Hollywood Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), also called Gracies Jiu-Jitsu, is a martial art and a combat sport that focuses on grappling and ground fighting with the goal of gaining a dominant position and using joint-locks and chokeholds to force an opponent to submit. It promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person using leverage and proper technique can successfully defend themselves against a bigger, stronger assailant. BJJ can be trained for self defense, sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi), and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition.

Ground Grappling (Ne-waza) refers to all the grappling techniques that are applied while the grapplers are no longer in a standing position and was greatly popularized by the success of Royce Gracie in the early days of the UFC. A top position generally puts the grappler in an advantageous position, he or she can use the position to escape by standing up, pinning and exhausting the opponent, executing a submission hold, or striking the opponent. The revolution of BJJ in ground grappling showed the world that top position was no longer the dominant position. Effective use of the BJJ guard made the bottom grappler extremely dangerous from the bottom position. Brazilian jiu-jitsu allowed fighters to fight effectively from all positions and to dictate the flow of the fight.

With the explosive success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the majority of fighters recognized the effectiveness of BJJ and incorporated it into their training regiment. Rarely will you find successful fighters that have not crosstrained or studied BJJ to some degree.

Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, BJJ comparison:

The most important factor that differentiates Brazilian Jiu-jitsu from Judo and some schools of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu is that BJJ places a decided emphasis on ground fighting. While Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and Judo do incorporate training in ground fighting (ne-waza), with some schools favoring more ground techniques than others, few Japanese schools put as much emphasis on ground techniques as BJJ. Some, if not the majority, of BJJ schools overlook most throwing techniques entirely. Such a training regime is responsible for the great advances in ground fighting introduced by Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and also for weaknesses in standing grappling, which some remedy by cross training in Judo and/or Wrestling. In addition, like Judo, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu encourages "randori" or free sparring against a live, resisting opponent. Thus, students have an opportunity to test their skills and develop them under realistic conditions, while minimising the risk of injury.

In simplified terms, the difference between Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is philosophy and execution. As a off-shoot of Judo, BJJ shares many aspects of Judo. However, what distinguishes BJJ is the transitions, movements, and sweeps that lead to the goal of subduing a opponent. BJJ has taken the philosophy of the 'gentle art' of Judo and refined the economy of motion on the ground into one of the most effective fighting arts today. A master practioner in BJJ never goes with the flow, instead they flow with the go.

Techniques:

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu emphasizes ground fighting techniques and submission holds involving joint-locks and chokeholds also found in numerous other arts with or without ground fighting emphasis. The premise is that most of the advantage of a larger, stronger opponent comes from superior reach and more powerful strikes, both of which are sometimes negated if grappling on the ground. BJJ includes many techniques to throw or tackle opponents to the ground which revolve around using the primary bases of the body, the hips and shoulders. These takedowns are difficult to counter without training. Once the opponent is on the ground, a number of maneuvers (and counter-maneuvers) are available to manipulate the opponent into suitable position for the application of a submission hold. Achieving a dominant position on the ground is one of the hallmarks of the BJJ style, and includes effective use of the guard position to defend oneself from bottom, and passing the guard to dominate from 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 utilized by two experienced practitioners. A submission hold is the equivalent of checkmate.

The majority of submission holds can be grouped into two broad categories: joint locks and chokes. Joint locks typically involve isolating an opponent's limb and creating a lever with your own body position which will force the joint to move past its normal range of motion. Pressure should be increased in a controlled manner and released if the opponent cannot escape the hold and signals defeat by submitting. The commonly accepted form of submission is to tap the opponent, gym mat, or even yourself, several times. Verbal submission is also acceptable.

Alternatively, one could apply a choke hold, disrupting the blood supply to the brain, causing unconsciousness if the opponent refuses to tap out. A third, and less common type of submission hold is a compression lock, where the muscle of an opponent is compressed against a hard, large bone (commonly the shin or wrist), causing significant pain to the opponent.

