Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is growing at an amazing rate worldwide. More people are training in all corners of the world. BJJ is evolving. ‘Jiu-Jitsu for everyone‘ and ‘Keep it playful‘ are phrases that are used by 2 major BJJ academy chains. It means that Jiu-Jitsu can be trained by the general population: from kids to the serious BJJ competitor to the middle age accountant who wants to lose weight and learn to defend himself. Also by ‘keeping it playful’ they become more creative with their Jiu-Jitsu, they avoid injuries and are able to roll into their 90’s.
The idea is very good. We want to spread Jiu-Jitsu all over the world and we also want to train for life and avoid injuries. There is a worrying problem though. The problem with these phrases is that, with the growing popularity of BJJ, we are faced with a new real phenomenon: The watering down of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu…
To train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not an easy task. It takes a lot of determination, grit, and the desire to become the best that you can in the martial art. However, it also takes a bit of cooperation on the behalf of other things in life – some of which, sometimes, don’t want to be of help.
And that’s exactly why so many people quit BJJ…
Rener and Bear Quitugua (owner of Shoyoroll) sit down to discuss the state of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in America and why the art that was always meant to “empower the weak against the strong” is now alienating the very people it was designed to serve.
