A Beginner’s Primer for Starting Martial Arts Lessons in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
March 27, 2008
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a modern style that has its roots in Japanese Jiu Jitsu. Its started to take shape when, in 1914, the Japanese champion, Esai Maeda came to Brazil and taught a young man named Carlos Gracie the secrets of his Jiu Jitsu technique as a favor to his father. Carlos taught what he had learnt to his four brothers who, in 1925, went on to open their own school of jiu jitsu in Brazil.
One of these brothers was Helio Gracie, weighing only 135 pounds he began to change and modify techniques so that even someone of small frame could defeat a larger opponent with the use of positioning and leverage. Helio challenged top Jiu Jitsu fighters and other martial artists to ‘test’ his new techniques and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu began to evolve.
Royce Gracie, the son of Helio, brought BJJ to the surface when he demonstrated his family technique for the world to see when he won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship…with ease.
Now, BJJ has evolved even more and is widely recognized as the most efficient method of ground grappling available.
WHAT TO EXPECT DURING YOUR FIRST FEW BJJ CLASSES
In taking BJJ classes you will learn a highly advanced system of ground fighting that is effective in the ring or on the street. As well as being an effective fighting system, BJJ is also a great sport and after getting a grip on the basics you will find yourself enjoying sparring more and more. As BJJ utilizes your full body, you also get one of the best workouts ever!
Most classes start with a good warm up, stretching and some bodyweight exercises to make sure your body is ‘primed’ for training. At first you will learn basic positioning before learning any submissions. You have to learn to control your opponent in a variety of situations. Once you have mastered a few basic positions then you will start to learn the basic arm locks, chokes and leg locks that are the essence of jiu jitsu.
After drilling some techniques, then its time to put them to the test! Starting from set positions, you will fight for a certain goal; it might be to escape the position, or to apply a certain lock. Whatever it is, this type of ‘live’ training is vital to improving your game.
Finally, most classes finish with a few rounds of sparring or ‘rolling’ as we like to call it. To start with you will be very rigid and feel like a fish out of water on the ground, but don’t worry! This happens to us all! It takes time to get relaxed on the ground and build up the skill and ability to control someone properly and apply submissions. Sparring gets more and more enjoyable as you learn more and more, it’s not really fighting, but a learning process that can be very fun, but hard work at the same time.
WHAT EQUIPMENT WILL I NEED TO TRAIN IN JIU-JITSU?
To start with you will need very little equipment, but I suggest you bring a towel and some water. Its also a good idea to wear a groin protector and gum shield just in case.
You can train in jogging bottoms and a t-shirt, although there are custom designed shorts and tops for grappling you will not need these right away.
Traditionally BJJ is done with the Gi or Kimono (Judo uniform) but our club concentrates on training without the Gi or ‘no gi’ as we call it. This is because our training is more geared towards mixed martial arts competition which does not use the gi. But if you would like to train with the Gi then this is fine, as everyone has their own preference.
Apart from that just make sure you remove all jewelry and inform your instructor and training partners of any injuries you have.
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About the author: Danny Mitchell is a BJJ instructor under Chris Haueter who is the head of Combat Base USA. Danny is an active MMA fighter and runs his own gym, training students in Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and no-gi BJJ in Doncaster, England, UK. To contact Danny, visit http://www.thorne-mmagym.com or email cbdoncaster@hotmail.co.uk.
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