Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Jiu-Jitsu BrasileiroA Brazilian ground-fighting art built on joint locks and chokes; it lets technique control a stronger opponent.
Quick Facts
BrazilCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
About Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu emerged in Brazil in the 1920s, when the Gracie family reworked the judo and jujutsu brought to the country by the Japanese master Mitsuyo Maeda. The decisive shift was not in the techniques but in the emphasis: the Gracies built the system around ground fighting and around letting a smaller, weaker person control a larger one. The logic is simple. On the ground, strength and reach lose part of their advantage because position decides. BJJ therefore teaches a hierarchy of positions — from guard to half guard, side control, back control, mount — and only from a dominant position do the finishes come: chokes and locks on the elbow, shoulder and knee. Training happens both in the kimono (gi) and without it (no-gi); grips on the fabric change the game enough that the two are practised separately. The core of a class is full-resistance sparring, "rolling", which is safe precisely because a partner can tap at any moment. That is BJJ's greatest practical advantage: hard live resistance without repeated blows to the head. The belts are white, blue, purple, brown and black, with stripes between them; progress is slow and a black belt usually means ten years or more. The competition scene is broad (IBJJF and others), and BJJ is at the same time one of the three pillars of modern MMA.
Styles & Branches
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.