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JIU JITSU VS KICKBOXING

By Benjamin Strusnik, June 07, 2022

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kickboxing both have a cult following, as both arts are highly popular amongst the masses. Comparing these two Martial Arts is very similar to the difference between taekwondo and jiu jitsu, as the two striking arts are heavily reliant on kicking their opponents. Kickboxing is a fast paced and high calibre striking art that has seen some of the most dangerous athletes compete in. BJJ is a pure based grappling art, as it relies upon a strong control position and fast transitions which lead to submissions.

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There have been many famous kickboxers throughout the course of history, athletes like Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, Semmy Schilt and John Wayne Parr to name a few. Many of these top level athletes have contributed to the development of their Martial Art. The same can be said for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as athletes like Royce Gracie, Rixon Gracie, Marcelo Garcia and Pedro Sauer have become high profile pioneers to their sports. Both of these arts have an excellent work ethic which is not dissimilar to disciplines like boxing, mma, muay thai and jiu jitsu.

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THE ORIGIN OF KICKBOXING

Kickboxing has ties to the ancient form of Greek combat, with possibly some of the oldest documentation where fighters were seen using punches, kicks, and other techniques. The brutal combat comes from Pankration, a Mixed Martial Art from ancient Greece. It was here that scripture shows a form of kickboxing was used in the ancient and harrowing Martial Art. Although some scholars are heavily sceptical that ancient Greek Boxing ever allowed kicking within their Martial Art, as it is heavily debated.

There have been other forms of kickboxing that existed in ancient India. The earliest references to Musti Yuddha come from ancient Indian poetry such as manuscripts like the Ramayana and Rig Veda. The Mahabharata reports two combatants standing toe to toe, throwing punches, kicks, finger strikes, knee strikes, headbutts, and various other techniques showcasing their strength. Mushti Yuddha has traveled all throughout Southeast Asia and became a strong influence on many famous martial arts such as Muay Thai, Muay Laos, and Pradal Serey of Cambodia.

The French nation was the first to introduce boxing gloves into its Kickboxing Martial Art, and by 1743, the modern style of boxing gloves were invented by Englishman Jack Broughton. The Frenchman Charles Lecour started using the English boxing gloves in his Savate Kickboxing Martial Art. Charles Lecour was a pioneer of modern Savate where he developed a style of fighting that incorporated both kicking and punching. Lecour was also the first Martial Artist to recognize Savate as a sport and as a self-defense system. French colonists began introducing boxing gloves into the native Asian Martial Arts in French Indochina and Siam, emphasizing the importance of self-defense in these practices.

During the 1950's a prominent Japanese Martial Artist named Tatsuo Yamada first detailed a new sport that combined Karate and Muay Thai techniques. This was developed further and explored during the early 1960's, when tournaments between Karate and Muay Thai began. This helped sanctioning bodies create a new ruleset within the Martial Art. By 1965 the first Kickboxing events were held in Osaka, Japan. By the 1970's and the 1980's, the sport of Kickboxing had expanded beyond Japan and had reached North America and Europe, as popular organisations like K1 and One Championship were formed.

THE ORIGIN OF JIU JITSU

The history books depict an art form that dates back to the early 1900's, as the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was founded by Carlos and Helio Gracie. One of the most influential Martial Artists in history was Jigoro Kano who taught principles in Judo and Jujitsu to many Japanese students. Jigoro's most prominent student Mitsuyo Maeda brought his master's art forms all the way to Brazil. Mitsuyo Maeda had become friends with a successful businessman named Gastao Gracie, and this was how he first met his son Carlos Gracie. Mitsuyo was impressed by Carlos and his eagerness to learn so he took him on as a student. Carlos was a fast learner and he excelled at many of the concepts Mitsuyo taught him.

Carlos would then pass on the knowledge to his younger brother Helio Gracie, and after some time learning the art Helio began his own development. Helio was a smaller, lighter and much more agile student, as he did struggle to utilise many of the Judo techniques, this was the main reason why he introduced his own fighting system. Helio's advanced system of Jiu Jitsu was definitely more suited to a smaller athlete, as it was created to take out the larger and stronger opponents. This was the birth of Gracie Jiu Jitsu as Helio would pass on all his insights to his sons and nephews. Many challenges came out of Brazil, and none more famous than luta livre vs bjj as Helio's son Rixon Gracie took on the infamous Hugo Duarte on the beach in Brazil. After a brutal fight Rixon recorded a devastating win by ground and pound.

Helio knew it was time to spread Gracie Jiu Jitsu worldwide, so he let Rorion manage the family business.

The Gracie's would travel to the United States of America in search of fortune and fame. Rixon was already making a lot of money for the Gracie clan through his stardom in Japan, and was the clear choice to head the Gracie name in America. But Rorion had other ideas as he entered his younger brother Royce Gracie into the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a competition that pitted different styles of Martial Arts against each other. As Royce starred in MMA, Rixon grew tired of Rorion's control and broke away from his clan to start his own academy. This was the beginning of the split between Gracie Jiu Jitsu and what would later be known as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

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WHAT IS THE CONTRAST BETWEEN BJJ AND KICKBOXING

There are some massive dissimilarities between BJJ and Kickboxing, which is quite like the difference between jiu jitsu and karate, as one is a highly recognised striking art, and the other specialises in ground fighting. BJJ uses a culmination of Judo and Wrestling concepts to get the fight to the ground. Once the fight is on the turf, BJJ uses a high calibre of experienced movements, as they will look to control their opponents with heavy pressure. Transitions are used to navigate their way towards an eventual submission set up. Kickboxing is all about its fast paced and extremely accurate striking techniques. A Kickboxer will use quick footwork just like boxing and bjj, to land fast punches and kicks to the body and head of an opponent.

Kickboxers do not use any form of takedowns nor do they strike on a downed opponent, instead all punches and kicks are executed on a standing opponent. BJJ is the opposite as it does not allow striking of any sort, and will commonly avoid standing with an opponent as they have been known to pull guard against attackers. A BJJ practitioner will use a strategic mindset to set traps on their opponents and execute a variety of submissions. A Kickboxer uses a similar strategy, as they will often throw jabs as a bait before following up with highly versatile kicks to the mid section or the head.

BJJ AND KICKBOXING TRAINING REGIMES

The art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has a long standing tradition of honour and humility. When a student decides to join the ranks of a BJJ academy, they will learn to harness the philosophies of their instructors. All students must work hard and show consistency on the mats, as this is the quickest way to comprehend the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. A training session will begin with a warmup, and these may vary from gym to gym. Traditionally a warmup will consist of specific drills which all relate to different techniques in BJJ. The next phase will be learning two or three techniques, as practitioners will partner up with other members of their academy and practise the movements. Students will then be free to enjoy the open mat and battle test their grappling in a real situational roll.

Kickboxing is a completely different Martial Art to BJJ, as the striking art is highly effective and a deadly force to be reckoned with. Training in Kickboxing can be simple in comparison to BJJ, as the techniques are easy to learn. It is the body and shin conditioning that can take its toll on a student. Kickboxing conditioning will put a student through a rigorous process that involves high intensity fitness, extreme shin hardening and sharpening of their timing skills on the pads. Kickboxing is fun and rewarding at the same time, as many students worldwide are training extensively in the art.

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HOW IS KICKBOXING DISSIMILAR FROM BJJ

There are obvious differences between Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as kickboxing is a fast paced striking art and BJJ is a deadly ground fighting grappling art. There are no strikes allowed in BJJ, as they can only utilise takedowns and submissions. In Kickboxing they are not allowed to take the fight to ground, instead it is all about getting their opponents to the ground with an expertly timed knockout.

In BJJ the rules are simple, shake hands at the start of the fight, take your opponent down to the mat and use control positions and transitions to set up submissions. A practitioner can win three different ways, the first is through submitting their opponent, the second is by accumulating more points or advantages and the last is winning when their opponent is disqualified. The points system is simple as a competitor will earn 4 points for the mount, the back mount and back control, 3 points for passing the guard and 2 points for knee on belly positioning, sweeping an opponent and securing a takedown. There are certain moves that competitors are not allowed to use like knee reaping, slamming an opponent and various dangerous submissions like neck cranks.

Kickboxing follows a completely different set of rules as the fight is spent entirely on the feet. Two combatants must stand toe to toe until one is knocked out, or the referee stops the fight or wins by points once the time limit has finished. Due to the multiple versions of Kickboxing like Dutch, American and Oriental, each style uses different rule sets. Some allow kicks below the waist and some don't, some allow knee strikes while others don't and some only have three minute rounds while others go for five. Each style is unique and has its own interpretation of how it is displayed, nowadays the popular brands are One Championship, K1 and Glory FC.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has an outstanding belt ranking system that has eight coloured belts. Adult students will begin with the white belt as they are given it on their first day. Instructors will grade each student by watching them and rolling with them to see their skill level, as they will add four stripes over time. Students will go through the blue belt, the purple belt, the brown belt and finally the illustrious black belt. The last three belts are extremely hard to attain as the coral belts and the red belt are only available to pioneers of the sport. It can take a student over ten years to achieve the black belt rank, which makes it an amazing achievement and similar to a doctorate, which is why they get called professor.

In Kickboxing there has been no specific ranks in its history, however more recently the art has adopted a belt ranking system similar to Karate. There are slight variations all over the different forms of Kickboxing, but generally they use the white belt as the first belt, before moving through the yellow, orange, green, blue, purple and brown belts, before earning the prestigious black belt. Earning a black belt in Kickboxing is usually awarded through competitive success and can usually only take a few years to achieve.

In BJJ a student will wear a Gi uniform which can be used like a weapon, as the lapels on a Gi are extremely strong and can be used to wrap up an opponent's limbs or choke their necks. In modern day Kickboxing students will compete in shorts, gloves, mouthguards, box protection and no shirt. In the old traditional ways, Kickboxing used to wear a Gi very similar to a Karate Gi. BJJ has a secondary uniform that is worn during the No Gi division which has become more popular through stars like Gordon Ryan, Royler Gracie and Marcelo Garcia. No Gi BJJ is more commonly known as submission grappling, as students will compete in both versions of BJJ and will weigh up which style suits them better. Grappling vs bjj has similar game styles with the main difference being that in No Gi they wear a rashguard, compression pants and shorts and have slight variations in their movements due to being unable to grip onto the uniform like in the Gi.

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WHO WINS A FIGHT BETWEEN BJJ AND KICKBOXING

A fight between Kickboxing and BJJ has a similar end to most grappling vs striking battles, as most fights will hit the ground. Grappling has an audacious way of closing the distance between their opponent, and getting the fight to the ground. Once the fight is grounded a BJJ practitioner will easily secure a submission on a Kickboxer. In the stand up battle a Kickboxer has a chance at keeping their distance with their high calibre of kicking techniques. It is a safe bet to make that a BJJ fighter will win this battle, as a Kickboxer is out of their depth with an experienced grappler like a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist.

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