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WRESTLING VS BJJ

By Benjamin Strusnik, June 20, 2022

There are many high profile Martial Arts that are practised worldwide, some of the most identifiable are wrestling, judo and jiu jitsu. All of these Martial Arts have had a significant impact on many professional MMA fighters, as they have successfully integrated these fighting systems. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become one of the most recognised grappling arts especially in the last ten years, as athletes like Roger Gracie, Marcus Almeida, Felipe Pena and Leandro Lo have dominated on the world stage. BJJ uses a systematic approach that incorporates tight control positions, dynamic transitions, and a prolific series of submission attack chains.

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The art of Wrestling has also been a dominant force all over the world, as many athletes aspire towards an Olympic career. From the ancient Greeks wrestling brutality all the way to the collegiate styles of American Wrestling, the love and passion for Wrestling is felt across the globe. Wrestling is a combat sport that involves grappling techniques like clinch fighting, throws, takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. The dynamic style that wrestling possesses is seen in many of the high calibre movements like the spladle, the head and arm, the cradle and the crossface. Some of these powerful movements are also used in other Martial Arts like sambo, submission wrestling, gi or no gi jiu jitsu.

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THE ORIGIN OF WRESTLING

The history of wrestling dates way back to fifteen thousand years ago, as cave drawings found in Babylonian and Egyptian tombs depict wrestlers using many of the moves we see today in modern wrestling. There are literary references that appear in the Old Testament and the ancient Indian Vedas. In the Book of Genesis, the story of the Patriarch Jacob is written that he had to wrestle with God or an angel. The Iliad, in which Homer speaks about the Trojan War of the 13th century BC, which shows detailed accounts of wrestling contests that have occurred. There are also mentions of wrestling in the Indian fables of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

In Ancient Greece wrestling was written into folklore, as many literary works have been discovered within the culture. Wrestling competition was brutal by nature as many of the aspects were fought in full contact and served as the number one sport of the ancient Olympic Games. Ancient Romans followed Greek philosophy and used many of their concepts including Greek wrestling, but eliminated a lot of the brutality. Wrestling is heavily referenced throughout both Ancient Greek and Roman literature. Many world leaders and philosophers like Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius all practised wrestling. Many of their literary works include wrestling schools in their dialogue, as the love and passion for Wrestling was a large factor in the early years.

During the Middle Ages the art of Wrestling continued its popularity as many royal families, including those of France, Japan and England all contributed to the ongoing growth of the sport. Early British settlers that came to America brought a strong wrestling tradition with them, as the popularity even grew amongst the Native Americans. Amateur wrestling was extremely successful throughout the early years, as many North American colonies participated in wrestling events, as many of these contests happened at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises. The inaugural wrestling tournament took place in New York City in 1888, where many high profile athletes began to make their mark. Wrestling has also been an event at every modern Olympic Games since the 1904 games in St. Louis, Missouri. In Antwerp, Belgium in 1912, the international governing body for the sport, United World Wrestling, was established. The 1st NCAA Wrestling Championships were also held in 1912, in Ames, Iowa, which has gone on to become the the most adored wrestling event in the sports annual calendar.

THE ORIGIN OF BJJ

The origin of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has an unparallelled story of luck and fate attached, as the art was developed off of the back of poor execution of Judo techniques. Many people have often wondered what the difference between japanese and brazilian jiu jitsu is, as Helio Gracie took elements of Japanese Jujitsu and Judo to form what would later become Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Many of the arts' combative forms came from the ancient teachings of Jigoro Kano, who passed on his knowledge to the famous traveller and Martial Artist Mitsuyo Maeda. A chance encounter would see Carlos Gracie watch a live demonstration that Mitsuyo Maeda hosted at a local Brazilian theatre. After the demonstration, Carlos was introduced to Mitsuyo by his father, and after a brief meeting Mitsuyo agreed to teach Carlos his art form.

Carlos would then pass on his knowledge to his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George and Helio Gracie as they all endeavored to master the art. Helio did struggle with the techniques, even though he was a powerful swimmer and rower, he was too small and not strong enough to use Judo throwing techniques on his brothers. Helio would then go on to develop his own style of leverage based submissions and technical movements that he called Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Helio passed on his philosophies and practical application to his sons and nephews, as Rixon Gracie became his most skillful student. Rixon was a brute and beat everyone there was to beat in Japan and Brazil, including many luta livre fighters in Vale Tudo contests.

The Gracie clan had built a legacy throughout Japan and Brazil, as they continued to market their Martial Art abroad. Once Jiu Jitsu hit the shores of America the growth exploded as Royce Gracie became a famous Mixed Martial Artist, putting the Gracie name into the record books. After the success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the rise of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, there came a significant split between the Gracie clan. The birth of a feud between Rixon and his brother Rorion saw a new feud brew between gjj vs bjj, which was Gracie Jiu Jitsu and the newly formed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu trademark. This rivalry spurred on for generations and is still heated to this very day.

