Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu vs. Wrestling
Quick answer
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu took over takedowns from wrestling, and Mitsuyo Maeda, from whom its lineage leads, also learned catch wrestling. Wrestling wins by takedown, control on top and fall and forbids chokes and locks, while BJJ scores positions on the ground and wins by submission. Wrestling has been Olympic since 1896, and BJJ is not Olympic.
At a glance
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Brazil | – |
| Origin | 20th century (present form) | 19th century (present form) |
| Founder | Hélio GracieCarlos Gracie (co-founder) | – |
| Contact | Full contact | Full contact |
| Sparring | Full contact | Full contact |
| Competition format | Submission | Point fighting |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Current Olympic sport |
| Ranks | Yes (belts) | No |
| Rank recognition | by federation | no ranks |
| Attire | Gi optional | Wrestling singlet |
| Weapons | No weapons | No weapons |
| Forms | No forms | No forms |
| Relative cost | low | low |
| Techniques in the encyclopedia | 11 | 1 |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
Wrestling is among the ancestors of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Mitsuyo Maeda, a judoka from the Kodokan, learned catch wrestling even before Brazil. In 1917 Carlos Gracie learned judo from him or from his student.
- Around 2000 BC: wrestling scenes in the tombs at Beni Hasan in Egypt.
- The nineteenth century: Greco-Roman style arises in Europe, and freestyle derives from catch-as-catch-can.
- 1896: Greco-Roman wrestling at the first modern Olympic Games.
- Around 1925: the Gracie brothers develop their own approach.
- 1998: the first ADCC in Abu Dhabi, where wrestlers meet BJJ grapplers.
Technique
- Groundwork finished with a choke or a lock.
- IBJJF points: takedown and sweep 2, guard pass 3, mount and back mount 4.
- Pulling guard is allowed.
- Locks on the knees and ankles depending on belt and division.
- Takedown, control and fall: both shoulders of the opponent on the mat.
- UWW points: 1 for a reversal or escape, 2 for control from behind, 4 and 5 for big throws.
- Greco-Roman style forbids holds below the waist, while freestyle allows attacks on the legs.
- The UWW forbids chokes, the forearm lock and holds threatening a fracture.
Wrestling wins from the top, while BJJ can win even from the bottom position, from the guard. Strikes are forbidden in both.
Training
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Main form of sparring | rolling at full speed and strength | we have not found a description of training methods |
| Clothing in training | gi and no-gi | singlet and wrestling shoes |
| What the study measures | 82.1% of 56 competitors in the USA trained at least 6 hours a week | successful wrestlers had higher upper-body strength and anaerobic power (Sports Medicine 2002) |
We have not been able to document the lesson structure or the first sparring for either of the two arts.
Progression and ranks
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (IBJJF) | Wrestling (UWW) | |
|---|---|---|
| System | belts white, blue, purple, brown, black, each up to brown with 4 stripes | has neither belts nor grades |
| Higher level | black belt with 6 degrees, then red-and-black, red-and-white and red | a path through the age categories U15, U17, U20, U23 and seniors |
| Children | 13 children’s belts from age 4 to 15 | the lowest category of the UWW rules is U15, ages 14–15 |
| Minimum times | blue 2 years, purple 1.5 years, brown 1 year | without grades there are no time limits either |
| Who awards them | the teacher, the IBJJF recognises the belt when its time limits and registration are met | no one, as there are no grades |
In BJJ, belt colour and the number of stripes show how far a practitioner has come. A wrestler has no such indicator, and the level is described by results and the categories in which he or she competes.
Physical load and risks
- Hawaii tournaments 2005–2011: 9.2 injuries per 1,000 starts, most often the elbow.
- Survey of 1,140 practitioners: 77.6% of injuries in sparring, most often the knee (27.1%).
- Training survey of 140 respondents: concussion 0.6% of injuries, frequent skin infections.
- Kerr et al. (Journal of Athletic Training 2018): high school 2.38, university 9.28 injuries per 1,000 exposures.
- Most often the knee, shoulder, head and face, concussion 5.9–15.9% of injuries.
- Weight cutting: after the deaths of three university wrestlers in 1997, the NCAA banned saunas and airtight suits.
Who it suits
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (IBJJF) | Wrestling (UWW) | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest competition age | divisions from age 4 | U15 from age 14, a Canadian adaptation of the rules from age 13, we have not found a lower limit |
| Older age | Master from age 30 up to Master 7 from age 61 | veterans over 35 |
| Women | separate divisions with their own weights | women’s freestyle at the Olympic Games since 2004 |
| School and university competition | we have not found it in the sources | in the USA high school wrestling and the NCAA, championships since 1928 |
Children
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest competition age | IBJJF divisions from age 4 | UWW from U15 (ages 14–15) |
| What is forbidden for children | according to an overview of the IBJJF rules wrist locks, kneebar, toe hold, heel hook | Wrestling Canada in U15 and U17: suplay, salto, full nelson |
| Match length | 2–4 minutes depending on age | U15 and U17 two periods of 2 minutes |
| Weight | we have not found rules on weight loss for children | NFHS: loss of at most 1.5% per week, body fat at least 7% for boys and 12% for girls |
| Injuries in youth | adolescents 0.59 injuries per person, adults 1.37 | CDC (2005–06): high school wrestling 2.50 injuries per 1,000 exposures |
Self-defence
- Rolling against full resistance, mainly on the ground, including chokes and locks until submission.
