# Does BJJ have anything over Japanese jiu jitsu/Judo?



## Coker101 (Jan 14, 2014)

I have not trained in a good number of years but when I was younger I did train in Japanese jiu jitsu and Judo at the Houston Budokan.  I'm about to start training again soon and have noticed while looking for a new school that there are a ton of people teaching bjj now...or mma.  

Is this bjj a fad brought on by the UFC or does it indeed have something "better" than Japanese system?  I'm really curious because from what I have seen bjj looks mostly like judo that I trained in when I was a kid.


Anyway, just curious, thanks.


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## Tony Dismukes (Jan 14, 2014)

BJJ is basically an offshoot of judo that places a heavy emphasis on newaza.  

What you'll find may vary significantly from school to school.  Some will focus almost exclusively on ground work while others will spend the time to make sure students are at least competent with takedowns.  Some schools will focus exclusively on tournament competition, others will have a strong self-defense curriculum, and others will have it as part of a greater MMA program. (In this last case, standup striking and takedown training will probably be covered in separate classes.)

Given this range of possibilities, about all you can really say for sure is that a good BJJ school will almost certainly be stronger on groundwork and weaker on throws than a judo school of comparable quality.


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## jks9199 (Jan 14, 2014)

Neither is "better" or has anything over the other. 

BJJ is very popular right now; the Gracie family did a fantastic job of marketing, and the rise of the UFC/MMA popularity really boosted them, along with Muay Thai.  Accordingly, you're seeing a lot of places offering BJJ.


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## Chris Parker (Jan 15, 2014)

Coker101 said:


> I have not trained in a good number of years but when I was younger I did train in Japanese jiu jitsu and Judo at the Houston Budokan.  I'm about to start training again soon and have noticed while looking for a new school that there are a ton of people teaching bjj now...or mma.
> 
> Is this bjj a fad brought on by the UFC or does it indeed have something "better" than Japanese system?  I'm really curious because from what I have seen bjj looks mostly like judo that I trained in when I was a kid.
> 
> ...



Just concurring with Tony and JKS here... simply put, yes, BJJ definitely does have something "over" Judo and Jujutsu (Japanese), which is a specialisation and focus on ground work (ne waza), to the point that it is developed to a very high level of sophistication and skill. Then again, Judo has something "over" BJJ and Japanese Jujutsu systems (commonly), which is a simplification of a broad skill (throwing), as well as a highly developed training methodology designed to instil a range of attributes from basic mechanical skill through to educational ideals. And, of course, Japanese Jujutsu (and, to be clear, I'm talking about classical systems here, what are referred to as Koryu) has something "over" BJJ and Judo, which is it's historical legacy and link to the past, a definitive mind-set being the goal over simple technical skills, depth of instruction, and more. The question is, which suits your values? That's the only thing that would put one over the others for an individual, really... for you, it might be BJJ... or Judo.... for me, it's Koryu (really not a big surprise there, I guess...). Of course, the idea of "Jujutsu" being a single type of art, or approach, isn't really accurate at all... you could compare BJJ with particular systems of Jujutsu, but you really can't compare it with "Jujutsu" itself... as that doesn't actually exist.

BJJ, I will say, is not a fad. It was certainly an over saturated product in the martial arts community in the early 90's through to the early 2000's (for the record, MMA has taken that role currently, with RBSD seeming to come up to replace that over the next few years), and was definitely the "flavour of the month" for a little while... but, like anything that has real value to offer, once the shine of "hey, this is new!" wore off, the art remained a valid and highly credible alternative when looking around at different arts (to get an idea of what I mean, try to find a Tae Bo class these days.... it was everywhere for a short time, then faded away, and, having very limited value in and of itself, didn't really last... BJJ, on the other hand, has... as have many of the "flavour of the month" martial arts over the last 5 or 6 decades. Let's remember that Judo and Karate were also "fads" in the same way BJJ was at a time.... but we don't question them these days). BJJ was a fad... but it's moved on, and is well and truly past that these days.


