Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) can be one of the most dominating forms of martial arts on the planet when employed by the right individual. To experience it first hand will have you not only baffled, but will have you in more compromising positions than you will be willing to deal with. Chokes, arm locks, leg locks, and pins are all part of the BJJ arsenal. Learning the endless combinations can take many years to grasp. Only the most committed practitioner will understand all it has to offer.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting with the goal of gaining a dominant position and using joint-locks and chokeholds to force an opponent to submit. The art was based on early 20th century Kodokan Judo, which was itself then a recently-developed system (founded in 1882), based on multiple schools (or Ryu) of Japanese Jujutsu. It promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person using leverage and proper technique can successfully defend himself/herself 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. Sparring (commonly referred to as “rolling”) and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition.
The Gracie family has long been recognized as the founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, with Helio Gracie as the family matriarch. Royce Gracie demonstrated to the world how a smaller, physically weaker person could defeat even the biggest and strongest of opponents through the use of technique and leverage. His dominance in early MMA competitions has made Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a staple of the martial arts and MMA world.