Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
From Mixed Martial Arts Wiki
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting with the goal of gaining a dominant position and using joint-locks and choke holds to force an opponent to submit or be knocked out, depending on what submission method is used. The art was based on early 20th century Kodokan Judo, which was itself then a recently-developed system (founded in 1882), based on multiple schools of Japanese Jujutsu.
It promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person using leverage and proper technique can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant. It primarily uses Judo takedowns to gain the dominant position. BJJ can be trained for self defense, sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Sparring (commonly referred to as 'rolling') and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition.
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History
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 Judo's founder Kano Jigoro sent overseas to spread his art to the world. Maeda left Japan in 1904 and visited a number of countries
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'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 (Do) of life. To a very large extent, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has also encompassed these philosophies.
It is often claimed that BJJ is a development of traditional Japanese Jujutsu, and that Maeda was a jujutsuka. However, Maeda never trained in jujutsu. He first trained in sumo as a teenager, and after the interest generated by stories about the success of judo at contests between judo and jujutsu that were occurring at the time, he changed from sumo to judo, becoming a student of Kano's Kodokan judo.
Name
When Maeda left Japan, Judo was still often referred to as "Kano Jiu-Jitsu", or, even more generically, simply as "Jiu-Jitsu."
Kigashi, the co-author of "Kano Jiu-Jitsu" In Brazil, the art is still called "Jiu-Jitsu". 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" is an older romanization that was the original spelling of the art in the West, and it is still in common use, whereas the modern Hepburn romanization is "jūjutsu." Other common spellings are Jujitsu, Ju-Jitsu, and Ju jitsu.
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.
Today there are four major branches of Jiu-Jitsu from gi. Gracie Humaita, Gracie Barra, Alliance Jiu-Jitsu, and Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Each branch can trace its roots back to Carlos Gracie, and Mitsuyo Maeda.
Development
Maeda met an influential Businessman named Gastão Gracie who helped him get established. In 1917, his son Carlos Gracie, still a 14 year-old boy, watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Teatro da Paz and decided to learn jiu-jitsu. Maeda accepted Carlos as a student,
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).: "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 developed 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 ground 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, BJJ encourages free sparring--also known as "rolling"--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.
Divergence from Kodokan rules
Since judo was introduced to Brazil there have been changes in the Judo—some to enhance it as a spectator sport, and some for improved safety. Several of these rule changes have greatly de-emphasised the groundwork aspects of judo, and others have reduced the range of joint locks allowed and when they can be applied. Many of the banned techniques are preserved in the judo Kata, and are practised to varying extents in different clubs. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu did not follow many of these changes to judo rules, and this divergence has given it a distinct identity as a martial art, while still being recognizable as a Judo. Other factors that have contributed towards the stylistic divergence of BJJ from sport judo include the Gracies' desire to create a national martial art, the influence of Brazilian culture, and the Gracies' emphasis on full-contact fighting and self-defense.
BJJ permits all the techniques that judo allows to take the fight to the ground. These include judo's scoring throws as well as judo's non-scoring techniques that it refers to as 'skillful takedowns' (such as the flying armbar). However, BJJ differs in that it also allows a competitor to drag his opponent to the ground, and also even to drop to the ground himself provided he has first taken a grip. Early Kodokan judo not only allowed all that BJJ now allows, it even allowed a fighter to drop straight to the ground without first taking a grip.
BJJ's different rules set and point scoring mechanisms are designed to give BJJ an arguably more practical emphasis. This is done by rewarding positions of control from which the grappler could strike their opponent (if it weren't for the sport's restrictions against striking.) While judo's greater emphasis on throwing is sometimes criticised as not being as useful in a self-defence situation, the effectiveness of throwing should not be underestimated. This is especially so when performed on a hard surface and with the freedom to throw their opponent in a manner that would cause great injury (being unrestricted in the circumstances by sport judo's requirement to rotate one's opponent onto their back.)
Ground fighting
BJJ is strongly differentiated by its greater emphasis on groundwork. This is due to both its radically different point-scoring system, and the absence of most of the judo rules that cause the competitors to have to recommence in a standing position. This has led to greater time dedicated to training on the ground, resulting in enhancement of judo's groundwork techniques by BJJ practitioners.
