Is Sport BJJ A Mutilated Martial Art?

Recently I got an email from one of the email readers about a video where BJJ was called mutilated. Basically a Gracie family member called the sport of BJJ and the way many gyms practice mutilated, incomplete and essentially said they were not as good as the traditional Gracie Jiu-jitsu style he learned.

Let me start by saying I have a deep sense of gratitude for the Gracie family. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have ever started training BJJ. But I think this criticism is a little off. Martial arts are a type of self expression that’s always evolving and changing.

Take for instance traditional Jujutsu which spawned Judo. Where Kano made changes to the training philosophy and focus for various reasons. Then Judoka went all over the world spreading Judo, doing challenge matches and also taught some Brazilians.

The Brazilians then modified the focus and created this thing called Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. When Masahiko Kimura faced Helio Gracie he wrote about the “soft mats” which lessened the damage of throws and the “Brazilian rules.”

Now the Gracies (and others) have spread BJJ around the world, just like Judo, and it’s evolving into something new just as all martial arts do. But there is no 1 governing body for BJJ like Judo and so it allows for much more creative expression but also steers away from direct control.

The cat is out of the bag so to speak and I think it’s a good thing.

So do I think BJJ and sport BJJ is a mutilated art? Not really. No more than Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is mutilated Judo or Judo mutilated Jujutsu. The world changes, things evolve and while it may not fit someone’s desires that’s just not how the world works.

Martial arts are ancient and will continue to evolve.

Thanks for watching the video.
-Chewy

Here’s an article about Kimura’s interpretation of the match: https://www.bjjee.com/articles/helio-gracie-vs-masahiko-kimura-different-interpretations-event/
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