Transitioning from Traditional Martial Arts to BJJ

[tallgeese]

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community.

One of the great revolutions in martial arts training occurred in the early 1990s when the Gracie family brought Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the attention of the world, thanks to the UFC. Granted, mixed martial arts had existed prior to this in one form or another at multiple points, across many cultures worldwide, including the vale tudo matches where the Gracie's had started to showcase their art in Brazil. However, this was not the majority trend in the early 90s.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's roots go back further than its entry into the UFC, of course. It traces its lineage back to Jigoro Kano, a student of multiple forms of traditional Japanese jiu-jitsu who founded judo in the late 1800s. After coming to be a dominate force in Japanese martial arts, judo, which Kano had engineered to heavily focus on throwing, looked unbeatable. However, Mataemon Tanabe, a student of Fusen-Ryu, bested several of Kano's finest with grappling attacks focused on the ground. Judo then began to incorporate much of Fusen-Ryu's ground tactics and the latter slowly faded to extinction while judo experienced a revolution of ne-waza (ground tactics). It was early in the 1900s when Mitsuyo Maeda, a product of Kano's judo during this ne-waza movement, moved to Brazil for business. There he began to teach Carlos Gracie, whose brother Helio would also come to train and modify those teachings into what would become Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Two Camps

When this art exploded into the United States, there were generally two camps that evolved almost immediately. One would argue that due to the restrictions in the UFC, that grappling could be defeated by any number of reality based tactics. The other, saw the hole in their game and began to seek more insight into the range of combat that they lacked.

At that time, I fell into the second group almost instantly. However, there were no Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies anywhere near my location. This made me settle for the occasional workout with a wrestler, a long distance relationship with a shootfighting organization, and the coveted video tape (yes, I remember VHS) to start me into the world of grappling.

After a long and convoluted path, I felt that I had a grip on ground fighting and took part in several shootfighting bouts and independent full contact events. This, I made do with for quite some time, but I still wanted to train pure jiu-jitsu. Finally, a few years ago, I was afforded the opportunity to start regular attendance at a BJJ academy. At that point, I had just finished training out of an MMA gym for some time and was still active with my initial art having earned dan ranks in two off-shoots of Kempo.

At the outset, I had planned to make this a supplement to the rest of my training. Shortly, this would become the core of my revitalized training. To date, I have been given the honor to receive a purple belt rank in BJJ and continue to train and compete in this venue. Due to the popularity of cross training, a good thing in my estimation, and the interest in BJJ within the martial arts community in general, I thought that I was in a good position to pass on some observations in regard to moving into the world of BJJ from the background of another, Oriental art.

Cultural Differences

We'll leave aside the technical differences and concentrate entirely on what I think are the larger issues when you strap the white belt on for jiu-jitsu. One of the first things one will note is the drastic difference in atmosphere and structure. Anyone following my posts will note that I'm not the biggest on traditionalism in the arts as it is. I can barely remember a time when we lined up and bowed in. But even at that I was struck by the change in tenor from stepping on a BJJ mat from the arts I came out of.

You might find a BJJ class that lines up and bows in from a kneeling position. A few more will address the head instructor by "Professor" but the vibe is much more relaxed. Many head instructors go by "Coach" or even their first names if you've been around a while.

There is little formality between students as well. The way I often describe it is that karateka will line up, sit in formal postures and bow a lot. BJJ players are more likely to hang out on the mat reclined a bit, call each other "bro," and comment when their favorite song pops up on the radio. It is largely a mellow atmosphere.

Whereas MMA schools you can expect the standard metal tunes blaring in the background, or the quiet of a karate school in that setting, expect laid back tunes rolling in during your open mat time in jits. Maybe even during instruction. It depends on how mellow the instructor is.

If I was culture shocked by the atmosphere of the class, then a traditional karateka should expect to feel almost like they are at recess. If you're looking to train BJJ, get used to the idea that things will be different on the formality front. That's not to say that there are not certain cultural dos and don'ts. They just aren't the same or as rigid as a traditional class.

A Relaxed Atmosphere

The next observation will surprise a lot of people given the competitive connotations with the art. The actual process of the art of jiu-jitsu relies on relaxation and less than aggressive rolling while training. "Spazzing" or using muscle to accomplish a goal is frowned upon. This is one of the cultural things about jits. Whereas sparring in karate or other arts can be very aggressive, you'll really get on the outs at a school if you're competitive against team mates during open mat session. The concept of "playing" the art is heavily touted by many coaches while rolling. Any practitioner of traditional arts will talk about training pace in sparring and working on tactics, in BJJ this concept moves to the next level.

Another difference of note, and this one pertains much more to those coming out of MMA training, slow is almost always better. Technical portions of training are very precise and randori is often conducted between 30-60% intensity. When it comes to grappling, this is usually a radical departure from the rolling done at an MMA school, where 60% tends to be the start of the spectrum.

