A BIT OF HISTORY:
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or BJJ (also written jujitsu or jujutsu) is a martial art of
Japanese origin that essentially uses joint locks, twisting, pressure and
choke holds to subdue an opponent to the ground, even one with a great
physical advantage. In fact, by forcing your opponent to the ground you can
cancel out physical differences thereby dominating and subduing taller and
stronger opponents.
The word e jū in Japanese means “softness”, “sweetness”, and jutsu, “art”,
“technique”, hence it's nickname: “gentle art” or more commonly “arte
suave”.
Its origins are centuries old, and as with almost all ancestral martial arts, it's
origins cannot be precisely identified. Similar fighting styles were found in
various populations, from India to China, in the 3rd and 8th centuries. What
is known is that its development and improvement took place in the schools
of the samurai, the warrior caste of feudal Japan.
It was created due to the fact that, on the battlefield or during a clash, a
samurai could find himself without sword or spear, thus requiring an
effective method of self-defense without the use of weapons. Because
mortal blows were not effective in this type of combat, since the samurai
wore armor, the techniques of throw downs, and those of joint locks, as well
as the techniques of suffocation began to become popular thanks to their
effectiveness. Jiu-Jitsu, therefore, was born from its opposition to kenjitsu
and other so-called rigid arts, in which the fighters carried swords or other
weapons. The martial art took new directions when a famous instructor of
the Japanese Kodokan school decided to conquer the world and demonstrate
the effectiveness of his choke holds and submission techniques against
opponents of all sizes and fighting styles, his name was Mitsuyo Maeda, son
of a sumo wrestler born in the village of Funazawa, a city located in Hirosaki,
Aomori, Japan, on November 18, 1878, and died in Belém do Pará on
November 28, 1941.
A long time defender of the self-defense techniques of Jiu-Jitsu, Maeda
embarked for the United States in 1904, in the company of other teachers
from the school of Jigoro Kano,the founder of Judo.
At the time, thanks to the political and economic ties between Japan and the
USA, Japanese techniques found great admirers on American soil, for
example in 1904 President Theodore Roosevelt took lessons from the
Japanese Yoshitsugu Yamashita.
In the USA, the agile Japanese began to amass numerous victories in many
of his fights, thus being able to demonstrate the effectiveness of JJ, fighting
in several countries such as England, Belgium and Spain, where his noble
posture gave rise to the nickname that made him famous, Count Koma.
In July 1914, according to legend, the brave Japanese man who was 1.64
meters tall and weighed 68 kg landed in Brazil to put down roots and
change the history of this sport.
Maeda settled in Belém do Pará. To demonstrate the effectiveness of JJ
techniques, one day he faced the challenge of a capoeirista known as "Pé de
Bola", who was about 1.90 m tall and weighed almost 100 kilos. Maeda won
by defeating the capoeira champion, from that moment on numerous
contests were held with the aim of confirming the potential of JJ.
It was also Koma who promoted the first Jiu-Jitsu championship in the
country, a tourney of fights and challenges to promote this unknown sport
where specialists from various matial arts gathered, Boxing, Wrestling
Capoeira Taekwondo etc etc.
In 1917, a teenager named Carlos Gracie (1902–1994) saw for the first time,
in Belém, an exhibition of a Japanese capable of dominating and subduing
the giants of the region. A friend of his father, Gastão Gracie, Maeda agreed
to teach the restless boy the art of self-defense. In his classes he taught
Carlos and other Brazilians the concepts of his art which involved both
standing on one's feet and falling to the ground, taking advantage of the
opponent's strength to one's advantage using the principle of
action/reaction.
A classic movement to get close to the opponent was the use of low kicks
and/or elbow blows to confuse the opponent, by lowering the level of attack
on the opponent's body, one penetrated inside the opponent by grabbing
the legs (a technique called Baiana) and threw the opponent to the ground,
then progressing in the fight until the submission of the opponent which
could happen by surrender or by fainting or by dislocation of a limb.
A faithful student, Carlos Gracie embraced Jiu-Jitsu once and for all and, to
the regret of his mother who dreamed of seeing her son a diplomat, he
began to instill in his brothers the love for this fighting art.
Carlos opened, in 1925, the first Jiu-Jitsu academy of the Gracie family. In
the newspapers the ad was a masterpiece of marketing: "If you want to
have a broken arm, look for the Gracie gym".
The great master Gracie went on to have 21 children, 13 of whom would
become black belts. Each member of the family then began to develop the
art and add another link to the chain created by the great master Carlos,
founder and leader of the clan, as well as the first member of the family to
engage in a fight without rules, which he called "Vale Tudo".
It was 1924, in Rio de Janeiro, when Carlos Gracie faced the dock worker
Samuel, a well-known capoeira athlete, winning and becoming a legend of
the time. Helio Gracie, one of his brothers, was also a great fighter who
brought great technical innovations to this art of fighting, thanks to his
indomitable spirit, which did not correspond to his slender build, he was a
popularizer of BJJ.
