The complete encyclopedia
BRAZILIAN
JIU JITSU BIBLE
Techniques, positions, submissions, history, lineages, and the practitioners who shaped the gentle art — documented in encyclopedic depth.
EXPLORE
Eight pillars of the gentle art
TECHNIQUES
Foundational and advanced movements, white belt to black belt.
POSITIONS
Guards, mounts, back control, and everything in between.
SUBMISSIONS
Chokes, armlocks, leglocks — the full submission library.
FIGHTERS
The legendary practitioners who shaped the gentle art.
HISTORY
From Mitsuyo Maeda to the modern ADCC era.
GLOSSARY
Portuguese terms, Japanese roots, modern jargon.
FEATURED TECHNIQUES
Foundational moves every grappler should know
ARMBAR FROM CLOSED GUARD
Armlock da Guarda Fechada
The armbar from closed guard is the canonical submission of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu — the first weapon a white belt is handed and the technique that, even decades i…
TRIANGLE FROM CLOSED GUARD
Triângulo da Guarda Fechada
The triangle choke from closed guard is jiu jitsu's most recognizable strangle and one of its most lethal. Inherited from the judo sankaku-jime, it took its mod…
KIMURA FROM CLOSED GUARD
Kimura da Guarda Fechada
The kimura is a shoulder lock executed via a figure-four grip on the opponent's wrist, named after the great Japanese judoka Masahiko Kimura, who broke Helio Gr…
HIP BUMP SWEEP
Raspagem de Quadril
The hip bump sweep is the simplest reversal in the closed-guard playbook and one of the most consequential, because nearly every other closed-guard sweep and su…
PENDULUM SWEEP
Raspagem de Pêndulo
The pendulum sweep, known in Portuguese as raspagem da flor, is the closed guard's answer to an opponent who plants their hands on the mat or on the hips to bas…
SCISSOR SWEEP
Raspagem de Tesoura
The scissor sweep is the highest-percentage gi sweep at white and blue belt and a technique that survives unchanged into the black-belt game because it solves a…
LEGENDARY PRACTITIONERS
The men and women who shaped the art
HELIO GRACIE
“O Mestre”
Helio Gracie is the historical face of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the figure most responsible for the art's global spread, though the precise nature of his contribution is one of the most contested quest…
MARCELO GARCIA
“Marcelinho”
Marcelo Garcia is widely regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound BJJ competitor of all time and the most influential figure in modern no-gi grappling. A middleweight at 76 kilograms, Garcia won the A…
GORDON RYAN
“The King”
Gordon Ryan is the most dominant no-gi competitor in the history of submission grappling. Born in New Jersey in 1995, Ryan rose to prominence as a member of John Danaher's original Renzo Gracie traini…
MITSUYO MAEDA AND THE KODOKAN ORIGINS
Before there was a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there was Mitsuyo Maeda, a small Kodokan judoka who traveled the world for two decades teaching, competing, and seeding the techniques that would later be reorganized in Brazil. The history of BJJ begins not in Rio de Janeiro but in Tokyo at the close of the nineteenth century.
Read more →The Leglock Revolution: Danaher, Sambo, and the Modern No-Gi Game
The UFC Era (1993–2000)Royce Gracie and UFC 1: The Night Jiu Jitsu Conquered Combat
The Vale Tudo Era (1980s–1990s)Rickson Gracie and the Mythos of the Undefeated Era
The Modern Competitive Era (2000s–present)The Mendes Brothers and the Modern Competition Game
The Foundational Era (1920s–1960s)The Gracie Challenge Era: Vale Tudo and the Establishment of BJJ
The No-Gi Era (2000s)Marcelo Garcia and the No-Gi Revolution
The Modern Submission Grappling Era (2015–present)The Danaher Death Squad Era
The Sport Era (1996–present)The Mundial Era: The IBJJF and the Codification of Sport Jiu-Jitsu
The No-Gi Era (1998–present)The ADCC Founding and the Rise of the No-Gi Circuit
Cross-cutting (1990s–present)The History of Women in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Origins (1890s–1920s)The Japanese Diaspora and the Roots of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The Contemporary Era (2020s)The Atos vs New Wave Rivalry
The Commercial Era (2010s–present)The Commercialization of BJJ: From Academy Income to Million-Dollar Tournaments
