WHAT IS BJJ?

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (BJJ) IS A MARTIAL ART, COMBAT SPORT, AND A SELF DEFENCE SYSTEM THAT FOCUSES ON GRAPPLING, AND IN PARTICULAR GROUND FIGHTING.

BJJ WAS FORMED FROM KODOKAN JUDO GROUND FIGHTING FUNDAMENTALS THAT WERE TAUGHT TO CARLOS GRACIE BY MASTER MITSUYO MAEDA. BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU EVENTUALLY CAME TO BE ITS OWN ART THROUGH THE EXPERIMENTATIONS, PRACTICES, AND ADAPTATION FROM THE JUDO KNOWLEDGE OF CARLOS AND HELIO GRACIE, WHO THEN PASSED THEIR KNOWLEDGE ONTO THEIR FAMILY.

BJJ EMPHASISES GETTING AN OPPONENT TO THE GROUND, GAINING SUPERIOR POSITIONING AND APPLYING NUMEROUS CHOKES, HOLDS, LOCKS AND JOINT MANIPULATIONS TO DEFEAT THEM. BY USING LEVERAGE AND PROPER TECHNIQUE, BJJ PROMOTES THE CONCEPT THAT A SMALLER, WEAKER PERSON CAN SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND AGAINST A BIGGER, STRONGER ASSAILANT.

BJJ CAN BE USED FOR SPORT GRAPPLING TOURNAMENTS (BOTH GI AND NO GI), IN MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (MMA) COMPETITION OR FOR SELF-DEFENCE. TODAY, NEARLY ALL MMA FIGHTERS TRAIN IN BJJ DUE TO THE SUCCESS THAT PAST PRACTITIONERS HAVE HAD IN THE SPORT.

ASIDE FROM LEARNING A HIGHLY REWARDING AND EFFECTIVE FIGHTING STYLE, OTHER BENEFITS OF TRAINING IN BJJ INCLUDE IMPROVED FITNESS, FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH, COORDINATION, SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONFIDENCE.

PLEASE ALSO CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT BJJ REALLY IS: