How my outlook on BJJ has changed.

[KnightSabre]

When I got my first taste of BJJ I was like wow this stuff is awesome.
After a couple of months of training I was like this is it,you don't get a better style than this.
Even though I was cross training in boxing Muay Thai,my main interest was in the Jiu Jitsu.
I used to be all proud of how well it did in the NHB comps and used to rag karate or kung fu.
When I would see this Tae Kwon Do academy I would want to laugh at them.

Now years later and going for my purple later this year my outlook has changed somewhat,I have come to love the art not for it's effectiveness or for what it's proven in the ring but for the art itself,I find myself grappling with guys at the gym and loving every minute of it.
I still cross train in the striking arts and will continue to do so,I have used my BJJ effectively in many challenge matches and at first thats what it was about,but now I would rather just roll arround for hours with one of my training partners instead.

I also realises that this art isn't just to be used for fighting or challenge matches or NHB fighting,it's an art that you and a couple of friends can get to grips with and be amazed by all the simple techniques that make it so effective.

Anywazy I started off with BJJ because of the hype and the UFC and stuff,but I'm glad that now while the art is still **** effective,I've found myself loving it for what it is and not just what it can do.

[Budokan]

Seems to me you've come to a realization of what *martial arts* are for and not just BJJ. Congratulations. Most people who claim to be martial artists don't even make it that plane of consciousness.

[shaolinboxer]

That warms my heart KS.

My sincerest congratulations :).

[Rolling Elbow]

Maybe you've just come to realize that you are gay'! just kidding..yes i too enjoy some grappling or ground fighting...BUT then someone sticks a finger in my eye and i realize i aught not get too fancy or roll around that long.

think about it..

[Water Dragon]

Originally posted by Rolling Elbow
Maybe you've just come to realize that you are gay'! just kidding..yes i too enjoy some grappling or ground fighting...BUT then someone sticks a finger in my eye and i realize i aught not get too fancy or roll around that long.

think about it..

:rolleyes:

[Merryprankster]

Got to it before I did WD.

[Badger]

Here are some of the things I like about BJJ:

1. I loved rasslin' around as a kid so BJJ came real natural.
2. If someone doesnt know their stuff ,you find out real quick.(making it hard for BJJ McDojos)
3.Only 4 belts. Not alot of concern over rank.
4.No formal exams or exam fees. You are being tested all time.
5.Class is divided into Drills & Rolling/sparring.What you practice in drilling works in sparring.
6.No rules to feed the ego of the instructor. No pushups when you are running late. No Bowing. No BS. Just shaking hands because its just a bunch of guys(& girls) having fun training.
7.You can't win a tournament by being knocked out.

[Knifefighter]

Here's what I like about BJJ-
When a guy tries to stick his fingers in your eyes, you get to break his arm.

[Sho]

Congratulations KnightSabre, that was very nicely expressed.

This may be a bit off-topic, but anyway. I personally think BJJ is more like a cousin to judo than jujutsu. Just curious why it is jujutsu rather than judo. Of course Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, took many principles from jujutsu but still there are tons of same techniques in BJJ and judo, which makes me think that it should be Brazilian Judo. I do not know much about BJJ's history, but maybe somebody can help clear this out. Thanks.

[Merryprankster]

Yuen,

Most people agree that the instructor of the Gracies was a man named Maeda, sometimes referred to as Comte Koma (Count Combat). There is no record of Maeda having trained in a traditional Japanese Jujutsu style. That doesn't mean he didn't, it just means that there is no record of it, at least not to my knowledge. However, he did study Kodokan Judo--that record exists.

There is speculation that Maeda may have used jiujitsu instead of judo because he had taken part in professional wrestling matches in which the outcome was predetermined, and the Kodokan might have frowned on a "professional wrestler" teaching "judo," so he called it jiujitsu instead. This is speculation. All that is known is that he taught judo that he called jiujitsu to the gracies and other brazilians.

Take your Judo, edit out the throws, refine the ground skills through repetitive practice and experience, add a set of competition rules that reward a strong groundfighting game, add a dash of time, and you've got BJJ.

It makes sense, for one on one combat actually. Even for a very skilled man, throwing a 250 lb man if you are 140 is hard. However, frustrating them with a good open or closed guard is fairly easy by comparison. Helio and Carlos Gracie were not large men apparently, so you can do the math.

I don't buy in to the idea that Helio and Carlos developed previously unheard of leverages what not. I do believe that they, and their family, refined the ground game, adding new things and getting very, very good at the ground.

[KnightSabre]

Thanks for all the replies.

One of the things I like about grappling is that with the constant contact if you do get a finger in the eye,accidently or intentionally you can still continue.Infact often when I grapple I close my eyes the whole time so that I have to rely on my feel more than what I see.

I also hear that BJJ came from Judo and not Ju Jitsu.

[Sho]

Thanks Merryprankster for clearing that out.

[Wongsifu]

i never knew that men could transcend just likeing to roll around with other men and move to higher levels of rolling around with other men :D

[ewallace]

My outlook of BJJ and grapling in general changed when I went to check out a vale tudo class. I realized I would get my ass handed to me if one of those guys took me to the ground.

[Urbanfist14]

Since we are on the topic of BBJ, can anyone recommend a good BBJ class in NYC area that is affordable? or just plain good for that matter?

[Merryprankster]

Urbanfist,

Renzo Gracie has his school in Manhattan.

There are affilliate schools in LI, NJ, and Pennsylvania.

I do not know what their prices are. I do know they are not cheap. If you go to www.renzogracie.com you will get the main academy info if you click on "locations."

I'm sure if you call they can give you numbers to the other affiliates.

I know there is more than Renzo and affiliates in NYC, but I don't know who, and bjj.org is WAY outdated.

[3D Man]

1. The suffering is real. "Investing in loss" is the entire training method. You will submit hundreds of times before you can possibly "win." By the time your technique could rescue your ego, your ego is gone. You care about BJJ more than winning.

2. No messed up confucian heirarchy. You advance as your BJJ gets better. You respect your teacher because of shared experience and your teacher's knowledge.

3. The art changes as the information and the practioners experiment and learn. A BJJ practioner is almost always willing to test their skills.

A little bit on the history. Judo is essentially the gentle way. Maeda, the Gracies' teacher, fought no rules MMA against boxers and wrestlers on a regular basis. Jujitsu is what he called his stylewhen he fought these matches. He did study with others besides Kano.

[Kuen]

is that classes cost so much (around here at least). Plus there doesn't seem to be anyone over 30 that teaches it here. Is that pretty typical or is it just the fact that it hasn't been in our area too long? I don't plan on competing or anything but I'd like to at least work up to a blue belt before I'm totally ancient. :cool:

[Merryprankster]

Kuen,

where are you located?

Also, BJJ has tended to be a young persons game in the US. There are only a handful of "non-imported" black belts in the US, so they are all relatively recent, hence the tendency towards young.