Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
is a martial art indigenous to Brazil. It was founded and developed by
the Gracie family. Carlos Gracie learned jiu-jitsu from a Japanese
judoka named Maeda who emigrated to Brazil. The art's roots are derived
from pre-war Kodokan Judo, western wrestling, and Maeda's own
insights into combat.Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
prefers bringing an opponent to the ground and then relying on grappling
techniques to subdue the opponent utilizing holds, armlocks, chokes,
leglocks, and strikes.This strategy takes away the advantage of an
opponent with superior striking abilities. It can also mitigate the
advantage of a stronger and much larger opponent relying on wrestling or
grappling.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu favors pragmatic techniques
that were tested in numerous challenge matches by the Gracie clan and
their students. In Vale Tudo (which means "anything goes")
tournaments in Brazil, Gracie family members and their students have
fought in these no-holds barred fighting matches for over 65 years and
have fared very well against a multitude of combative arts both western
and asian. Many martial arts have lost their combative rationale.
In Japan, for example, the arts of war (bujutsu) were corrupted into
budo which means "martial way." With peace and the modernization of
Japan, dangerous and pragmatic techniques gave way to martial arts that
emphasized art over practicality as well as emphasizing self-improvement
or socialization and eventually sportive competition. Those familiar
with pre-war Kodokan Judo understand the rapid transition of Judo
towards sport and less on purely combative effectiveness as Kodokan Judo
itself veered away from the "old" schools of jiu-jitsu and their often
"dangerous" techniques as deemed by Judo's own founder Jigoro Kano.
The sportive aspect of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is
embodied in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. Competitors wear judo
"jackets" and pants just like their Judo counterparts except the rules
favor strategies and techniques that are oriented towards combat
effectiveness.The closest equivalent of Brazilian or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is
Ko-sen Judo. The Ko-sen tradition refers to the network of
the oldest high schools and universities in Japan which include Tokyo
and Kyoto Universities. They hold their own competitions, and their
tournaments favor "groundwork" or newaza (in Japanese) just like
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu Videos