Whats the difference between brazilian jujutsu and japanese jujutsu? (besides different countries obviously) ?

Question

everytime i look it up to see local places that teach it, its always brazilian. and Never any girls, so thats discouraging anyways...

Answer 1

Short answer is Brazilian tends to focus more on the ground game.  Japanese Jiu Jitsu, I believe is more concerned with the throw, and submission, without all the countering on the ground.

It may be due to Japanese Jiu Jitsu being more closely related to the original Samurai art, where weaponry was involved - so once you were on the ground, your opponents knife or short sword would stick you.

The Brazillian Jiu Jitsu has more countering, and may be due to the influence of "Vale Tudo" no holds barred style fighting in Brazil.

Answer 2

stslaviks answer sums it up best.

I will only add to by suggesting the reason you see more Brazilian advertised is that Bjj and Krav Maga although they have been around a long time are now the in vogue styles for ufc re: Bjj and Krav maga re: self defence by way of media attention.

In 10yrs time some other style/s will be the new in vogue fad ,it tends to happen roughly every decade that I can remember.

Good luck and Best wishes whichever you decide )***

Edit : Well said Mushin !!

Answer 3

It's hard to find japanese jujitsu because most of the good schools would be found in japan. BJJ is currently very popular in the states so there are a million schools. That being said, BJJ was taken from jujitsu and yes they focused more on the ground work. It is not as complete all around asthe japanese jujitsu, but they improved the ground performance immensely. Yes BJJ is marketed as a sport and any BJJ instructor will be able to admit the difference between the ring and the street.

I think it's funny Scandal gets so mad when anyone mentions MMA or the Gracie's though. He seems very offended that these people are getting so much credit. He also dogs other people for being ignorant for questioning his ways, but doesnt mind speaking his mind about other peoples ways without having trained in those specific styles or methods.

A good instructor who is really interested in teaching  you real self defense whether its JJJ or BJJ will teach you that when on the ground in the street, you dont want to be there for very long, and you will have to resort to  bites, headbutts, eye gouges, close range elbows, grabbing/punching testicles and other dirty fast and brutal techniques to get up quick. IF those tactics dont work then you must resort to the technical way. Whether its a sweep or reversal, to an escape.

Answer 4

A key difference between the arts is the detailed approach to groundfighting developed by the gracie family which has become a distinctive element to the art. So much so that it became known as Brazilian jujitsu (Brazil being where the Gracie Family has its roots).

Brazilian jujitsu is from Brazil obviously, but it's roots are in Japan. Kodokan Judo master Mitsuo Maeda emigrated from Japan in the early part of the 20th century. Eventually he taught judo to Carlos Gracie, who in turn spread it throughout the rest of his family. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu developed as a modified form of the Japanese style of Judo, with an emphasis on newaza, or ground fighting. It was modified for use by smaller practitioners and honed through numerous street fights and challenges.The Gracies had a famous open door policy, accepting challenges from all who wished a match.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a ground fighting or grappling art. As opposed to many arts that have only some ground fighting techniques, Brazilian Jujitsu practitioners actually prefer going to the ground as opposed to standing and striking. While some might think it is simply wrestling, the major difference is that wrestlers never want to be on their backs, while BJJ stylists are quite comfortable in that position.

The foundation techniques/positions in BJJ are known as the mount and the guard. A primary skill to learn is to pass someone's guard. This essentially means to get someone's legs from around you and position yourself on their side (side control) or on top (mount) so you can lock or choke someone at will. This is not a simple task, and is a very valuable skill to learn.

Japanese Ju-jitsu is the ancient form of unarmed combat as used by the Samurai class of fighting men, tracing its origins back some two thousand years.  The system both ancient and modern consists of numerous ways of defending, attacking and restraining both an armed and an unarmed opponent.  Success is not solely dependent on size, but very much on technique, making this an art suitable for all types of ability, male or female, large or small, young or not so young.  

Techniques involve a whole range of punching, kicking, throwing, locking, and groundwork. Traditional weapon work is also taught and involves kata, technique and application. To complement the traditional aspects, defensive techniques from modern day street weapons are also taught.

As throws play a major role in the syllabus, every student is taught a variety of breakfalls which are practised at the beginning of every lesson, after a short session of loosening up exercises.

The lesson continues with a variety of techniques based on a set theme from various attacks including punches, kicks, groundwork, multiple attacks, sacrifice throws and a whole variety of defences against attacks from various weapons.  

Jiu-Jitsu is an art famed for allowing a smaller person to defeat a larger/stronger opponent as proven many times over in Mixed Martial Arts events. It is an art based principles of leverage on and momentum.

Although being big and strong certainly helps it comes down to this: Jujitsu will almost always allow the more skilled of two combatants the greater chance of victory

As far as women and BJJ is concerned, I know that there is no reason why women shouldn't join, maybe if more women (like yourself) took the first step, a deep breath and joined in, more women would follow.

I know that when I first started iaido (Japanese sword-drawing art) I was the first woman in my club and now there are 3!  In my karate club, there is just myself and another woman over 18 years old amongst lots of men and children!

Answer 5

Just put the question up to vote; that's what I always do.

As to the difference; originally JJJ was mostly joint locks and throws, with the whole concept of Newaza virtually nonexistent.  Newaza, or "ground fighting," as opposed to Atemi Waza, the throws, was developed by Kano, plus, it borrowed a lot of moves from old school catch.