Most BJJ "chokes" involve constriction of the carotid artery (causing hypoxia). Technically these are not "chokes" but "strangles"; however, the term "choke" is often erroneously used to cover both chokes and strangulations. This differs from the more instinctive choking movements which generally involve constriction of the windpipe (causing asphyxia) - a legitimate choke. Though this distinction may at first seem subtle it is in fact significant (commonly referred to as "blood" and "air" chokes respectively). Air chokes are less efficient than strangles and may result in damage to the opponent's trachea, sometimes even resulting in death. In contrast, blood chokes (strangulations) directly cut the flow of blood off to the opponent's brain causing a rapid loss of consciousness without damaging the internal structure. Being "choked-out" in this way is actually relatively safe as long as the choke is released soon after unconsciousness, letting blood (and therefore oxygen) back into the brain before the damages of oxygen deprivation begin. However, it should not be practiced in an unsupervised atmosphere.

The prevalence of the dangerous "air" chokes has actually led to the banning of chokeholds from some United States police departments. Because of the negative legal connotations of the words choke and even strangulation one is advised to use the term "lateral vascular restraint" when describing a blood choke used in a self-defense situation.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's limitation to submissions without the addition of strikes while training allows practitioners to practice at full speed and almost full power, resembling the effort used in a real competition.

While many joint locks are permitted, most competitions bar or restrict some or all joint locks involving the knees and spine. The reasoning behind this being that the angles of manipulation required to cause pain are nearly the same to cause serious injury. Joint locks that require a twisting motion of the knee (called twisting knee locks or twisting knee bars) are usually banned in competitions as successfully completing the move nearly always results in permanent damage that requires surgery. Similarly, joint manipulations of the spine are typically barred due to the inherent danger of crushing or mis-aligning cervical vertebrae. In Brazil, certain locks involving the knees and ankles are only allowed in competition starting at the brown belt. Any competitor from white to purple belt who tries any of these locks may be disqualified.

However, most joint locks involving the wrist, elbow, shoulder or ankle are permitted as there is a great deal more flexibility in those joints and are safe to use under tournament conditions. Also, in lower levels of competition, some fighters practice moves whose sole purpose is to inflict pain upon their opponent, in the hope that they will tap out. This includes driving knuckles into pressure points, holding their opponent's head in order to tire out the neck (called the "can opener" or kubi-hishigi) and putting body weight on top of the sternum, floating ribs, or similarly sensitive bones. These moves are not true submission moves and are avoided or brutally countered in middle to upper levels of competition. Generally, they are used as distractions.

The main emphasis in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is to dominate the opponent through application of technique and force them to quit (submit). By using the techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a smaller practitioner, male or female, can control much larger and stronger opponents and actually force the larger opponent to give up.

Belt Advancement:

The standards for grading and belt promotions vary between schools, but the widely accepted measures of a person's skill and rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are first the amount of technical knowledge they can demonstrate, and then their performance in sparring and competition.

Technical knowledge is judged by the number of techniques a person can perform, and the level of skill with which he performs them in sparring and competition. This allows for smaller and older people to be recognized for their knowledge though they may not be the biggest and strongest fighters in the school. It is a distinctly individual sport, and practitioners are encouraged to adapt the techniques to make them work for their body type, strategy, and level of athleticism. The ultimate criterion is the ability to execute the technique successfully, and not stylistic compliance.

Competitions play an important role in the grading of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as they allow an instructor to compare the level of his students against those of the same rank in other schools. A belt promotion may be given after success in a competition, particularly at the lower belts. A promotion might also be awarded when a person can submit most people in his school of the same rank, e.g. a white belt who consistently submits most other white belts in sparring and is starting to catch blue belts.

The high level of competition between schools and its importance to belt promotion is also considered to be one of the key factors preventing instructors from lowering standards or allowing people to buy their way up the belts.
Many instructors also take the personality of the person and their behavior outside of class into account, and may refuse to promote someone if they exhibit antisocial or destructive tendencies.
It is by these and other criteria that most instructors promote their students. A few schools may also have formal testing and include oral or written exams.