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## Coker101 (Jan 15, 2014)

Chris Parker said:


> Just concurring with Tony and JKS here... simply put, yes, BJJ definitely does have something "over" Judo and Jujutsu (Japanese), which is a specialisation and focus on ground work (ne waza), to the point that it is developed to a very high level of sophistication and skill. Then again, Judo has something "over" BJJ and Japanese Jujutsu systems (commonly), which is a simplification of a broad skill (throwing), as well as a highly developed training methodology designed to instil a range of attributes from basic mechanical skill through to educational ideals. And, of course, Japanese Jujutsu (and, to be clear, I'm talking about classical systems here, what are referred to as Koryu) has something "over" BJJ and Judo, which is it's historical legacy and link to the past, a definitive mind-set being the goal over simple technical skills, depth of instruction, and more. The question is, which suits your values? That's the only thing that would put one over the others for an individual, really... for you, it might be BJJ... or Judo.... for me, it's Koryu (really not a big surprise there, I guess...). Of course, the idea of "Jujutsu" being a single type of art, or approach, isn't really accurate at all... you could compare BJJ with particular systems of Jujutsu, but you really can't compare it with "Jujutsu" itself... as that doesn't actually exist.
> 
> BJJ, I will say, is not a fad. It was certainly an over saturated product in the martial arts community in the early 90's through to the early 2000's (for the record, MMA has taken that role currently, with RBSD seeming to come up to replace that over the next few years), and was definitely the "flavour of the month" for a little while... but, like anything that has real value to offer, once the shine of "hey, this is new!" wore off, the art remained a valid and highly credible alternative when looking around at different arts (to get an idea of what I mean, try to find a Tae Bo class these days.... it was everywhere for a short time, then faded away, and, having very limited value in and of itself, didn't really last... BJJ, on the other hand, has... as have many of the "flavour of the month" martial arts over the last 5 or 6 decades. Let's remember that Judo and Karate were also "fads" in the same way BJJ was at a time.... but we don't question them these days). BJJ was a fad... but it's moved on, and is well and truly past that these days.



When I say fad I don't mean it in a negative way.  My point is that I see bjj everywhere now....I think even some of the somewhat traditional schools have thrown it in as an option.  A lot of people who know nothing about MA and have never trained in anything see bjj as some new art that's made everything else obsolete.  As an example, a guy I work with got into a situation recently over a girl (go figure) and he had several guys wanting to jump on him.  Fortunately it never happened but he was telling me how he had started looking into bjj since that happened so that he could be prepared.  He's a fan of ufc so his go to MA was right to bjj.

But then I watch ufc every now and then and the bjj I see looks like the same stuff I trained in 30 years ago.  That's why I was asking, I was just curious if there was something I was not seeing or if this was something brought on by ufc or what.

So when I say fad I don't mean "just a fad"...I think it's been proven to work.  Know what I mean?


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 15, 2014)

I have to agree with Tony, Jks9199 and Chris.

Think about what you want in your search for training and then try and find the right place and teacher that will work for you.

I would advise you to look carefully at any place offering MMA training as quite a few of them have poorly skilled trainers and instructors.  Ask about where they learned their skill sets and from who.  Then cross check and verify.  In some small towns I know guys with one year of wrestling in high school running an mma group.  So with the proliferation of mma groups, clubs, training halls, etc. also come some really mediocre places to train.  Just check their credentials first!


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## Coker101 (Jan 15, 2014)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> I have to agree with Tony, Jks9199 and Chris.
> 
> Think about what you want in your search for training and then try and find the right place and teacher that will work for you.
> 
> I would advise you to look carefully at any place offering MMA training as quite a few of them have poorly skilled trainers and instructors.  Ask about where they learned their skill sets and from who.  Then cross check and verify.  In some small towns I know guys with one year of wrestling in high school running an mma group.  So with the proliferation of mma groups, clubs, training halls, etc. also come some really mediocre places to train.  Just check their credentials first!



Oh no, I'm just asking out of curiosity.  I'm in no way looking for an mma/bjj school.  I lean towards the more traditional and if I were looking for something similar to bjj it would be in a more traditional Japanese judo/jj dojo.  That's what I trained in as a kid and what I would probably gravitate to now.


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## ballen0351 (Jan 15, 2014)

I think when it comes to BJJ vs Judo or JJJ it comes down to look for the better school not the better art .  in other words if you have the choice of one or the other and the Judo school just seems a better fit then go judo if the BJJ school seems like the better fit go BJJ.  You can't really go wrong with either so then its a matter of finding the best school in the area.


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