Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a cutting edge fighting art founded and developed from traditional Jiu-Jitsu by the Gracie family of Brazil. Carlos Gracie learned jiu-jitsu from a Japanese Judo-ka 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. Though Brazilian Jiu-jitsu contains standup techniques for winning a fight, it is known for its devastating ground techniques. It is prefered to bring an opponent to the ground and then relying on grappling techniques to subdue the opponent.

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 was specifically developed to allow a smaller person to defeat a larger person by sophisticated application of leverage and technique. Gaining superior position on your opponent and applying a myriad of chokes, holds, locks and joint manipulations becomes the foundation for this fun martial art.