About Tim Burrill Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Tim Burrill BJJ is a center for learning the dynamic martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

BJJ is a modern adaptation of the 2000 year old martial art of Japanese JuJitsu. Things have changed rapidly over the last 100 years in our culture yet very few martial arts have grown with the times. Machado Jiu-Jitsu, created by the famous Machado Brothers, offers a very modern twist on self-defense.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s fundamental fight strategy is to take the attacker to the ground, establish control, and end the conflict on the ground.

A startling number of fights will end on the ground. How do I know this? Striking with the hands or feet requires that the distance between opponents is carefully managed so that both can strike on target. The moment one fighter decides to take a step back, or forward, it becomes very difficult for the other person to land quality blows without the proper spacing. Too much distance and strikes can’t reach the target. Too little distance between fighters and you can’t build enough momentum to get in a powerful shot. In fact, it takes professional boxers years to learn how to manage the distance in a fight.

If the distance between fighters is managed properly a BJJ Practitioner can take an attacker to the ground without injury. Once the fight hits the ground all the rules change.

From Japan to Brazil: The birth of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

In the early 1900’s, heavy migration from Japanese colonies took place in Northeastern Brazil. Among the several immigrants, there was a samurai of the time, whose name was Maeda Koma. He was the head of the Japanese immigration for the region. He was also a highly accomplished Jiu-Jitsu champion in Japan, and a well respected master of that art. His effort to settle in Brazil was greatly assisted by a diplomat named Gastao Gracie. Gastao was very instrumental in providing entry visas to Maeda and his group. Maeda became grateful and fond of Gastao’s support.

Gastao was the father of eight children, including four boys (Carlos, Jorge, Osvaldo and Helio). His oldest son, Carlos Gracie, was a skinny and hyper-active child, constantly giving headaches to his parents for his erratic behavior. It did not take long for Maeda Koma to learn from his friend Gastao about the difficulties in raising Carlos. Soon Maeda offered to teach his friend’s son the art of Jiu-Jitsu, a secret only reserved for nationals of Japan. Carlos became the only non-japanese student at the exclusive Dojo of master Koma.

After a few eventful classes, the youngster Carlos Gracie found a new path in his life. Within a few years since he started, he passed to his younger brothers Jorge, Osvaldo and Helio what he knew from Maeda’s teachings. That was the initial step in the building of a saga that transformed martial arts worldwide. The Gracie family eventually became a notorious and legendary clan, the ambassadors of an art they considerably improved throughout five generations. They were the creators of what later became known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, one of the most revolutionary martial arts systems in the world.

Carlos Machado and Brothers

Carlos Machado was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the eldest of the five Machado Brothers, including Roger, Rigan, Jean Jacques and John. He started learning martial arts when he was four. His main instructor throughout his life has been his cousin Carlos Gracie Jr., although he thanks greatly other names also involved in his upbringing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Those include Helio Gracie, Carlson Gracie, Rolls Gracie, Rickson Gracie, Crolin Gracie and Rilion Gracie, and last but not the least, all his brothers. While in Brazil, he has successfully competed in several tournaments at state and national level. In April of 1990 he decided to move to Los Angeles, California, pursuing more prospects in his martial arts career. There he met martial arts movie star Chuck Norris, who was instrumental in promoting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and his family. Since then, Mr. Norris has been one of the greatest advocates of Machado Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Carlos lived in Los Angeles until end of 1995, when once more he chose to move to the Southwest, to the city of Dallas, Texas. There he established his first location, at the same building where the Chuck Norris’ TV show “Walker, Texas Ranger” was filmed. That allowed Carlos not only to teach at his studio, but also to take part in many episodes of that popular show. He often assisted on choreographing fight scenes with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Besides running his school, Carlos has also been involved in competition, winning twice the Pan American of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (97/98), several events in the U.S. (U.S Open 98/99), and the World Master’s Championships (2000) in two weight divisions (middle weight and open class).

He currently holds the highest rank of this style in the Southwest (9th Degree Black Belt).

He has been at his current location since April of 1999, where he has had a chance to develop an incredible group of dedicated students, many of them outstanding competitors themselves.

Carlos has built one of the fastest growing affiliate school programs in the country, which now includes representatives in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Philadelphia, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Mississippi, South Carolina, England, France, Australia and Mexico.

From Brazil to America: Tim Burrill

One of the first Americans to receive a black belt from Carlos Machado, Tim not only brings the philosophy and technique of Machado BJJ, but also other talents and his own personal way of teaching, making his style of BJJ unique from all others.

Tim cultivates a friendly, open atmosphere where learning comes naturally and the techniques are 100% effective. Tim’s philosophy, as is the Machado Brothers, is not to prove or impose our system on other styles of martial arts, but to share what we have with open minds.

Prior to discovering BJJ, Tim earned a black belt from Sifu Rick Fowler in Kenpo Karate and experimented with many different styles of Martial Arts – Kali, Tai Chi, Shotokan, and Wrestling to name a few. Tim is Also an accomplished Sport BJJ fighter with 7+ years of competition experience.