Also, some schools may use a stripe system for each level belt, meaning that they must progress through a certain rank for each belt. Some schools use slightly different belt systems, such as having more colored belts before blue belt, but the above are the only widely accepted ranks as they are the standards for tournaments.

There are minimum age requirements for belt promotions. Blue belts are never awarded to anyone under the age of 16. For promotion to black belt the minimum age is 18 years old or older according to the main regulating body of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the International Federation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (IFBBJ).

Stripes may be awarded to any rank below black belt, but like the belts themselves, tend to be given at the instructor's discretion, and may be in recognition of accomplishments like noticeably improving or victories in a tournament. However, not all schools award stripes, or award them consistently, so the number of stripes a person has is not necessarily a good measure of their accomplishments or time in training. When they are used, it is standard for a student to receive 4 stripes before being promoted to the next rank.
Black belts can receive degrees for as long as they train or teach the art. At 8th , the black belt is replaced by an alternately red and black belt. At 9th & 10th degree the belt becomes solid red. Only the founding Gracie Brothers Hélio,Carlos & his brothers will ever have the 10th degree red belt. The Gracie family members who are 9th degrees belt holders are Carlson Gracie, Reylson Gracie and Rorion Gracie who was promoted on October 27, 2003 by his father Hélio Gracie.

BJJ differs in some aspects from other martial arts in the criteria for grade promotion, which is almost exclusively based on practical expertise in randori (free sparring, or rolling) and championship results. Its expected, although not always the case, that any BJJ black belt is extremely proficient in every applied aspect of BJJ and also fare well in competition. Less emphasis is given to theoretical and background knowledge. Rarely any formal test is performed for the grading, which is based mainly in observation at every-day practice sessions. For contrast, as an example, in Judo practical knowledge and expertise in shiai (competition) and/or randori alone will hardly give an athlete the black-belt grade, as knowledge of technique names and Kata demonstration are necessary to a black belt holder. Its not always the case though since some schools, mainly traditional Japanese schools, has the prerequisite that a judoka defeats a set number of opponents from higher grades before advancing.

Origin:

The word jiu-jitsu comes from the japanese word Jiu-Jitsu. It is composed of two kanjis: « ju » which means gentleness, softness and suppleness, « jutsu » which means technique, method, skill. So, literally Jiu-Jitsu means the « art » or « science » of softness.

In martial arts, a "jutsu" differs from a "do" (as in jiu-jitsu/judo in that the former is a fighting method unrelated to sport competition, while the latter relates to the sport aspect of the art). During Japan's transition from a feudal to an industrial society, many schools of martial arts changed the suffix of the arts they were practicing from "jutsu" to "do". The intent of this change was in part to reflect a philosophical approach to training, where the spiritual and moral virtues of the martial arts are incorporated into one's entire life (ie : judo means the « way » of softness).

According to a very ancient legend, a long time ago a doctor whose name was Akiyama lived. As he was travelling in China, he met in Manchuria a religious sect which was practicing self-defense based on the knowledge of the human body. The doctor couldn’t take part of the training but he was authorized to watch the exercises. The name of the skilled trained was hakuda. It allowed to protect oneself from an armed and stronger opponent. As doctor Akiyama came back to Japan, he tried to teach the techniques he had seen in China to his family but as he hadn’t practiced them, he didn’t understand what was hakuda. He found the principle of hakuda in a very natural way. During winter, he observed that large branches of oaks were broken under the weight of snow while thin branches of willows were only bending and throwing snow away. That was the hakuda’s spirit: use against an opponent his violence and his weight to defeat him. And he gave the name of Jiu-Jitsu to this new technique of fight.

