Isn’t one of the most interesting things in our experience that when we acquire new knowledge inputs we start to see the world in a different way. The first time I was in Paris I remember spending long hours visiting museums. So much time observing and analyzing statues, paintings and history, gave me a new set of eyes when I returned to the United States. I was young and I felt like I was seeing the world in a brand new way. With this thought specifically to Martial Arts, when we watch a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) match, our eyes see the fight in a detailed way based on what Martial Art or Arts we practice. A boxer will see more detail in the stand-up content compared to the ground fight when watching with a Jiu Jitsu practitioner.
For over 23 years I have focused on learning and teaching Jiu Jitsu from Brazil. My beginning was a great experience and time in the Martial Arts industry that was very exciting. The Gracie Family had revolutionized training around the world by pointing out two of the most important aspects of training that were neglected in the industry: Grappling and Ground Fighting. Further, through success and Championship in Mixed Martial Arts events, the Gracies and Brazilian fighters proved that Jiu Jitsu was an effective style of fighting against other disciplines. Chuck Norris was even quoted at the time that the Jiu Jitsu he was learning from the Machado Brothers (Cousins of the Gracies) in Southern California was much more refined for a street fight versus the Judo and Jujutsu he was learned in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The questions must be asked, “Where did the Brazilians learn Jiu Jitsu?”
Chuck Norris with the Machado Brother- Masters & Styles 1994
The Gracie Family was introduced to the Martial Arts of Japan by Esai Maeda: who was known as Conde Koma in 1914. Maeda was a student of famous Kōdōkan headed by Dr. Jigoro, the founder of Judo. Conde Koma was part of a large Japanese immigration colony in the north of Brazil and he was aided at the time of Gastão Gracie. Out of gratitude, Maeda offered to teach Martial Arts to Gracie’s oldest son Carlos. For a few years, Carlos would learn the Japanese Judo/Jiu Jitsu and past it on to his brothers.
There are different points of view as to why is it Gracie Jiu Jitsu and not Gracie Judo. First, Dr. Kano was an originally a student different styles of Jujutsu in Japan. When he was studying the arts were dying out. With insights into training and as a learned educator, Kano revolutionized and saved Jujitsu by creating the Kodokan and the art of Judo. Dr. Kano was very intelligent by creating several teaching and learning concepts such as a belt ranking system to separated novices and experts and a structured curriculum that used techniques that could be practiced at full speed such as throws, grappling, locks and chokes. Having techniques that could be used against other training partners safety, Jigoro presented free sparring structures called Randori, and with this methodology, students quickly start to evolve their techniques and strategies against in real to see what was effective. Esai Maeda was in this environment at the time where Judo and Jiu Jitsu were one in the same.
What Dr. Kano also did was structure into his curriculum of Judo two very important principles that he felt Jujitsu lacked at the time. There needed to be more than the principle of “Ju” that softness can overcome hardness found in Jujutsu. The first major principle that Kano established was Maximum Efficiency (Seiryoku Zen’yō). Today we hear about maximum efficiency minimum effort in Judo, but was is in Kano’s writing were a better way to teach and apply jujutsu with such a guiding principle in one’s training and more so further to have maximum efficiency to be used in one’s life both physically and mentally.
The second guiding principle introduced was mutual benefit/mutual prosperity/mutual welfare (Jita Kyōei). It was this idea found in Judo that started to see how important it was to help your training partners, your community, your city, and your country. Judo’s ideals were at the base learning techniques and being effective. This was the lowest level of understanding and was observed by Kano in the different Jujutsu schools. The teachers and students were tough and often fought each other in the streets, which led to a negative image in Japan. In reflecting now Brazil went through the same thing in the late 1990’s were many Jiu Jitsu schools fought each other in the streets and in the clubs.
Kano saw the next level of understanding Judo with his principles of Maximum Efficiency is now you use it in your daily life in all the things you do not just in your application of Jiu Jitsu techniques. Seiryoku Zen’yō is the path to better use of your physical and mental strength. And finally, the third level of Judo how much you contribute to society with the use of mutual benefit. All this being explored help save Jujutsu from dying out in Japan. Judo saved JuJitsu as in was a better way of teaching and practice jujutsu at the time.
With this being explored it is not the ideal point of view to say Judo is about throws and Jiu Jitsu is about ground fighting. In continuing additional points of view as to why the Gracie’s used Jiu Jitsu and not Judo, is because of the culture of Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro the Gracie’s extended the insights from Maeda’s prizes fighting days. The training was geared at self-defense and real fights, thus the distance in training need to be closer to avoid strikes. Today, Judo throws have a certain distance compared to Gracie Jiu Jitsu throws that are based in the clinch distance for self-defense and fighting. Also, Judo is the Gentle Way a path towards self-realization and Ju Jitsu is Gentle Art/Technique a path toward self-preservation.
Lastly speaking of prizefighting, it’s interesting to read Dr. Kano’s writing about fighting for money and using judo to fight against sumo, boxers, and wrestlers. In his book, Mind Over Muscle, he says:
Professional wrestlers and boxers are generally people of low character, and no matter how superior their skills, they are mostly looked down upon by society. Some Kodokan members have gained popularity performing on tour with them, but I don’t believe this behavior is in accord with the aim of judo. True judo practitioners must not be performers.” –pg.135
When you look at Dr. Kano’s thoughts about fighting from money, you have to question actually why Esai Maeda arrived in Brazil with Jiu Jitsu and not Judo. In my practice of Judo after classes you get other viewpoints as to why it is Gracie Jiu Jitsu in some of the Japanese oral history, Maeda was out of favor with the Kodokan, thus had to use Jiu Jitsu in his marketing. Yet, all in all, there are many points of view and ideas that led to Gracie Jiu Jitsu before the Gracie Family moved forward. This is not the reason for my writing, and at the time, again, Judo and Jiu Jitsu were one in the same.
My original thoughts of Judo and learning throwing techniques came from my studying of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and one night at the Center City Philadelphia YMCA at a Judo class I took after 4 months of Jiu Jitsu training. First, I was always told by my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu teachers that we practice on the ground most because many fights end there in a real fight and also the reason of safety. “A lot” of students get hurt during the throw or takedown. Reading this now you are possibility questioning why you start rolling on your knees in the Jiu Jitsu academy? Well, you do this for one of three reasons. One already explored the fear of getting hurt when applying the throw incorrectly or being thrown. The second reason is one of space. Many of the academies in Brazil are much smaller than in Japan or the United States. Not having space in the jiu jitsu academy and resisting Japanese judo influenced curriculum development in such a way that in the 90’s students and teachers focused on Self-Defense, Fighting, and Ground Fighting. The techniques of Judo were not in the curriculums or very neglected much like that are today.
Lastly, if you want to separate judo and jujutsu further with curriculum design, you can do much for in the distancing by having two different rules sets for the sport. The development of the sport of Judo has pretty much killed off Judo around the world since the 1950’s and 60’s. Judo in the early days where the United States Air Force brought back the techniques spread around the States; Karate was another art that was up there in popularity as well. Sports and rule sets have also revised training curriculum for Jiu Jitsu from Brazil in the past 20 years. In my own lifetime, there are students that are only learning the sportive techniques of Jiu Jitsu and are not learning how to use Jiu Jitsu for self-defense.
These observations about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu over 20 years are what I saw and continue to see. It was much different for my generation we focused on self-defense and fighting. I did not learn about the sport until at least 10 months of training. I can remember wherein 4 months of training Gracie Jiu Jitsu I was invited to the YMCA in Philadelphia to train Judo. Was thrown to the ground by the black belts; however, with one of the Judo black belt, twice my age at the time when I was 16 years old had a difficult time with my once we hit the mat. I felt like I knew what I was doing using Gracie Jiu Jitsu against his Judo. And luck would have it, I was able to put this Judo man’s arm behind his back after 2 minutes on the ground. He did not want to type out and I looked at the Judo teacher realizing just to let it go. It as an important moment for me early in my Martial Arts journey because he had trained for 20 years and me on the mats less than 6 months. Moreover, after the Judo class, I noticed in the locker room how sore and broken -own the older Judo students were. I thought like I was being told, “The injuries were in Judo.”
