Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art derived from judo and wrestling. It is enriched with techniques that allow you to knock your opponent to the ground and gain complete control over him by blocking his movements. For this purpose, levers, stews and immobilizing grips are used. Find out how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was born and why you should train this martial art.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ)is considered by many to be the most effective technique of hand-to-hand combat without the use of weapons. Despite the fact that you do not use direct blows, it is very good at overpowering the opponent. The name of the discipline comes from jiu-jitsu, a traditional Japanese martial art with a rich repertoire of punches, including punches and kicks. However, the BJJ technique itself is derived from a much milder form of jiu-jitsu, or judo. After judo became popular in Brazil, the people of this country began to modify this style of fighting by adding elements known from wrestling.

Today it is one of the most popular martial arts, which owes its popularity to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) sports. MMA fighters appreciate the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu the most, because it is very effective in knocking the opponent to the ground without hurting him.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) - history of creation

Brazilian jiu-jitsu was developed in the early 20th century. It was then that the Japanese martial arts master Maeda Mitsuyo came to Brazil. He was excluded from the judo community in his native country because he was involved in fights for money, which was against the discipline's code.

One of Mitsuyo's first students was Carlos Gracie, the son of a famous Brazilian politician. Gracie already had experience in wrestling at the time and took part in brutal street fights. After incorporating judo tricks into his punch repertoire, he became almost invincible.

The technique he invented was then perfected by his brothers who popularized it in the USA. In the following decades, BJJ techniques were taken over by the descendants of the Gracie family. Starting from the 1970s, they triumphed in almost every martial arts competition. In the 90s they won competitionsMMA beating the best champions. During this time, Brazilian jiu-jitsu became the staple fighting technique used by MMA fighters and thus gained worldwide fame.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) - fighting technique

BJJ focuses primarily on ground combat. The goal of the fight is to knock your opponent on the mat and incapacitate him. The competitors fight each other in close combat for a large part of the time, i.e. one of them tightly wraps his legs around his opponent and thus tries to use his position to force the other to fall over.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu, similarly to judo, forbids punches, kicks, hits to the genitals, putting hands into body openings (eg nose, eyes).

It is also common to sit (straddling a lying opponent), undercut, choke, put your legs around the neck (the so-called lever), grab various parts of the body and immobilize them. In some ways such a fight is similar to judo, but in Brazilian jiu-jitsu there is more lying than standing and there is not such a rich repertoire of throws. Moreover, in BJJ, effectiveness is more important than the technique for which points are awarded in judo. For this reason, the duel looks more fierce and at times brutal, although usually it does not cause serious damage to he alth. The choking techniques are used only until the opponent stops defending himself, which is a signal of his surrender.

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) - belts (degrees)

In BJJ there are several colors of stripes (faixa), which correspond to different levels of advancement. Unlike judo, however, the rules for awarding them are not strictly established. Whether a player deserves a higher rank is decided by the instructor, who makes the decision based on his own observations.

  1. white belt (branca)- awarded to beginners;
  2. blue belt (azul)- awarded when the competitor knows the theoretical rules of the fight well, but is still learning how to apply them in practice; you can get stuck on faixa azula for many years, some players never go further;
  3. purple belt (roxa)- awarded to players who show appropriate maturity, have better movement control, patience and composure, which can be acquired only after several years of regular training;
  4. brown belt (marrom)- transitional belt between faix rox and faix preta, usually players with this belt get the highest black belt soon;
  5. black belt (preta)- an elite rank awarded to players who have extensive knowledge ofthe subject of BJJ techniques and in an exemplary way they can implement them in practice.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and martial arts culture

Brazilian jiu-jitsu has rejected a large part of the cultural legacy of judo - players do not have to fight in kimonos (they can only wear shorts and a jersey), nor are they bound by the code of conduct typical of judo. Their costumes have patches with the national symbols of Brazil. In BJJ, the spiritual development of adepts is also not taken into account, although the discipline itself has a kind of philosophy. It is based on a triangle consisting of three elements: efficiency, patience and control (the so-called Gracie Triangle after the family that popularized Brazilian jiu-jitsu). The BJJ philosophy says that in order to be successful on the mat, all these values ​​must be respected both in sport and in life.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) - who is it recommended to?

Jiu-jitsu instructors argue that this martial art is suitable for men, women and even children because it does not require the use of brutal blows. In practice, it is most often chosen by men in order to learn effective self-defense. Bringing your opponent to the ground floor and holding him down is the easiest way to neutralize him without the need for violence. For this reason, BJJ is a popular technique among police and military personnel.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is also more universal than judo, kung-fu or other martial arts systems, because it has fewer bans - therefore it is easier to apply them in direct confrontation with an opponent. In addition, BJJ does not require players to develop spiritual development or learn about the culture of Japan or Brazil. For this reason, it is considered one of the most affordable hand-to-hand combat techniques.

BJJ is recommended to anyone who wants to learn how to effectively defend against an opponent by skillfully bringing him to the ground and blocking his movements. It works best against one person - its effectiveness may be lower if the opponent is armed or fights in a group.

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