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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(Contributor: Don Geddis - webmaster@bjj.org)
Intro:
Possibly the premier ground-fighting martial art. Made famous
by Royce Gracie in the early UFCs in the mid-1990's, it specializes
in submission grappling when both fighters are on the ground.
Techniques include positional control (especially the "guard"
position), and submissions such as chokes and arm locks.
Origin: Brazil.
History:
In the mid-1800's in Japan, there were a large number of styles
("ryu") of jiu-jitsu (sometimes spelled "jujitsu"). Techniques
varied between ryu, but generally included all manner of unarmed
combat (strikes, throws, locks, chokes, wrestling, etc.) and occasionally
some weapons training. One young but skilled master of a number
of jiu-jitsu styles, Jigoro Kano, founded his own ryu and created
the martial art Judo (aka Kano-ryu jiu-jitsu) in the 1880's. One
of Kano's primary insights was to include full-power practice
against resisting, competent opponents, rather than solely rely
on the partner practice that was much more common at the time.
One of Kano's students was Mitsuo Maeda, who was also known as
Count Koma ("Count of Combat"). Maeda emigrated to Brazil in 1914.
He was helped a great deal by the Brazilian politician Gasto Gracie,
whose father George Gracie had emigrated to Brazil himself from
Scotland. In gratitude for the assistance, Maeda taught jiu-jitsu
to Gastao's son Carlos Gracie. Carlos in turn taught his brothers
Osvaldo, Gasto Jr., Jorge, and Helio.
In 1925, Carlos and his brothers opened their first jiu-jitsu
academy, and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was born in Brazil.
At this point, the base of techniques in BJJ was similar to those
in Kano's Judo academy in Japan. As the years progressed, however,
the brothers (notably Carlos and Helio) and their students refined
their art via brutal no-rules fights, both in public challenges
and on the street. Particularly notable was their willingness
to fight outside of weight categories, permitting a skilled small
fighter to attempt to defeat a much larger opponent.
They began to concentrate more and more on submission ground
fighting, especially utilizing the guard position. This allowed
a weaker man to defend against a stronger one, bide his time,
and eventually emerge victorious.
In the 1970's, the undisputed jiu-jitsu champion in Brazil was
Rolls Gracie. He had taken the techniques of jiu-jitsu to a new
level. Although he was not a large man, his ability to apply leverage
using all of his limbs was unprecedented. At this time the techniques
of the open guard and its variants (spider guard, butterfly guard)
became a part of BJJ. Rolls also developed the first point system
for jiu-jitsu only competition. The competitions required wearing
a gi, awarded points (but not total victories) for throws and
takedowns, and awarded other points for achieving different ground
positions (such as passing an opponent's guard). After Rolls'
death in a hang-gliding accident, Rickson Gracie became the undisputed
(and undefeated!) champion, a legend throughout Brazil and much
of the world. He has been the exemplar of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
technique for the last two decades, since the early 1980's, in
both jiu-jitsu competition and no-rules MMA competition.
Jiu-jitsu techniques have continued to evolve as the art is constantly
tested in both arenas. For example, in the 1990's Roberto "Gordo"
Correa, a BJJ black belt, injured one of his knees, and to protect
his leg he spent a lot of practice time in the half-guard position.
When he returned to high-level jiu-jitsu competition, he had the
best half-guard technique in the world. A position that had been
thought of as a temporary stopping point, or perhaps a defensive-only
position, suddenly acquired a new complexity that rapidly spread
throughout the art.
In the early 1990's, Rorion Gracie moved from Brazil to Los Angeles.
He wished to show the world how well the Gracie art of jiu-jitsu
worked. In Brazil, no-rules Mixed Martial Art (MMA) contests (known
as "vale tudo") had been popular since Carlos Gracie first opened
his academy in 1925, but in the world at large most martial arts
competition was internal to a single style, using the specialized
rules of that style's practice.
Rorion and Art Davie conceived of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
This was a series of pay-per-view television events in the United
States that began in 1993. They pitted experts of different martial
arts styles against each other in an environment with very few
rules, in an attempt to see what techniques "really worked" when
put under pressure. Rorion also entered his brother Royce Gracie,
an expert in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as one of the contestants.
