An Introduction To Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

An Introduction To Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Even though it has been around for many years, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was made famous in the United States by Royce Gracie in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  Many people weren’t all that familiar with the style until Gracie entered the UFC and continued to dominate fighters of all styles and weight classes one after the other.  Once people began to see how quickly Gracie could defeat an opponent, they quickly became interested in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

As many now know, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an art that is utilized with ground grappling, with very little stand up skills involved.  A majority of the techniques used with the martial art are executed on the ground.  The techniques involve very little strength from the stylist, as most of them are all about the technique behind the move.  With Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stylists that weight 100 lbs or less can quickly put a submission lock on someone who is 2 – 3 times their weight and size.

Even though Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is great for tournament fighting, isn’t so great against multiple attackers.  With one on one fights it is very dominant, although if you are against multiple attackers it will be very hard to pull off one of the choke holds or arm locks.  You simply won’t have the time to do it, as the other attackers will be trying to take your head off.

From the ground, utilizing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the stylist will have many options that he can utilize.  He can pull off choke holds, arm locks, leg locks, and dozens of other techniques that can take someone out of the picture in a matter of seconds.  When the stylist is on his back with the opponent on top of him he has the guard, which is where he wraps his legs around the attacker.  From the guard position, the stylist can execute dozens of techniques – even though it may appear that he doesn’t stand a chance.

The mount, side control, and back mount are primary positions, along with the guard.  The mount position is where the stylist is mounted on top of the attacker on the ground – a position where he can punch or execute a submission hold.  With side control, the stylist is laying on the opponent’s chest, a position where he can easily execute an arm lock.  Back mount is among the most dangerous positions – where the stylist is on the opponents back and really do some damage if the opponent has no Jiu-Jitsu experience.

With Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the ranks start out at white belt, then move on to blue, purple, brown, and the highest color – black belt.  To move through the ranks it takes a lot of practice and dedication, usually around 2 – 3 years per belt.  Once a student reaches the black belt, he is capable of teaching other students what he knows.  It takes a long time to reach this point, more than 10 years – although it is well worth it.

In the world of martial arts, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is very effective.  It is one of the best martial arts for ground fighting, especially in tournaments.  Ground grappling is very common with tournaments these days, which is why it pays to be a well rounded stylist.  Very few martial arts styles can compete with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on the ground, which is why so many people are deciding to study it.  If you’ve decided to start studying this exceptional ground based martial art – you can pat yourself on the back for making a decision you won’t regret.

Next post I will write some about how the Army approached the Gracies and took their style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as the foundational component for the new Close Quarters Combat Training.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship

Part of what inspires me to start a blog is to write about the arts I have studied and enjoy. My greatest influences in Martial Arts have been Bruce Lee, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Military Combatives Arts.

It is not a secret that martial arts have really advanced over time.  Numerous years ago, Bruce Lee made the martial arts become even more known, when he formulated his style that he called Jeet Kune Do.  He acted in many films, demonstrating his speed and finesse to the world .  Since then, films have became  a favorite means to display martial arts skills.

Back in the 1990s, something called the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) appeared to move matters even farther.  Although there have been other  similar competitions to the UFC, none of them possessed the style and the commitment as the UFC managed.  When it first started, the UFC matched assorted styles and various weight classes.

The final result was energizing bouts with variable consequences.  The 1st ever superstar was a gentleman from Brazil named Royce Gracie.  Gracie was the 1st to present Brazilian Jui-Jitsu in this way, opening up the eyes of everybody who saw him fight.  After the first UFC, Brazilian Jui-Jitsu was immediately deemed the best martial art. Royce weighed below two hundred pounds, and he was altogether dominating fighters near 2 times his size.

Gracie would also win UFC 2 and 4 as well.  He was the most commanding in the sport, and opened the eyes of everybody around the world.  In UFC 3, he did not lose, although he come across a tough fighter who just about beat him.  Gracie returned in UFC 5 for a superfight with Ken Shamrock, which would go the distance and end in a draw.

Other fighters have done exceptionally well in the UFC, although none of them had the impact as Royce Gracie.  Fighters like Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Oleg Taktarov, Matt Hughes, and Matt Sylivia have also done very well.  Matt Hughes is also regarded as one of the best, as he fights in the Welterweight class and is considered pound for pound to be the best fighter in the world.

In the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), the UFC has made a big impact.  In the beginning, there were no rules and no judges, just one on one fights until someone either tapped out, got knocked out, or the ref through in the towel.  Fighters also fought in a tournament style as well, which took 3 fights to win the championship.

Over the years, there were several changes.  The UFC would start with judges after a few years, along with eliminating the tournaments.  The fights would eventually go to one on one, which was great for the fans.  Although the fights didn’t have time limits in the beginning, they do now.  The non title fights are three 5 minute rounds, while the title fights are five 5 minute rounds.

If a fight goes to the judges, the judges decide the winner.  There are three judges, which normally change with each different UFC.  Judges are there do determine the winner if there is no knockout or submission, while the ref is there to protect the fighters.  The referee can stop a fight as well, if a fighter is unable to defend themselves.

With all the changes in the rules of the UFC, it’s only a matter of time before the UFC gains a lot more popularity.  It is more popular today than it ever has been, which tells you that martial arts have come a long way.  Martial arts is very popular these days, with competitions such as the UFC being one of the most popular sports in the world.

If you would like to learn a little street efefective bjj, I would suggest starting with the Army Combatives Groundfighting.  It was taken directly from Gracie Jui-jitsu (BJJ) and is a good beginning place.  The manual is easy to follow and the videos are free. You can find the materials to study the army groundfighting systemat www.combatives101.com. It is a membership site, but it is free to sign up.

Got to go will write more tomorrow