Jiu-Jitsu, which means gentle art, is the oldest form of martial art. It originated in India more than 2000 years before Christ. It was created by monks who could not use any type of weapons to defend their lives against barbarian attacks. It spread through China, and eventually took root and was elaborated on in Japan becoming the first martial art style. The samurai clans in Japan adopted Jiu-Jitsu as their own traditional style to defeat an opponent regardless if the situation was striking, throwing or grappling. With the passing years, they split the techniques and developed other martial arts styles, such as judo, aikido, karate, and most of the other martial arts that we have today.
Helio Gracie, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) legend began to adapt the traditional Japanese sport form of Jiu-Jitsu. Because he was a small man in stature (only 135 pounds), his intent was to adjust the techniques to be more reliant on leverage, timing, and technique instead of power and force. This would allow a smaller or weaker person to defend themselves against a larger or stronger attacker. With the knowledge that more than 95% of confrontations end in a clinch or on the ground, this art has become one of the most effective self defense systems in the world today.
In the early 1990's, no hold barred competitions, such as the "Ultimate Fighting Championship," became very popular in the United States. These early competitions pitted style VS. style, or martial art VS. martial art against each other and the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters consistently defeated other martial artists trained in other styles. Because of this, virtually every martial arts academy has added some form of BJJ to their curriculum.
It can easily be said that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the most effective hand to hand combat art available today, and it is the fastest growing martial art worldwide.
Beginnings
The art began with Mitsuyo Maeda (aka Conde Koma, or Count Combat in English), a Japanese expert judoka and member of the Kodokan. Maeda was one of five of the Kodokan's top groundwork experts that Kano sent overseas to spread his Judo to the world. Maeda left Japan in 1904 and visited a number of countries[1] giving "jiu-do" demonstrations and accepting challenges from wrestlers, boxers, savate fighters and various other martial artists before eventually arriving in Brazil on November 14, 1914.[3]
Since its inception, judo was separated from jujutsu in its goals, philosophy, and training regime. Although there was great rivalry among jujutsu teachers, this was more than just Kano Jigoro's ambition to clearly individualize his art. To Kano, judo wasn't solely a martial art: it was also a sport, a method for promoting physical fitness and building character in young people, and, ultimately, a way (Tao) of life.[4][5]
The Name
When Maeda left Japan, Judo was also known as Kano Jiu-Jitsu and, even more generically, simply as Jiu-Jitsu. Teachers of both arts didn't try too hard to make the distinction clear. For example, Tomita himself appeared in a book called Judo: The Modern School of Jiu-Jitsu. Outside Japan, however, this distinction wasn't even hinted. Both arts, jujutsu and judo, were practically unknown. To the extent that they were known, they were considered the same thing. Thus, when Maeda and Satake arrived in Brazil, every newspaper announced jiu-jitsu despite both men being Kodokan Judoka.[4]
The Japanese government itself did not officially mandate until 1925 that the correct name for the martial art taught in the Japanese public schools should be "judo" rather than "jujutsu".[6] In Brazil, the art continues to be known simply as "Jiu-Jitsu" to this day. When the Gracies went to the United States to spread their art, the system became known as "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" and "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu."
"Jiu-Jitsu" was also the original spelling of the art in the West and that is why this style retains the original (although technically incorrect) spelling. Other common spellings are Jujitsu, Ju-Jitsu, Ju jitsu and Jujutsu - the last being correct in accordance with modern romanization.