However, there are also many techniques that are allegedly created by BJJ, though they already existed in Kodokan judo. This misconception is often the result of incorrect assumptions by BJJ practitioners who simply assume that the techniques they learned in BJJ classes originated in BJJ, and it is also due in some instances to BJJ practitioners genuinely rediscovering techniques that they did not know already existed in judo, such as the Gogoplata.
Along with BJJ's great strengths on the ground comes its relative weakness with standing techniques. There is an increasing amount of cross-training between the two sports.
The gi
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner's gi is similar to a Judo, but with tighter cuffs on the pants and jacket. This allows the practitioner to benefit from a closer fit, providing less material for an opponent to manipulate. As is the case with judo, the term 'kimono' is sometimes used to describe the outfit.
Style of fighting
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu emphasizes Ground fighting techniques and Grappling 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 permits a wide variety of techniques to take the fight to the ground after taking a grip. 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 in the sport. However, it is possible for a combat situation to continue even after a proper submission is performed.
Types of submission
The majority of submission holds can be grouped into two broad categories: Joint locks and Chokehold. Joint locks typically involve isolating an opponent's limb and creating a lever with the body position which will force the joint to move past its normal range of motion, generally referred to as hyperextension.
Air chokes are less efficient than strangles and may result in damage to the opponent's trachea, sometimes even resulting in death. By contrast, blood chokes (strangulations) cut the flow of blood to the opponent's brain, causing a rapid loss of consciousness without damaging any internal structures. Being "choked-out" in this way is relatively safe as long as the choke is released soon enough after unconsciousness, letting blood back into the brain before Hypoxia (medical) damage begins. However, it should not be practiced unsupervised.
The prevalence of the more 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 "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
- Blue
- Purple
- Brown
- Black
- Red
Junior belt colors (15 and under)
- White
- Yelllow
- Orange
- Green
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 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
Stripes may be awarded to any rank below Black belt (martial arts), but like the belts themselves, they tend to be given at the instructor's discretion, and may be in recognition of accomplishments like noticeable 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 four stripes before being promoted to the next rank.
Black belts can receive degrees, up to 9th degree, for as long as they train or teach the art. At 7th degree, the black belt is replaced by an alternately red and black belt. At 9th & 10th degree, the belt becomes solid red. Only the founding Gracie Brothers Helio, Carlos & his brothers will ever have the 10th degree red belt. The Gracie family members who are 9th degrees belt holders are Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Reylson Gracie, Relson Gracie, and Rorion Gracie.
BJJ differs in some aspects from other martial arts in the criteria for grade promotion, which is almost exclusively based on practical expertise in 'randori' (free sparring, or rolling) and championship results. It's expected, although not always the case, that any BJJ black belt is extremely proficient in every applied aspect of BJJ and also perform well in competition. Less emphasis is given to theoretical and background knowledge. Rarely is any formal test undertaken for the grading, which is based mainly in observation at every-day practice sessions. By contrast, in Judo, practical knowledge and expertise in shiai (competition) and/or randori alone would not normally give an athlete the black-belt grade, as knowledge of technique names and Kata demonstration are necessary (the exception is promotion by Batsugun.)
There is a vast difference in how often belt progression takes place, and the requirements for the progression. More traditional schools and especially Gracie-affiliated schools believe that black belt cannot be achieved in under 8 to 10 years, while some schools allow students to achieve black belt more quickly.
A blue belt will typically take 1-3 years to earn. Depending on the amount of time the student puts in, and how quickly they learn. A purple belt can take 3-6 years to earn. Again, this depends largely on the individual student, and the frequency of training. A purple belt is generally accepted as being able to open his or her own school. Brown belt is considered an elite rank. Typically a student who has earned a brown belt will one day receive his or her black belt. Earning a black belt is not guaranteed in BJJ.
Belt Promotion
A common custom on promotion is 'running the gauntlet' which is said to have originated in Brazil. The student will endure one of the following gauntlets:
- Is thrown successively by each of the students/instructors with equal or higher grade in the academy (as such, a newly promoted purple belt will be thrown by every other purple, brown and black belt).
- Is hit on their bare back with belts—once by each of their fellow practitioners—as they walk or run past.
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
One of the most prestigious and recognized Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in the world is the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (often called Mundials), hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
