Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is widely considered the world’s most effective martial art. Jiu Jitsu was brought to Brazil from Japan in the beginning of the 20th century, by a man by the name of Mitsuyo Maeda, who at the time was traveling around the world doing challenge matches against other martial artists. In Brazil, the art was further developed, through so-called ´´Vale Tudo” (“anything goes” in Portuguese) fights, where the practitioners of different martial arts would challenge each other to no-time limit fights, either in big arenas, or inside academies behind closed doors.
Eventually a sport was created, with the first official World Championships being held in 1996. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a grappling art, and strikes are not allowed during training or in competitions. But since the art was developed for self-defense and no-rules fighting, many of the concepts and principles behind the techniques and positions utilized in today’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, are based on what would work in a real-life situation.
Jiu Jitsu means “the gentle way” in Japanese, as the focus is on having maximum efficiency with minimal effort, rather than relying on physical attributes such as speed and strength. We use leverage, correct weight-distribution and positioning, to be able to control our opponent, and to finish them using joint-locks or strangulation techniques, without having to strike and cause unnecessary damage.
Because Brazilian Jiu Jitsu doesn’t include striking, we are able to train at a higher intensity compared to other martial arts where you can’t really go too hard because of the risk of concussions. That makes the training more realistic, as you will learn to perform the techniques against a resisting training partner, while learning how to control your breathing and use technique over strength to conserve your energy.
In our Kickboxing classes, though they do not include sparring, you will learn how to effectively strike and how to defend against strikes, which is a great complement to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and very useful in a self-defense situation.