is written by us and is ours. Some biographies were adapted from Wikipedia and are therefore covered by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence of the article they came from; where such a text is published, that licence and its version are named on the page, and our adaptation is offered under the same licence. A comparison on 12 August 2026 also identified biography text that followed reference sources too closely. Affected biography text was withdrawn. Profiles without a published biography remain in research status until new text passes review; any visible facts have their own recorded source links.

View chapter research status