Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) changed Japanese martial arts forever, and brought the idea of mixed martial arts (MMA) to the mainstream. It is a sport of brutal grappling and ground fighting that is even used by the United States Army for combat conditioning.

In 1917, Carlos and Hélio Gracie watched in awe as martial artists Mitsuyo Maeda defeated opponent after opponent in the ring. Wrestlers, boxers, and other martial artists weren't any match for the Japanese man who was using the relatively new martial art known as Judo or Kano Jiu-Jitsu. After seeing the demonstration the boys had to learn this new style, so their father arranged to have them train and this would lead to them developing their own style. Now almost a hundred years later Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has stepped out of Judo's shadow and become a popular sport in its own right.

After his early lessons Hélio began teaching his brothers and other the new martial art. Maeda had only had a brief time to train the boys so he concentrated on ground work rather then standing which takes longer to learn. Their teacher also emphasized that a fighter should go with their strength whether it is striking, grappling, or standing, so naturally Gracies gravitated toward ground fighting. The Gracies may have intended for their new martial art to be for self defense, but as it developed it became a combat sport.

To look at a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match where blood is spilled, strikes are allowed, and where submissions are common it is hard to believe that it is sport and not a combat martial art, but it is. Despite a reputation for being ultra violent a competent Judo player can still hold their own against a BJJ practitioner. Grappling is that last thing you want to do in a real fight, but with BJJ that is what you're conditioned to do.

There is no denying the Gracie family has contributed a lot to martial arts. They gave Brazil a new national sport, and helped promote mixed martial arts competitions like Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). At the end of the day though they created a sub-type of Judo, and it isn't good for self defense. Combat sports are great, but they're only effective in competitions and not street fights. Like many combat sports Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is just the beginning of a self defense education.