Some people wonder why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu contains the Japanese words “Jiu Jitsu”. While some people just ignore the fact and continue to just learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or BJJ there is a rich history on how Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and BJJ relates to each other.
In this blog, we go through the developing process that created Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and discuss the differences in compared to Japanese Jiu-Jitsu.
How Japanese Jiu-Jitsu gave birth to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
While some may argue that Jiu-Jitsu can be tranced from Buddhist Monks in idea who called the art “Ju Jitsu”, Jiu-Jitsu was refined in Japan and used by the Samurai warriors as a means of self-defence if they were to get disarmed off their swords.
The samurai warriors who used Jiu-Jitsu tend to have heavy armor and swords, which restricted their mobility when fighting. So, Jiu-Jitsu evolved by including other self-defence moves such as joint-locks, strangles, and weight-to-pressure point utilizations.
In the late 18th century, Jujitsu evolved into Judo when Jigoro Kano used the techniques to create an entirely new discipline. Jigoro Kano started his own studio and called it “Kodokan” where Judo grew in popularity teaching randori, throws, takedowns, joint locks, and chokes. Among all of Kano’s Students, there was one who would help evolve Jiu-Jitsu forever, and that is Mitsuo Maeda who is Brazilian by descent. Mitsuo Maeda emigrated from Japan to Brazil in 1914, where he began teaching Japanese Jiu-Jitsu to locals. On top of that, he was sponsored by a politician named George Gracie to grow the Art of “Jiu Jitsu”. Maeda was very happy that he gave the opportunity for George’s son “Carlos Gracie” to learn from Maeda one-on-one. Eventually, Carlos Gracie masters Jiu-Jitsu, refines it more and opens up his first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in 1925.
The Refinement of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to becoming a competitive sport.
Over years of Carlos Gracie teaching BJJ, he has refined the art through a way to allow a smaller man to defend against a larger attacker through by focusing on submission during ground fighting. When it was time for Carlos Gracie to retire, Rolls Gracie took over and refined the Art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu even more by incorporating wrestling tactics and ultimately creating the first rule and point system to make BJJ a sport.
Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts.
Today, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the most popular martial arts in the world and it is widely used while practicing Mixed Martial Arts. There is an established governing body, the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Foundation (IBJJF), which runs a yearly competition circuit that has thousands of participating fighters.
Train BJJ with us at Clinch MMA in Port Coquitlam, BC.
Your journey to practicing the art of Jiu Jitsu is going to be worth every moment. Our coaches at Clinch MMA will always be there to guide you through the process of training for fights or general fitness! Start your trial with us today!