Fighting forms have existed in Japan for centuries. Jiu-Jitsu is a battlefield-based systems developed during feudal period in unarmed combat (cf. bushi and samouraï). Japanese jiu-jitsu systems typically place more emphasis on throwing, immobilizing and pinning, joint-locking, and strangling techniques. Atemi-waza (striking techniques) were seen as less important in most older Japanese systems, since samurai body armor protected against many striking techniques. Towards the end of the Tokugawa period period (1603-1867), and during the Meiji Restoration, more than 2000 schools (ryu) of jiu-jitsu existed.

At this point, a bit of Japan History is very important, and especially the Meiji Restoration 1968-1912.

The Meiji Restoration was the catalyst toward industrialization in Japan that led to the rise of the island nation as a military power by 1905.Beginning with the Meiji Restiration of 1868, which established a new, centralized regime, Japan set out to “gather wisdom from all over the world” and embarked on an ambitious program of military, social, political, and economic reforms that transformed it within a generation into a modern nation-state and major world power.

The Meiji oligarchy, that formed the government under the rule of the Emperor, was aware of Western progress, and “learning missions” were sent abroad to absorb as much of it as possible. The Iwakura mission, the most important one, contained forty-eight members in total and spent two years (1871–73) touring the United States and Europe, studying every aspect of modern nations, such as government institutions, courts, prison systems, schools, the import-export business, factories, shipyards, glass plants, mines, and other enterprises. Upon returning, mission members called for domestic reforms that would help Japan catch up with the West.

The Meiji oligarchy first introduced measures to consolidate their power against the remnants of the Edo period government, the shogunate, daimyo, and the samourai class. In 1868, all Tokugawa lands were seized and placed under “Imperial control”, thus placing them under the prerogative of the new Meiji government. In 1871, the daimyos, past and present, were summoned before the Emperor, where it was declared that all domains were now to be returned to the Emperor. The oligarchs also endeavoured to abolish the four divisions of society.

To reform the military, the government instituted nationwide conscription in 1873, mandating that every male serve in the armed forces upon turning 21 for four years; followed by three more years in the reserves. One of the primary differences between the samurai and peasant class was the right to bear arms; this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the nation.

Not surprisingly, this led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was, however, put down swiftly by the newly formed Imperial Japanese Army, trained in Western tactics and weapons, even though the core of the new army was the Tokyo police force, which was formed in great parts of former samurai. This sent a strong message to the dissenting samurai that their time was indeed up. The samurai, being better educated than most of the population, became teachers, government officials, or military officers.

Koryu bujutsu vs Gendai budo:

Today, so-called “traditional” martial arts (from before the Meiji Restoration) are often referred to as koryu bujutsu (literally, “old-style martial art/science”), while more modern martial arts are called gendai budo (literally, “modern martial way”). Koryu is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. This word literally translates as “old school” or “old tradition”. Koryu is a general term for Japanese schools of martial arts that predate the Meiji Restoration. While there is no “official” cutoff date, the date most commonly used is 1876, when the Haitorei edict banning the wearing of swords was pronounced. The systems of Japanese martial arts that post-date the Meiji Restoration are known as gendai budo. The most well known of these arts include judo, kendo, some schools of iaido, and aikido. These newer systems are commonly valued as sports or arts for self-improvement. The koryu systems of martial arts, however, are commonly far more revered as they are considered the teachings of the true Japanese martial arts, due to the fact that they were formed from Japan's feudal military culture.

It is often inaccurately believed that kendo and iaido are more modern and thereby more advanced and or better systems of kenjutsu and koryu; nothing could be further from the truth. The aims of bujutsu (lit. "martial methods") and budo (lit. "martial way") are two distinct practices that serve distinctly different aims. The primary objective of a student of a koryu is to engage in the practice of bujutsu in order to develop the combative mindset of his or her ryu, through which he will come to understanding the effective utilization of a broad range of weapons in mortal combat. The objective of budo is rather less terse, while many people enter into budofor reasons of self-defense, most gendai budo (modern martial arts) also seek to develop the spiritual, ethical, and or moral aspects of the individuals in conjunction to the physical and sporting methods. Koryu has no sporting component and free sparring is rarely used due to the danger. While bujutsu and budo remain two distinct practices, they are not mutually exclusive, and the terms are used almost interchangeably in the Japanese language. The distinction, however subtle, between bujutsu and budo points to the essential difference and qualities of each approach and their relationship to koryu.

