Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: See below.

Before it was brought to the United States, Brazilian or Gracie jiu-jitsu was known as jiu-jitsu. No qualifier was needed. It was when members of the Gracie family came to the US that they added a qualifier (“Gracie jiu-jitsu”) to distinguish it from other forms of jiu-jitsu in that country.

On this blog, you’ll often see me use the two terms interchangeably. With that said, I do associate them with different things. When I see or hear Gracie jiu-jitsu, my mind goes to the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Action tapes, Rorion and Royce’s video series, and the so-called Master Text. Those are the associations I have with the term Gracie jiu-jitsu.

When I see or hear Brazilian jiu-jitsu, my mind goes to the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), which, in addition to devising rules and regulations for BJJ competition, hosts some of the most prestigious events in the BJJ community, such as the Mundials.

Although some might argue otherwise, I do not regard Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Gracie jiu-jitsu as different martial arts. Rather, I see them as different expressions of the same art.