Gracie Jiu Jitsu Eugene, also known as McKenzie Martial Arts, represents many different arts and philosophies. We are proud and honored to be a part of the most influential martial arts movements the world has ever seen. The years of hard work and research by Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto revolutionized how the world looks at training methods. The bravery and warrior spirit of the Gracie Family changed the world forever and became the final piece of the JKD puzzle. 

Progressive Fighting Systems/Descendants of the Master

Paul Vunak, founder/President,  has trained Under Guro Dan Inosanto as one of his top instructors for over 30 years. Guro Inosanto was Bruce Lee's Protégé, training partner and best friend. Sifu Vunak was one of the first people to train Gracie Jiu Jitsu in America, and a proud student of Rorion, Royce, Royler, and Rickson Gracie. Paul Vunak’s high-level training programs have been used by our U.S. Navy SEAL teams, the FBI, DEA, and over 50 police departments across the country. PFS has been and continues to be on the cutting edge of every martial arts movement for the last 30 years. McKenzie Martial Arts and Combative Fighting Concepts are formerly home of the Pacific Northwest Regional Directors. Our curriculum is lead by two Senior Instructors in Progressive Fighting Systems.

Gracie Jiu Jitsu®(Gracie University Headquarters) 

History Overview (A Full Overview can be found here)

1925- The Gracie Academy is Born

Carlos Gracie establishes the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Carlos and his brothers taught Japanese Jiu-Jitsu techniques that Carlos learned from Esai Maeda, a Japanese immigrant.  Helio Gracie, the youngest of Carlos’ brothers, was restricted from practicing due to his small size and weak body.  As a result, Helio spent most of his time observing the lessons taught by his older brothers. 

1928- The Transformation Begins
Carlos Gracie is late for a private lesson, so Helio offers to teach the class in his brother’s absence.  Although he had never practiced the techniques, he had memorized them after years of patient observation.  Helio quickly realized that he was not strong enough to successfully apply the Japanese techniques against a larger opponent.  Never one to quit, Helio sought ways to make the techniques work using leverage, timing, and natural body movements instead of strength, speed, and coordination.

1978- The Garage Days 
In the summer of 1978, Helio’s eldest son, Rorion, leaves Brazil for the United States determined to share his father’s revolutionary system of self-defense with the rest of the world.  Rorion knew that the popularization of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in the United States would open the door to worldwide exposure.  He arrived in Southern California with nothing but his passion for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and his faith that he would succeed.  Short on money and turned away by every martial arts school, he resorted to teaching classes in his garage.  He offered a free lesson to every person he met and, within months, had a dedicated following. 

1980- The Gracie Challenge
Rorion invites anyone of any size or discipline to fight him to prove his superiority of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu over all other martial arts.  Rorion derived the Gracie Challenge from his frustration with America’s misplaced belief in the effectiveness of flashy martial arts that used high-flying kicks and brick breaking to prove their worth.  Following the first generation’s example, Rorion issued the Gracie Challenge as the supreme statement of his confidence in his family’s system of fighting.  Martial artists of all disciplines flocked to the challenge, and were shocked as the gentle, efficient techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu defeated all-comers.

1989- The Grand Opening
Rorion, with brothers Rickson, Royce, and Royler, opens the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, California, to meet the overwhelming demand for instruction in this unique Brazilian self-defense system.  Local martial artists quickly grasped this significance of the stunning Gracie Jiu-Jitsu victories over heavy-hitting opponents.  With 130 students training in the garage, and 80 more on a waiting list, Rorion established what would eventually become the world headquarters for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

1993- The Global Awakening
On November 12, Rorion Gracie changes the martial arts world forever with the airing of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®.  In the 1970s and 80s, the popularity of Hollywood martial arts hatched hundreds of fighting styles, with each claiming to be superior to all others.  Rorion sought to end the debate over which art was superior once and for all by pitting masters against each other in a true no-holds-barred setting.  The results of Rorion’s eight-man, single elimination tournament shocked the world, as Royce Gracie-the smallest and most unassuming fighter in the competition-emerged victorious.  Royce’s victory, as had Helio’s victories before him, proved that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was not only the most reliable system of self-defense, but also the only system that gives the average person a realistic chance against a larger, more athletic opponent.

1994- The U.S. Army Goes Gracie
The U.S. Army, the world’s most powerful army, chooses Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as the basis for its military combatives program.  Members of U.S. Army Special Operations units charged with finding the most effective combatives systems selected Gracie Jiu-Jitsu based on its demonstrated effectiveness.  They asked Rorion to develop an intensive training course that would prepare soldiers for hand-to-hand combat in the least amount of time.  After thoroughly analyzing hundreds of fights, Rorion identified 36 techniques that were used more often and with more success than all others.  He crafted a short course based on these techniques, and presented it to the Army.  These techniques now serve as the foundation for the U.S. Army’s Modern Army Combatives Program, and have been adopted by hundreds of military and law enforcement organizations around the world.  Today, through the Gracie Combatives program, they are available to private citizens seeking maximum self-defense skills in the shortest amount of time.

Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts

Founder: Guro Dan Inosanto, the world's foremost authority on Jeet Kune Do.

Guro Inosanto teaches The Art and Philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, Shoot Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Silat, Mixed Martial Arts and other arts at his Marina del Rey, California school, the Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts.  Inosanto is one of three people allowed by Bruce Lee to teach his Martial Arts style, and the only one to be given Instructorship in Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. 

Guro Inosanto is truly a legendary figure in the martial arts world.  A lifelong student and world renowned instructor, his impeccable humility and good nature are almost as well known as his long list of martial accomplishments.  He has been both a teacher and a student to Bruce Lee, appeared in movies such as Game of Death, Out for Justice, Big Trouble in Little China, and Sharky’s Machine, and produced many instructors, fight choreographers, and fighters.

Combative Fighting Concepts- Founders/Oregon

"Combining martial culture and revolutionary minds". We are scientists exploring the vast world of combat and art. These truths will allow all it's members to grow and adapt to our ever changing times. With 30 years of self defense and combat sports training the founders, Coach Adam and Coach Terry, decided to create CFC Headquarters in 2009. Many systems have a piece of the puzzle, but before CFC there were no programs that combines effective and safe training for youth on up to adults. The mission is to empower yourself, your family and your community. 

McKenzie Martial Arts and Combative Fighting Concepts became the first school in the world to have a Senior JKD/Kali Instructor and Gracie Jiu Jitsu Certified Training Center Instructor. To add to this amazing curriculum, the founders are also Associate Instructors under legendary, Guro Dan Inosanto.