- The competition rules exclude strikes.
- The Hélio Gracie line practises self-defence drills, for example defence against several attackers in a circle.
- Takedown and control on top against full resistance, in standing and on the ground.
- The rules penalise strikes and brutality, and forbid chokes and dangerous locks.
- We have not found in the sources an assessment of the self-defence benefit of wrestling.
Both arts train against real resistance without strikes. Wrestling trains getting the opponent to the ground and staying on top, BJJ also trains work from the bottom position and finishing with a choke or a lock, which the wrestling rules forbid.
Practical use
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-defence programmes | Gracie Women Empowered: 15 lessons, 20 techniques | we have not found programmes for adults or army use |
| Older age | Master categories, the oldest from age 61 | UWW veterans over 35 |
| Fitness | endurance was associated with perceived physical ability more than maximal strength | VO2max of international wrestlers 53–56 ml/kg/min (Sports Medicine 2002) |
| MMA | Royce Gracie won the first UFC | Dan Severn, Don Frye and Mark Coleman developed ground and pound in the UFC |
The VO2max figure describes top wrestlers, not the benefit of training. No general suitability for particular groups of adults can be drawn from the studies.
Competition
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | not Olympic | Greco-Roman style since 1896, freestyle since 1904, women since 2004 |
| Adult match length | 5–10 minutes depending on belt | two periods of 3 minutes |
| Ending before time | submission | fall, or technical superiority of 8 points (Greco-Roman) and 10 (freestyle) |
| Main organisation | IBJJF, SJJIF and others | UWW, in the USA the NCAA and USA Wrestling |
On the borderline stands the ADCC, held since 1998. In the first half of the match no positive points are awarded, a takedown gives 2 points, and pulling guard is penalised with a negative point.
Gear and costs
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing | gi with a belt, for no-gi an elastic shirt and shorts | singlet according to the UWW rules |
| Footwear | we have not found it in the IBJJF rules | wrestling shoes with ankle support |
| Protective gear | not required by the rules, ear guards against cauliflower ear | in the NCAA a mandatory headgear with ear guards |
| Relative costs | low | low |
Availability and organisations
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Wrestling | |
|---|---|---|
| World federation | no single authority: IBJJF, SJJIF and others | United World Wrestling, formerly FILA, sources give the founding as 1912 or 1921 |
| National and school system | academies and teams, for example Gracie Barra and Alliance | in the USA USA Wrestling since 1983, high schools and the NCAA |
| Recognition of grades | the IBJJF recognises the belt according to its time limits, we have not found a rule between federations | has no grades, nothing carries over |
A wrestler changing club or country loses no grade, because he or she has none. In BJJ the IBJJF recognises a brown and black belt without prior registration only provisionally for 2 years.
Switching and combining
- Groundwork and control of positions carry over.
- Develop takedowns and defence against them.
- Unlearn pulling guard and working from the back: in wrestling it leads to the opponent’s points or to a fall.
- Unlearn the chokes and locks that the UWW forbids.
- Takedowns and control on top carry over, as BJJ allows them.
- Learn the guard and defence from the bottom position.
- Learn chokes and locks and defence against them.
- Expect that a fall does not end the match.
The left column describes the move from BJJ to wrestling, the right one the opposite direction.
Training culture
- Academies and teams with a lineage of teachers, ranking by belts.
- Emphasis on hygiene: a clean gi, covered wounds, short nails.
- In the USA school and university teams, the first intercollegiate match in 1903.
- No belts and titles, standing is given by results.
Common misconceptions
- Sport wrestling under the UWW is not professional wrestling, which since the twenties has moved towards pre-arranged matches and entertainment.
- BJJ is not classical Japanese jujutsu: Maeda was a judoka from the Kodokan, and the name jiu-jitsu was then a name for judo.
- BJJ was not created by a single person: it was developed by the Gracie brothers and in parallel by Luiz França and Oswaldo Fadda.
- The story of Hélio Gracie, who adapted the technique because of a weak constitution, is disputed, and sources state that he did rowing and swimming.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Is BJJ related to wrestling?
Indirectly. Mitsuyo Maeda, who brought judo to Brazil, had learned catch wrestling earlier. BJJ today allows takedowns taken over from wrestling.
Are locks and chokes allowed in wrestling?
No. The UWW rules forbid chokes, the forearm lock and holds threatening a fracture or dislocation. A wrestling match ends with a fall, technical superiority or on points.
Does a fall end a match in BJJ?
No. The IBJJF awards points for a takedown and for stabilised positions such as the mount, and submission, points and advantages decide.
Where do wrestlers and BJJ grapplers meet?
At ADCC tournaments, where a takedown scores and pulling guard is penalised. Wrestlers have won them too, for example Mark Kerr.