By reading all the background and history there are two important ideas on my mind today. First, I will be turning 40 years old in the next few months, and over that past two years, I have found of the second fountain of youth by discovering Judo, its principles, and art. What is sad, however, is the decline of Judo in popularity due to rule changes in what you can do and not do and mostly that people are practicing other grappling arts. Grappling has been in the writings of ancient civilizations. As explored, Dr. Kano saved Jiu Jitsu from dying in his lifetime. His practices and ideals led to the Gracie Family discovering Jiu Jitsu, and today with educated eyes in Judo, you will start to see how much the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is lacking in standup confidence, control, and technical knowledge. My own eyes find it hard to watch a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match because of the rule set and use of the guard pulling strategy where one person will pull his or her opponent to the guard between the legs. There is not the student’s fault by now as you can see. The rules value it. Jiu Jitsu curriculums neglect standup knowledge and judo is not in “flavor” overall with the continuous decline in its own right and a continued narrative that “You will be injured by practicing it!”
We have reached a crossroad of sorts for Judo and Jiu Jitsu. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu over the last five years has already addressed the issue of jiu jitsu effectiveness for combat and continued growth by establishing and the work of the Jiu Jitsu Global Federation (JJGF) headed by Master Rickson Gracie. Now there is a Federation of Jiu Jitsu that does not solely focuses on the grappling sport. We have seen in these writings what has happened to Judo, again, since the 1950’s. Yet the crossroads now is how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can help save Judo in a big way. The return is towards more completeness in one’s education, one’s curriculum, one’s study and one’s teachings. If a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student starts to feel confidence and control on the ground, this is too late. Imagine having confidence and control the very second you are standing across your training partner or opponent. Or from the moment you grip the kimono. This sense of empowerment and technical knowledge can is discovered in the practice of Judo.
Even if the current judo federations rule against attacking the legs, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students have been going for legs and tackles for too long. There is more to Judo than just shooting for single legs and gi-drags to the ground. Also, if you like to practice Judo in a more dynamic way for the sport there is the International Freestyle Judo Alliance that allows more original techniques from the Kodokan and more time on the ground in competition. Remember Jiu Jitsu is not wrestling with submission holds and Judo is not only about throws.
The misguided narrative that you can get hurt doing Judo is over. Judo needs that to be said. It is too easy to say, “You will get hurt doing something.” With reflecting on mutual benefit, “What if one day Jiu Jitsu had this type of narrative where you can get hurt doing it, so we will not practice it?” I will take it a step further in the direction how to practice and learn Judo techniques in a safer way and can be practiced/added to Jiu Jitsu curriculums. There is a very real opportunity to grow Judo and the study of it. The other day I had a long discussion with Shinjiro Sasaki from Japan about my original thoughts on Judo when I was 15 years old and how I missed out throughout my jiu jitsu journey. I told him I was nervous that I would be injured; however, knock on wood, I am not getting injured practicing and learning the art of Judo. I went on to drive home thinking about the challenge the BJJ community. If you are afraid of getting hurt during the takedown, why not:
Learn how to grip the gi better against stronger opponents. Improve your stance and footwork. Why not, start learning how to off balance your training partner more? Why not practice Uchi Komi and many different ways to do that by your self or with a partner in a dynamic way? You can improve your distance management for defensive and offensive movement. Develop grip fighting skills.
You might start to like it and start learning the classic throws of Judo or even know to break-fall. Most importantly, all of these training drills can be done without worrying about getting hurt during the takedown because you have not even thrown your training partner yet. More importantly in a small way, you might help someone else or another art grow in a positive direction. This might be an excellent way to reach a higher level in your personal development of Jiu Jitsu or Judo techniques and technical expertise overall.
– Prof. “little” Tony Pacenski
www.tonypacenski.com