In line with Conde Koma's tactics, the Gracies continued, in Rio de Janeiro, to
challenge dock capoeiristas and bullies of all origins and sizes, champions of
other martial arts or combat sports. If these brutes were scary on their feet,
on the ground they became easy prey for the joint locks or choke holds that
led to victory most of the time in these contests. The rivalry between BJJ and
Freestyle Wrestling academies was always famous, leading their respective
practitioners to real challenges both on the beaches of Ipanema and on the
streets of Rio de Janeiro.
The victories of the family in free for alls piled up and became legendary
and made headlines on the front pages. In addition to the matches, the
leagues between different practitioners were established, utilizing exclusive
rules of Jiu-Jitsu, involving dozens of different academies. In the 60s, when
Carlson Gracie had already taken over from his uncle Helio as the first
member of the clan in MMA, an important step was taken towards the
consolidation of Jiu-Jitsu competition. In 1967, the Guanabara Jiu-Jitsu
Federation was created in Rio de Janeiro, with the authorization of the
National Sports Confederation of the country.
The president of the Federation was Helio Gracie and the president of the
Advisory Council was Carlos. His eldest son, Carlson, was the director of the
technical department.
In the 90s, the art experienced a new boom on two fronts: the Ultimate
Fighting Championship created by Rorion Gracie in 1993, gave rise to BJJ
known today as MMA. Starting with the idol Royce Gracie, and with the hard
work previously done by brothers and cousins like Rickson, Renzo, Ralph,
Royler, Ryan, Carley, they clearly demonstrated that BJJ and knowing how to
fight while lying on the ground brought certain victory over opponents who
were unfamiliar with this martial art. Jiu-Jitsu was consecrated as a combat
technique and after its success in MMA/UFC, it was brought into the
American army and taught in special units such as the Green Berets, the
Rangers and Navy Seals.
On another front, Carlos Gracie Jr. He followed his father's work by
organizing tournaments and developing the art as a regulated sport. Thus,
in 1994, the International Jiu-Jitsu Federation and the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Confederation were created, affiliated with the Brazilian Olympic Committee,
which today promotes tournaments for more than 3 thousand athletes from
more than 50 countries, such as the World Championship, which has been
held every year since 1996.
A century after Count Koma's landing in Brazil, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can now be
practiced from Alaska to Mongolia, from Abu Dhabi to Japan.
After this brief historical introduction, I would like to talk more specifically
about what BJJ actually is.
WHAT BJJ TEACHES:
First of all, BJJ teaches self-defense, in fact, as we noted previously, BJJ was
born as an art of self-defense against bigger and stronger opponents. Bjj
teaches one to persevere in the face of difficulties and to remain calm under
pressure by thinking in a strategic way, therefore Bjj teaches and
strengthens a Mental Resilience and a Strategic Mind. Bjj with its rigorous
and demanding training, promotes interactions with training partners as well
as Masters, thus creating and teaching, personal discipline, respect for
others, self-esteem, self-control and self-confidence.
THE BENEFITS OF BJJ:
The BJJ practitioner will certainly have excellent physical shape, increasing
Strength, Explosive Strength, endurance, flexibility and coordination. It
improves the ability to concentrate, it develops patience and problem
solving in situations of great psychophysical discomfort, as well as the
formation of a pragmatic and strategic mind. Those who practice BJJ are
joined to a community where strong social bonds and a sense of belonging
are created. In fact, by hard daily training, sweating, suffering and
sometimes injury, bonds of mutual respect and admiration, wedded to a
healthy competition are formed, the whole group can elevate themselves by
growing in technical proficiency and strengthening the personal character of
the participants, thus creating a cohesion in the group, thus becoming a
"Family".
BJJ SPORTS COMPETITION
BJJ has become over time, thanks to the federation of the Grand Master
Carlos Jr. Gracie, a competitive activity, where there are 8 age categories
Adults (Up to 30 Years) and Masters divided into Masters Level 1,2,3,4,5,6
and 7. All age categories are divided into sub-weight categories, there is
also the possibility of a weight category called Absolute where there are no
differences in weight. So even people who are no longer young, for example
like me, but with a still strong and combative warrior spirit, can try their
hand at matches and tournaments, thus experiencing the emotion of the
challenge and the competition, feeling the adrenaline flowing through their
veins. Those who practice competition in BJJ are a very small percentage of
BJJ practitioners, in fact the competitive fighter must have characteristics
that many do not have, such as the ability to expose themselves to
criticism, a strong will to Fight and obtain Victory, a great tolerance for
suffering due to exhausting physical and technical training, courage, as well
as an ability to and talk a bit about the techniques a bit about the
competitions, sometimes we make fun of mistakeaccept defeats sportingly. I
can personally say that one defeat teaches more than a hundred victories
because defeat, if it occurs to a person with a competitive nature, is the
necessary fuel that allows one to improve technically in a sport that can
never be totally mastered, in fact no BJJ practitioner even at the highest
level is able to say "I know everything".
HOW A BJJ LESSON TAKES PLACE:
We start at a set time, we line up in order of rank from black belt to white
belt with the Master before the lineup and who is greeted with a salute.
Afterwards there is a warm-up of about 15 minutes consisting of various
movements which are employed in a competition. Then the Master explains
the technique of the week and the technique is then repeated by the
students divided into pairs, for this phase we also spend 15/20 minutes.
