So, where does this sport come from? Late in the 19th century, when a few Judo experts left Japan to travel the world and teach people martial arts, some of them came to Brazil – one of the experts was Mitsuyo Maeda. One day, Maeda met two teenage brothers named Carlos and Helio Gracie. He taught them everything he knew about Japanese martial arts and changed their lives!
The brothers, who were physically weak, realized that they could defend themselves against physically stronger opponents with the right technique and strategy. This boosted their confidence! They then took Maeda’s teachings, added the idea of using the ground as strength in fighting, and gave rise to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!
BJJ focuses on the ground-fighting aspect of grappling (wrestling). You see, when a person is on the ground on their back, it’s easy for you to gain control of their movements since they can’t move much. This way, your opponent becomes almost harmless! On the other hand, when a person is in a standing position, gaining control of them is difficult.
Now, don’t you just want to enroll in a BJJ class and master martial art?