Glyn Powditch asked:


Whether viewing websites or MMA, Judo, and BJJ forums, the subject of Judo vs. BJJ has become yet another classic debate, akin to that of the old "Gi vs. No Gi" debate. However, the question of Judo vs. BJJ is much simpler to answer because it is simply the wrong question in almost every applicable context. In short, an Olympic level Judoka would benefit from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as much as a world-class BJJ player would benefit from Judo.

And at the top level, there are multiple examples of this beginning to happen. GB’s Winston Gordon trains with Gracie Barra and holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Ray Stevens, former Olympic silver medallist, has been known to train with Roger Gracie. Dave Camarillo, Rhadi Ferguson, and Lloyd Irvin have become vocal advocates of cross-training these arts and have all enjoyed considerable success in both sports. Therefore the answer is Judo AND BJJ. Most top level players are starting to know this fact and rarely ever involve themselves in the nonsense of the forums.

However, trawl the forums and you will frequently see this very discussion taking place. Comments range from the petty such as a "judoka" commenting about BJJ players wearing too many patches on their Gi’s to the erroneous "BJJ player" commenting that "judoka’s are easy to double leg". I also recently read from one judoka that "either never seen anyone in BJJ show me a move that didn’t exist in Judo".

Such comments are harmful because they slow our progression to be the best that we can be. It is a fact that within the "Gi sports" that the average Judo club will have a far higher degree of stand-up skill per person, and the average BJJ club (who out there thinks they are in an average club - Ha, that’s another story and I’ll be shot if I go there!!) will have a far higher degree of skill on the ground. Assuming that the respective coaching levels are held constant then anyone wishing to balance their skills would surely want to practise stand-up at the Judo club and BJJ at the BJJ club. And this is why comments such as "I’ve never seen anyone in BJJ show me a move that didn’t exist in Judo" are so unhelpful and completely miss the point. Neither art is really about knowing the greatest number of "moves" and anyone who has trained in the competitive environment knows this is the case. However, such comments promote ignorance and division rather than learning and integration.

There are a multitude of benefits to training both Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo, from greater all-round skills, to the cross-over benefits of learning different approaches to training (e.g. speed and power to slow and technical). There are simply too many to list here. However, anyone in doubt or uncertain should consider this: the learning curve in both arts is greatest at the beginning and therefore you stand the most to gain from the early days. When I first began Judo, I found that it was much easier to throw non-Judo players at BJJ. However, some months after, my BJJ friends began training Judo and learned to stiff-arm. All of sudden, I couldn’t throw them as often (until I overcame the stiff-arm).

Therefore, forget the ancient texts, the "who tapped who" in the 1920s, the lineage charts, and the other nonsense. To compete optimally in either sport, you need BOTH Judo and BJJ and some wrestling as well won’t harm. My website http://www.JudoBJJ.com is seeking to promote the integration of these sports for the benefit of Judo AND BJJ alike.

Copyright 2007 Glyn Powditch

chechen2 asked:


Vieira has a Jiu Jitsu match with one of Japan’s most prominent BJJ instructors.

James Liu asked:


Have you ever been in a situation that required you to act against an attacker? Have you ever thought that learning martial arts is the need of the hour? If these questions hold good for you, then learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the answer!

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is from the Japanese martial art that uses a system of throws, strikes, blocks, sweeps and locks to overcome an attacker. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is both practical and defensive. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu helps the defender to make use of the attacker?s strength, size and momentum for his/her advantage to overcome the attacker. One can become very good at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because of this reason. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training is a gradual process and one has to pass through a belt structure and face and overcome increasingly demanding armed and unarmed attacks. Since Brazilian Jiu Jitsu involves learning techniques by practicing together, trust develops among the learners and the teacher and there is a congenial social life in the clubs.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is very popular in many areas like the military and law enforcement. It is also a very popular sport. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques are used as military unarmed combat techniques in many countries like UK, USA and Russia. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques are being used by police in many countries to overcome criminals. Most notably, the Tokyo Police employs Taiho Jitsu?a form of Jiu Jitsu to arrest criminals. There are many forms of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that are used as a sport. Of all the forms, mixed type competitions are most common. In mixed competitions, participants use a variety of holds, throws and strikes to score points. There are also freestyle competitions, where the competitors take turns being attacked by other competitors. The defender is judged on the basis of performance.

Physical fitness is not a constraint for learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Regular training will improve physical fitness, coordination time, strength and agility and the most important of all?self-confidence. Regular training also increases one?s strength of character. Jiu Jitsu lessons learned during training in the mat will influence thinking in day to day life.

The best way to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is by joining the local Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club. There are many Brazilian Jiu Jitsu clubs in Orange County. Learning a martial art is a very daunting task. Learning it all in a go is not possible for a novice. In most of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu clubs care is taken to ensure that the rate of learning is normal and comfortable for the novice. All that one needs to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the willingness to learn and some loose clothing. As mentioned before, the lessons learned on the mat will influence the way of life for the rest of the days.