The art is sometimes referred to as Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (GJJ), but this name is trademarked by Rorion Gracie and specifically refers to the style taught by him and his selected teachers. Other members of the Gracie family often call their style by personalized names, such as Charles Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and similarly, the Machado brothers call their style Machado Jiu-Jitsu (MJJ). While each style and its instructors have their own unique aspects, they are all basic variations of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Development
Maeda met an influential businessman named Gastão Gracie who helped him get established. In 1917, his son Carlos Gracie, still a 14 years old boy, watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Teatro da Paz and decided to learn jiu-jitsu. Maeda accepted Carlos as a student,[1] and Carlos went on to become a great exponent of the art and ultimately, with his younger brother Hélio Gracie became the founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.[7]
In 1921, Gastão Gracie and his family moved to Rio de Janeiro. Carlos, then 17 years old, passed Maeda's teachings on to his brothers Osvaldo, Gastão and Jorge. Hélio was too young and sick at that time to learn the art, and due to medical imposition was prohibited to take part in the training sessions. Despite that, Hélio learned jiu-jitsu by watching his brothers. He eventually overcame his health problems and is now considered by many as the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (though others, such as Carlson Gracie, have pointed to Carlos as the founder of the art).[7]
The Gracie family continued to develop the system throughout the 20th century, often fighting vale tudo matches (precursors to modern MMA), during which it increased its focus on ground fighting and refined its techniques.[8]
Spread
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came to international prominence in the martial arts community in the 1990s, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Royce Gracie won the first, second and fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships, which at the time were single elimination martial arts tournaments. Royce fought against often much-larger opponents who were practicing other styles, including boxing, shoot-fighting, karate, judo, tae kwon do and wrestling. It has since become a staple art for many MMA fighters and is largely credited for bringing wide-spread attention to the importance of ground fighting. Sport BJJ tournaments continue to grow in popularity worldwide and have given rise to no-gi submission grappling tournaments, such as the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.
Hélio competed in several submission judo competitions which mostly ended in a draw. One defeat came by Masahiko Kimura, whose name the Gracies gave to the arm lock used to defeat Hélio. In a much later interview, Hélio admitted that he was choked unconscious early in the fight but regained consciousness quickly and avoided losing early. There are many accounts of what transpired during their fight in 1951, ranging from Kimura mocking Hélio's stance and openly insulting him, to Kimura being so impressed with Hélio's performance that he invited Hélio to teach in Japan. Today, Hélio teaches οccasionally in Brazil and accompanies his sons during fights.
Comparisons with Other Jiu Jitsu Derivatives
Combat Strategy
Renzo Gracie wrote in his book Mastering Jujutsu[9]: "The classical jujutsu of old Japan appeared to have no common strategy to guide a combatant over the course of a fight. Indeed, this was one of Kano's most fundamental and perceptive criticisms of the classical program." Maeda not only taught the art of judo to Carlos Gracie, but also taught a particular philosophy about the nature of combat develped by Kano, and further refined by Maeda based on his world-wide travels competing against fighters skilled in a wide variety of martial arts.
The book details Maeda's theory as arguing that physical combat could be broken down into distinct phases, such as the striking phase, the grappling phase, the standing phase, etc. Thus, it was a smart fighter's task to keep the fight located in the phase of combat that best suited his own strengths.
Renzo Gracie stated that this was a fundamental influence on the Gracie approach to combat. These strategies were further perfected over time by the Gracies and others, and became prominent in contemporary MMA.
Free Sparring
Like Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu encourages free sparring against a live, resisting opponent. Practitioners therefore have the opportunity to test their skills and develop them under realistic conditions, while minimizing the risk of injury.
Ground Fighting
The most important factor that differentiates Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from modern Kodokan judo, as well as most schools of Japanese jujutsu, is that BJJ places much more emphasis on ground fighting. This has led to BJJ's great strengths on the ground, and also for its relative weakness in standing techniques. There is an increasing amount of cross-training between the two sports.
Influences
It is sometimes stated that Maeda was a practitioner of traditional Japanese jujutsu. However, Maeda never trained in traditional jujutsu. He trained in sumo as a teenager, and after that his first studies in jujutsu were as a student of Kano's Kodokan Judo,[1] and he was promoted to 7th dan in judo the day before he died in 1941.
Hélio Gracie himself had already risen to the rank of 6th dan in judo by the time of his fight against Kimura in 1951.[10]
The considerable differences between BJJ and the Japanese styles is due to BJJ's greater emphasis on strikes on the ground, and those holds and joint locks that are no longer allowed in sport Judo competitions - though they are still taught in practical judo and traditional Japanese jujutsu.