The matter of randori, or "rolling" as it's referred to in BJJ, is much more important in the art. All techniques are really not yours until you can do them live. It's this heavy and constant training in a live environment, against a resistive opponent that often sets BJJ apart from other arts. Nothing is theoretical; it must be proven to be effective. There is no, "Well I could to this..." If that is the case, then do it. If it is consistently crushed then one has their answer.

One of the most important matters of focus during rolling is position. This is often overlooked by those starting BJJ fresh. Everyone wants submission; they want to know new ways of "winning" the match. Submissions are the byproduct position. If you're new, worry about gaining position, in fact, it will be this goal that dominates your thought process for the bulk of your time in white belt. Whereas tactics to harm individuals are often emphasized at the forefront of other martial arts, particularly if you're out of a RBSD (reality based self defense) system, they are an afterthought in BJJ until you can gain and maintain position. Often newer individuals will spend too much time fretting over attacks, which is what they've been conditioned to pay attention to in other arts, when they should be looking even more fundamental.

These factors: the importance of slow, technical learning, the focus on relaxed rolling, and positional dominance, make it much easier for the martial artist who is putting years on to train without injury. There is a lack of ballistic trauma during regular training that is often harder and harder to overcome with age. This, combined with the continued effectiveness of jiu-jitsu with age, makes it an excellent choice to continue training with into and past middle age.

It's a Challenge

Lastly, almost everyone out of another art underestimates how out of their element they will be when taking up BJJ. Everyone says it, most everyone means it, but the depth of this is usually overlooked until they are actually doing it. This is not another martial art where you're skill will somewhat overlap. Even if you come out of one karate system and go into a striking art from another nationality, you have some concept of distance, timing and rhythm of moving against someone trying to hit you. Once on the ground, even the most experience karate man (or woman) will find that all of these factors are now different. It is an alien environment. Even wrestlers and judoka, who are usually the most capable of dealing with the transition, will find that the depth of tactics allowed is different and deeper than both of their expertise's while down.

BJJ continues, and will most certainly endure, as the most sought after art for training in ground based combat. The revolution that the Gracie family made us all aware of is as important historically as Funikoshi, Kano, and Lee, and their contributions match those founders in the growth and functionality of the martial arts. As a traditional artist, if you are aware of the subtle and not so subtle differences, you will be better prepared for a smooth transition.

[Patrick]

Thank you for the submission, Alex. As an aside, this article was submitted in January of 2012. Alex's views may (or may not) have adjusted a bit since then and I'm sure he'll reply if they have.

Thanks again,

Patrick

[sensei8]

That was another treasure trove of an article, Alex...SOLID...the word 'solid', in this case, lacks to do the article justice. Thanks for it, Alex!!

I loved how you gave us a peek into the BJJ world from the aspect of what a BJJ white belt should expect once they're on the mat for the first time. An immeasurable amount of value stands right before the reader; from paragraph to paragraph.

Yes, your feelings towards traditional MA is quite well known here at KF. At times, I've been offended by some of the things you've touted concerning traditional MA, therefore, the traditional MAist. Having said that, you made me understand more deeply through this article of yours as to the reason(s) as to why, and for that, I thank you.

I can't help feel that you spoke towards how BJJ was above all other styles of the MA; that' s how I perceived it. That's my problem for me just being narrow minded and reading things into things that aren't even there. Hopefully, you, and others here, can see what I'm saying, even though I've said it in a halting and stumbling way. I tend to cringe when I perceive that I'm being told that style 'A' is above the rest of the alphabets; as though 'B' through 'Z' and back is a waste of time.

Overall, Alex, a very super solid article, one I personally thank you for!!

[tallgeese]

Thank you for the submission, Alex. As an aside, this article was submitted in January of 2012. Alex's views may (or may not) have adjusted a bit since then and I'm sure he'll reply if they have.

Thanks again,

Patrick

Thanks, Patrick. If I recall, as I'd written this I think I had a couple of stripes on my purple. At this point, I'm sporting 4 on a brown belt. My views on the transition haven't changed to date, that said, I have 2.5-3 years to see the further evolution of what occurs as you move thru the system. I"m thinking that at some point that will be a continuation of this article.

Thanks Patrick.

sensei8, I know we've disagreed at times over traditionalism. It's never been my intent (well, at least not for a very long time- I was probably more bull headed in my younger days) to suggest superiority of one art over another. I do think there are arts better suited for certain things. Specificity of training is important to me. But I think the bulk of my angst has always been training method over art. But again, this is specific to situation as well.

Thank you for the feed back. Always a please to discuss these matters with you.

[Patrick]

Cool.

Patrick

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for this article, Alex. Its good to have some idea of what one could expect transitioning to an art like BJJ after spending time in Eastern styles. I'm in favor of the laid back type of atmosphere, and would like to see more of it, myself. Your explanation of what to expect while training in regards to the intensity levels, and the goal of rolling is very insightful, as well.