What do you say when someone asks about jiu jitsu?

      When someone finds out I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I can almost guarantee that they will eventually ask me the question: "what is jiu jitsu?" As an instructor and a lover for the grappling arts, it's still a challenging question to answer. If it were football, baseball, karate, or even wrestling people would understand what you were talking about, but jiu jitsu seems to still maintain a degree of mystery and even misunderstanding. 

     Some things are clear. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the fastest growing form of martial arts in the world today. Not only is it a practical form of self-defense training, but also a great workout, fun, dynamic with constant new discovery. 

So what do you say?

     There are several different ways to express the physical art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu into words. One place to start is with the history of how jiu jitsu came to be known as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Another place to start would be with an example: "Have you ever seen or been in a fight before? What happens in the fight if the person doesn't get knocked out in the first few seconds? It goes to the ground. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that teaches a person how to defend themselves when the fight goes to the extreme. The training involves..." Or do you take on a more organic approach, using the concept designed by the 31FIFTY team "JIU JITSU FOR A BETTER WORLD," and explain the benefits of how jiu jitsu will make us, you, and your friends better in more than one way. Clearly, there are multiple ways to introduce jiu jitsu to someone who might not have any knowledge about it, but the most important thing to consider is if your explanation would get that person more or less interested in jiu jitsu. As we train and improve ourselves and our training partners, it's important to remember that we are also ambassadors for the great martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 

SEE YOU ON THE MAT!

Eliot Kelly

916 595 4064

EDH BJJ