Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) a martial art and combat sport that focuses on wrestling, especially ground fighting with the goal of gaining a dominant position from which to force your opponent to submit. The system is based on the idea of soft overcoming the hard. In other words the smaller, weaker person uses leverage and proper technique to defend himself or herself against a bigger, stronger attacker. BJJ can be trained for self-defence, sport wrestling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition.
In the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class you will learn how to takedown and throw an opponent. You will also learn how to dominate and control an opponent positionally as well as all the escapes to these positions. You will then learn how to submit your opponent.
You will learn:
- how to throw and takedown an opponent to the ground from the clinch
- how to prevent an opponent from taking you to the ground
- how to get a dominant position when on the ground
- how to control the opponent from dominant positions on the ground
- how to escape bad positions and transition to better positions
- how to apply submissions such as chokes, arm locks, shoulder locks, leg locks and much more
Our BJJ ...
At Gladstone Martial Arts, we are very fortunate to be a part of the ’FIGHT CLUB” BJJ Team and have Daniel Lima - one of only a few authentic and Brazilian trained BJJ black belts in Queensland - as our Head Instructor.
Daniel boasts national titles in Brazil (BJJ), USA (Submission Wrestling & MMA) and is the current undefeated XFC Bantamweight (60kg) champion. Daniel is currently fighting on the Warriors Realm Mixed Martial Arts shows with wins in both of his appearances .
Daniel travels to Gladstone 4 to 5 times a year to coach our students and grade them through the belts of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
The History of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting with the goal of gaining a dominant position from which to force an attacker to submit. The system developed from a modified version of Judo including some techniques from Japanese Jujutsu and with a focus on ne-waza (ground technique). It promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person using leverage and proper technique can successfully defend themselves against a bigger, stronger assailant. BJJ can be trained for self defence, sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Sparring and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance.
The art began with Mitsuyo Maeda who immigrated to Brazil in the 1910s where an influential businessman named Gastão Gracie helped him get established. In return for his aid, Maeda taught the fighting art of Jujitsu to Gastão's son Carlos, who then taught the art to his brothers, including Hélio Gracie. The brothers trained many of their sons, who carried on the family tradition. Hélio had the opportunity to teach a class one day while Carlos was absent. He soon realized that most of the techniques could be adapted in a way to increase leverage therefore minimizing the force needed to execute the moves. Through Hélio's experiments early on, and constant technical refinement in training and real fighting, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we know it today was created. The Gracie family continued to develop the system throughout the 20th century, often fighting vale tudo matches (precursors to modern MMA), during which it gained its focus on ground fighting and refined its techniques.
Carlos Gracie (1901-1904), was taught judo by 'Otávio' Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese emigrant to Brazil who was then a 4th dan Kodokan judoka. Carlos then passed the teachings on to his brothers Oswaldo, Gastão Jr., Jorge, and Hélio. In 1925, the brothers opened their first academy in Brazil, marking the beginning of the art of modern day Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Carlos had 21 children, 12 whom received the blackbelt rank in Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Hélio Gracie (Born October 1, 1913) is regarded as the creator of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, along with his older brother Carlos Gracie Sr. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is also known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Hélio is the only living 10th degree master of the discipline and is widely considered as one of the first sports heroes in Brazilian history; he was named Black Belt Magazine's Man of the Year in 1997. He is the father of the world-renowned fighters Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Relson Gracie and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) founder Rorion Gracie. Gracie is also a 6th dan in judo.
Helio's first contact with Jiu-Jitsu was with his older brother Carlos Gracie being taught by Mitsuyo Maeda. When he was a young boy, his family suffered financial hardship and he and his brothers split up to move with different family memebers. A few years after, at about the age of 14, he moved in with his brothers who were taching Jiu-Jitsu at the time. However, he wasn't allowed to participate in the classes due to doctors restricting him from contact activity because Helio was a frail boy.
Two years later, Helio realized that he had begun to memorize all the moves and functions his brother Carlos was teaching, but he couldn't execute them because it required significant strength, which is something Helio that Helio was lacking. One day Helio was at the school and a student came in without Carlos being there. He offered to start the class with the student and when Carlos showed up apologetically, the boy refused his apologies and was happy to train with Helio. In fact, that student wanted to keep training with him from that point on.
Due to Helio's lack of physical strength, he altered the traditional moves and used leverage to execute them, to suit his physical stature. Through trial and error, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was born, now known as modern day Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
From his early years, Helio went on to fight, always looking for a new challenge. He fought lengendary fighters such as the world wrestling champion Wladek Zbyszko, and a qualifying fight against the #2 Jiu-Jitsu fighter in the world, Kato, whom Helio put a choke hold on within 6 minutes. Helio's undying service to the perfection of jiu-jitsu techniques, his outlook on life have been the stepping stones to what modern day Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has become and what will continue to be.
During the decades that followed, Carlos's brothers, sons, grandsons and cousins became the driving force that further developed and refined the art into the form we see today. Rio de Janeiro, with it's penchant for reality-based combative sport, became a proving-ground for no-rules fighting (known as Vale Tudo) strategy and technique. BJJ schools blossomed everywhere, a sporting aspect was developed and the art grew tremendously in popularity. It's effectiveness was never in question, as the population had becomeducated as to the difference between reality and fantasy when it came down to fighting for real. It became obvious that almost all fights, when there were limited or no rules, ended up being contested on the ground. In Rio de Janeiro, real fighting meant going to ground; and the BJJ stylists were the undisputed champions of that particular arena in a relatively safe form competition. This in turn, forced the art to further evolve, and during the last thirty years of the 20th century, undergo a phase of technical development that has thrust it to the forefront of the ground-based fight arena.
Short Documentary on History and Influence of BJJ
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Belt Progression
All students who start training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu wear a white belt at the beginning. They then progress through the different coloured belts hoping to one day prove themselves worthy of the coveted Black Belt. Junior students, those younger then 16 years of age progress through a greater range of colours then those who have already reached adulthood. On each colour belt below Black Belt students can climb closer to the next full colour by receiving Tips from their Instructor at gradings. There are a maximum of four white tips, attached to the belt on the black panel of the belt for each colour belt. Grading in Brazlian Jiu Jitsu and improving levels takes time and lots of patience. The transition from white belt to full blue belt can often take up to 3 years or more (so in many ways is the equivilant of a black belt in karate or tae kwon do) and the next step to purple can quite often take even longer. This not only ensures only the highest level of skill for high level belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but it makes the process even more rewarding for each student.
Order of Belts for a Junior (under 16)Order of Belts for a Senior (older 16)
