In February of 1996, photographer Ricardo Azoury changed my Jiu-Jitsu perspective, when he handed me a few photographs of the inaugural World Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Azoury was the late Rolls Gracie best friend, and was curious about the tournament. So he went to Tijuca Tenis Clube without any assignment and, with his fixed 135mm lenses and a Nikon FM2 body, spent a few rolls of Kodak B&W films during the blackbelt finals.
When I saw the copies, a few weeks later, I was enchanted.
This was a blog I posted yesterday on my personal blog, please log here to read the full list.
The inaugural Worlds, captured by Ricardo Azoury