What is Jiu-Jitsu

Jiu-jitsu is a combat sport that focuses on grappling, especially groundwork. This means that there is no punching, kicking, elbowing, or kneeing in Jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu focuses on controlling, subduing, and ultimately disabling your opponent using positioning, balance, and application of weight and leverage. Jiu-jitsu is based on the notion that position, balance, and leverage can easily counteract and nullify force, even from a much larger opponent.

Uniforms

• Jiu-jitsu training consists of two major forms: Gi and No-Gi. Gi is a shortening of the Japanese term Keikogi or Dogi. Literally translating to “practice clothing,” the Gi is designed to simulate clothing during combat situations, while leaving your actual clothes intact. The Gi is tough and can withstand years of training. No-Gi is Jiu-jitsu training done without a Gi. Rash guards and leggings, usually with shorts over them, are used rather than the Gi.
• There are two primary differences between Gi and No-Gi training. When training with the Gi, grips are far more available, and there is much more friction. When training No-Gi, grips are more elusive and there is much less friction. Many Jiu-Jitsu practitioners tend to prefer one over the other, but it is very fruitful to practice both with and without a Gi.
• Since Jiu-Jitsu is very up close and personal, it is expected that your clothing and your person be clean prior to every class you attend. Your finger and toenails should be trimmed to prevent cutting your training partners. While mats are cleaned regularly, infections and disease can still be spread from one student to another due to insufficient hygiene. It is very important to make sure that both you and your clothes are cleaned after every class. You are expected to wear flip flops when off the mats, otherwise you will track dirt and other unwanted contaminants onto the mat.

Class Structure

• Class is typically broken down into three sections: Warm-Ups and Stretching, Training, and Sparring. Performing Jiu-jitsu is an intense workout, and can be very taxing, especially on one’s core. Warm-ups serve to prepare your body for class as well as provide the base level of fitness required to perform Jiu-jitsu. It’s important to get into the right shape to prevent injury. Stretching after warm ups is designed to improve flexibility and prevent injury.
• Training is the longest portion of class and focuses on learning (or reviewing) and practicing the techniques of Jiu-jitsu. During this portion of class, the instructor will demonstrate a technique and explain the goals and details of the technique. The students will then pair up and practice the technique. The instructor will move through the class, giving advice and answering questions.
• Sparring is when Jiu-jitsu practitioners apply the skills they have learned against each other in “combat.” Sparring can be an intense experience. While “combat” in class is much more relaxed than in a competition environment, it can still be physically and mentally exhausting. It will always be intensely rewarding.
• In Sparring, two practitioners will challenge each other. The goal is to submit the training partner using Jiu-jitsu techniques. In order to prevent injury, partners spar (or “roll” as it is commonly called) forcefully, but under control. The partner being submitted will tap the partner performing the submission both physically and verbally when the submission becomes inescapable. This signals that the roll is completed. Tapping out, as it is called, is meant to be a clearly recognizable act. Both repeatedly tapping your partner and verbally saying “tap” or “stop” are used to end the sparring session.
• We all know winning feels great. We have been conditioned to feel bad when we lose. Jiu-jitsu will break you of this conditioning. Everyone who trains Jiu-jitsu will become intimately familiar with the feeling of losing. Be prepared to lose. Be prepared to leave your ego aside. If you feel you must win every battle you are in, Jiu-jitsu will either cure your delusion, or you will leave Jiu-jitsu to never return.
• There is a saying many practitioners recite, “In Jiu-jitsu, you either win, or you learn.” There is tremendous value in losing a roll. You learn what you did wrong. You learn where your techniques need honing. You learn how to endure pressure and stress. You learn how to react under pressure and stress. You learn how to keep calm. Most times, when training Jiu-jitsu, the benefits of being beaten by a superior opponent far outweigh the benefits of defeating a less skilled one.

Concepts

There are eight basic concepts in Jiu-Jitsu:

1. Throws
2. Take-downs
3. Pulls
4. Sweeps
5. Escapes
6. Passes
7. Defenses
8. Submissions

1. Throw: is a controlled technique designed to lift an opponent off and throw them onto the ground. The thrower will usually end the technique in a dominant position.
2. Takedown: is a technique that places an opponent on the ground without lifting them. The takedown will place the executor in a dominant position.
3. Pull: is a technique that pulls a standing opponent into the puller’s guard of choice.
4. Sweep: is any ground technique that changes one’s position from being on bottom to being on top. Sweeps can be used to get out of a bad position, or to improve a good one.
5. Escape: is any ground technique that is used to get out of a bad position. It usually returns both parties to a neutral position.
6. Pass: is any ground technique that is used to improve a good position to a better one.
7. Defense: is any ground or standing technique used to counteract a throw, takedown, sweep, pass, or submission.
8. Submission: is any ground or standing technique used to disable one’s opponent. There are three main types of submissions: chokes, bars, and locks.
   1. Chokes are performed by constricting blood vessels to the brain. This technique will cause the opponent to pass out, if they do not tap out. Some chokes also restrict breath, but these are usually very painful and most people will tap out from pain far before they tap out from loss of air.
   2. Bars are performed by hyper-extending a joint such as the elbow or knee. If the opponent does not tap out, the pressure on these joints would cause the arm or leg to break.
   3. Locks are performed by wrenching or twisting a joint beyond its natural range. This usually refers to the shoulder, wrist, or ankle. If the opponent does not tap out, the pressure on these joints would cause major damage, such as torn ligaments, tendons, or even muscles.

Each concept houses countless named techniques. Each named technique has countless variations. The sheer amount of knowledge one can accumulate is part of what makes Jiu-Jitsu so exciting and rewarding. It can also make it very daunting. But once you understand the fundamentals of each of these concepts, you hold the key to mastering them. It takes students typically two years to learn all the basic concepts, and at that point they are awarded a blue belt.

Remember, "The martial artist who is more feared is not the one who has practiced a thousand techniques.

It is the one who has practiced one technique a thousand times." -Unknown

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