Jigoro Kano:

He was born in Mikage near Kobe. Kano's father was a great believer in the power of education, and he provided Jigoro with an excellent education. Kano's mother died when Jigoro was 9 years old, and his father moved the family to Tokyo. Jigoro was enrolled in private schools, and had his own English-language tutor. In 1874, he was sent to a private school run by Europeans to improve his English and German skills.

At the time, Kano stood 5 foot 2 inches but weighed only 90 pounds. He wished he were stronger. One day, a friend of the family, Baisei Nakai, mentioned in passing that jiu-jitsu was an excellent form of physical training. He then showed Kano a few techniques by which a smaller man might overcome a larger, stronger opponent. Kano decided he wanted to learn the art, despite Nakai's insistance that such training was an out of date and somewhat dangerous pastime. Kano's father also discouraged him from jiu-jitsu, telling him to pursue a modern sport instead.

When Kano started college at age 17, he started looking for jiu-jitsu teachers. This brought him to Teinosuke Yagi, who had been a student of Isomata Emon in the Tenshin Shinyo Ryu school of jiu-jitsu and Hachinotsuke Fukuda, who taught Tenshin Shinyo Ryu. Tenshin Shinyo Ryu was itself a combination of two older schools, the Yoshin-ryu and Shin no Shindo Ryu. Due to Kano's intense practice and his solid grounding in the jiu-jitsu taught by Fukuda, he was soon an assistant at Iso's school, and in 1881, at the age of 21, he gained a license (menkyo kaiden which means "license of total transmission.") to teach Tenshin Shinyo Ryu. It was during this period that he realized that to be truly superior, one needed to combine the best elements of several ryu (schools) of jiu-jitsu: training harder was not enough, training smarter was also needed. Toward this end, he began to seek teachers who could provide him with superior elements of jiu-jitsu that he could adopt.

In 1882, Kano started the Kodokan dojo in the Eishoji Temple and started promoting his own style: judo. Judo was separated from Jiu-Jitsu in its goals, philosophy and training regime. Jigoro Kano’s aim was to clearly individualize his art.

Mitsuyo Maeda:

He was born in Funazawa Village, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. He practiced sumo as a teenager. His interest in Judo arrived because of this unsuitability to sumo. At seventeen years old, in 1894, his parents sent him to Tokyo to enrol in Waseda University. He took up Kokokan the following year (in 1895). He was 1m 64cm tall and weighted 64kg. But in Judo, size was not important.

Mitsuto Maeda formed with Soishiro Satake the head of the second generation of Kodokan judoka which replaced the first by the beginning of the 20th century. Maeda was one of the top graduated professors at Waseda University. According to a student of the Kodokan, Kyuzo Mifune, Maeda was one of the biggest promoters of Judo, although not by properly teaching Judo, but instead, forcing Judo recognition through his many combats with contenders from other disciplines. Maeda treated experienced and inexperienced students alike, throwing them as if in real combat. He reasoned his behaviour as a respectful measure towards his students but was often misunderstood and scared many youngsters, who would abandon him in favour of other professors.
In 1903, a senior Kodokan instructor named Yoshiaki Yamashita travelled to United States at the request of the Seattle businessman Sam Hill. In Washington D.C., Yamashita’s students included Theodore Roosevelt and other prominent Americans. Through Roosevelt’s request, Yamashita also taught judo at the U.S. Naval Academy. Appreciating the good publicity, the Japanese Legation in the USA asked the Kodokan to send more Judo teachers to America, thereby giving continuity to Yamashita’s work. Maeda embraced the opportunity.

