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What is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? The Concept Behind the Martial Art.

Keith Owen describes the concept behind Brazilian Jiu Jitsu including: technique vs strength, large vs small, angles and the weak muscle groups of the body. Keith Owen is a black belt under Professor Pedro Sauer and runs his school in Idaho. For more information of Keith, check out his site: http://www.bjjmoves.com

21 Replies to “What is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? The Concept Behind the Martial Art.”

  1. Thank you for your approach and explanation! Can’t think of a better intro to a beautiful art

  2. Nothing wrong with using muscle. Just as there is nothing wrong with using your extra flexibility or better cardio etc. You have to find your own game. This concept that there is 1 way or the highway is a bit narrow minded. The way I see it is that everyone has certain physical attributes / tools and bjj is just a journey of you figuring out what are the best tools for you. If you are a strong guy then no harm in utilising your strength.

    Secondly, lets say Keith gets his wish and every student in his academy is the model student i.e. none of them try to power their way via strength and only use technique. Then how prepared will you be when you come across that guy that has good technique but also will not mind powering his way through it if he has to? Since this never happened in your academy I doubt very much you will be prepared for it.

    Also its supposed to help you in self defence situations outside in the real world. When someone attacks you what they going to do? Use only technique and no strength? Of course not. In my opinion it is good to have diversity. In our academy we have all sorts of people. They all pose a different challenge and its a different puzzle to solve. I roll with guys that will just try to wrestle and push forward. I've struggled through it to now know how to deal with them. Don't knock those guys, appreciate them too as they are giving you a test that makes you better.

  4. I can't believe they still try to teach this stupid notion that you don't need strenght… Like the arm bar example. You may manage to stretch the arm, but if the guy is much stronger it's very unlikely that you'll keep it

  10. Great explanation at the end on angles and how to get someone to move the arm away from the strong point so you can get an advantage.

  12. I am interesting in joining the Brazilian ji jitsu club at a college I plan to attend; however, one of my worse fears in life is being put in an arm bar for any submission that targets the joints and can break them. I would like to know from a professional stand point, like yourself, would an opponent give you time to tap out of an arm bar before breaking your arm?

  13. I agree that technique is the most important aspect of bjj, but you cannot sit there and say "too much muscle this and that" all the time. He says he has now a better quality student, so guys like Rodolfo Vieira, Royler Gracie (who happens to be Helios son) in the ADCC and Buchecha are lower quality practitioners? You see how much muscle they use, how much they just lock people down when they compete? At blue belt, yeah its important not to muscle, but later on, adapt or get tapped, regardless of what is used (whether it be muscle or technique)…period…

  14. Thank, now I understand the power behind of the spider-web :), this is the first time I heard the explanation of 45 degree.

    Regards

  18. its funny how you can take a japanese art, change it a little, and call it a brazilian "jiu jitsu" (japanese word) LOL

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