History
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art originating from Japan. Japanese Jiu Jitsu is an entirely different martial art, focusing more on the stand up aspects of fighting, with a small amount of emphasis on joint and compression locks. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu focuses more on the ground fighting and take down aspects of combat. The emergence of the Brazilian variety came about in an interesting fashion. A Japanese ambassador on a business trip to Brazil, in a gesture of friendship, taught his martial art (Jiu Jitsu), to an affluent political family, the Gracies. One of the Gracie kids, Helio, was a sickly, fragile kid. Much of the art required strength or brawn to defeat your opponent, neither of which suited him well. He began to take interest in the martial art, but he adapted it to fit his physical needs. He began to create techniques based on leverage and proper application, rather than strength or power.
It was through this evolution that modern day Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was created. Helio perfected his art form, eventually defeating hundreds of larger, stronger and quicker opponents, from every imaginable martial art style. Helio died in the past year, but he is honored as the creator and grandmaster of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
The basics
Positions
Nuetral
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a ground fighting martial art, than deals primarily with getting an opponent to the ground, then dominating him there. There are various positions that are involved in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). The first and most basic is what we also call in wrestling the “nuetral†stance. It is when the two opponents are standing, facing each other, prepared to engage in combat.
Guard
The next main position in BJJ is what is known as the guard. The guard is the normal result of a takedown from neutral stance.
The person on bottom will normally secure his legs around the opponent, locking his feet together behind him. This prevents the opponent from simply passing into a more dominant position. With this position, the person on top is said to be “in the guard†of the person on bottom, subsequently, the person on bottom is said to have his opponent “in his guardâ€.
In the guard, it is generally agreed on that the top position is the dominant, and aggressive position. In MMA competition, the person on top can more effectively land strikes and other blows to the opponent, allowing him to control the match. I personally disagree with the hypothesis that the top position is dominant, but that is for a different guide. There are also various types of guard.
The guard shown above is known as the “full guardâ€. It involves having both legs wrapped around the opponent, and locking the feet together. Other types of guards include halg guard, rubber guard, butterfly guard, and X guard. These types of guards are more advanced, so we will leave them out in this beginners guide.
Side Control
The next position that the natural progression of BJJ reaches is side control. When in the guard, the person on top attempts to “break the guard†of the person on bottom. He does so through various techniques, which force the person on bottom to dis-connect their locked feet, allowing the person on top to “pass the guardâ€. The end result of a guard pass will leave the person passing in side control, which looks like this.
The person on bottom is now in a worse position, because they are less defended than in guard. The person on the side is in a more advantageous position, because they now more easily control the opponent.
Mount
From side control, the opponent on top will typically progress to the “mount†position. The mount position is said to be the most dominant position, because you control your opponent more so than in any other position. The mount looks like this.
Typically, the mount seen above is referred to as the “full mountâ€. Conversely a fighter can also gain what is called the “back mount†on an opponent. It is the same position, just the fighter controls the opponent from the back rather than the front.
That covers the basic positions of BJJ.
Submissions
A submission in BJJ is when one person forces his opponent into defeat, either by physical domination or a verbal admission of defeat. The fighter will position himself against the opponent in such a way that the opponent is forced into a great deal of pain or discomfort, or the flow of oxygen is cut off from the opponent. There are various types of submissions, thousands really. One of the most common submissions is the arm bar. The arm bar occurs when one person manages to isolate his opponents arm in such a way that he places extreme pressure on it, causing pain and eventually leading to the breakage of the arm. The arm bar can be used when in guard, in side control, or from full mount.
Another common submission is the triangle. This move involves wrapping both legs in a constrictive way around your opponents head and neck, and cutting off the flow of oxygen to their brains, forcing them to either tap out or pass out. This move is traditionally only used when in guard, although it can be pulled off from other positions.
The last common submission is called the rear naked choke. It is used predominantly when a fighter has obtained back mount on his opponent. The fighter uses both of his arms, wraps one arm around the opponents neck, and uses the other to enforce the choke. Again, application of this submission will lead to a tap out or pass out.
Additionally, you can see me applying this choke in my third MMA fight here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRTCy2gcS4c
Ranking and Competition
Traditional BJJ normally requires the use of a Gi in class, the traditional white robe worn in other martial arts such as Judo. These types of classes will focus on BJJ primarily as its own distinct martial art. In these traditional style classes, they will adhere to the standard ranking system used in BJJ. There are 5 belts in BJJ, in ascending order, they are white, blue, purple, brown, and finally, black. Helio Gracie, as the grandmaster of BJJ, was the only holder of the legendary red belt. No other practicioner can ever obtain a red belt, it is the possession of Helio alone due to his creation and mastery of the art. Each belt will require the acquisition of 4 stripes before ranking up to the next belt. If you ask a traditional practicioner of BJJ what rank they are, they will typically tell you their belt color and stripe count on it. For example, I am a blue belt with three stripes. After reaching the fourth stripe, the fighter will have some sort of test which demonstrates his proficiency. After completing the test, the new belt will be awarded. Black belts in BJJ typically take upwards of ten years to obtain.
BJJ competition is normally subdivided by both weight classes and belt rankings, so when competing, you should fight someone of similar skill and weight as you. Obtaining a dominant position is worth a certain number of points. The competition will normally go in timed rounds, the standard for white belts is one 5 minute round. After the round is over, the fighter with the most points will win. If at any time, a fighter physically or verbally taps out due to submission, he will lose, regardless of points.
Conclusion
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an effective fighting art which helps build physical stamina and strength. It also creates discipline and mental agility and toughness, but most importantly, it develops character and self confidence. If you are interested in possibly attending a class, feel free to PM me, and I am sure I can help you find a location near you to practice. I hope you enjoyed reading my first guide, feel free to ask any questions about the great art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!
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