Brief History and Background of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came about when Jiu-Jitsu was brought to Brazil by Mitsuyo Maeda (Conde Koma) in 1914, a Judoka with experience in other martial arts. In 1917 a young Carlos Gracie watched a demonstration by Maeda and became his student, who then passed this knowledge onto his brothers, of which Helio Gracie was one. Helio adapted some of the moves into what is now the familiar BJJ of the Gracie family. Incidentally the Gracie family started one of the largest BJJ organisations, the ‘International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’.

Another well known lineage involved from the early days of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was Luis Franca also a student of Maeda. Luis Franca and Maeda also taught Oswaldo Fadda, who’s family continue to teach through ‘Academia Fadda’ and are well respected.

There are of course other branches of BJJ which mostly stem from Maeda or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Some concentrate on self defence others lean more towards a sports/competitive style of BJJ.

Today Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is very much popular with mixed martial arts fighters, largely brought about by the near unstoppable wins of Royce Gracie.

The idea behind the system is to allow a smaller and weaker person to overcome a larger stronger opponent. The system concentrates mostly on ground fighting using grappling.

Some of the organisations include:
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) , World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Organization (WBJJO), Alliance Jiu Jitsu, Checkmat Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Gracie Barra, Gracie Humaitá Academy, Jiu-Jitsu Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FJJERJ), Lone Star Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (LSBJJF)

BJJ Training

Training is concentrated on getting your opponent to the ground and applying joint locks or choke holds to get a submission. The idea is to submit your opponent, to render them unable to fight back, which could be done by putting them in a hold that could cause a dislocation or unconsciousness.

Practise of these techniques as well as counter measures are the staple of BJJ and various drills, such as mounting, controlling and of course a whole host of submission techniques are practised to perfection. The idea is to become well versed in a handful of effective techniques rather than just be able to carryout a bucket load of many techniques.

The difference between BJJ and most other/traditional style Jiu-Jitsu, are mainly down to BJJ taking the best moves (mostly ground orientated) and modernising them and then being able to constantly evolve, as opposed to being taught in a set traditional manner.

BJJ Equipment/Gear Used

Heavy Cotton Gi
Belts
Mat

Celebrity BJJ Practitioners

Nicolas Cage
Milla Jovovich
Ed O’Neill
Guy Ritchie
Chuck Norris
Jim Carrey
Richard Norton
Jason Statham
Mario Van Peebles

Movies featuring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/Jiu-Jitsu

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