Divergence from Kodokan Judo
Contributing factors to the stylistic divergence of BJJ from Kodokan judo include the Gracies' desire to create a national martial art, the influence of Brazilian culture, the Gracies' emphasis on full-contact fighting and self-defence, and the post-World War II closing of the Kodokan by the American Occupation Authority, which only allowed the Kodokan to reopen (in 1947) on the condition that judo became a sport.
Various changes over the years - mainly designed to make judo more interesting as a spectator sport for Olympic audiences - have greatly de-emphasised the groundwork aspects of judo, though these aspects have been preserved in judo, and are practiced to varying extents in different judo schools. On the other hand, BJJ specialises in these groundwork aspects. BJJ has also enhanced judo's groundwork - partly simply as a result of the greater time dedicated to training on the ground, but also due to the different rules set and point scoring mechanisms, which were designed to give BJJ an arguably more practical emphasis.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu did not follow later changes in international judo rules, giving it a distinct identity as a martial art, while still being recognisable as a sub-style of judo.
Differences between BJJ styles
Today, the main differences between the BJJ styles is between traditional Gracie Jiu-Jitsu's emphasis on self-defense, and Sport Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's orientation towards point competition. There is a large commonality of techniques between the two.
Style of fighting
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu emphasizes ground fighting techniques and submission holds involving joint-locks and chokeholds also found in numerous other arts with or without ground fighting emphasis. The premise is that most of the advantage of a larger, stronger opponent comes from superior reach and more powerful strikes, both of which are somewhat negated when grappling on the ground.
BJJ includes many techniques to throw or tackle opponents to the ground which revolve around using the primary bases of the body, the hips and shoulders. These takedowns are difficult to counter without training.
Once the opponent is on the ground, a number of maneuvers (and counter-maneuvers) are available to manipulate the opponent into a suitable position for the application of a submission technique. Achieving a dominant position on the ground is one of the hallmarks of the BJJ style, and includes effective use of the guard position to defend oneself from bottom, and passing the guard to dominate from top position with side control, mount, and back mount positions. This system of maneuvering and manipulation can be likened to a form of kinetic chess when utilized by two experienced practitioners. A submission hold is the equivalent of checkmate.
Types of Submission
The majority of submission holds can be grouped into two broad categories: joint locks and chokes. Joint locks typically involve isolating an opponent's limb and creating a lever with your own body position which will force the joint to move past its normal range of motion. Pressure should be increased in a controlled manner and released if the opponent cannot escape the hold and signals defeat by submitting. Opponents can indicate submission verbally or they can tap out (i.e. tap the opponent, the mat, or even themselves, several times.)
Alternatively, one could apply a choke hold, disrupting the blood supply to the brain, causing unconsciousness if the opponent refuses to submit.
A third, and less common type of submission hold is a compression lock, where the muscle of an opponent is compressed against a hard, large bone (commonly the shin or wrist), causing significant pain to the opponent, this type of lock often also hyper-extends the joint in the opposite direction, pulling it apart.
Joint locks
While many joint locks are permitted, most competitions bar or restrict some or all joint locks involving the knees and spine. The reason for this is that the angles of manipulation required to cause pain are nearly the same as those that would cause serious injury. Joint locks that require a twisting motion of the knee (called twisting knee locks or twisting knee bars) are usually banned in competitions because successfully completing the move nearly always results in permanent damage that requires surgery. Similarly, joint manipulations of the spine are typically barred due to the inherent danger of crushing or mis-aligning cervical vertebrae. Certain locks involving the knees and ankles are only allowed in competition starting at the brown belt. Any competitor from white to purple belt who attempts any of those locks may be disqualified.
However, most joint locks involving the wrist, elbow, shoulder or ankle are permitted as there is a great deal more flexibility in those joints and those locks are safe to use under tournament conditions. Also, some fighters practice moves whose sole purpose is to inflict pain upon their opponent, in the hope that they will tap out. This includes driving knuckles into pressure points, holding their opponent's head in order to tire out the neck (called the "can opener" or kubi-hishigi) and putting body weight on top of the sternum, floating ribs, or similarly sensitive bones. These moves are not true submission moves - they are generally only used as distractions mostly in lower levels of competition. They are avoided or brutally countered in middle to upper levels of competition.
