History of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
In the mid-1800's in Japan, there were a large number of styles ("ryu") of Jiu-Jitsu (sometimes spelled
"jujitsu"). Techniques varied between ryu, but generally included all manner of unarmed combat (strikes,
throws, locks, chokes, wrestling, etc.) and occasionally some weapons training. One young but skilled
master of a number of Jiu-Jitsu styles, Jigoro Kano, founded his own ryu and created the martial art
Judo (aka Kano-ryu Jiu-Jitsu) in the 1880's.
One of Kano's primary insights was to include full-power practice against resisting, competent
opponents, rather than solely rely on the partner practice that was much more common at the time. One of
Kano's students was Mitsuo Maeda, who was also known as Count Koma ("Count of Combat"). Maeda immigrated
to Brazil in 1914. He was helped a great deal by the Brazilian politician Gastão Gracie, whose father
George Gracie had emigrated to Brazil himself from Scotland. In gratitude for the assistance, Maeda
taught Jiu-Jitsu to Gastao's son Carlos Gracie. Carlos in turn taught his brothers Osvaldo, Gastão Jr.,
Jorge, and Helio.
In 1925, Carlos and his brothers opened their first Jiu-Jitsu academy, and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was born in
Brazil. At this point, the base of techniques in BJJ was similar to those in Kano's Judo academy in
Japan. As the years progressed, however, the brothers (notably Carlos and Helio) and their students
refined their art via brutal no-rules fights, both in public challenges and on the street. Particularly
notable was their willingness to fight outside of weight categories, permitting a skilled small fighter
to attempt to defeat a much larger opponent. They began to concentrate more and more on submission
ground fighting, especially utilizing the guard position. This allowed a weaker man to defend against a
stronger one, bide his time, and eventually emerge victorious.
In the 1970's, the undisputed Jiu-Jitsu champion in Brazil was Rolls Gracie. He had taken the techniques
of Jiu-Jitsu to a new level. Although he was not a large man, his ability to apply leverage using all of
his limbs was unprecedented. At this time the techniques of the open guard and its variants (spider
guard, butterfly guard) became a part of BJJ. Rolls also developed the first point system for Jiu-Jitsu
only competition. The competitions required wearing a gi, awarded points (but not total victories) for
throws and takedowns, and awarded other points for achieving different ground positions (such as passing
an opponent's guard). After Rolls' death in a hang-gliding accident, Rickson Gracie became the
undisputed (and undefeated!) champion, a legend throughout Brazil and much of the world. He has been the
exemplar of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique for the last two decades, since the early 1980's, in both
Jiu-Jitsu competition and no-rules MMA competition.
Jiu-Jitsu techniques have continued to evolve as the art is constantly tested in both arenas. For
example, in the 1990's Roberto "Gordo" Correa, a BJJ black belt, injured one of his knees, and to
protect his leg he spent a lot of practice time in the half-guard position. When he returned to
high-level Jiu-Jitsu competition, he had the best half-guard technique in the world. A position that had
been thought of as a temporary stopping point, or perhaps a defensive-only position, suddenly acquired a
new complexity that rapidly spread throughout the art.
Belt ranks start at white belt, and progress through blue, purple, brown, and then black. It generally
takes about 2-3 years of training multiple times per week to be promoted to the next belt rank. However,
there is no formal rank test. Instead, rank is about the ability to apply Jiu-Jitsu techniques in a
competitive match. A student generally needs to be able to reliably defeat most other students at a
given rank in order to be promoted to the next rank.
The great Rigan Machado Given the Jiu-Jitsu roots, and the interest in competition, occasionally related
techniques are taught. For example, takedowns tend to be similar to Judo and western wrestling; Some
schools teach street self-defense or weapon defense as well. Also, many dedicated BJJ students are also
interested in MMA competition, and attempt to practice their techniques without a gi, and sometimes with
adding striking from boxing or Kickboxing.