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Luta Livre is a broad term referring to Brazilian wrestling. Although the individual Portuguese words "luta" and "livre" mean "fight" and "free," respectively, the term "Luta Livre" refers to wrestling. It is often assumed that Luta Livre is a Brazilian hybrid martial art, but that is not the case.
With the introduction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where Brazilian fighter Royce Gracie dominated the field with apparent ease, many English language martial arts publications rushed to find and translate older Brazilian articles regarding the history of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. It was common knowledge that the practice of no-rules freestyle fighting was common in Brazil, so when those translating the articles saw many references to competitions between Gracie-trained fighters and Luta Livre practitioners, it was mistakenly assumed that Luta Livre referred to a specific Brazilian freestyle system.
However, Brazil is home to a system of wrestling which incorporates both submissions and strikes which is most properly referred to as Luta Livre Esportiva and probably what most have in mind when making the aforementioned mistake in semantics. It is striking not only for the efficacy of many of its practitioners in real-world combat (they include mixed martial arts champions such as Alexandre Franca Nogueira and Ebenezer Fontes Braga and Marco Ruas) but also for its similarity to catch wrestling and shoot wrestling in spite of being developed almost wholly independently of either.
Entertainment wrestling, where the outcome is predetermined, is largely unknown in Brazil hence there is no link between the Mexican style of lucha libre and luta livre.
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luta_Livre
Vale-tudo (Portuguese for anything goes - vale - "is allowed", tudo - "everything") describes competitions in unarmed combat having minimal rules. It is sometimes considered a combat sport.
History
In Brazil, the term vale tudo was first associated with booth fighting done in Brazilian circuses during the 1920s. Examples of such bouts were described in the Japanese-American Courier on October 4, 1928:
One report from São Paulo declares that Jiu Jitsu is truly an art and that in an interesting exhibition in the side tent to the big circus a Bahian negro of monstrous dimensions met his waterloo at the hands of a diminutive Japanese wrestler. The negro was an expert at Capoeira, an old South American style of fighting, but after putting the Japanese on his back and trying to kick his head... the little oriental by the use of a Jiu Jitsu hold threw the Bahian and after a short struggle he was found sitting on the silent frame of the massive opponent.
However, this circus term did not enter popular use until 1959-1960, when it was used to describe the style-versus-style bouts featured in a Rio television show called Heróis do Ringue (Ring-Heroes). The matchmakers and hosts of the show included members of the Gracie family, and the participants were all legitimate practitioners of their styles. One night, João Alberto Barreto (later a referee for UFC 1) was competing against a man trained in Luta Livre. Barreto caught his opponent in an armbar. The wrestler refused to tap out. Barreto applied more pressure, and the opponent's arm broke, audibly, leaving an exposed fracture. Television audiences were shocked. Consequently, this show was soon replaced by another show, Telecatch, that featured more theatrical contests. Heroes of Telecatch included the Argentinan Ted Boy Marino.
In video games
- Craig Marduk, a character playable in video games Tekken 4 and Tekken 5, is a practitioner of Vale Tudo.
- Vanessa Lewis, a character playable in Virtua Fighter 4 and Virtua Fighter 5, is another practicioner.
- Nightwolf, a character playable in Mortal Kombat video games, is a practitioner of Vale Tudo (though it appears spelled as "Val Tudo").
The Gracie family refers to the lineage of Brazilian businessman and politician Gastão Gracie. They are known as the founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and for their success in mixed martial arts, vale tudo, and submission wrestling competitions. As a family, they uphold the Gracie challenge. The Gracie family heritage came from Scottish ancestors.
Gastão Gracie founded the family as it is now known in the early 1900s while living in Brazil. He befriended Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese prize fighter while assisting Japanese immigrants in their move to the country. In exchange for his friendship and hospitality, Maeda offered to teach Gracie's son Carlos the Japanese martial art Jiu-jitsu. Carlos along with his oldest son Carlson and brother Helio Gracie founded "Gracie Jiu-jitsu".
Carlos Gracie, the first Brazilian to learn jiu-jitsu, in turn taught his brother Helio Gracie. This marked the founding of what is now called "Gracie Jiu-jitsu." He founded a martial arts academy to pass on this knowledge, and taught the fighting style to his family.
The most recent family champions have been Rolls Gracie and Rickson Gracie. The most successful current active Gracie is Roger Gracie, who holds the Confederação Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu World Super Heavyweight and Pan-American Open Weight titles and the ADCC heavy weight and openweight champion. The most famous member of the Gracie family may be Royce Gracie, winner of three UFC tournaments.
Taken from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracie_family
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