"Chokes"
Most jiu jitsu "chokes" involve constriction of the carotid artery (causing ischemia.) Technically these are not "chokes" but "strangles"; however, the term "choke" is often erroneously used to cover both chokes and strangulations. This differs from the more instinctive choking movements which generally involve constriction of the windpipe (causing asphyxia) - a legitimate choke. Though this distinction may at first seem subtle it is in fact significant (commonly referred to as "blood" and "air" chokes respectively.) Air chokes are less efficient than strangles and may result in damage to the opponent's trachea, sometimes even resulting in death. In contrast, blood chokes (strangulations) directly cut the flow of blood off to the opponent's brain causing a rapid loss of consciousness without damaging the internal structure. Being "choked-out" in this way is actually relatively safe as long as the choke is released soon after unconsciousness, letting blood (and therefore oxygen) back into the brain before the damages of oxygen deprivation begin. However, it should not be practiced unsupervised.
The prevalence of the dangerous "air" chokes has led to the banning of choke holds from some United States police departments. Because of the negative legal connotations of the words choke - and even strangulation - it is advisable to use the term "lateral vascular restraint" when describing a blood choke used in a self-defense situation.
Training Methods
Sport Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's focus on submissions without the use of strikes while training allows practitioners to practice at full speed and with full power, resembling the effort used in a real competition. Training methods include technique drills in which techniques are practiced against a non-resisting partner; isolation sparring where only a certain technique or sets of techniques are used against full resistance; and full sparring in which each opponent tries to submit their opponent using any legal technique. Physical conditioning is also an important part of training at many clubs.
Grading
The standards for grading and belt promotions vary between schools, but the widely accepted measures of a person's skill and rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are:
- The amount of technical knowledge they can demonstrate, and
- Their performance in sparring and competition.
Technical knowledge is judged by the number of techniques a person can perform, and the level of skill with which he performs them in sparring and competition. This allows for smaller and older practitioners to be recognized for their knowledge though they may not be the strongest fighters in the school. It is a distinctly individual sport, and practitioners are encouraged to adapt the techniques to make them work for their body type, strategic preferences, and level of athleticism. The ultimate criterion is the ability to execute the techniques successfully, rather than strict stylistic compliance.
Competitions play an important role in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gradings, as they allow an instructor to compare the level of his students against those of the same rank from other schools. A belt promotion may be given after success in a competition, particularly at the lower belt levels. A promotion might also be awarded when a person can submit most people in his school of the same rank, e.g. a white belt who consistently submits most other white belts in sparring and is starting to catch blue belts.
The high level of competition between schools - and its importance for belt promotion - is also considered to be one of the key factors preventing instructors from lowering standards or allowing people to buy their way up the belts. Instructors may also take the personality of the person and their behavior outside of class into account, and may refuse to promote someone if they exhibit antisocial or destructive tendencies. It is by these and other criteria that most instructors promote their students. Some schools may also have formal testing which might include oral or written exams.
Some schools use a stripe system for each belt level, indicating progress through that belt.
Adult belt colors (16 and over) |
White |
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Blue |
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Purple |
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Brown |
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Black |
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Red |
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Children belt colors (15 and under) |
White |
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Yellow |
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Orange |
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Green |
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Some schools use slightly different belt systems, such as having more colored belts before blue belt, but the above are the only widely accepted ranks as they are the standards for tournaments. There are minimum age requirements for belt promotions. Blue belts are never awarded to anyone under the age of 16. For promotion to black belt the minimum age is 19 years old according to the main regulating body of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the International Federation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Stripes may be awarded to any rank below black belt, but like the belts themselves, they tend to be given at the instructor's discretion, and may be in recognition of accomplishments like noticeably improvement or tournament victories. However, not all schools award stripes, or award them consistently, so the number of stripes a person has is not necessarily a good measure of their accomplishments or time in training. When they are used, it is standard for a student to receive 4 stripes before being promoted to the next rank.