St whatever is right; what Maeda knew, was Kodokan Judo, but they were still calling it "Jiu Jitsu" back then.  See, Judo wasn't called Judo until after WWII, prior to that it was called "Kano style Jiu Jitsu."  Or simply Jiu Jitsu.  The reason that BJJ is called Jiu Jitsu, is because the name stuck.  Take for example the "Kimura" lock; that technique did not exist in BJJ until Masahiko Kimura used it on Helio Gracie.  In Judo, its called something else.

BJJ in fact, has a lot of "missing" techniques from Judo, plus, Helio Gracie, emphasizing Newaza, developed it more than it was in Japan.  While this is only a crude, ignronant estimate...

Judo is 100% throwing, and 50% Newaza, while BJJ is 100% ground, and 50% Atemi Waza.  That crude, ignorant estimate, I think may apply to techniques as well.  That is, Judo, and original Jiu Jitsu, both had more throws than modern BJJ.  In fact Judo still has more throws, while BJJ has more ground techniques than Judo.

I was just adding, very incompetently, to St whatever's perfect answer.

d**n it just pick him!

Answer 6

I suspect that many "want-to-be's" or "others that followed" have succumbed to the popularity of BJJ and changed their programs to reflect that much like what was done when Jeet Kune Do came out and then later Kung-fu.  Many of those that did never studied it or were formally instructed in it but changed their programs to just make a quick buck.  One of my newer students even remarked last week that I should advertise mixed-martial-arts to gain more students.  Go to a school that teaches a good Japanese style and you will probably find some Japanese Ju-jitsu with it.  In particular the style Shito-ryu has incorporated it into their training early on from that styles inception back in the early 1900s.

Basically BJJ tends to focus on operating off the ground where it is harder for your opponent to reach you with his kicks, punches, and strikes with any kind of force.  By forcing them to get on the ground with you your opponent then exposes himself more to things like chokes and submissions and his striking, kicking and punching power is greatly nulified.  For this reason BJJ also somewhat favors operating out of the Guard position where you are on your back.  In Japanese Ju-jitsu this is not so much favored and as someone has said it has more of a stand-up aspect to it as well as operating on the ground but not from a position like the Guard position where your groin and lower legs, feet, and ankles are so exposed.    

Answer 7

St Slavik - excellent answer!

I would like to reiterate what you said - compared to Jujutsu, BJJ is incomplete.

That said...

I have to disagree with an answer that says Japanese Jujutsu doesn't cover ground work... where do you think Judo came from???

Judo is an offshoot of Jujtsu. Basically, Kano Jigoro excluded the joint locking techniques to create a sport.

Ground techniques are ONE, SMALL aspect of combat.

Don't be ignorant.

To the asker - there are many schools of Jujutsu. In order to get the best training, you need to find a good lineage that has not been modified to where its useless. BJJ is good if you want to fight in the UFC.

If you want to learn a complete art, you need to learn Japanese Jujutsu.

It's actually a shame that I have to differentiate. most say "Jujutsu" when they actually mean BJJ.

You mention Jujutsu in a crowd and the first thing that comes into people's minds is "Gracie".

What ever happened to respect?

Gargoyle - My "ways" are Bujutsu - they are not my own "ways".

I get offended at the lack of respect for the arts that laid the foundations for all the "new" stuff.

All the comments of "traditional" arts being "ineffective"... who is speaking this?? And what is their claim based on?

That nonsense called "kah-ROH-tee that is passing as Classical Bujutsu today???

I'm trying to raise awareness of the TRUE martial arts - which is being categorized along with the b u l l s h i t that's out there and being made a mockery by those who have no clue at all of its true nature.

I am not speaking against the Gracie family. They are the baddest m**o's around today. I am also a musician who plays folkloric music of Brazil - I love the Brazilian people!

I am speaking of the ignorance of those who associate the term Jujutsu, with the Gracie family. This has nothing to do with them, it has to do with the sheer ignorance of the masses... just like associating XMA with real martial arts.

Answer 8

In Japan, there was a martial art called Jujutsu which dealt with the techniques that the Samurai used to fight when disarmed, or to capture an enemy alive which was highly prized toward the end of the Sengoku Jidai (Warring States Period). The art consists of grappling, throws, ground fighting, striking, etc. by using minimal effort/energy to deliver maximum effect.

It's from a few schools of Jujutsu that Kano Jigoro formed his Kodokan, then began to form Judo. At the time he sent people out into the world to spread his art, a judoka by the name of Maeda Mitsuyo (one of Judo's exceptional groundfighters) was sent to Brazil, and the art was still being referred to as Kano Jujutsu (Which was transliterated in Brazil as Kano Jiu-jitsu). It was from Maeda that Carlos Gracie learned Judo and with his brother Helio founded Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The focus of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is groundfighting, for the obvious reasons (This was what they learned the most of). However, by comparison to koryu jujutsu, it would be considered incomplete. I'm not saying it's not good, so save the hate. It's specialized: they're much better at the takedowns and ground-fighting, but they lack in other areas. Keep in mind that the focus was originally sport -- Martial arts for combat had a hard time surviving the Meiji restoration and even the extended peace of the Edo era. Tying up with someone in a ring is very different from tying up with someone on the street.

Keep in mind that there are many schools of Japanese Jujutsu, and some forms are classical (koryu) and some are modern (gendai). You might want to research more on the differences before making a decision. Good luck!