Brazilian Jiu Jitsu History

BJJ training can be used for sport or self-defence

BJJ promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using proper technique, leverage, and most notable taking the fight to the ground, and then applying joint locks and chokeholds to defeat the other person. BJJ training can be used for sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial art (MMA) competitions or self-defense.

It's not just a martial art, it promotes fitness, builds character and is a way of life

Sparring (commonly referred to as “rolling”) and live drilling plays a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition, in relation to progress and ascension through its ranking system.

Since its inception in 1882, its parent art of Judo was separated from older systems of Japanese Jiu Jitsu by an important difference that was passed on to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It is not just a martial art, it is also a sport; a method for promoting physical fitness and building character in young people; and, ultimately, a way of life.

The style of BJJ

Upholding the premise that most of the advantage of a larger, stronger opponent comes from superior reach and more powerful strikes, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu mitigates both assumptions when grappling on the ground. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu emphasises getting an opponent to the ground in order to use ground fighting techniques and submission holds involving joint-locks and chokeholds. A more precise way of describing this would be to say that on the ground, physical strength can be offset or enhanced by an experienced grappler who knows how to maximise force using mechanical advantage and technique instead of pure physical strength.

BJJ permits a wide variety of techniques to take the fight to the ground. While other combat sports, such as Judo and Wrestling almost always use a takedown to bring an opponent to the ground, in BJJ one option is to “pull guard.” This entails obtaining some grip on the opponent and then bringing the fight or match onto the mat by sitting straight down or by jumping and wrapping the legs around the opponent.

Signature BJJ positions

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. This includes effective use of the guard (a signature position of BJJ) position to defend oneself from the bottom (using both submissions and sweeps, with sweeps leading to the possibility of a dominant position or an opportunity to pass the guard). By passing the guard to dominate from a 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 used by two experienced practitioners. A submission hold is the equivalent of a checkmate in the sport, reflecting a disadvantage that would be extremely difficult to overcome in a fight (such as a dislocated joint or unconsciousness).