Maeda sailed from Yokohama on November 16, 1904, and arrived in New York City on December 8, 1904. During early 1905, Maeda gave several public demonstrations of Judo (Princeton University, United States Military Academy at West Point...). He wrestled in USA (1905), Europe (England in 1907; Belgium, Spain and Scotland in 1908). It was during the Iberian trip that Maeda adopted the stage name Conde Koma. He continued travelling and wrestling passing by Paris (1908), Cuba (1908-1809), Mexico (1909-1910), and returned to Cuba in 1910-1911. In 1913, he went to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Brazil in November 14, 1914. On January 8, 1916 he boarded the Antony and left to Liverpool and he went from England to Portugal, Spain and France coming back to Brazil and settling to Belém do Pará where he married D. May Iris. Maeda has been recognized as a great fighter.

In 1925, Maeda became involved with helping settle Japanese immigrants near Tome-açú, a Japanese-owned company town in Pará, Brazil. This was part of a large tract in the Amazon forest set aside for Japanese settlement by the Brazilian government. The crops grown by the Japanese were not popular with the Brazilians, and the Japanese investors eventually gave up on the project. Maeda continued teaching judo, now mostly to the children of Japanese immigrants. Consequently, in 1929, the Kodokan promoted him to six dan, and on November 27, 1941, to seventh dan. Maeda never knew of this final promotion, because he died in Belém on November 28, 1941.

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu:

The Gracie family refers to the lineage of Brazilian businessman and politician Gastão Gracie. They are known as the founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and for their success in mixed martial arts, vale tudo, and submission wrestling competitions. As a family, they uphold the Gracie challenge.

Outside Japan, Both arts, jiu-jitsu and judo were practically unknown. None of them were recognized individually, they were instead considered the same thing. Even teachers of both arts didn't tried too hard to make the distinction clear. When Maeda arrived in Brazil every newspaper announced “jiu-jitsu” despite he being a Kodokan Judoka. In 1917, Carlos Gracie, 14 years old, watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Teatro da Paz and decided to learn jiu-jitsu. Maeda accepted to teach Carlos. At 17 years old, Carlos, who would become a great exponent of the art, passed Maeda's teachings on to his brothers Osvaldo, Gastão and Jorge. Hélio was too young and sick at that time to learn the art, and due to medical imposition was prohibited to take part in the training sessions. Despite that, Hélio learned jiu-jitsu by watching his brothers.

When Hélio was 16 years old, he found the opportunity to teach a Jiu-Jitsu class, and this experience led him to develop Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Director of the Bank of Brazil, Dr. Mario arrived for class as scheduled. The instructor Carlos was running late and was not present. Hélio offered to begin the class with the man. When the tardy Carlos arrived offering his apologies, the student assured him it was no problem, and actually requested that he be allowed to continue learning with Hélio instead. Carlos agreed to this and Hélio began as an instructor. Hélio realized however, even though he knew the techniques theoretically, in actuality, the moves were much harder to execute. Due to his smaller size, he realized many of the jiu-jitsu moves required brute strength that his physical nature did not allow. He began adapting the moves for his particular physical attributes, and through trial and error learned to maximize leverage, thus minimizing the force that needed to be exerted to execute the move. From these experiments, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, formally Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, was created. Using these new techniques, smaller and weaker opponents gained the capability to defend themselves and even defeat much larger opponents.

It is the reason why Hélio and carlos Gracie are both considered to be co-founders of "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu," also known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or BJJ. Hélio is the father of the world-renowned fighters Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie and UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie.

He is a martial artist and a mixed martial arts fighter who holds a 7th degree black belt in BJJ. He is a member of the Gracie family: the son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion Gracie, and half-brother to the fighters Royce Gracie and Royler Gracie. Rickson was the winner of the Vale Tudo Japan tournament in 1994 and 1995.

He is a lifelong practitioner of BJJ and a member of the Gracie family. He holds notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Pat Miletich and Carlos Newton.

Overview: