You can be choked, sat on so hard you can’t breathe or have your arm dislocated. What’s not to like!
It’s the fastest growing sport in the world – and celebs love it. But Brazilian jiu-jitsu isn’t for faint hearts . . .
Barely an hour has passed since I met roger Gracie and yet now he is kneeling between my thighs, his hands firmly on my chest.
‘raise your hips up and against me,’ roger instructs. ‘ and now move your right leg across me, like you’re mounting a horse.’
I’ve never mounted a horse but I give it a try. From here I can dislodge one of roger’s hands and tug on his collar while lifting my own leg up as a lever to ‘ sweep’ him, so that I’m finally on top ( the ‘ mount’). That’s the theory, anyway.
For readers of a delicate disposition (and my mum) let me reassure you that I’m not being instructed in the finer points of the Kama Sutra. Instead, these manoeuvres put me in a better position to either lock roger’s arm — or make a run for it.
roger Gracie, 41, is a ten-time jiu- jitsu world champion and I’m at his academy in Hammersmith, West london, for a one-to- one lesson in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), a martial art that’s gaining highprofile celebrity fans.
Take Mark Zuckerberg: the 38year- old billionaire founder of Facebook and ultimate geek is an unlikely martial artist.
But last week he won gold and silver medals at his very first BJJ tournament in redwood City, California, and boasted about his win on Instagram: ‘ Competed in my first jiu-jitsu tournament and won some medals for the Guerrilla jiu-jitsu team.’
‘He’s very dedicated,’ roger tells me. ‘I know the guy he trains with.
Barack Obama has a blue belt in jiu-jitsu
He [Mark] trains every day, two hours a day. Jiu-jitsu is very addictive. Once you start, you want to learn more and more. It’s the only martial art that is also fun.’
Movie director Guy ritchie is a black belt who regularly trains with roger and is so dedicated that he reportedly practises moves with crew members on his sets.
‘ Guy is really good,’ roger confirms.
actor Jason Statham is not only a hard nut on screen but one in real life. He’s attended the Gracie academy, which was set up in 2003, as has Superman star Henry Cavill.
Former US President Barack Obama has a blue belt in BJJ and even comedian russell Brand has a purple belt, while Peaky Blinders star Tom Hardy has won competitions in Wolverhampton and Milton Keynes.
and now Hollywood’s leading ladies are getting in on the action. Scarlett Johansson used jiu-jitsu moves in her role as the Black Widow in the Marvel movies, and Bond Girl Halle Berry and Naomi Watts credit BJJ for their lean physiques.
With such celebrity endorsements, no wonder then that BJJ is the fastest growing combat sport in the world. So what is it and why is it suddenly so popular?
In 1914, the world famous Japanese expert, Mitsuyo Maeda, arrived in Brazil where he began teaching jiu-jitsu
( the literal translation is ‘gentle art’ and the focus is on ground-based techniques) and judo ( standing and some ground techniques).
Three of his students went on to become the founders of what is known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu: brothers Carlos and Helio Gracie — Carlos is roger’s grandfather — and luiz França.
BJJ teaches students how to control their opponent. The aim is to create a submission hold (a joint lock or a stranglehold, for example) in an attempt to get a ‘tap’ (a signal that your opponent cannot escape and concedes).
Practitioners wear reinforced heavy cotton suits — known as Gis — designed to withstand the strong grappling, falls and rolls, and, similar to Japanese jiu-jitsu, competitors wear belts to signify rank which also range from white to black.
BJJ was relatively unknown until the 1990s when the Ultimate Fighting Championship — a U.S. tournament that showcases the best fighters — brought mixed martial arts ( MMa) to the mainstream.
‘The UK, and europe in general, doesn’t have a culture of grappling,’ says roger. ‘ In the US they have wrestling, so kids are used to wrestling. But people here are like, “We love to punch! We box!”’ With the popularity of MMa people started knowing what jiu- jitsu is.’
Full disclosure — I’m not really a novice. In an attempt to learn selfdefence and get in shape, I took up BJJ in 2019. Unlike boxing, you don’t have to worry about being punched in the face (by accident or design).
Instead, you can be choked, sat on with such force you cannot breathe, or have your arm almost dislocated. What’s not to like? I loved learning the basics but lockdown put an end to the lessons and this is my first time back on the mat.
Before my session I watched some of roger’s fights and the way he sweeps his opponents to the floor and gets them to submit is truly an art. But now that it’s me squaring up to this handsome hunk — a whole foot taller than me at 6ft 4in and weighing 84kg to my 62kg, I’m apprehensive to say the least. He hooks one leg around mine and sweeps me off my feet — literally.
