Pure Jiu Jitsu

What is Pure Jiu Jitsu?  Is there such thing as “pure” Jiu Jitsu?  That all depends on how we define that term, pure Jiu Jitsu can be an extremely subjective.  When we refer to it in this article we are talking about Jiu Jitsu that is efficient, effective, effortless, and “old school.” 

Rickson Gracie was infamous for having some of the most efficient bjj in the world, so efficient it was deemed “invisible jiu jitsu.”  People are often intrigued by flashy, modern, and new school Jiu Jitsu.  There is nothing wrong with this at all and it is extremely effective, but there is something beautiful about being able to execute moves with minimal energy, minimal effort, and minimal flexibility. Moves that anybody can do but execute them with such precision that although they are “simple” they are high level.

There have been countless competitors that utilize simple and effective bjj, some of these people include Roger Gracie, Xande Ribeiro, Bernardo Faria, Marcelo Garcia, and Kron Gracie.  Many people have used these simple moves at such a high level that their understanding of them no longer makes the moves “simple.”  Take the guillotine choke for instance.  This is one of the most basic chokes that you can learn but Marcelo Garcia, and Kron Gracie have some of the best guillotines in the world.  They do these moves at such a high level that it is almost unbelievable. Check out this highlight below of Marcelo Garcia’s guillotines.

Pure Efficient BJJ

What is efficient bjj?  It is jiu Jitsu that works for anybody of any age, weight, gender, flexibility level, size, and body style. The more efficient your Jiu Jitsu is the more it will work.  Efficient bjj also refers to Jiu Jitsu that works on anybody of any age, height, weight, skill level, and body size.  It is bjj that works in self-defense, MMA, and everywhere.

So how can we develop efficient bjj?  Well it starts with learning the right techniques, and establishing sound fundamentals.  Efficiency generally stems from basics.  So if you want to be efficient you want to learn basics, and you want to learn them so well that you redefine the term basics.  You want to develop what we call high level fundamentals. 

High level fundamentals is one of the tricks to developing sound and efficient bjj.  What do we mean by this?  Well, you want to be able to execute an arm bar or a cross choke from the closed guard on anybody.  These moves require minimal flexibility, and strength.  When all of the details are right, they work.  They have been proven efficient time and time again.  They have worked throughout competitions, MMA, and everything in between.   You want to learn the best shrimp escape, the best bridge and upa from mount, the best under hook sweeps from half guard.  These moves have been tested for years.

If you want to develop efficient bjj check out Gregor Gracie’s DVD “High Level Fundamentals.”  This is one of our number one selling DVD sets and it is for good reason.  Gregor does an absolutely excellent job of breaking down moves that many of us perceive as basic in an extremely high level manner.  He will make you be able to see details that you never even thought where there.  Watching this DVD set will redefine the meaning of fundamentals.   Gregor has come from a lineage of warriors and is one of the best in the world.  Gregor has fought in Bellator, and has competed against some of the best grapplers in the entire world, he had matches against people like Marcelo Garcia.

Effective Pure Jiu Jitsu

What does it mean to have effective bjj? Well, it means that you have the capability to make your Jiu jitsu work under any circumstance.  You have Jiu jitsu that will not fail you in a tournament, against a heavier guy, against a taller guy.  It is bjj that just works. 

There are many people who may learn moves like the berimbolo, or the rolling back takes and they may become really good at them.  The problem arises when these same people have not established proper fundamentals and they don’t understand the mechanics of maintaining back control.  There is not point in berimboloing your opponent if you don’t even have the capability to maintain back mount, or know how to finish chokes.

Effectiveness tends to stem from the ability to finish, the ability to control, and the ability to persevere.  There are many people who are good at sweeps and they work a lot, but when they meet somebody who is harder to sweep they have a tendency to just give up and their sweep no longer works.  Or they are able to sweep someone but they can’t maintain side control once they pass.  They may be able to get to the mount position but as soon as they do they get rolled.  This is ineffective bjj.  Effective bjj is the ability to control your opponent and persevere.  Now, we have to take this with a grain of salt.  Of course our bjj will not be effective against everybody everywhere, that would be crazy,  Even the best in the world have their days where their bjj is not as effective, but consistency in control, and finishes allows for effective bjj.

Effortless Pure Jiu Jitsu

This may be the most important factor in having “pure” Jiu Jitsu.  Having effortless bjj means exactly what you would assume.  It is the ability to complete sweeps, passes, and submissions effortlessly and with minimal strength.  You may be thinking to yourself how can you have effortless bjj? 

Simple, effortless bjj comes from timing and timing comes from patience.  That is the key to having effortless bjj.  So what does this mean?  Well, here is the real truth of bjj, we can all learn the same techniques as all of the black belt world champions.  We live in a time where we have the resources to do so.  You can buy 5x Black Belt World Champion, Bernardo Faria’s DVD and learn all of his secrets.  So now that you know how Bernardo does all of his moves how come you are not a 5x black belt world champion? How come these moves are not working as well for you as they do for him?

Well that is because Bernardo has mastered the timing of these techniques.  He has PERFECT timing, along with every other black belt world champion who has a specific set of techniques that they like to do.   Timing comes from patience and this equals effortlessness.  When you are trying to do a simple sweep like an over head sweep, you have to have the proper timing.  You have to create a reaction.  This will make your sweep effortless.  If you just try to force the sweep you are going to get tired and if you get tired you will die.  You have to push your opponent and pull him, be patient and wait for him to put his weight on you, and then this will provide you with the perfect moment to sweep.   Timing is everything and again this timing we speak of stems from patience and these two characteristics combined equal effortless pure Jiu Jitsu.

So you want to learn some “Pure” Jiu Jitsu?  Well, lucky for you we have the perfect solution.  Have you ever heard of Luis Heredia?  Well if you have not, you may have been living under a rock.  Luis is one of Rickson Gracie’s first Black Belts.  In a tumultuous time of Gracie Challenges people would come to Rickson’s gym to fight and he would tell them if they beat Luis they can have a chance at him.  No one ever got a chance at Rickson.  Risckon referred to Luis as his “hitman.”  Luis has a 4 DVD Set “Pure Jiu Jitsu” that has all of his best techniques learned directly from Rickson himself.  This is a DVD set that you do not want to miss.   You could learn tricks that teach you things you never thought possible.  This set will redefine how you look at bjj!