{"id":1489,"date":"2025-09-30T14:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graciezug.ch\/en\/?p=1489"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:11:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:11:06","slug":"is-jiu-jitsu-a-copy-of-judo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graciezug.ch\/en\/is-jiu-jitsu-a-copy-of-judo\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Jiu Jitsu a Copy of Judo?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The rumour that Jiu Jitsu is a copy of Judo circulates in the martial arts world. But the answer to the question of whether that is really true is clearly no. Martial artists who practise both BJJ and Judo know the differences and similarities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To understand the difference between BJJ and Judo, it is worth analysing the sports of beach soccer and indoor football. Although both are forms of football, there are differences in terms of the playing surface, rules and number of players. Beach soccer<\/a> is played by five-man teams on the sand. In contrast, indoor football is played by six players per team on a grass or artificial surface. This example shows that the two sports may be similar but are not identical. They are not even directly connected to the original game of football. The same applies to the differences and similarities of BJJ and Judo. Beach soccer can be compared with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, whereas Judo represents indoor football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n H\u00e9lio Gracie<\/a> always spoke gratefully about Judo. At the same time, there are claims aimed at belittling and degrading BJJ. A closer look at the topic, however, reveals evidence to the contrary. BJJ has special features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the BJJ that H\u00e9lio Gracie and his brothers developed went through many transformation processes. They created their own methodology. There are similarities with other martial arts that cannot be denied. However, the focus is on the rules that define only BJJ as a martial art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judo allows the judoka to turn their back on their opponent. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, however, this position is prohibited. In BJJ theory, turning away from the attacker is akin to closing your eyes. This is a fundamental difference between BJJ and Judo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Judo, competitors turn their backs to their tori when being held. In addition, there is a referee who calls mate. With this Japanese term he stops the fight. When does that happen? When a judoka cannot free himself from the hold of his opponent for a certain period of time. Mate does not always mean the end of the fight, but also stands for ending the current position. Thus the fighter who was in the worse position gets a new chance to continue the contest thanks to the referee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is an important difference to the art of BJJ. In Gracie Jiu Jitsu, the fighters continue until one of them ends the fight. The tapping that signals the end of a fight was new. This made BJJ better known and increased its worldwide popularity. This result was not created in Brazil but developed there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gracie Jiu Jitsu does not deny its connection to Japan, as the name is Japanese. Nevertheless the development of the art took place in Brazil. Of course, Gracie Jiu Jitsu is based on different sources from which the art constantly evolved. It consists of influences from various martial arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless BJJ cannot be compared with Judo. The etiquette, methodology, techniques and goals are different. As with Judo, a competitive spor<\/a>t emerged from the art of BJJ. But the decisive question is: why is the art not a copy of Judo? What defines Judo? Right: it consists mainly of throwing techniques and rules. This point can once again be compared with football, where there are strict rules: only the legs are used and the aim is to score goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the Gracie brothers refused to accept and implement the Judo rules. In this way a new martial art automatically emerged. They also aimed to develop a martial art that could be used as an effective weapon for self-defence<\/a>. The sport of BJJ that developed in the 1960s and 1970s is based on movements taken from the self-defence techniques of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. The founders of the sport aimed to create a competitive <\/a>sport that neglected the goal of self-defence. However, the techniques of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu formed the basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLesser known differences between Jiu Jitsu and Judo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where did Brazilian Jiu Jitsu develop?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n