The Transitional Era (1960s–1990s)The Carlson Schism and the Birth of Team-Based BJJ
The Global Era (1990s–present)The Globalization of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
The MMA Era (1993–present)BJJ in Modern MMA: From Royce to the Modern Champion
Institutional History (1920s–present)The Origins of the IBJJF Belt System
The MMA Crossover Era (1997–2008)The Brazilian Top Team and the MMA Crossover Era
The Digital Era (2010–present)The Streaming Instructional Era: How BJJ Knowledge Went Global
The MMA Crossover Era (1997–2007)Pride Fighting Championships and BJJ in Japan
Pedagogical History (1970s–present)The Evolution of the Modern BJJ Curriculum
Cultural History (1970s–present)The Belt Promotion Ceremony: Tradition and Modern Practice
Contemporary History (2022)The Death of Leandro Lo and BJJ's Brazilian Public-Safety Reckoning
Cross-Pollination Era (1990s–present)Sambo and the Russian Grappling Influence on BJJ
Demographic History (1990s–present)Women's BJJ: From Margin to Modern Pillar
Stylistic Evolution (2000s–present)The Gi vs No-Gi Divide in Modern BJJ
Sport BJJ Golden Era (2005-2015)The Jacaré vs Roger Mundial 2010 Final
Institutional History (1994-present)The Evolution of the IBJJF Point System
Modern Sport BJJ Era (2008-2018)The Mendes Brothers and the Modern Competition Game
Modern Pedagogical Revolution (2015-present)The Leg-Lock Revolution: Danaher and the Death Squad
Commercial Era (2015-present)Fight to Win and the Economics of Professional BJJ
Modern Competitive Era (2017)ADCC 2017: Felipe Pena vs Gordon Ryan
Institutional History (1998-present)The ADCC and the Prestige of Submission Grappling
Cultural History (2000s-present)The Open Mat Tradition in BJJ Culture
Foundational Pedagogical Era (1970s-1982)Rolls Gracie and the Foundation of Modern BJJ
Pre-IBJJF History (1950s)Fadda vs Gracie: The 1950s Challenge Matches
Contemporary Competitive Era (2020s)The Ruotolo Twins and the New Generation of No-Gi
Foundational No-Gi Era (2003)Eddie Bravo vs Royler Gracie ADCC 2003
Foundational Modern Era (2003)Marcelo Garcia's ADCC 2003 Debut
Commercial Growth Era (2010-2020)The Global Growth of BJJ Through the 2010s
Contemporary Competitive Era (2017-present)Gordon Ryan and ADCC Dominance
BJJ-to-MMA Crossover Era (2021-present)Marcus Buchecha's Transition to MMA
Contemporary Speculation (2026-)The Future of BJJ: Trajectories from 2026 Onwards
THE LANGUAGE OF JIU JITSU
Portuguese terms, Japanese roots, and modern jargon
TATAME
/tah-TAH-meh/
The mat surface on which BJJ is trained. Borrowed from Japanese (畳, the woven straw mats of judo dojos) and used universally in Brazilian academies.
FAIXA
/FYE-shah/
Belt. In BJJ context refers to the rank-denoting belt: faixa branca (white), faixa azul (blue), faixa roxa (purple), faixa marrom (brown), faixa preta (black).
OSS / OSU
/oh-SS/
A multipurpose acknowledgment imported from Japanese martial-arts culture, used in BJJ academies to mean approximately "understood," "yes," or "ready." Overused by some, avoided by others, debated by all.
PROFESSOR
/pro-fes-SOR/
The teacher of a BJJ academy. Title of respect used for black belts (and increasingly brown belts) who lead instruction. In some lineages the term is reserved for those at coral belt rank or above.
MESTRE
/MES-treh/
Master. Title of highest respect, reserved for coral belts (7th degree) and red belts (9th and 10th degree) in the IBJJF ranking system, and for individuals of foundational importance in their lineage.
RASPAGEM
/rahs-PAH-zhem/
Sweep. The act of reversing the opponent from a bottom guard position to a top position, typically scoring two points in IBJJF rulesets.
PASSAGEM (DE GUARDA)
/pas-SAH-zhem/
Guard pass. The act of moving past the opponent's legs to establish side control, knee on belly, or mount, scoring three points in IBJJF.
FINALIZAÇÃO
/fee-nah-lee-zah-SOWN/
Submission. A technique that forces the opponent to tap out via a choke, joint lock, or compression. Ends the match regardless of score.
BY THE NUMBERS
WHY THIS SITE EXISTS
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu deserves a reference resource as rigorous and comprehensive as the art itself. This is that resource — free, bilingual, and built to last.
About →