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Brazilian Ju Jitsu (BJJ) is a form of Martial art which is performed on the ground, unlike other forms of martial arts wherein the contestants stand on their feet and fight.
This traditional form of martial arts emphasizes more on ground fighting as the practitioner of jiu-jitsu believe that most fights end up on the ground. Hence, in order to be a successful in BJJ, one has to learn the most effective ground fight techniques. It has gained popularity in recent times, being an evolving martial art which teaches its practitioner realistic self-defense techniques as well as its prominent use in the Mixed Martial Arts circuit.
The history of this ground fight martial art can be rooted to Brazil in around 1900s'. The founder, Mitsuyo Maeda had immigrated to Brazil in late 1920s. Gastao Gracie, a Brazilian Politician helped Mitsuyo Maeda in his new venture. In return, Maeda taught Ju Jitsu to Gastao's eldest son Carlos Gracie of Rio de Janeiro.
Thus, this traditional form of Japanese Martial art immigrated to Brazil with more modified techniques, making it the world famous Brazilian Martial Art. But in 1923, Mitsuyo Maeda returned back to Brazil after training Carlos. Carlos was left all alone without a leader to practice. He then trained his brothers Osvaldo, Gastao, Jorge, and Helio. These brothers together learned the art with tough practice sessions and full dedication.
As both Carlos and Helio were not very strong or of great size, they made certain modifications on positions and leverage, rather than strength and power. Hence, the main concept of Brazilian Ju Jitsu is that strength and power are not as important as dedication and concentration to learn the techniques of self-defense. It shows that a smaller, weaker man could effectively win in a fight against a bigger, stronger man.
This martial art gained more popularity with the advent of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993. The Gracie brothers and their children made this art even more popular year after year. Helio's son Royce won three of the first four tournaments at the UFC and he still continues to be a top competitor everywhere. In fact, the entire credit of the popularity of Ju Jitsu can be credited to the Gracie family. This family has also gained wide spread popularity through various tournaments in UFC and other challengeable matches telecasted all over the world.
Some of the various styles of the Brazilian Ju Jitsu techniques are:
- Knee on Shoulder Guard Pass.
- Anchor Armbar from Guard.
- Kimura from Guard.
- Armbar from Mount.
These Guard and Mount techniques, although appearing simple, form the foundation for almost all other Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques.
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