Royce dominated the first years of the UFC against all comers,
amassing eleven victories with no fighting losses. At one event
he defeated four different fighters in one night. This, from a
fighter that was smaller than most of the others (at 170 lbs,
in an event with no weight classes), looked thin and scrawny,
and used techniques that most observers, even experienced martial
artists, didn't understand.\
In hindsight, much of Royce's success was due to the fact that
he understood very well (and had trained to defend against) the
techniques that his opponents would use, whereas they often had
no idea what he was doing to them. In addition, the ground fighting
strategy and techniques of BJJ are among the most sophisticated
in the world. Besides the immediate impact of an explosion of
interest in BJJ across the world (particularly in the US and Japan),
the lasting impact of Royce's early UFC dominance is that almost
every successful MMA fighter now includes BJJ as a significant
portion of their training. Description:
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is primarily a ground-fighting art. Most
techniques involve both fighters on the mat. There is a heavy
emphasis on positional strategy, which is about which fighter
is on top, and where each person's legs are. Positions are stable
situations, from which a large variety of techniques are available
to both fighters.
The primary positions include:
* Guard: The person applying the guard is on the bottom with
his back on the ground; his legs are wrapped around his opponent's
hips (who is said to be "in the guard").
* Side control: Chest-on-chest but without the legs being entangled.
* Mount: On top of his opponent (who "is mounted"), sitting
on his chest, with one leg on either side of his torso.
* Back mount: Behind his opponent, with his feet hooked around
his opponent's hips and upper thighs.
Specific techniques taught are designed either to improve one's
position (for example, to "pass the guard", by going from being
"in the guard" to getting around the opponent's legs, resulting
in side control); or else as a finishing submissions. Most submissions
are either chokes (cutting off the blood supply to the brain)
or arm locks (hyperextending the elbow, or twisting the shoulder).
Belt ranks start at white belt, and progress through blue, purple,
brown, and then black. It generally takes about 2-3 years of training
multiple times per week to be promoted to the next belt rank.
However, there is no formal rank test. Instead, rank is about
the ability to apply jiu-jitsu techniques in a competitive match.
A student generally needs to be able to reliably defeat most other
students at a given rank in order to be promoted to the next rank.
Given the jiu-jitsu roots, and the interest in competition, occasionally
related techniques are taught. In each case, other specific martial
arts focus on these sets of techniques more than BJJ, and they
generally just receive passing mention and rare practice in BJJ
training. For example, takedowns tend to be similar to Judo and
western wrestling; leg locks (such as in Sambo) are not encouraged
but sometimes allowed. Some schools teach street self-defense
or weapon defense as well; this instruction tends to be much more
like old-style Japanese jiu-jitsu with partner practice, and rarely
impacts the day-to-day grappling training. Also, many dedicated
BJJ students are also interested in MMA competition, and attempt
to practice their techniques without a gi, and sometimes with
adding striking from boxing or Muay Thai.
Training:
Most training has students wearing a heavy ("jiu-jitsu" or "Judo")
gi/kimono, on a floor with padded mats. A typical class involves
30 minutes of warm ups and conditioning, 30 minutes of technique
practice with a willing partner, and 30 minutes of free sparring
training, against an opponent of equal skill who attempts to submit
you.
Most of the training is done with all students on the mat. For
example, training usually beings with both students facing each
other from a kneeling position.
Competition is also encouraged. For a jiu-jitsu tournament, competitors
are divided by age, belt rank, and weight class. Time limits are
generally five to ten minutes, depending on belt rank. Matches
start with both competitiors standing, on a floor with a padded
mat. A tap out from submission ends the match. If time runs out
without a submission, points determine the winner:
* 2 points: Takedown from standing; Knee-on-stomach position;
or Scissor, sweep, or flip, using legs (from bottom position to
top)
* 3 points: Passing the guard
* 4 points: Mount; or Mount on back (with leg hooks in)
Many BJJ students are also interested in open submission grappling
tournaments (different points rules, usually no gi), or Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA). Most BJJ instructors encourage such competition,
and often assist in the training. However, typically BJJ classes
wear a gi, start from the knees, and prohibit strikes.
Sub-Styles:
None.
However, note that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is sometimes taught under
slightly different names. In Brazil it is generally known simply
as "jiu-jitsu".
Members of the Gracie family often call it "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu",
and in fact this name probably pre-dates the now more-generic
BJJ for labelling the art when outside of Brazil. (This probably
would have become the generic name for the art, but Rorion Gracie
trademarked the phrase for his academy in Torrance, CA. A later
lawsuit between Rorion Gracie and Carley Gracie was resolved to
permit Gracie family members to use that phrase when teaching
their family's art of jiu-jitsu. However, the generic term "Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu" is now preferred for referring to the art independent
of instructor.)
Also, the Machado brothers (cousins of the Gracies) sometimes
call their style "Machado Jiu-Jitsu". Any of these names refer
to basically the same art.
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