What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

Carlos, Oswaldo, Gastasto Jr., George, and Helio Gracie founded Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1925 after he was taught the art by a traveling Japanese judoka, Mitsuyo Maeda, who learned ground fighting from Taro Miyake (Tanabe student), Sadakazu Uyenishi (Handa, Tanabe), and Yukio Tani (Tenjin Shinyo-ryu) and catch wrestlers in Europe.

Based on grappling, ground fighting, and submission holds, it is a self-defense martial art and combat sport.

It is based on the fact that controlling is easy when on ground than standing position; the technique of BJJ is focused around taking the rival down on to the ground and wrestling for gaining dominant position to render the opponent harmless.

BJJ serves the purpose of controlling and overcoming greater size, aggression and strength even with less strength and size that is the key offering of this sport. It is done by utilizing the leverage power, position and grip on the opponent.

Students learning this sport are able to gain deep insight regarding the workings of human body and understanding the limitation of the human body.

Utilizing the knowledge, students of BJJ are able to gain control and subdue their rival using the level of severity chosen by the student.

However, the path to BJJ is highly demanding of physical and mental ability. Students greatly benefit through the technique by gaining improved fitness, increasing their potential for problem-solving and gaining self-knowledge of their own body and mind.