Brazilian Jiu JitsuBrazilian Jiu Jitsu is a very scientific ground fighting style. As training often involves an opponent who is resisting with real reactions, a student has to learn how to use leverage, force, balance and their body weight to their own advantage. BJJ techniques can broadly be categorized into joint locks or chokes, usually applied in a ground fighting situation. The aim is to make an opponent submit or risk being injured.
Since then I have been exposed to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu through my Jeet Kune Do Concepts instructor Robert Parmakovski. I have also had the privilege of attending seminars by BJJ black belt and legendary instructor Roy Harris when he has been in Australia. Main principles of BJJ Submissions Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques generally aim to make an opponent submit by either applying a joint lock or choke. Joint locks can be applied to almost any joint in the body. Training involves learning how and when to apply the locks onto an opponent. Properly applied, these locks require very little force to elicit extreme pain and injury. Choke holds are applied to an opponent’s neck with the aim of rendering them unconscious within seconds if they do not submit before. The chokes can applied using one’s own body or the opponent’s body and/or clothing. Human chess match Although, at first the idea of submitting an opponent with a joint lock or choke sounds straight forward, in reality it is very difficult. This is because BJJ training often involves sparring sessions where by your opponent is moving and resisting and also trying to submit you. A sparring session then turns into a bit of human chess match, whereby opponents are trying to attack, defend and create openings at the same time. Experienced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners can plan many moves ahead, making you move in certain ways that literally set you up for a lock or choke. Ground fighting
In a one-on-one situation, a fight that ends up on the ground will often remove the advantages that a bigger, stronger opponent has over a weaker opponent. When on the ground the advantages of reach and power strikes can be minimized as opponents are too close to one another. In this situation, the opponent who has more training on the ground will have the greater advantage. A traditional style Originating from Japanese Jiu Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu still continues many of the Japanese martial arts traditions. These include wearing a ‘gi’ (Japanese karate style uniform) and ranking system based on belt colour. A typical BJJ ranking system starts with white belt and progresses through to blue, purple, brown and black belt. Competitions
These competitions are generally ground sparring tournaments where no strikes are allowed. Points are awarded for ‘dominant’ positions and forcing opponents to submit with various joint locks or chokes. My Personal Recommendation Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a great style for someone wanting to learn the ground range of fighting. This may be a complete beginner or someone who has experience in the traditional ‘stand up’ arts that wants to learn the ground range.
As I have mentioned on other pages on this website, ground fighting and training can be very hard on the body. Your shoulders, knees and lower back are put under a lot of stress. If you suffer from injuries to these areas of your body already, I would suggest you progress very slowly and carefully to avoid further injury. Personally, I would not recommend grappling styles such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to someone wanting to learn pure self defense. Although ground fighting is a range that one should be familiar with just in case the fight hits the ground, it is not a range that one would prefer to go to in a real life encounter. The main reason being that in a real life encounter there are often multiple attackers. To be on the ground when there are multiple people attacking you is not a good idea. Another reason why ground fighting can be impractical in a real life encounter is that violence often breaks out in unpredictable environments. You may be on very ‘unforgiving’ surfaces such as concrete, gravel or the floor of a bar that may have broken glass on it. Rolling around on such surfaces will be very different from rolling on padded training mats in the training hall. I would recommend BJJ for the person looking for a non-artistic style. Techniques and training in BJJ are designed to be effective against a moving, resisting opponent so classical stances and set patterns are not usually practiced. I would also recommend BJJ for individuals who enjoy preparing for and competing in organized tournaments.
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I was first exposed to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when I saw the first Ultimate Fighting Challenge. That competition was won by Royce Gracie, one of the famous Gracie brothers. Watching this skinny guy submit larger, stronger opponents from styles such as kickboxing, karate and wrestling was really impressive.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was developed and refined through many years of no-holds-barred tournaments in Brazil. The style gained notoriety as a superior ground fighting style when Helio Gracie, who could be considered as the father of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, was able to defeat larger, stronger opponents after taking them to the ground.
The dominance of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in many earlier mixed martial arts competitions has made it a very popular martial arts style. With the growing number of clubs and schools, organized BJJ competitions have also become very popular.
Ground fighting is a range that is often ignored by many traditional styles, but many real life encounters can end up on the ground thus leaving the person with little training in this range at a big disadvantage.
