Jazz-Jitsu

Andre Galvao image via graciemag.com

We are constantly looking for ways to describe Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the uninitiated. We say its like wrestling with the added danger of submissions, or boxing but more three dimensional, or physical chess. All of these analogies fall short of the actual complexity of a really high caliber jiu-jitsu game. If you watch the games of guys like Andrea Galvao, Rudolfo Vieira, or Rafael Lovato Jr. you will see that describing their game as chess does a disservice to the feats of technique, strength, timing, and strategy that these athletes are able to accomplish. Not only are you competing through mental fatigue but there is also physical and emotional fatigue that is unique to combat sports that must be overcome in order to be a champion. If jiu-jitsu is like chess, it's chess where both players can move their pieces at the same time, your opponent can win at anytime regardless of where his pieces are, and  your doing push ups the entire time.

Rafael Lovato Jr. image via graciemag.com

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a sport unlike any other, raw aggression wont win matches, strategy wont win matches, superior physical condition wont do it, and superior technique without any of theses other factors will just get you smashed. So with all this said what is jiu-jitsu? I like to think of it as more amorphous than any of the rigid  analogies we try to force it into. The best way I can describe jiu-jitsu to those not already lured in is, it is jazz manifest in physical form.

"Warrior" image via theaustralian.com.au

In the 2011 movie Warrior Joel Edgerton's trainer Frank Campana, played by Frank Grillo, is a Greg Jackson-esque semi mystic sort of unconventional trainer. One of the points the movie brings up is that Grillo's character encourages his fighters to listen to classical music while training to work on timing and flow. Watching the movie I thought it was nice to hear a little classical as background music as opposed to the usual bad nu metal and rap mix you hear blasted through most MMA/BJJ gyms. I also thought it was a forced a plot device to show the contrast between his and Tom Hardy's character's training regimen; but I digress, classical may work for boxing but it doesn't work for jiu-jitsu. Jiu-jitsu is two soloists battling for dominance. We are both in the same key, standing, guard, side control but both are always in a state of movement. It's wild and chaotic but with and underlying order that is so subtle you almost have to versed to appreciate its brilliance. Jiu-jitsu is jazz, few rules, action and movement limited only by the players talents.  To me this is jiu-jitsu, the improvisation, the innovation, the lack of structure is where the real beauty of jiu-jitsu lays. There are no rigid forms, no concrete rules on body position, no turns to take or wait for. There is only your complete skill, commitment, and passion versus your opponents. This is how I describe jiu-jitsu.