Fortunately, he’d also taught me how to safely break a fall. (‘Tuck your chin into your chest, so you protect your head. Protect your arms, so instead of falling on your hands, slap the mat with your arm as you hit the ground to soak up the impact.’) From here, roger has
You’ve done it properly if you hear a crack
the advantage and takes control, as he places a gigantic knee on my chest. The sheer weight of his body makes me gasp.
His dad, Mauricio Gomes, himself a black belt who teaches at the Academy, roars with laughter as he watches us.
Yes, it’s enormous fun as 1,000 members at his academy, including some 400 children, will testify. However, only 15 per cent of members are women. ‘It’s harder for women to do grappling-based martial arts,’ Roger explains.
‘Not all of them are as comfortable being that close to another person. But every woman should learn jiu-jitsu.
‘If every woman trained jiu-jitsu for at least three years then sexual assaults would drop almost to zero.’
Really?
‘Oh yes. Think about it — if you’re going to get attacked by a man, he will grab you, not punch you.
‘With jiu-jitsu you’re going to know the skills of how to get away from that person. You will know where to put your body and not having to hurt him or to punch. Because if I slap you, for example, I will knock you out!’
The skills are designed to enable a smaller person to defend themselves against a larger, more powerful attacker, insists Roger.
He then shows how I would fend off an attacker — him — who’d got me flat on my back.
‘Ideally, you would need both feet inside my legs,’ he instructs me. ‘You then use your legs and your arms . . . ’ — here, I raise them both to his chest — . . . to maintain a bit of distance, and then keep shuffling back. Once you’ve generated enough space between us you want to sit up and put one hand on my shoulder.’ I dutifully oblige.
‘Look now, this is a very strong frame. It’s hard for me to hold you, giving you enough time to get up and escape,’ he says.
Once I’ve got him on the floor, I can perform an arm bar — putting my right hand and knee on his chest to keep him down, while the other foot is keeping me stable.
I capture his right arm with my left, push my hip against him and swing my left leg over his head and lean back on the floor. Do keep up! Now he is trapped, as both my hands are on his. From here, I slowly push my hips up to apply pressure on the arm. You will know you’ve done it correctly if you hear a crack. I’m not here to break any bones, but Roger does grimace before he taps out.
‘ Does that really hurt,’ I ask him?
‘It will break my arm!’
With his grandfather and great uncle being the pioneers of BJJ, the young Roger Gracie was always going to take up combat sport.
‘I was always out of shape — I was a chubby kid,’ he laughs.
‘One summer, aged 14, I spent the holidays with my uncle, in the south of Brazil and my cousin motivated me to take it seriously — which I did. I started changing my diet and training every day. It changed my life.’
He was awarded a black belt in 2003 and won ten world championship titles between 2004 and 2010. So good is he that he’s only ever lost seven competitive fights, out of almost 80. In Mixed Martial Art (MMA) fights, he won eight and lost two.
His last professional fight was in 2016 and today he’s known as a GOAT — Greatest Of All Time — in the sport. Now a 5th degree black belt, he’s a Master.
‘The stripes on your black belt show just how old you are!’ he laughs, ‘because to get them it takes a long time, so you can’t be young.’
I have first-hand experience of his strengths but I’m curious as to his weaknesses — if any.
‘I am stubborn. And there’s arrogance. Not because I’m an arrogant person, but arrogance about not changing the way I would fight — that’s when I would lose.’
However, he always advises people to leave their ego at the door if they want to take up martial arts.
‘I tell people jiu-jitsu will change their life for the better but they are often afraid to start anything new. Their ego gets in the way.
‘ The beautiful thing about watching kids fight, however, is how much they want to learn.’
So what does he get out of doing BJJ?
‘My sanity!’ he laughs. ‘If I didn’t do jiu-jitsu, I would go crazy.’
He also claims that it can help you deal with your emotions and how to act under pressure when things are not going your way.
‘What you do on the mat is what you do at home,’ he explains. ‘It’s a reflection of who you are. And what defines who you are, are your actions and your attitude. That goes for every aspect in your life.’
It’s hardly surprising to learn that his own children — son Tristan, 13, and daughter Maya, ten — are keen learners.
‘ I’ve never forced them,’ he insists. ‘ I always believe you should incentivise children instead. I’ve convinced my daughter to do it, I said she needs to learn how to defend herself. My son is on and off at the minute. He’s more into basketball.’
It truly is a family business. And as I leave, Mauricio calls out to me: ‘ You should start your classes again!’
Perhaps I should but I’ve been spoilt. No group sessions, for me, but one-on-one classes with Roger! In my dreams.