After which, practice of the technique shown by the Master begins, at this
point we are ready to begin medium to low intensity fighting whichever the
fighting pair mutually agree upon, after 20/30 minutes we prepare for what
is called "Randori", contests between fighters where each fighter selects the
fighting method according to their own training strategy, usually there are 5
or 6 rounds of 5 minutes each with a 1 minute interval. At the end of the
lesson we form a line again, the Master gives a salute and from first to last
we shake hands thanking each other for participating in the training session.
Then comes the usual routine, we sit on tatami mats we made in training,
we joke and kid each other over mistakes made during the training session
and we talk about this and that, this is usually done by the most advanced
practitioners.
TYPES OF FIGHTERS:
In Bjj we have two distinct figures, considering that a good fighter must be
able to fill both roles, but certainly according to a natural instinct that is
based on the physical characteristics of each individual practitioner, one is
the fighter who defends (Guardiero) and the fighter who attacks (Passador).
The Guardeiro will fight on his back to the ground using different types of
defense of which there are infinite variations. The Passador instead focuses
on the techniques learned to overcome defense, holding a firm position and
pressing forward until his opponent is subdued
A Bjj fight is really a chess match between two fighters, as a matter of fact
the most astute, skilled, and strategic fighter, who manages to impose his
type of fighting, will certainly have the greater chance of defeating his
opponent.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FIGHT:
The BJJ fight, which let me remind you can be done either with the Kimono
(GI) or without Kimono (No Gi) always begins standing, whoever is strong in
defense will try take a defensive stance and from there start to develop his
fight style, whoever is an attacker will have to throw his opponent to the
ground and then start subdue his opponent. As mentioned, many times the
objective of BJJ is submission leading to the surrender of one's opponent
who will signalize his surrender by tapping his hands or feet three times on
the tatami mat or on the body of his opponent. Sometimes due to the skill of
the fighters it is not possible to reach a clear decision so the Federation has
created a point system which takes into account the actions of the fight. The
points are as follows:
Throw downs and reverse throw downs (with back to the ground you rise to
your feet and throw your attacker to the ground), 2 Points. Attacks earn 3
points, pinning your opponent to the ground and placing your knee on his
stomach earns 2 Points, Montada (when you throw your opponent to the
ground and straddle him) and the back clutch (when you clutch your
opponent from behind and immobilize him by enveloping his lower body
with a leg hold) 4 Points. These last two positions are the maximum of
domination, in fact, if you get to this point victory is virtually assured.
BELTS IN BJJ:
In the adult category there are 5 belts, White Blue Purple Brown and Black.
In this martial art it is not like other arts like Judo, Karate etc etc the
progress is very slow precisely because it is a very technical discipline where
it is necessary to develop instincts that come to the fore spontaneously
under pressure during the fight. Generally and depending on the specific
school the length of time necessary to master each category are as follows,
for the white belt a year and a half to two years, for the blue belt from two
to three years, purple two years and brown two years. During each time
interval the student gains a grade up to a maximum of 4 according to his
skill level after which he is ready for promotion. In the case of competitors
who are exceptional and who win many competitions and titles the master
will accelerate the promotion process in order to graduate him as soon as
possible to the most important category, the black belt. From black belt
onwards the first three levels are earned every three years, starting from
the 3rd level up to the 6th level and every 5 years from the 6th to the 7th
level. Seven years must go by before you can advance to the next level and
earn a red and black belt, then after another 7 years you earn a white and
red belt, finally to get to the last belt which is the coral belt it takes 10
years, so from black belt up to the Coral belt the total number of years sums
to 48. The greatest number of dropouts occur in the blue and purple belt
levels, a very small percentage of those who commence training make it all
the way to the black belt level. The sport is very demanding, and in the
beginning, very arduous.
CONCLUSION:
BJJ is a very demanding fighting sport but with consistency and
perseverance it rewards you with a lot of satisfaction as it is the only combat
sport that uses highly deadly or highly disabling techniques, which once you
have brought the opponent to surrender, gives you a feeling of dominance
and power, because you know that in real extreme situations involving life
and death you are sure to overcome any threat.
BJJ is the only combat sport in which practitioners actually fight during every
training session, this allows you to always be prepared, knowing what to do
if you are forced into a physical confrontation in everyday life.
PALMARÉS
Luigi Mazzetti di Pietralata, born in 1962, started in middle age (47 years
old) and is a 2nd degree black belt with several titles of which listed below
are only the most important.
EUROPEAN KIMONO CHAMPIONSHIP
GOLD
2013 Blue Belt Master 4
2015 Purple Belt
2019 Black Belt Master 6
2023 Black Belt Master 7
SILVER
2014
2016
2018
2022
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP WITHOUT KIMONO
GOLD
2023 Black Belt Master 7
SILVER
2013 Blue Belt Master 4
2018 Brown Belt Master 5
2019 Black Belt Master 6
INTERNATIONAL MASTER CHAMPIONSHIP WITH KIMONO
GOLD
2017 Brown Belt
2018 Brown Belt
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
BRONZE
2016
2017
