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When Royce Gracie stepped into the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in November 1993 and submitted larger, stronger opponents from multiple different martial arts disciplines, he didn’t just win a tournament. He introduced the world to Brazilian jiu-jitsu and fundamentally changed the way humanity thought about fighting. In the three decades since, BJJ has gone from a regional Brazilian martial art to the most influential grappling system in the world and an essential component of every serious mixed martial artist’s game.

What Is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling-based martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting, body control, and submission holds. Its core philosophy is that a smaller, weaker person can defeat a larger, stronger opponent by using technique, leverage, and positional control to neutralize size and strength advantages.

BJJ practitioners (called “grapplers” or simply “BJJ players”) aim to take the fight to the ground, achieve dominant positions over their opponent, and apply submission holds that force their opponent to “tap out” — a signal of surrender — or risk injury or unconsciousness.

The History of BJJ

Brazilian jiu-jitsu has its roots in Japanese judo and traditional jiu-jitsu. In the early 20th century, a Japanese judoka named Mitsuyō Maeda emigrated to Brazil and taught judo to a young Célio Gracie, who passed the art to his sons — including Carlos Gracie and Hélio Gracie.

Hélio Gracie was physically small and not naturally athletic, which led him to adapt the techniques he was learning — reducing the reliance on strength and athleticism and developing a system based more purely on leverage, position, and timing. This adaptation became the foundation of what we now recognize as Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

The Gracie family tested their art through “vale tudo” (anything goes) matches against practitioners of other martial arts throughout Brazil and developed a reputation for defeating opponents from various backgrounds. When Rorion Gracie co-founded the UFC in 1993 and entered his brother Royce, the purpose was specifically to demonstrate the effectiveness of BJJ against all comers. The demonstration worked beyond any expectation.

Core Concepts of BJJ

Understanding BJJ requires understanding its conceptual framework before its specific techniques:

Positional hierarchy — BJJ organizes ground positions in a hierarchy based on their relative advantage. The most dominant position is the back (controlling an opponent from behind with hooks). Below that, in rough order, are mount (sitting on top of an opponent), side control, and knee-on-belly. Half guard and guard (bottom position with legs wrapping the opponent) represent more neutral or defensive positions.

Sweeps and reversals — From defensive or bottom positions, BJJ provides a systematic framework for reversing position and taking the top. Guard sweeps, in particular, are a highly developed area of the art.

Submission holds — The endgame of BJJ is the submission — a hold that forces an opponent to tap or be injured. Submissions fall into two categories: joint locks (which hyperextend joints beyond their normal range) and chokes (which restrict blood or air flow to produce unconsciousness or the threat of it).

Common Submission Holds

Rear naked choke (RNC) — The most common submission in MMA. Applied from the back position by wrapping an arm around the opponent’s neck and squeezing. Restricts blood flow through the carotid arteries, producing unconsciousness in seconds if not tapped to.

Triangle choke — Applied with the legs wrapped around the opponent’s neck and one arm, creating a “triangle” shape that compresses the carotid arteries. Can be applied from guard and multiple other positions.

Armbar — Hyperextends the elbow joint by isolating the arm and applying pressure against its natural range of motion. Ronda Rousey’s signature submission and one of the most effective in all of grappling.

Guillotine choke — A front headlock choke that can be applied standing or on the ground, often catching wrestlers who shoot for takedowns with their head low.

Heel hook — A lower body submission that torques the knee joint. Considered advanced and dangerous, and generally restricted in beginner competitions. Increasingly common in elite submission grappling.

Kimura — A shoulder lock that rotates the shoulder joint beyond its range. Applied from multiple positions and used both as a submission and a positional control tool.

The Belt System

BJJ uses a belt ranking system that progresses from white to blue to purple to brown to black. Unlike many martial arts, BJJ belts are earned through demonstrated ability in live sparring (“rolling”) rather than through curriculum tests. The time to black belt varies by instructor and student but typically ranges from 8 to 15 years of regular training.

Black belt is not the end: practitioners can continue through coral belt (seventh and eighth degree) and the highest rank of red belt, reserved for those who have made extraordinary contributions to the art over decades.

BJJ in MMA

BJJ’s influence on MMA cannot be overstated. Before the UFC demonstrated BJJ’s effectiveness, most striking-based fighters had minimal ground training and were vulnerable to submission once taken down. The subsequent decades of MMA development saw every serious fighter add grappling to their training — particularly BJJ — to survive on the ground.

Today, every UFC champion has at minimum a fundamental understanding of BJJ positions and submissions. Many current champions — Charles Oliveira, Gordon Ryan in submission grappling, Brian Ortega in MMA — are celebrated for their BJJ at a world-class level. The art that Royce Gracie demonstrated at UFC 1 became the mandatory foundation of the sport it helped create.