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ARE THERE ANY MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BJJ AND WRESTLING

There are some major differences between both of these colossal Martial Arts, as they both have different ways to end the match. In BJJ the fight is about staying connected to an opponent and utilising dominant control positions. The finish is all about using transitions to achieve the submission, which is the art of making an opponent tap. In Wrestling, the end game is about pinning their opponent's shoulders to the mat. Wrestling comes in many different forms such as freestyle, greco roman, judo, sambo, folkstyle, catch, submission and sumo to name a few. A wrestling bout is a physical contest between two competitors who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position.

Separating differences between Wrestling and BJJ is pretty easy, as wrestling does not involve submissions which is unlike the contest between submission wrestling vs bjj. Instead wrestling involves a brutal and dynamic series of attacks designed to take their opponents to the ground. BJJ on the other hand uses a more smoother transition and a game of patience to outwit their opponents by using superior movements. A BJJ practitioner wants to be on the ground, where a wrestler does not want to be taken to the ground.

There are specific differences between each of the Martial Arts uniforms, as wrestlers will wear what is called a singlet. This is a one piece singlet that continues into shorts and is usually made of lycra/spandex or nylon. They will also wear wrestling shoes, box protection, mouth protection and head protection. The iconic outfit for a wrestler dates back a long time. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu there are two uniforms, one is the traditional Gi which is a thick and heavy uniform consisting of a jacket and pants. The Gi lapel is used as a weapon to choke their opponents. The second uniform is called a No Gi outfit, and this is basically a pair of shorts and a rashguard.

TRAINING REGIMES: BJJ VS WRESTLING

There are many components involved with learning BJJ, aspects like takedowns, positional control, transitioning, positional escapes, submission attack, submission defense/escape, sweeping and guard passing. All of these aspects have numerous techniques to learn, and can take a long time to master. Students must show consistency and focus if they are to excel in such a complex Martial Art. A typical training session in BJJ starts with a comprehensive warm up that involves core strengthening, high calibre fitness and functional movements that have direct links to Jiu Jitsu maneuvers. After the warmups, instructors will teach two or three techniques and students will pair up and begin practising the movements. After this period students will have time to battle test their game style by rolling with other members of their academy.

Training for a sport like Wrestling has a high intensity element attached to it. There are various forms of wrestling like freestyle, greco roman and collegiate disciplines. Wrestlers are known for their ferocity on the mats as they will often do high calibre workouts and strength training. There is a lot of repetition involved in a Wrestling training session, as the quality of the programs are exceptional. Wrestling is an Olympic sport so the personnel involved in teaching the art are all world class coaches and former collegiate wrestlers themselves.

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MODERN FORMS OF THE ARTS

In the modern form of BJJ many prolific superstars are shining bright on the world stage. In the Gi, athletes like Marcus Almeida, Roger Gracie, Saulo Ribeiro, Romulo Barral and Bruno Malfacine have taken the world championship scene by storm, winning multiple titles. The evolution of Gi Jiu Jitsu has come in leaps and bounds since Helio developed his self defense combat system. There have been many developments in the game style of BJJ, like the addition of the lapel game where practitioners can utilise many different styles of control using their opponents lapels. There have also been significant developments in the No Gi discipline of BJJ, as the evolution from the early days of Brazilian Vale Tudo have seen the exponential rise in the popularity of recent No Gi tournaments like ADCC, Polaris, Quintet, Fight 2 Win and Who's Number 1. The recent popularity of No Gi stars like Andre Galvao, Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, Lachlan Giles and Royler Gracie have successfully adapted to the more evolved form of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

The evolution of Wrestling has developed significantly from the brutal style of ancient Greek combat. The international rise of high profile wrestling tournaments like the Olympic Games, the World Wrestling Championships and the NCAA Championships have paved the way for many innovations within the sport. The development of different styles of wrestling like pankration, folkstyle, beach wrestling, greco roman and freestyle wrestling have seen many champions take centre stage. Wrestling has also made its way into the octagon as many MMA athletes look to use Wrestling techniques during their fights. Athletes like Daniel Cormier, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture have successfully integrated wrestling with their game style in Mixed Martial Arts.

WHO WOULD WIN: A WRESTLER OR A BJJ PRACTITIONER

There are many factors that go into a matchup like BJJ vs Wrestling, as both Martial Arts have a comprehensive system of combat. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has a way of getting the fight to the ground, whether that is by takedown or by pulling guard. Once the fight hits the mat a BJJ practitioner will call upon their expertise in controlling an opponent and transitioning into dominant positions.

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A BJJ practitioner will have the upper hand in terms of finishing the fight, as they specialise in submission finishes. A Wrestler is by no means out of the contest, as they possess a sublime skill set for controlling opponents. The major concern for a wrestler going up against a BJJ practitioner, is they are considerably underdone when it comes to securing a finish. Even though they have an outstanding ability to take their opponents to the mat, a BJJ practitioner has an even greater ability to escape positions and scramble into a dominant position. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter has more than enough tools under their belt to win this fight.

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